| KIT: | UM 1/72 T-34/85 with S-53 Gun |
| KIT #: | 328 |
| PRICE: | $10.98 (9.96 at Squadron) |
| DECALS: | Seven options |
| REVIEWER: | Scott Van Aken |
| NOTES: | Includes photo-etched fret |
| HISTORY |
Allow me to quote from the rather biased instruction sheet concerning this tank.
"In April of 1944 they started production of the new T-34/85. It differed from earlier models in the new body, chassis, new turret and other changes. Its arms consist of 85mm S-53 gun and 2 x 7.62mm DT machine guns. The thickness of front armor was equal to 45mm. the ammunition supply consist of 56 rounds. The machine in weight of 32.2 tons and had the maximal speed 55 km/h. The tank is powered by 12-cylinder four-stroke diesel V-2-34 engine. The engine power is 500 hp. The crew consist of five members, a commander, a shooter, a gun-layer, a loader and a driver. In total it was manufactured 25,899 of these tanks t-34/85 with S-53 gun. Being improved and enhanced with every year passing, T-34 went through all the war from the first till the last day. A very suitable combination of arming, armour, simplicity of the construction and a high controllability made it the best tank of the Second World War."
| THE KIT |
This
kit fills the plastic bag that holds all the parts. I'll weenie out and
direct you to the review of the D5-T armed
T-34 as there is basically no difference at all save some turret bits
and the decal sheet.
Just like that kit, UM provides vinyl
road wheels so that the very tedious job of painting them is basically
eliminated. Same super molding, same small etched fret and almost the same
turret. 
There are a few
differences that required a different sprue for this variant and that sprue
is shown. The rest are just as on the previous review that you can access
from the link above.
There are markings provided for no fewer than seven tanks. All of them are in the usual Russian Green and all from various units operating the tank in the last year of the war. We are talking about only numbers or unit markings, or patriotic slogans; all applied to the sides of the turret. The small decal sheet is well printed, matte and has large carrier areas around the decal. It also appears to be no fully opaque, though since it isn't being applied to a multi-hued background, that shouldn't be a problem.
| CONCLUSIONS |
The T-34 is undoubtedly the most modeled Soviet tank and has had the kind of staying power that was shown by the US Sherman tank. Though not quite up to the standards of the new Revell AG kit, for example, this one still can hold its own and is available at about 1/3 less than the Revell kit.
You can find this kit and many others at
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