"Some 1:72 Finnish Armour" Topic

I made these 1:72 Finns after doing the 1/56 scale ones for the Bolt Action Book.

There are 2 T-26's (Minairons kits) and two repainted Altaya Ixo models, a KV-1 and T-34/76.

I have them on Ebay at present.

email me at brucembonus@hotmail.co.uk for details.

Those look great.

Thanks!

just put the finished the KV-1 on. I am asking £42.00 GBP for it.

All nicely done!

Wow! Amazing paint job for 1/72.

Excellent Work!

thanks guys.

hopefully someone will buy them!

I would need to check my sources, but I don't think any of those twin-turreted MG T-26 tanks saw front-line service with the Finnish military.

While a number of them were captured during Winter War, I recall that the ones that were sent to front line service were first converted into gun tanks, using spare turrets nicked from captured T-26 gun tanks.

Still, lovely painted model and beautiful photography.

might be a wee bit of poetic licence!

thanks

Bruce

Griefbringer, I don't know if they saw combat, but the twin turreted ones did go to operational units. When the armoured force was basically just the three companies (ie. before the great T-26 conversion, and increase to 2 battalions), at least one of the companies, and I think maybe two, had a platoon of twin turret T-26s as well as two platoons of gun tanks.

I would need to go to library and dig through the sources to find out when the conversion work was carried out.

In any case, it is a very cute little tank with those two tiny turrets – a bit like a Soviet version of the US Mae West tank. Not necessarily very easy to coordinate the actions of the two gunners, though.

Just had a quick check for photos, and operational use is a firm yes – parade shot of a couple (R-76 and 77) in plain green, but clearly marked with the 2nd company dragon, in the field shot of a 3rd company one, heavily daubed in mud and wearing 1942 markings (turret number 10 in a triangle), captioned as R-129, taken during the Shemenichi-Ppertozero battles in October '42. There's also a colour illustration of R-83 with the 3rd company Deaths Head badge, captioned as autumn '41.

Zaloga says three T-26A went to each of 1st and 2nd in the post winter war organisation, and is vague on the third company's composition, while the strength figures in the Muikku and Purhonen book have 10 in May '41, 12 in July '42, and 8 still in July '43, suggesting that even having a twin turret in the three-colour camo might not be taking liberties. They don't have specific dates for the conversion of T-26A into gun tanks, but state it was "in 1942 and 1943" with R-76, 77, 80, 87, 137 and 149 getting model 1933 turrets, and R-129 and 134 model 1937.

(The only anachronism I can see is that the dragon company badge was phased out before 3-colour camo was introduced – not exactly a big issue….)

I like those, very nice !

Thanks for checking the sources Dom – I stand corrected!

No worries – happened to have the references lying around the living room, which does make it rather easier to check. ;-)

Ive just put these on as an Ebay auction so they find their value.