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Soviet T-34 Model 1941 Cast Turret
in 1/35-scale resin (CMD-40)
by Frank De Sisto
Contains 11 resin parts, one turned-aluminum gun tube and two pages of
instructions. Price: $18.00 USD, plus shipping.
Hot on the heels of CMD’s recent cast turret for the 1940 version
of DML’s outstanding early T-34, comes this version for the even
better 1941 kit. This turret differs from CMD-40 in that it is set up
to take the later F-34 gun and mantlet. The main visual differences are
the two flanges welded on either side of the turret front, which prevent
splinters from entering behind the later mantlet, from the sides. The
other difference from CMD-40 is, of course, the later F-34 76mm gun, which
is supplied as a turned-aluminum part. This is a drop fit into the DML
kit’s mantlet.
As we have come to expect from CMD, the design and casting of the resin
parts are state-of-the-art. There is virtually no flash, the parts do
not have casting blocks that require careful or laborious clean-up, and
the details are superbly rendered. The turret is a one-piece casting with
walls of near scale thickness, featuring delicate cast texture and mold
seams, as well as nicely represented weld beads on the turret roof plate.
There is a separate turret race ring, which drop-fits the entire turret
assembly onto the DML hull. The smaller parts are crisply cast and after
clean-up of the miniscule mold pour pips, they will fit readily to the
turret.
The turret is finished off with DML parts for the main hatch and it’s
associated bits, the lifting eyes, periscope covers, and of course, the
gun mantlet. All of this is detailed in the extensive double-sided instruction
leaflet. This combines text, a photo and check-list of the CMD parts,
and drawings showing how the turret and the DML parts all go together.
Although this conversion is really quite simple as it basically consists
of swapping CMD parts for DML parts (which means that instructions are
not really needed), there is nothing left to chance. This is simply an
indicator of CMD’s dedication to producing a quality product.
Highly recommended.
Chesapeake Model Designs’ products are available direct from the
manufacturer, and can be obtained worldwide by contacting them at: www.chesapeakemodels.com.
E-mail address is: bill@chesapeakemodels.com.
Telephone/Fax: 410-357-5496.
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