Build Review of Arsenal 1/35th Scale
Tank Mineroller PT-3
Kit no. 035-002
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 1998
Out of production
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 1998
Out of production
HISTORY:
A mine roller or mine trawl is a demining device mounted on a tank or armoured personnel carrier, designed to detonate anti-tank mines. It allows engineers to clear a lane through a minefield which is protected by enemy fire.
The device is usually composed of a fork or two push arm assemblies fitted to the front of a tank hull, with two banks of rollers that can be lowered in front of the tank's tracks. Each roller bank has several heavy wheels studded with short projecting steel girders, which apply a higher ground pressure than the tank's tracks. This ensures the explosion of pressure-fused anti-tank mines, which would otherwise explode under the track itself.
At the end of the First World War, the British Army Engineers Major Giffard Le Quesne Martel and Major Charles Inglis experimented with tank bridges and mine rollers based on the Mark V tank. Three special tank battalions were mustered for trials at Christchurch in Hampshire, England, in 1918.
Because of the Armistice, these were never tested in battle, but some development work continued with the Experimental Bridging Company until 1925.
After great difficulties caused by minefields in the Winter War against Finland, the Soviet Red Army assigned P.M. Mugalev at the Dormashina Factory in Nikolaev to design a mine-clearing vehicle. Prototypes were tested based on the T-28 medium tank in 1940.
Development was interrupted by the start of World War II, but resumed in 1942. T-60 and KV tank chassis underwent trials, but only the T-34 was deemed to have a sufficiently robust transmission and clutch.
Experimental detachments of PT-34 mine roller tanks were formed in May 1942, and saw action at Voronezh in August. The first Independent Engineer Tank Regiment with eighteen mine rollers was fielded in October 1943. At least five regiments were formed during the war.
The PT-34's huge roller fork was semi-permanently mounted on a T-34 or T-34-85 tank. The rollers were usually removed for travel, and only installed for mine clearing operations. Adaptations for later tanks consisted of two lighter arms. The Mugalev system was adopted by U.S. and Israeli forces in the 1980s.
During WWII, the Germans created the experimental Raumer S 4-wheeled armoured mine clearance vehicle, built by Krupp. Weighing 130 tons, the prototype was captured by the Americans at the end of the war.
The British developed the Anti Mine Roller Attachment (AMRA) for their Matilda II, Valentine, and Crusader tanks in the desert. The rollers only covered the width of each track rather than clearing a tank-width path for subsequent vehicles and troops.
To these were added a Churchill tank with the evocatively named "Canadian Indestructible Roller Device" (CIRD). The British used mine rollers to detect the presence of minefields and then used mine flails for the clearance.
During World War II the mine roller most used by US forces was the T1E3 Mine Exploder unit, attached to the M4 Sherman medium tank. Nicknamed Aunt Jemima, from the pancake-like appearance of its two sets of five disc rollers, of 10 foot (3 meter) diameter each.
A mine roller or mine trawl is a demining device mounted on a tank or armoured personnel carrier, designed to detonate anti-tank mines. It allows engineers to clear a lane through a minefield which is protected by enemy fire.
The device is usually composed of a fork or two push arm assemblies fitted to the front of a tank hull, with two banks of rollers that can be lowered in front of the tank's tracks. Each roller bank has several heavy wheels studded with short projecting steel girders, which apply a higher ground pressure than the tank's tracks. This ensures the explosion of pressure-fused anti-tank mines, which would otherwise explode under the track itself.
At the end of the First World War, the British Army Engineers Major Giffard Le Quesne Martel and Major Charles Inglis experimented with tank bridges and mine rollers based on the Mark V tank. Three special tank battalions were mustered for trials at Christchurch in Hampshire, England, in 1918.
Because of the Armistice, these were never tested in battle, but some development work continued with the Experimental Bridging Company until 1925.
After great difficulties caused by minefields in the Winter War against Finland, the Soviet Red Army assigned P.M. Mugalev at the Dormashina Factory in Nikolaev to design a mine-clearing vehicle. Prototypes were tested based on the T-28 medium tank in 1940.
Development was interrupted by the start of World War II, but resumed in 1942. T-60 and KV tank chassis underwent trials, but only the T-34 was deemed to have a sufficiently robust transmission and clutch.
Experimental detachments of PT-34 mine roller tanks were formed in May 1942, and saw action at Voronezh in August. The first Independent Engineer Tank Regiment with eighteen mine rollers was fielded in October 1943. At least five regiments were formed during the war.
The PT-34's huge roller fork was semi-permanently mounted on a T-34 or T-34-85 tank. The rollers were usually removed for travel, and only installed for mine clearing operations. Adaptations for later tanks consisted of two lighter arms. The Mugalev system was adopted by U.S. and Israeli forces in the 1980s.
During WWII, the Germans created the experimental Raumer S 4-wheeled armoured mine clearance vehicle, built by Krupp. Weighing 130 tons, the prototype was captured by the Americans at the end of the war.
The British developed the Anti Mine Roller Attachment (AMRA) for their Matilda II, Valentine, and Crusader tanks in the desert. The rollers only covered the width of each track rather than clearing a tank-width path for subsequent vehicles and troops.
To these were added a Churchill tank with the evocatively named "Canadian Indestructible Roller Device" (CIRD). The British used mine rollers to detect the presence of minefields and then used mine flails for the clearance.
During World War II the mine roller most used by US forces was the T1E3 Mine Exploder unit, attached to the M4 Sherman medium tank. Nicknamed Aunt Jemima, from the pancake-like appearance of its two sets of five disc rollers, of 10 foot (3 meter) diameter each.
THE KIT:
Arsenal is a model company based in the Ukraine. I think they have gone out of business?
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The cover art shows a color illustration of a Soviet T-34 tank that has a mine roller attached to the front of it. The tank and overall green with a white number 154 on the sides of the turret. It is posed against an all-white background, similar to how Tamiya brand also does the majority of their box arts.
One side panel of the box shows a small repeat of the box art, followed by the history of mine rollers. The kit is intended for modelers age 10 and over. It is not suitable for children under 3 because of sharp parts.
Arsenal is a model company based in the Ukraine. I think they have gone out of business?
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The cover art shows a color illustration of a Soviet T-34 tank that has a mine roller attached to the front of it. The tank and overall green with a white number 154 on the sides of the turret. It is posed against an all-white background, similar to how Tamiya brand also does the majority of their box arts.
One side panel of the box shows a small repeat of the box art, followed by the history of mine rollers. The kit is intended for modelers age 10 and over. It is not suitable for children under 3 because of sharp parts.
The other side-panel begins with the kit’s copyright date of 1998, over Arsenals street address in the Ukraine and is followed by 3 color illustrations of mine rollers on Soviet tanks: A T-34-76 with a pole on the front to hold up the mine plow at the force crossing of West Dvina in Vitebsk Region, The mine roller PT-3 on the tank T-44 and the late 5 disk’s version of the mine roller PT-3 on the tank IS-2. Kit made in the Ukraine.
The box contains 3 pale-grey parts trees in a single sealed clear cello bag.
Trees are not alphabetized and do not have part number tabs next to the parts on the trees. However, the trees are illustrated in the instructions and the parts are numbered on them there.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet, folded in the center to create 4 pages in 6” x 8 ¼” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the kit’s cover art, over the history of mine rollers, general instructions and a list of tools required to build the model: cement, modeling tools, a side cutter and tweezers, in English and Ukrainian.
Page 2 is the parts-trees illustrations, over international assembly symbol explanations in the 2 languages.
Trees are not alphabetized and do not have part number tabs next to the parts on the trees. However, the trees are illustrated in the instructions and the parts are numbered on them there.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet, folded in the center to create 4 pages in 6” x 8 ¼” page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white repeat of the kit’s cover art, over the history of mine rollers, general instructions and a list of tools required to build the model: cement, modeling tools, a side cutter and tweezers, in English and Ukrainian.
Page 2 is the parts-trees illustrations, over international assembly symbol explanations in the 2 languages.
Pages 3 & 4 give a grand total of 11 assembly steps.
The bottom of page 4 is the painting instructions. It says: The PT-3 mine roller was not painted after it was ready for service and while operating the metallic surface got rusted and covered with clay, dust and dirt. To prevent extensive corrosion the mine roller was occasionally oiled with spent moto-oil.
I copied the history of the mine roller off the Wikipedia site and put the copy in my kit. I also copied the review done by Cookie Sewell off the web and added it to the box too.
Detail is excellent. Adding this mine-roller to a kit of the Soviet T-34 will really create a great looking model.
The bottom of page 4 is the painting instructions. It says: The PT-3 mine roller was not painted after it was ready for service and while operating the metallic surface got rusted and covered with clay, dust and dirt. To prevent extensive corrosion the mine roller was occasionally oiled with spent moto-oil.
I copied the history of the mine roller off the Wikipedia site and put the copy in my kit. I also copied the review done by Cookie Sewell off the web and added it to the box too.
Detail is excellent. Adding this mine-roller to a kit of the Soviet T-34 will really create a great looking model.
I have built the kit and I will attach to a T-34 later.
Highly recommended. My kit is for sale. I think I only paid about $6.50 for it back in the 90’s.