Soviet T34-85 tank

(24 customer reviews)

Features:
Building difficulty: 7/10.
Anticipated assembly time for players with average LEGO experience: 2.5 hour.
Number of bricks: 872 plus extra spare bricks.
• Dimensions: L19.12 x W8.8cm.
• Detailed full interior structure.
Compatible with LEGO® bricks.
Printed instruction booklet included.

£43.99£45.99 Excluding VAT

Description

Unleash the legendary power of the T34-85 with our meticulously crafted brick kit. This 735-piece set is a precise 1:33 scale replica of the T34-85, one of the most effective tanks of World War II, known for its durability, firepower, and critical role on the Eastern Front. Echoing the real T34-85’s design philosophy and production approach, this kit is designed for simplicity and sturdiness, making it perfect for both beginners and seasoned modelers.

With dimensions of 19cm in length, 8.8cm wide, and 8.4cm high, the T34-85 model captures the sleek yet rugged look of the real tank with sloped armours. It includes a detailed interior featuring seats, ammo boxes, and a V12 Diesel engine. The turret and part of the hull are detachable, offering a closer look at the tank’s internal structure.

It also includes iconic red star stickers, allowing enthusiasts to customize their model with the famous insignia of the Soviet armoured forces. Whether used for display, education, or historical reenactments, this model serves as a compelling tribute to a vehicle that significantly influenced the outcome of the war.

A Brief History of T34-85 Tanks

The T34-85 was an upgrade of the T-34/76 as an ultimate answer to the newer and better 1111and better tanks developed by the Germans by 1943. Up to that point the priority of the Soviets was keeping the flow of T34s to the front and had refused to make any changes which would interrupt production. The larger turret on the T-34/85 could fit a far more powerful gun. It also had thicker armour on the turret front and space for three men which enhanced operational efficiency. However, the rest of the tank was essentially unchanged. It became the spearhead of the Soviet to drive through Eastern Europe and into Germany. After WW2, T-34/85s continued in service around the world, adopted by over 40 nations for many decades. A total of 48,950 units were built.

A column of T-34-85 medium tanks photographed in preparation for the assault on Berlin. April 1945

Additional information

Weight 563 g

24 reviews for Soviet T34-85 tank

  1. Wade

    I bought the T34/85 for Christmas and for my Tiger II, honestly very detailed inside. It was a pain putting the barrel of the turret together, I hope it’s going to be smoother. Interior was very nice as well is the engine, very fast build and very easy to put the bricks on, recommending to buy this kit! 👍🏻

    • Buildarmy (store manager)

      Hi Wade,
      Many thanks for the feedback! We have noticed that the green bar is indeed very tight to be inserted into the pins and we will replace it with a grey one which has a better fit. We have already done this for the other kits.

  2. Ruth Heape (verified owner)

  3. LongPowerBg

    This tank is one of my favorite !!!

  4. Hunter (verified owner)

  5. wito (verified owner)

    Unfortunately, the chains often fall off, otherwise a great model

  6. Raphaël H. (verified owner)

    Perfect

  7. J0J0

    I bought this for my son who loves WWI and WW2. The tank is brilliant, we love it. The treds are a bit flimsy, but the design is impressive, and the model is pretty sturdy. Very happy with our purchase, will definitely come back for more!

  8. Josh Simpkins (verified owner)

  9. D van den Berg (verified owner)

  10. Noah (verified owner)

    Same as for the tiger. nice model with many little Details i really enjoy.
    Will buy more in the future.

  11. Anonymous (verified owner)

    Unreal tank

  12. DEAN BANH (verified owner)

    This is the second vehicle set that I have purchased from Buildarmy, the first being the Tiger I model. I purchased the T-34/85 to serve as a counterpart to my Tiger I and also the Panzer IV Ausf. H which I have yet to build and review. I will discuss the design and features of the model roughly from the bottom up.

    To start, it should be noted that this is the first T-34 vehicle variant available using the new seven (7)-stud-wide hull, as opposed to the previous six (6)-stud-wide original T-34/76 version 1 model which is currently out of production. While I do not own the T-34/76 v1 model, I can safely say that the switch to the seven-stud-wide chassis results in more accurate proportions for the model as a whole.

    However, this improvement also introduces the perils of building with an odd number of studs as a width. Many overlapping sets of 2×3 and 3×3 plates mixed with 2×2 and 2×4 plates were used to build a solid foundation for the hull which, while not normally an issue, does inflate the parts count. This in turn can translate into “finger fatigue” for less-experienced builders due to pressing all of the plates together (although this can be remedied by splitting the build up into multiple sittings). I do not normally have any issues with building large and/or detailed models, but in the case of this T-34/85 (my first model using Buildarmy’s dark green bricks), I found that my fingertips got a bit sore by the end of the build. On that note, I noticed that the clutch power of the bricks used in this model tended to be much greater than those I encountered before building my grey Tiger I model, but whether this is due to a manufacturing difference between the green vs. the grey non-LEGO bricks or if it is simply a change in the molding procedure, I do not know. Either way, this should be a positive thing because it ensures that the model will hold up over time through display or light play.

    In any case, the main chassis becomes quite sturdy once built, with the road wheels attaching securely to the bottom of the hull sides. The road wheels are also properly-spaced on each side, with the front two road wheels having larger gaps between them than the rear three wheels on either side, just as in real life. However, due to the lack of space between the road wheels and the track guards, there is no included movable suspension detail, unlike some of the other, larger models like the Tiger I.

    The tracks are probably my greatest concern for the T-34’s design. Each side uses two pairs of single-wide track links along the length of the hull, resulting in four 57-link-long track sets for a total of 228 single-wide track links used. The links themselves have a good fit and are sturdy, but being non-LEGO pieces, they have a smoother finish than official LEGO chain links and thus do not produce enough friction to roll well at all on smooth/flat surfaces. Additionally, in my opinion the use of two sets of single-wide links per side negatively affects the aesthetics of the model, as the pairs of links tend to fall out of alignment and produce a messy appearance.

    Furthermore, the track links are only engaged/connected to the model via the toothed gear wheels towards the front of the model, while simply looped around the rear “sprockets” and held on via a loose amount of tension. I can understand why these particular wheel arrangements were chosen, but they do have an adverse effect on playability. The lack of engagement on the rear wheels looks visually accurate to the real-life vehicle, but the use of two sets of single-wide track links per side unfortunately often results in the outer sets of links “walking off” the tank when being rolled, since there is no structure keeping the tracks aligned. I believe that using double-wide track links would be most ideal, both aesthetically and playability-wise.

    The hull itself is fairly sturdy and captures the angles of the real-life vehicle quite well. Most impressive is the interior detail, which includes positions for both the driver and radio operator/bow machine gunner, as well as the turret basket. Plentiful lifelike detail for the engine and rear transmission is also included, and these rear details can be observed even when the model is complete thanks to a removable engine hatch and a hinged rear that can be lifted up to reveal the transmission area.

    The turret itself is well-shaped and of generally solid construction, although I found that the commander’s cupola (formed out of two Technic wedge belt wheels, part 4185) easily swings out of place due to being connected by a single Technic pin to the turret roof. I remedied this by adding an extra Technic half-pin (included in the set) to the underside of the cupola, which fits in a recess along the upper side of the turret to act as a “stopper” of sorts. The turret holds onto the hull by gravity alone, allowing it to swivel smoothly 360 degrees. The 85mm cannon barrel itself can elevate and depress a fair amount, although elevating it results in the 1×1 modified plates with vertical clips (part 61252) above the gun mantlet being pushed up, requiring repositioning when depressing the barrel again. Said clips are probably my biggest gripe with the turret design, as they expose three bare studs on top, although I can understand that they were likely necessary for allowing the mantlet to elevate at all, as well as covering the gap behind the mantlet part itself.

    Regarding the instructions, I noticed that on a few steps the colors shown for the required pieces in said steps seemed to be mismatched- for example, it appeared that two different steps at the end of the build called for green 3×3 plates, when I only had one green and one grey 3×3 plate remaining. Luckily, I was able to go to a previous step and put the grey 3×3 on an interior (hidden) part of the model to salvage an additional green 3×3 plate for the rear of the turret in this case. However, it seems that there were a couple other cases of minor miscolors in the instructions, although nothing too serious. On the whole, the instructions were clear and easy to follow.

    This set included some waterslide decals as well, although I did not apply these because I do not have any decal setter or softer chemicals to work with. I think simple vinyl stickers would be a more straightforward alternative to waterslide decals thanks to their simplicity of application, even if their final appearance is inferior to that of both waterslides and dry transfer decals.

    Overall, this is another highly detailed and sturdy model produced by Buildarmy, and I am glad to have it in my collection as a counterpart to their Tiger I version 3 model. I do recommend this kit, as the building experience was quite enjoyable thanks to the process of constructing the interior components (i.e., engine, transmission, etc.), although I believe that substituting the single-wide track links with double-wide tracks would really elevate it to the next level.

    (Hopefully the photos I’ve attached are visible below)

    Image #1 from DEAN BANH
    Image #2 from DEAN BANH
    Image #3 from DEAN BANH
  13. Anonymous (verified owner)

    Although not Lego, it does look like it, and works like it. I am happy with my purchase and would buy more products in the near future.
    A problem that is not major is the barrel of the tank would come off easily.

  14. Pierrick T. (verified owner)

    A hyper-realistic tank & an accessible price ! What more ? Tanks !!! 👍🏻😜🔥

  15. Kieran (verified owner)

    It’s a good price for what it is. There was no missing bricks unlike the other sets I bought which was amazing. This set was my first and it definitely surpassed my expectations. Can’t say it’s my favourite set yet but it’s definitely a contender for 2nd place.

    Image #1 from Kieran
    Image #2 from Kieran
    • admin

      Hi Kieran,

      Thanks for your feedback. From the photo it seems that you have used the wrong colour (grey) for the 1×1 pin connector on the barrel. There should be green ones.

      Cheers,

  16. Willem E. (verified owner)

  17. Ben S. (verified owner)

    Excellent build. We be nice if there was a space for a mini figure on/in the turret.

  18. Anonymous (verified owner)

  19. Matthias R. (verified owner)

  20. Anonymous (verified owner)

  21. John (verified owner)

    Missed 2 pieces, but was no problem since I had spares anyways from regular Lego.
    Overall a very nice and detailed set for its price

  22. Marc Gendron (verified owner)

    Enjoy to build this one to. Very accurate. Hope the T34 76 will by on stock again soon ! Sameting for the Panther model…

  23. Wishmerhill (verified owner)

    Very detailed design, loved it. Sturdy and the instructions were very clear.

  24. Stegi

    Building experience was smoothly. Great design!
    Stickers are missing.

    • admin

      Sorry about the missing stickers. Please leave us a note in your next order so we can include them.

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