Hello,

This is a quick report on my OT34/76 project. The OT designation means the flame thrower version and in this case the FT is mounted in place of the hull MG.

Here are the finished pics:










This is how the model was built:





Video and more to follow of actual flamethrowing but this one is not bad we made it last weekend: http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=ejY_1n9pV_s

Sadly I did not take many pics during the actual construction as I was too busy building and then planning the next bit and before you know it it is all done.

The model was made from a combination of the WASAN T34/85 kit and the Trumpeter T34/76 kit, plus a super Alu hull I found in eBay. I drive my models hard in all types of terrain, they must all have metal tracks and must be able to take the punishment. Due to these prerequisites a metal lower hull is a must. Anything else will contort causing the tracks to come off.

The lower hull from eBay had no suspension, just axles bolted into the sides. This I changed by installing a torsion bar system using parts from a Tamiya King Tiger. The T34 did not have a torsion bar system but one must make comprises in modelling. The model is quite heavy and has a nice fluid springy bounce to it as it drives around, thanks to the torsion bars.

The Model is driven by a set of the normal HL metal gearboxes, this gives a good balance of speed and power. These particular gearboxes were taken out of another model and were already over one year old and nicely run in and so are nice and smooth and quiet. All my models have HL metal gearboxes in them and I think they are fantastic. The HL gearboxes drive the metal tracks for the T34 from Asiatam (a sister firm of HL) and come also well recommended and I have not yet had one fail.

The tank is controlled by Tamiya Pershing DMDs and so it has a nice diesel engine sound and all options such as lights, recoil, turret turn and gun elevation etc.

All working mechanical parts are tamiya except for the turret turn which is the original WASAN unit. The Pershing recoil unit is used.

There is a 6 channel 2.4ghz radio control system and the 2 spare channels are also in use. One operates the remotely openable drivers hatch and the other turns the flame thrower on and off.

The remotely controlled hatch is operated by a mini servo. The remotely controlled flamethrower is operated by a larger servo that pulls the trigger on an oven lighter and makes a nice flame. The gas tank is refilled by poking a long needle through the centre of the spare idler wheel mounted on the rear of the hull that then goes inside to the tank. This saves taking the model apart each time. The front of the tank has alu plating to deal with any heat issues that might arise.

Taking the model apart is not done lightly as there as so many pipes and cables to watch out for and plug back in. That is why the battery is permanently mounted in the tank and charged still mounted inside, I take the risk that the whole thing could one day blow up. (though this is highly unlikely, more of an urban myth than reality)

The battery is fixed in the hull and is charged in the model using the Lipo balancer cable that hangs out of the model near the antenna pot. In the same location are the 2 on off switches for charging (hidden under a box). The 2200mha Lipo is small and delivers about 45mins of running time with smoker on and loudspeaker up high. The model is relatively small at this scale and so does not have much room for the electronics, mounting extras like the flame thrower and hatch opener was really pushing it.

Despite the space limitations there is also a smoker to simulate exhaust smoke. Between the 2 gearboxes is a home made smoker unit, it is an alu box with a computer fan on the outside and a model train smoker inside with silicone tubes that take the smoke to the stacks. It works ok but needs constant refilling.

You can see the components in the pictures. The final layout was different than that shown in the photo in that the speaker and DMDs have changed places. Also the magnet idea of holding the top on was replaced with screws.

Other features are that the 2 turret hatches are openable and a figure goes up and down with the gun as it sinks and elevates, naturally opening the hatch as he moves.

The model has a Tamiya Battle Unit and this plugs in at the rear of the turret once the camo net and ventilator dome are removed.

In finishing the model I did:

Texturing of the armour plate with various sized burs with the dremel.
Weld seams with plaster and wood glue mix squeezed on with a syringe.
Metal rod replaces all handles and otherwise fragile parts where possible.
The MG/FT housing was given a cast metal look by texturing a mix of Tamiya Basic Putty and plastic glue with a toothbrush.
Sheet alu mud guards.
Tons of stowage, the Trumpeter kit has lots of bits that can be used.

The model was given an overall spray can coat of olive green to the upper hull, mud colour to the lower hull. Then brown stripes with an airbrush and then weathered with artist oil paint washes and highlighting and chalks. The tracks were sprayed matt black and then mother nature did the rest.

I will add a movie of the tank in action soon. (it is being cut at present)

Hope you like it.

Cheers

Alan.

congratulations on a fine model, it looks great! I just feel sorry for the commander having to open the hatch with his face!

Yes, it was lucky he was issued with one of those padded hats. I will try and glue an arm with a hand on to make it look better, as it is it is only a head and shoulders due to space constraints.

Thanks for the comment.

Cheers

Alan.

I never thought the russian army was that considerate. seriously though, great build.

Fine job, you have done some mods never tried on this forum, and in a tank that needs lots of work just to make run well. Great build.[sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]


Gary

Alan, great job, especially the weathering, field damage etc. looks really good. Missing the early ext fuel tanks. Any reason you didn't use them? Get rid of the box of HE ammo (US marking OD projo) on the fender. It would NEVER have been carried like that...it would be a kamakaze tank. [:@] The oven igniter flame gun is an ingenius idea.[sm=tongue_smile.gif]....how far do you get out with the flame or is it just a symbolic thing? I use a water gun and it gets out 8-9 feet, (Pz III M Flammenpanzer only gets 4-5 ft).[] Orange food coloring gives it a better effect, but I really like your flame idea for realism. Was intending to use lighter fluid in a controlled area, but ignition is a problem. May try the oven igniter in a different model. [sm=thumbs_up.gif] Thanks for sharing your idea and great photos.

Fantastic Mod!!
Real good weathering

Thanks for your comments glad you like my tank.

@pattoncommander:

I did not put on the early fuel tanks as many of the original pics I used as a reference showed the fuel tanks missing, plus I like the characteristic slanting back on the T34 and the fuel tanks would have spoiled this in my opinion.

The ammo containers are Russian (not US) as they come with the T34/76 Trumpeter kit and are normally mounted inside the tank on the floor. I thought it highly likely that such as container would have been used by the troops as a container for other things as well and so used one in a closed state chained to the side of the tank. The other one with the shells in it depicts a reloading scene possibility and I must agree with you that it would not have remained there long and would not have been a sensible thing to do in a combat situation. (But with a loss ration of worse than 8:1 in was probably exactly the sort of field practice they carried out in reality) However as a modeller I could not resist the urge to show an ammo container partly open with the shells on view. I love shiny brass shell casings. Incidentally the shells were painted brass and then highlighted with gold. (all with Humbrol, the standard by which all other colours are measured).

The flamerthrower so far shoots out to about 10cms as shown in the first photo. I find that if I turn it up more than this the piezo igniter does not light up the gas, this may be a safety feature built into the nozzle of the oven lighter, perhaps the spark needs to occur further down the nozzle the more the gas supply is increased. I do not know but will experiment and report back. I want to work on the FT more to make it more reliable and a cleaner design, at the moment it is a bit cobbled together and shows more enthusiasm than construction prowess and clean design.

In theory your lighter fluid idea should work and one must simply replace the gas supply with fluid, with ignition by the same piezo setup. Either the fluid needs to be pressure driven or pushed by a pump. This would increase range and realism a lot.

Cheers

Alan.

Alan, My OT-34 (and Pz III M Flammenpanzer) have a pump from a LAV-25 and the only "napalm' supply is what's in the 8 inches of hose from the TC hatch, round the turret to the pump. It's pretty cramped in there. Still thinking about lighter fluid, specially when I can get out 8-9 feet. Would have to add a metal front plate under the hull mount, but....after seeing your idea, I like that even better. Although pretty much only symbolic, the gas flame does look better that a mobile squirt gun. Great job, especially on weathering.