I seem to be collecting potential objectives for Crossfire in the form of wrecked vehicles. Last time it was a wrecked Portuguese staff car. Before that was a crashed Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (stork). This time the objective is a destroyed T-34/76.
The Model
The model is the Peter Pig – Range 8 “Russians” – 575. Destroyed T34. Early version (resin)

I didn’t do anything to the model except paint it.

Steps
For the vehicle itself I basically used the same approach I used for the Recce Vehicles for the Portuguese Colonial War as the Soviet and Portuguese colour schemes are identical. Of course the crew have a different uniform, in this case grey overalls with a leather helmet. And I also had to do the tracks – its a tank – and ground (using Flocking Wargaming Figures with Flat Earth and Dry Brushing).

The steps in order:
- Undercoat in black
- Paint vehicle Vallejo (096) 70.894 Camouflage Olive Green [Coat D’Arms 226 Olive]
- Dry brush vehicle Vallejo (082) 70.967 Olive Green [Coat D’arms 513 Faded Olive]
- Repaint road wheels and tracks black
- Dry brush the tracks with a 50/50 mix of black and Vallejo (179) 70.863 Gunmetal grey
- Paint ground Tamiya Flat Earth (XF-52)
- Dry brush ground Vallejo (123) 70.847 Dark Sand
- Dry brush vehicle and ground Vallejo (007) 70.837 Pale Sand
- Repaint crew black
- Paint crew overalls Vallejo (166) 70.994 Dark Grey
- Dry brush crew overalls Vallejo (154) 70.989 Sky Grey
- Paint crew helmet leather (I can’t remember what I used now)
- Dry brush ridges on crew helmet Vallejo (007) 70.837 Pale Sand
- Paint crew skin Vallejo (017) 70.815 Flesh Tone
- Dust tracks, road wheels and some vehicle body using MIG-PIG-P028 MIG Pigment – Europe Dust
- Varnish with Army Painter Anti-shine Matt Varnish
- Glue on static grass
That’s it. You can mix up the order a little bit depending on what is wet at any one time.

Now what?
The big question is how will I use it? What is a suitable scenario premise for a knocked out tank? Is it a friendly tank or enemy? Why is it an objective? Where would be it placed on table. Who is looking for it?

For my Papa Eicke – A Crossfire Scenario the wrecked Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (stork) was in enemy territory and the Germans had to recover the body of their beloved leader. This lead to quite a good game. But the beloved leader aspect doesn’t quite transfer to a wrecked T-34. There were lots of wrecked T-34s during the early war. What makes this one special?
This is great! You just gave me an idea for a Chain of Command Jump Off Point. Though it is sick in the extreme(when did that ever stop a wargamer) A burned out German tank with the charred body of the commander in the turret! Another mission for your tank may be to check rumors that it has a newly invented system aboard (aiming, firing, etc) that makes is better.
A number of Russian tank crews were women – perhaps a mission on behalf of the husband attempting to retreive the body of his wife? Just a thought…
I use destroyed tanks as clue markers. When an opponent is presented with a destroyed vehicle he has to place it within LOS of one of his hidden AT units. Or in a hidden minefield. It doesn’t exactly give away the hidden weapon, but provides a clue to go with caution. This promotes lots of damaged vehicles! Or, they are just great terrain pieces the provide cover.
I’ve made some “horror show” wrecks myself. Can’t resist