T-34 Tankovy Company (SBX29) - Review

Hi all

I picked up a couple of the new T-34 Tankovy Company (SBX29) boxsets over the weekend. I wanted to see how the first Battlefront plastic and resin kits went together, something I think we'll see more of in the future.

Lets see whats in the box.

Whats In The Box?

You get three tanks in each box but with enough bits to make the two resin turrets (T-34 obr 40 and T-34 obr 41) for each tank. You could also make a T-34/57 and T-34/85 turret out of the spare plastic bits from the sprue, so there is a possible 12 turrets from this one box set!

One thing included in the box that isn't in the M4A3 (Late) box set are 9 magnets. These are a welcome addition to the plastic box sets but I wonder if it's a result of the resin turrets rather than a permanent return. There is also a new plastic commander sprue, most of the sculpts look identical to the metal sprue that came with the T-34 box set (I'm not saying that's a problem as I love the newer commander sprue), but these seem a little more static and I will be honest I don't like some of the sculpts as much as I liked the metal versions. As you'll only need to use one or two I think you'll find enough that you would like.

My one big disappointment was the lack of decals- this is something I do expect to be included if I'm honest, as the only other 3 tank plastic box set (the Pershings) had decals and I am someone who never has enough soviet stars - I always want more!

Construction

Having put together 21 of the plastic Battlefront T-34's before I'm a bit of an old hand at the kit, so even without the help of the construction guide I was pretty happy to crack on and put the tank together.

The construction time itself was very quick, the plastic turrets are what takes the most time and without these I was able to get both sets put together in about an hour (and that included my normal over obsessive worrying about the magnets being the right way around!). The resin turrets themselves are well sculpted and bar a few mold lines underneath the turret ring which had to be cut off, there was practically no cleaning needed.

Closing Thoughts

I love this kit! Yes the lack of decals is slightly annoying but most of us have enough spares to not worry too much about that. Otherwise I think the first resin/plastic hybrid kit is a great success and I hope this is a great sign of things to come. Maybe an Easy Eight upgrade kit to go with the plastic M4A3 Sherman Lates? Or an SU-122 add on set for the SU-100 kit? This is all speculation of course, but something to think about. Not much more to say about this kit, but I think two more of these box sets will be on order soon so I can run 10 for my Mid War Mixed Tankovy.

Pros

• Great value if you want four different options for the turrets, so lots of options.
• Magnets are back!
• Very easy and quick to put together.

Cons

• No Decals
• I'm not a massive fan of new crew sprue.
• The price point may put a few people off over the current plastic T-34's, even if it is lower than the current resin and metal models.

We have a one day Early War tournament coming up soon and I wanted to to use a T-34 company to see if five or six of them would be a problem for other Early War armies. Below is my list using the new Forces of War Army Builder. The heart of the army is the five T-34's with the T-60's mainly there to add weight of fire and the Sappers are a very cheap 4th platoon to hold an objective if I need to. Should be fun even if it's not the best list.

TANKOVY BATALON (RED ARMY)TANK BATTALION

CONFIDENT     CONSCRIPT   TANK COMPANY POINTS 1550 PLATOON QTY UNIT POINTS HEADQUARTERS Tankovy Batalon HQ (Red Army)   p.57 1 T-34 obr 1940 215 COMBAT COMPANIES Tankovy Company (Red Army)   p.57 4 T-34 obr 1940 860 Light Tankovy Company (Red Army)   p.58 8 T-60 obr 1941 195 Light Tankovy Company (Red Army)   p.58 8 T-60 obr 1941 195 DIVISIONAL SUPPORT COMPANIES Sapper Company (Red Army)   p.76 1 18 Cmd Pioneer Komissar team Unarmed Pioneer team 85 Barbarossa - Soviet Early-War

Thanks for looking and until next time

Ben