Remembering a number of field modified T34s from a book that I had been leafing through recently, I upgraded the armor over the frontal arc, opened the commander's hatch, added a TC, and replaced an external fuel tank (that had a big air bubble in it) with a stowage box.
Here are a couple comparison shots of the modified T34/85 (left) next to a stock model (right):
The upper hull front and upper hull sides got applique plates added, as did the turret front sides and either side of the mantlet. New headlights were located either side of the drivers hatch, and the large stowage box replaces the single external fuel tank.
All of the added armor plate was made from .03" thick styrene sheet and tube. The resin commanders hatch was cut off, an opening drilled into the cupola, and an opened hatch was made from styrene sheet. The TC figure is from Old Glory's T-55 pack.
Here are a few more shots:
The work was pretty straight forward, and only took about 20 minutes. I should have taken a photo before painting as the added parts would be more obvious, but I was in too much a hurry.
I guess it won't matter much if confronted by any modern tanks, but might help out against Uwandan Fireflies. If nothing else, it should make the company commander feel good about his ride.
Next, I think I'll try doing a couple of modified T34 chassis with S-60 57mm AA guns, based on photos of Cuban conversions that I saw recently.
They look great!
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