Brickmania TV: T-34 Model 1943
Take a look at John, Cody and Lando discussing our new kits – the T-34 Model 1943 and the Jeep – 1/4 Ton Truck 4×4 – in this episode of Brickmania TV!
Official release date is Monday, August 20, 2018. Order here:
– T-34 Model 1943
– Jeep – 1/4 Ton Truck 4×4
Building On the Past: Soviet Resolve in World War II
Everybody loves a good story, like a tank driver taking revenge for a lost lover, a sniper with over 300 kills, or a regiment of bomber pilots flying daring night raids in outdated aircraft. These are all true stories from World War II.
When Mariya Oktyabrskaya lost her husband to fascist invaders, she gave 50,000 rubles and her devotion to the Soviet cause. Soon a tank commander and Senior Sergeant, Oktyabrskaya was determined to rid her homeland of Nazi pestilence. Her remedy? A T-34/76 tank and a vendetta. Sgt. Oktyabrskaya demonstrated bravery with wild abandon in her quest to avenge her husband.
A student before the war, Major Lyudmila Pavlichenko became one of the 2,000 Soviet female snipers deployed during World War II. At 25 years old, she was credited with 309 confirmed kills, earning her the nickname “Lady Death”. Although her combat tenure ended in 1942 after she was wounded, she went on to train Soviet snipers through the end of the war. The first Soviet citizen to be received by a U.S. President (Franklin Roosevelt), Major Pavlichenko once visited Chicago and pushed the crowd to open a second front in Europe: “Gentlemen, I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist invaders by now. Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”
In the same spirit of determination, the Soviet 588th Night Bomber Squadron flew 30,000 missions in their outdated Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. The women who piloted these aircraft used the slow-flying plywood-and-canvas construction to make some of the first stealth bombings in history. Right before they reached their targets, they would idle their engines and glide in to release their bomb payload. German soldiers soon named these women pilots the “Night Witches”. Feared by the Germans, any pilot who shot down a Night Witch was awarded the Iron Cross.
New Releases: Jeep – 1/4 Ton Truck 4×4 and Canvas + Trailer Pack
Tap the photo for a closer look!
About the Jeep – 1/4 Ton Truck 4×4:
Among the thousands of vehicles deployed in World War II, none saw more of the world and performed a wider array of duties than the Jeep. Deployed in all branches of the military and in all theaters of the war, the Jeep saw use from London to Midway and Berlin to Tokyo. General Patton had his own Jeep personalized specifically for combat. The Jeep was one of the first vehicles deployed at Normandy, seeing action in places like Caen and Cherbourg. Much like the CCKW, the utilitarian Jeep was a primary driving factor behind Allied victory.
Specifications:
- Crew: 1 driver, 4 passengers
- Speed: 60 mph (96 km/h)
- Range: 200 mi (321 km)
- Armament: Optional machine gun or small arms
Additional information about this Brickmania building kit:
The Jeep – 1/4 Ton Truck 4×4 kit comes with the following features
- BrickArms M1919
- Collapsible windshield
- Spare tire
- Gas can
- Space for three minifigures
- 1/35th scale to match other Brickmania products
Also available now: Canvas + Trailer – Pack for Jeep:
Slideshow:
Pick up your own custom LEGO® Jeep – 1/4 Ton Truck 4×4 today!
All Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks. This model comes disassembled and includes complete printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box. This is a limited-edition kit and production may be discontinued at any time.
World’s First Time Travel Agency Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Tourist gunned down by WWII Kursk Machine Gunner on inaugural trip to past.
All travel to 1914–1918 and 1939–1945 halted indefinitely. Contact your time travel agent for refunds or to reschedule.
#Brickmania #CustomLego #military #history #lego #SmallBusiness #Minneapolis #BestJobEver #vietnamwar #helicopter
New Release: WWII German Kursk Soldier with MP40
Considered the largest tank battle in history, Kursk was a melee of massive metal monsters. Far from home, German infantry caught in the battle faced wave after wave of Soviet armor. One of the last great German offensives on the Eastern Front, Kursk marked the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.
This WWII German Kursk Soldier features artwork based on the M42 Camouflage Smock (Tarnjacke), Feldgrau Trousers, Jack Boots, Camoflage Helmet Cover Type 1, Leather Belt, Combat Y-Straps, and MP40 ammo pouches. The minifigure is armed with a BrickArms MP40 V2 Extended
This custom LEGO® minifigure is available in our store now!
Also available, our custom WWII German Kursk Soldier minifigure and our custom WWII German Kursk Machine Gunner minifigure.
LEGO and the LEGO Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site or these products.
New Release: T-34 Model 1943 and Add-On Pack
Tap the photo for a closer look!
About the T-34 Model 1943:
The most produced tank in history, the Soviet T-34/76 has seen decades of use across the world. In service since World War II, the T-34 was designed after the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Knowing that a future confrontation with Germany was likely, Stalin used this time to evaluate German armor technology and instructed his tank engineers to design something that could defeat German panzers.
Soviet experience in the Spanish Civil War (1935) and at Khalkhin Gol (1939) heavily influenced the development of the T-34. A simple design, the T-34 combined the speed and maneuverability of Soviet light tanks (BT-7, T-26) with adequate firepower to take on German panzers. As the project was kept secret, German commanders had little knowledge of the T-34 until Operation Barbarossa. When Panzer III and IV commanders first encountered the T-34, they were horrified to find that their shells bounced right off the sloped armor of the tank.
Historical accounts put the T-34 at almost every crucial engagement on the Eastern Front including the defense of Moscow, the counteroffensive at Stalingrad, and at the Battle of Kursk. The simple design of the T-34 allowed Soviet factories to produce massive numbers for the battlefield. Although less powerful than Panthers and Tigers, the sheer number of T-34s made up for this disparity. It is estimated that 60,000–70,000 T-34s were produced during the war.
As parts and ammunition are still available today, several nations still maintain small numbers of this iconic Soviet tank. Multiple online sources in 2017 recorded the use of T-34s in conflicts across both Yemen and Syria.
Specifications:
- Crew: 4
- Engine: V-2-34 V-12 diesel
- Speed: 33 mph (53 km/h)
- Range: 290 mi (465 km)
- Armament: 76mm (3 inch) L-40 gun, 2x 7.62 machine guns
Additional information about this Brickmania building kit:
The T-34 Model 1943 kit comes with the following features
- Rotating turret
- Elevating 76mm gun
- Several opening hatches
- Brickmania Track Links
Add-On Pack:
T-34 Model 1943 “Fighting Girlfriend” Add-On Pack with Tank Driver Mariya Oktyabrskaya
Slideshow:
All Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks. This model comes disassembled and includes complete printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box. This is a limited-edition kit and production may be discontinued at any time.
Building On the Past: Kursk and Heavy German Tanks
At Brickmania, we love our heavy tanks. In discussions about the Battle of Kursk, one cannot avoid the topic of big German tanks, namely the Panther, Tiger, and Ferdinand. These massive iron monsters are often featured in popular World War II films as nearly impossible to destroy, adding to the mythology surrounding German armor.
After the invasion of the Soviet Union and encountering the new Russian T-34, German commanders immediately requested tanks that could defeat this new threat. That request began a production line of German tanks that continued to increase in size with every generation. On Hitler’s orders for bigger tanks, the Axis war machine produced armor unlike anything seen before in history.
The Panther is often considered the best of the three. Lighter than the Tiger, the Panther was more maneuverable and deployed a long 75mm gun turret. This balance of speed to firepower is often described as one of the best in World War II.
The 88mm gun of the Tiger made it incredibly deadly at long range, forcing Soviet tank commanders to move in and attempt to flank. In several instances, it was recorded that a single Tiger might destroy 5–10 enemy tanks in one engagement.
Among the three, the Ferdinand was the least effective. Comparable to the Tiger in armor and firepower, its lack of maneuverability combined with no defensive weapons made it susceptible to Soviet infantry, often armed with simple weapons like Molotov cocktails. After Kursk, surviving Ferdinands were retrofitted and renamed the Elefant.
The complex engineering of these tanks made them susceptible to mechanical breakdown. Few spare parts were available, forcing several tank crews to blow up their stranded vehicles to avoid enemy capture. Many of the Panthers never even made it to the front, reducing the armor available for the offensive.
Simply speaking, the German tanks were some of the best in the war — when they were actually operational.
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