Comrades, Rejoice!
Reinforcements are here and the fascist invaders will be pushed from our glorious Soviet soil!
Now available in the Warlord webstore – the plastic T34/76 Medium Tank Platoon – containing three plastic T34/76 kits – each of which has three different turret options – AND an Soviet Infantry sprue included to create Tank Riders!
The T-34 is arguably the most important tank of all time – not only was it the most produced tank of WWII with over 84,000 made, it was also one the longest serving – still being in active service in the 90s during the Yugoslavian War.
This kit allows you the option of assembling the tank as either the 1941, 1942, or 1943 pattern T-34/76 – each with their distinctive turret shapes.
- The 1941 pattern (shown above) has what is probably the most recognisable T-34 turret with its heavily sloped sides and large forward opening tank commanders hatch. It is this variant of the T-34/76 that caused such consternation amongst the Germans as its sloped armour meant many anti-tank projectiles bounced off or failed to penetrate the thicker armour.
- The 1942 pattern replaced the large single hatch with two smaller hatches which were nicknamed “Mickey Mouse” hatches due to the appearance they gave when both were open. Soviet crews nicknamed the cramped T-34/76 the ‘stuffed bun’ and this variant turret saw the welcome addition of an all-round commander’s vision cupola.
- The later production 1943 version of the T-34/76 came with a large welded turret. By 1943 the various factories in the Soviet Union were churning out around 1,300 T-34/76s per month despite the factories by now being manned by women, children and the elderly – regular workers having by then being sent to fight on the front lines…
The T-34/76 first saw action in the Autumn of 1941, and was a significant leap forward in tank design – a rugged, simple, no-nonsense anatomy and wide tracks enabled it to cope with the mud and snow of the Eastern Front. They came with a perfect combination of thick, highly sloped armour, an efficient gun, along with extreme sturdiness, reliability, ease of manufacturing and maintenance.
The simplicity of its design meant that it could be manufactured across Russia in vast numbers – and even ‘on the move’ – as the battle-lines shifted, the Soviets moved their tank factories around to ensure a constant supply of equipment to the frontline troops.
The key to their success was sheer weight of numbers – there are tales of T-34s being cast in great roadside ditches, tanks rolling directly out of the factory and into battle without paint, or even without tracks!
German tanks struggled in the cold conditions of the Eastern Front – the rubber peeling away from the road wheels, engines being slow to start and needing to be slowly warmed-up, machine guns jamming constantly, and the narrow tracks of the Panzer III and IV causing them to sink into the snow and mud. The T-34s ran circles around the struggling German hardware – especially as the Luftwaffe was more often than not grounded due to the bad weather, so couldn’t harry the Soviet armour.
The new plastic kit will prove a valuable investment for all budding Soviet commanders looking to bolster their forces in preparation for the Ostfront!
As with all of our plastic tank kits, the T34/76 kit comes with a full-colour decal sheet. As with all our plastic tanks there is also a tank crewman…
Of course, we offer the T34/76 kit individually as well – so why not buy a few platoons and throw-in some extras to bulk-out your Tank War force?
Don’t forget to head over to the Bolt Action armoury for those little extra flourishes to customise your tanks –
The ubiquitous T34/76 was a mainstay of the Soviet army – going to battle in droves… it was an icon of the Eastern Front – speaking of which, have you picked-up your copy of Ostfront yet?
Dan Hewitson
Tom Mecredy
Craig Nixon