T-34 Hexagonal Turret M1942
1:35 Scale Set #B35022
Review by Terry Ashley
The standard of resin casting in superb with only the usual casting blocks to be removed and no other cleanup required as the parts are extremely clear without any air bubbles, excess resin film (except on the hatch hinges) or other blemishes for some of the cleanest resin parts I’ve seen for a while.
Surface texture on the hollow upper turret shell is very well done as are the weld seams for the laminate armour and include casting numbers and open vision slits either side (although they don’t go all the way through the turret wall they are well defined). The separate lower turret ring also has good cast texture and the numerous cast in ribs applicable to this turret are well defined.
The cast texture on the bulbous gun mounting and the weld and bolt head details on the mantlet are equally well done with the nicely contrasting smooth turret roof and hatches again well done.
The turret has separate hatches, periscope and rear ventilator with the fit of the these parts being extremely good with all actually holding in place without glue such is the good fit. The hatches you might say fit too well as the outline all but disappears when fitted in the closed position with the standout feature being the hatch hinge detail.
There is some minor film to be carefully removed from inside the hatch stop and the small hatch retaining latches are separate parts that just clip into their brackets and actually move so don’t glue these. This means the latch can be positioned in the appropriate position depending if the hatch is open or closed. The fit of the hinges is also superb and will allow the hatch to be fitted in the open position without gluing which helps if you want change the position of these at any time.
The gun breech is included which has the basic details with the inner gun mounting fitting snugly into the back of the outer mounting with the mantlet holding the mount in place without any excess movement allowing the gun to elevate smoothly and the metal barrel with hollowed out breech fits equally snugly into the mantlet opening.
The four small lifting eyes are provided, there are actually five in case of breakage which is nice and these were again very cleanly cast without any film to clean out before fitting to the turret roof.
A minor join seam is between the upper and lower turret parts but this can be filled using thick cyanoacrylate as you glue the two parts together and this can simulate the welds when dry with any remaining seam fairly easy to eliminate.
The only additional part needed is the thin sheet metal cover on top of the mantlet which can be made from thin card or preferable this brass sheet (which I used here), the instructions give the size of the cover so you can cut it correctly.
The small instruction sheet has exploded view drawings of the assemblies but these are fairly straightforward and shouldn’t pose any problems. One thing to watch is the outer gun mount is shown upside down in the instructions but this will only fit one way in any case so is not a problem.
Conclusion:
This is a superbly detailed early Hexagonal turret with some of the cleanest
resin pieces I have seen in an update set and the fit of parts is as good
as any injection plastic kit to provide a ready made update for any applicable
T34 kit.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Miniarm for the review set.
Miniarm sets are available from Model
Point US.
Page Created 5 August 2005