Lend-Lease T-34-85 & T-34-122IS....Say What?

I've been building alot...just not finishing anything.

I know that's a 76mm turret. I goofing around with a what-if project...a IS-2 turreted T34. So then I got to thinking. Some time back I had this idea of a US manufactured T34...for reasons. Actually, I'm thinking Soviet manufacturing wasn't able to be relocated east beyond German bombers. Stalin needed armor so he secured T34 production through US factories....which I find hilarious US auto union labor trying to build T34s. If memory serves a T34 cost less than a 1/10 of what a Sherman cost.

So the idea is Detroit starts making the T34s. For licensing reasons, as well as the engineers will tinker with a design, they drop the (overrated) Christie Suspension. So they swap out the M3's VVSS suspension. Personally, I think they'd redo the turret...maybe an early-ish M4 Shermy turret...which I don't an extra so we went with the T34-76 turret.

This thing is just thrown together. It's a Tamiya T34 with the ancient Tamiya M3 Lee's suspension. Skirts come from the spares...Tamiya M4 I think. I used them to conceal the gap in the tracks. I really should have used a set of solid rubber block Sherman track lengths. I might do that later...when I want to reclaim the Sherman tracks with the grousers.

So now comes an idea for a lend-lease T34-85. I'm thinking about doing a late war (1944+) T34-85 with HVSS suspension and a T23 (76mm) turret. I've got a AFV Club T34-76 with the interior. I don't know if if I want to sacrifice it to the modeling god...even though I probably will never finish building it (it's like 51% done.)I might go with that and have in being assembled and inspected by the Soviet "observers". I want to play around with some Soviet What if stuff...we can't Jerry have all the fun. I should have a HVSS suspension...somewhere. If I can find it I'll probably do this. I'm wondering if the T34 tracks will fit the HVSS. It'll have to use the T34 drive sprocket and idler.

Oops forgot the other one. It's just a mock-up. I'm thinking about stretching the T34 chassis. But I don't know I'm kind of digging the factory chassis.