Maquette 1/35 OT-34 Flamethrower Tank Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The OT-34 was a flamethrower adaptation of the T-34/76 tank. The 'O' in OT-34 stands for Ognemetnyj (flamethrower). Externally the OT-34 appeared like any other T-34/76 except for the bow machine gun. The 76mm main gun and coaxial machine gun were still fully funtional.

The ATO-41 flamethower was mounted through the machine gun port and its fuel cell had enough capacity for 10 shots. In combat, the ATO-41 had a range of 60-100 meters. In other words, you needed the armor of the T-34 to get close enough to the Germans to employ the flamethrower.

While the Soviets experimented with flamethrower tanks based on the T-34 as early as January 1941, the OT-34 didn't enter production until mid 1942. The ATO-41 flamethrower was soon replaced with the improved ATO-42, and these were not only installed in the hulls of the T-34/76, they were also employed in place of the coaxial machine gun in the turrets of the KV-8.

The Maquette kit is molded in several shades of gray styrene. It is clear that this kit is a combination of new parts and parts from several previous releases. As a result, the kit offers some interesting features.

Starting with the basics, the suspension arms on the lower hull can be positioned . There are slots in the hull sides for the suspension arms to articulate against what would be heavy springs inside the hull. In fact, the spring housings inside the hull are also provided.

While we're on the interior, the kit includes a bulkhead that divides the crew compartment from the engine compartment. In addition, the main gun features nice breech detailing, so it will be visible through open hatches in the turret. Aside from these points, there is no interior provided, but it wouldn't be hard for the super-detailer to have fun here.

The engine deck is also nicely done. The cooling louvers are positionable.

You have a choice of solid steel road wheels or the rubber wheeled type. In fact, one of the profiles shows a mix of these wheels on one tank, reflecting how maintenance was done in the field, use what you've got!

The kit features individual track links which are nicely cast. If you have one of those nice track link jigs, assembly here will be a snap. Unlike rubber band track, the nice thing about individual track links is that they can be posed with sag or wrapping around some obstacle shape that the tank is passing over. This gives the completed model more dynamic with very little effort.

This is a nice kit, especially for the price! This is also an interesting subject as this is one vehicle that has not been previously offered in this scale to my recollection. You can find this kit at Squadron Mail Order.

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!