15mm Models for the Winter War

[Fitz]

To go along with the excellently ridiculous T-35s, T-28s, and the SMK for my 1939-40 Winter War Soviets, I need some smaller, more useful tanks. I have some Zvezda T-26s, but they're a much later model with a snazzy drop-forged turret — the same turret, I think, as was used on the BT-7.

So I fired up Blender and whipped up a very early version of the T-26 Model 1933 in 1:100 scale for 15mm games. The 15mm Soviet machine-gunner in the budenovka is also 3d printed, but not designed by me.

Now I'm ready to print as many as I need for the illegal and bullying invasion of Finland. I'm sure there will be no problems at all driving them all the way across those completely flat, open frozen lakes with gloomy bunker-concealing forests on all sides.

[Fitz]

Also in the arsenal for the freezing Soviets (mostly from Zvezda):

BT-5 Fast Tank. This model has a terrible seam running right round the turret that I could not eliminate. Bah.

T-35 heavy tank. I bought a box of five of these from PSC, which is about three more than I'm ever likely to need.

KV-1 of 1940 vintage. The giveaway is the short 76.2mm gun with the armoured recuperator on top, which gives it a characteristic snouted appearance.

SMK of the Experimental Heavy Tank Company. Only one saw service in Finland; it was destroyed by a mine. This is an FDM 3d printed model, one of my early attempts before I'd learned much about how to do it.

T-28 medium tank. Also 3d-printed in FDM, but a later effort than the SMK.

And of course I'll be needing some 15mm pre-1941 infantry in their silly hats and extravagant helmets. These are also 3d printed, this time on my Mars Pro.

[Elbows]

Not that anyone needs a heap of T-28's, but Zvezda just released one in 15mm and it looks grand.

[Ceeteegee]

I think that those are the first 3d printed 15mm figures that I've seen and they're pretty damn good.

[Fitz]

Not that anyone needs a heap of T-28's, but Zvezda just released one in 15mm and it looks grand.

I don't know about not needing a heap of them. They lost 200 of them in Finland alone (though most were recoverable) and there were still more than 400 in service when the Germans invaded in 1941.

I agree that the Zvezda offering does look good. They're an excellent source for cheap simple 1:100 injection-moulded kits, though their more recent kits tend to be better than their earlier ones.

[Fitz]

On the suggestion of Richard Humble, over on the Facebook 3d Printing For Historical Wargames page, I modified my T-26 model to make this flamethrower variant, the OT-130 (or XT-130, or KhT-130, depending on who you read). Zvezda make another flamethrower T-26 variant, the OT-26, but that one wasn't used in Finland.

It's a very straightforward conversion. There are a bunch of little details to be modified, but the only major structural change was moving the turret over from the port to the starboard side of the hull.

I haven't (yet) printed this one, but I'll probably get around to it in the next day or two.

[7dot62mm]

Excellent work! Though of course no T-35s in the Winter War. But don't forget to print a few of your T-27s for the conflict. It's impressive how you can 3D design just about any tank in a few days, provided it has enough rivets! '

[Fitz]

Excellent work! Though of course no T-35s in the Winter War. But don't forget to print a few of your T-27s for the conflict. It's impressive how you can 3D design just about any tank in a few days, provided it has enough rivets! '

I've seen photos of T-35s in Finland, though they tended to be photos of T-35s broken down in Finland. So there were some there, whether they ever actually made it on to the battlefield or not.

Though having said that, one snowy landscape looks very much like any other, so I'm perfectly willing to accept that a picture of a T-35 broken down in the snow might have been mis-captioned.

[Fitz]

The test print for the OT-130 went pretty well, I'm quite happy with it.

I've put the STLs for the OT-130 for sale online at https://www.wargaming3d.com/product/ot-130-xt-130-kht-130/ and the T-26 is at https://www.wargaming3d.com/product/t-26-model-1933-early/.

[Sarmor]

Wow, that's some impressive detail for 15mm!  I saw your models on Facebook and thought they were designed for 20 or 28 mm.

I have some Zvezda T-26s, but they're a much later model with a snazzy drop-forged turret — the same turret, I think, as was used on the BT-7.

Zvezda currently offers two versions of the T-26, the later model (one of their first 15mm kits, so not that great) and the earlier one with the horseshoe antenna (very thin and without the part connecting it to the radio) - but your prints are much better.
BTW the late T-26 turret was different from the BT-7 one. Only the earlier T-26 turret was shared with other vehicles (BT-5, early BT-7, BA-3 and BA-6).

[Paratrooper 42]

What of printer did you print the tank on? I'm guessing by the quality of the item that it's a resin print?

Thanks

P42

[Fitz]

What of printer did you print the tank on? I'm guessing by the quality of the item that it's a resin print?

It's an Elegoo Mars Pro, printing in eSun water-washable resin at 0.05mm layers.

[7dot62mm]

I've seen photos of T-35s in Finland, though they tended to be photos of T-35s broken down in Finland. So there were some there, whether they ever actually made it on to the battlefield or not.

No, you may have seen pictures of the SMK and/or the T-100, both of which really were in Finland. They do look a bit similar to the T-35.

[Dr Bogo]

Nice work on these, particularly like the slogan on the KV-1 

[Fitz]

No, you may have seen pictures of the SMK and/or the T-100, both of which really were in Finland. They do look a bit similar to the T-35.

I am well aware of the differences between the T-35, the T-100 and SMK. They don't look all that similar.