I finished building and painting two pairs of T-34/85 medium tanks and SU-122 assault guns. The T-34/85s are produced by Italeri and the SU-122s are produced by Pegasus Hobbies. I have built and paint both of these kits previously (please see T-34/85 and SU-122 posts for more details).
T-34/85 Medium Tank. The T-34 is the most mass produced tank during the Second World War, with some 84,070 T-34s produced. The T-34/85 is distinguished from the original T-34/76, with a larger turret and a more power gun (the T-34/85 is armed with a 85mm ZiS-S-53 gun, whereas the T-34/76 is armed with a 76.2mm gun). Moreover, the larger turret in the T-34/85 allows the tank to have a crew of 5; the T34/76, in contrast, has a crew of 4, whereby the tank commander also serves as the gunner. 48,950 T-34/85 variants were produced.
The T-34/85s are part of Italeri’s ‘fast assembly’ line of products. The T-34/85 tanks are an easy to assemble 14 pieces set and includes Soviet vehicle decals.
Italeri ‘Fast Assembly’ T34/85 sprue: side 1
Italeri ‘Fast Assembly’ T34/85 sprue: side 2
I have added air recognition markings to the T-34/85s; this was accomplished through a combination of using the decals found in this kit and by painting white stripes on the turrets. As well, as a way of making the T-34s look distinct, I added Russian tank riders to one of the tanks.
T34/85 (1) Medium Tank: side 1
T34/85 (1) Medium Tank: side 2
T34/85 (2) Medium Tank: side 1
T34/85 (2) Medium Tank: side 2
SU-122 Assault Gun. Built upon the T-34 chassis, the SU-122 (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 122 mm) Assault Gun is named after its main armament, the 122mm M-30S howitzer. The inspiration for designing the SU-122 came from the Red Army’s first encounter with the German Sturmgeschütz (StuG III); an assault gun built on the Panzer III chassis. Pegasus Hobbies produces an ‘E-Z build’ 1/72 scale (20mm) SU-122 Assault Gun kit, which allows you to build two models.
Pegasus Hobbies SU-122 sprue (side 1)
Pegasus Hobbies SU-122 sprue (side 2)
While I painted Soviet tank slogans on the previous group of SU-122 assault guns, I applied the decals from Italeri’s T-34/85 kit to these models. As well, I added Russian tank riders to one of the SU-122s.
SU-122 (1) Assault Gun: side 1
SU-122 (1) Assault Gun: side 2
SU-122 (2) Assault Gun: side 1
SU-122 (2) Assault Gun: side 2
The Russian tank riders added to two of the models are produced by HaT Toy Soldiers. The tank riders are sold in a set of 44 miniatures (the set includes four identical sprues of 11 figures per sprue).
HaT Toy Soldiers Russian Tank Riders
The below photos are test shots for my upcoming World War 2 miniatures website featuring the T-34/85s and SU-122s featured in this post.
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