Mig Productions

German T-34 Pz.Kpf.Wg.747 (r)-1
1:35 #MP 35-136
Review by Terry Ashley

The Germans captured large quantities of the Soviet equipment during operation Barbarossa and re-used some against their former owners. Initially they were just repainted and large crosses applied with small additions such as NOTEK lights and side armour panels similar to those on the Panther but from 1943 onwards additional modifications were made adding the Panzer III/IV Commander’s cupola to some for better all round vision. Most of the T-34s so modified were the Model 1943 with the hex turret while only one photo exists of a Model 1941 tank with the cupola added; this vehicle is the subject of the soon to be released kit from Dragon.

Tamiya This update set from Mig Productions is designed for the Tamiya T-34-76 Model 1943 kit (#35059) and while the kit may have some issues will still build into a nice looking model.

The update sets consists of 34 parts in light cream resin which are cleanly cast without any blemishes and only the usual casting blocks to be removed before assembly. The set has the detailed Pz.III/IV Cupola made up of 19 parts from the Mig set #35126 plus the Square Fuel Drums from set #35051 and an additional 11 parts for this set.

The new parts include a new turret roof which just replaces the kit roof without modification, a new cut-off loader’s hatch, small fittings for the front and rear towing shackles, three small storage boxes and NOTEK light and mounting.

The cupola comes with the lower casting block already removed which is a nice touch as it is very east to damage the lower bolt flanges when removing this block as I noted in my earlier review of the Cupola set, and having this already removed saves any problems here. The inner visors have two delicate parts each with the padding between each as well as a small latch and the two separate split hatches for a very complete cupola and this simply fits over two locating ribs on the turret roof which are designed to fit between the bolt flanges to ensure the cupola is correctly aligned.

The fit of the new resin turret roof to the Tamiya turret required some minor trimming of the front underside lip of the roof for a good fit, but you could also trim the lip of the kit turret instead if you find this easier, but after this the roof fitted perfectly and the four lifting eyes from the Tamiya kit are used with the new roof to finish off the details.

Fitting of the other parts is very straightforward although care is needed when cleaning up the NOTEK light mounting bracket as the way it is cast leaves a lot of excess resin to be removed from a very small part.

The instructions are in the usual form of small colour photos of the kit being assembled and these are quite adequate for this simple kit as there are really no problem areas during assembly.

The model can be painted with virtually any German cam of the time or by referring to available references you can determine the best scheme and the German markings can be obtained from any of the available Mig Productions Dry Transfer sheets.

Conclusion:
A nicely detailed yet simple update set to model a very different T-34 that also adds a few extra details to the Tamiya kit.

Highly recommended.

Resin Parts

Two views of the Turret roof showing the minor trimming required
and the good fit to the Tamiya kit
Mig Productions

References:

On the Web:
Many excellent photos of Russian Vehicles as used by the German Army.
http://beute.narod.ru/Beutepanzer/su/su.htm

Captured Tanks under the German Flag
Russian Battle Tanks
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 0-88740-201-1

Thanks to Mig from MIG Productions for the review sample.
MiG Productions are available in Australia from the local distributor SouthEast Hobbies

Page created 2 January 2005

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