Russians Pt.9- T-34s (+Tank Riders)

T-34/85 No.1

This was the first BA vehicle I purchased and built. Without knowledge of the wider range of companies out there at that point, I went straight for a Warlord plastic vehicle. In a min/max moment, I also opted for the T-34/85, but I intend to get some T-34/76 turrets to swap out for playing mid-war games.

I like this kit. I added a Warlord tank commander and a few pieces of Debris of War stowage to make the tank look more interesting and less bare, but wanted to keep it relatively uncluttered so that tank rider figures could be placed on the hull more easily.

T-34/85 No.2

As I wanted to grow my Soviet force to play larger games, I became aware of other companies that offered WW2 vehicles in different ways. I'd never contemplated 3D printing up to then, but came across Paint & Glue Miniatures and my eyes were opened to new possibilities. Here was a way to flesh out the number of vehicles in my force in a much cheaper way than if I relied on plastic or resin kits.

I wasn't disappointed. The model is light, robust, well detailed and serves it's purpose perfectly. The material it was printed in was bright blue, which was quite startling, but it painted up just fine. Since then, I have returned to Paint & Glue several times for vehicles for my German and British Airborne forces and have not been disappointed.

I chose to keep this tank free from stowage and additions because I had seen plenty of photographic evidence showing Soviet tanks appearing that way. Maybe the lightning speed that some armies raced through Eastern Europe and into Germany meant they didn't have much time to stop? Maybe Soviet propoganda shots avoided the more scruffily laden tanks? You see tons of pictures of Shermans with sandbags, packs and GIs hanging off of them... Either way, It meant I got to paint up this guy pretty quickly and get it onto the table. I like the wood saw strapped to the side and the mismatched fuel tanks.

Tank Riders

Another auto-include for my Soviets were these guys. I have one of my two Tank Rider/ SMG squads built and painted, but just needed the figures to represent them riding into battle. I bought two packs, knowing I'd get some multiples, and split them into two teams for each of my T-34s. I've only painted one group up so far, but the second bunch will get painted when the second SMG squad is finished, someday... 

                            

After the Bad Squiddo Soviet Women Kickstarter was completed, I now had another gal to add to this little group. I painted up the bearded LMG trooper beside her too, to make six tank riders in total, so I can have three on each tank when I finally paint up my second Tank Rider squad.