Well, since I have not yet seen anyone do this, I thought I’d do a head to head comparison of the AA and DML T28 super heavy. But first a disclaimer: Remember that this is just a comparison between two manufacturers’ kits of the same subject. I am merely reporting what I see and in no way wish to add gasoline to the fire of controversy that surrounds the dimensional and detail accuracy of the DML kit.
As the Joker said "And here…we…go!"
Accurate Armour’s kit is on the top, DML’s on the bottom. Note DML’s outer sponsons are wider than the inners, but AA’s are about the same.
AA’s hull on the left, DML’s on the right. I noticed right off the bat that DML’s kit is longer, and the roof appears to be wider.
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And it is! About 0.15 inches (3.8 mm) at the widest spot. AA kit on top, DML on bottom.
And the much-discussed side angle discrepancy. I have not seen any photos of this, so I figured that I’d check it myself. The difference is relatively small.
Plowing thorugh the big box of parts last night, I noticed there were a lot of little things that will need attention. I’ll post additional findings and build progress as I go along. Despite the kit’s problems, I really don’t give a rip. It looks like a T28. And it is plastic. And I’m gonna build it. And I’d better hurry. If I can finish this thing before Meng or anyone else pushes out a “more correct” version, I won’t have a care in the world.
For me, I think that the main difference will come down to price. Yes the AA kit may be more accurate, but I just cannot justify putting out that much moolah. If I were able to partake of some AA’s kits by winning the lottery or some other means, then yes I might consider the alternative. However that does not mean I won’t be watching and drooling.
Price is one advantage that the DML kit has over AA, but it will also be much easier to build. The AA kit, while it appears to have been well researched, is quite rough in the detail department. I bought the AA kit back in 2004, and was a little put off by the casting quality of the detail parts. The hull had a bunch of annoying casting flaws, the biggest one was that the left sponson had an essentialy hollow front fender (big air bubble) and was warped. I tried the hot water and hair dryer treatment, but the crazy thing keeps springing back to its original warped form. Interestingly, my DML kit also suffers from the same problem, but I just twisted the thing straight and will add the missing sprocket joiners to help keep the twisted rear end aligned. Both AA and DML missed the big box structure on the inside rear of the detachable sponsons, and both failed to replicate the thickened armor at the angled front. This point is moot for me, as I plan on building the kit fully assembled.
I am preparing a to-do list for the DML kit, and will post them as I go along. There is a lot work to be done, but it’s all good. I won’t be going for a 100% correct model, just one that looks the part. When I buoght the AA kit, I didn’t think there was any chance of a plastuc kit ot the T28 being made, so I sucked it in and coughed up the cash. The picture is very different now. Despite the rising cost of our hobby, we live in good times.
You’re my kind of modeler. You’re right, it looks like a T-28. Heck, half of the newest German tank kits were never more than a drawing on a cocktail napkin but we have “definitive” models of them. As for Meng or Hobby Boss having a more correct version - remember Meng didn’t add non-skid on their Merkava 3 (and it has open sponsons0, and Hobby Boss got the running gear wrong - really wrong - and their Merkava 4.
I got my T-28 direct from Dragon and it is next on the bench
I started tearing into the kit a couple nights ago. If you like assembling suspension units, you will love this kit! I had to study the instruction sheet very carefully when placing the return roller spindles, as they all look alike but are subtly different. There is a little errata sheet in the box, which should be referred to when adding the spindles. At first I thought the sprung bogies were a stupid gimmick, but they will help level all those road wheels when the model is done. I hope.
I really should have assembled the upper and lower hull and taken care of seam work before starting the suspension, but it’s not too late. The front glacis plate is strangely devoid of the “hammertone” texturing that is found on the upper hull. Time to get out the Dremel and Mr. Surfacer 500 prior to joining the hull.
Don’t know why any one would bother with DML’s… they messed up the suspension very badly in rushing to get it out… not even close to the real deal… my 2 cents
DML provides PE arms and control rods in lieu of the standard HVSS dampers, but it looks flat (well duh, it’s PE). But it won’t matter too much, as the suspension hides behind the wheels, which in turn hide behind the skirts. I’m not sure if it is worth the trouble to cut sheet plastic arms and bend up some wire for the control rods. I don’t know if the T28 used stock M4A3E8 road wheels, but at least the DML ones are the same diameter as the AA ones, and they look alike.
For those who are bothered by kit inaccuracies, to each his own. The T28 was a Holy Grail kit for me, so I am thrilled to be able to build an injeciton plastic kit of it. The manufacturers ought to be held to a high standard when it comes to research, but hey, as in life you get what you get. The faults in the kit will not prevent me from building it, and I will not get too picky about correcting things. I did a rivet-counting build just once in my life, and despite the kit being rather accurate in all details, in the end I decided that I hated doing it that way.
Yeah, the Dragon kit looks good enough for me. For me, I have only a couple of pics of this vehicle and I can’t even see the suspension in them, so I’ll get one and be happy, probably even build it. No one I know will care. I’ll be lucky if they even ask if I built it…I have a lot of non modeler friends.
Some folks won’t care about the error, whether it has been corrected or not. Personally, I don’t care about the error or whether or not I am building the more accurate T-28 of the brands available. I’d probably buy the one I find cheapest.
Here are a couple of photos of the contentious sponsons and tracks.
DML’s sponsons:
AA’s sponsons:
DML’s tracks are identical in width to a standard M4A3E8 Sherman tracks, as the Sherman sprockets are used. I didn’t take a photo comparing the DML and AA sprockets, but the AA one is larger in diameter but narrower in width. I think only the experts who count sprocket teeth will notice the difference, as the assembly is hidden behind the side skirts.
DML at least matched the tread pattern to AA’s, as it is subtly different from the Ez8 Sherman/Pershing tracks.
I am still pasting on the dozens and dozens of suspension pieces onto the hull. I don’t look foward to assembling the sixteen sets of bogies, with twelve pieces each. And then there are the road wheels and idlers to clean up after that! Sorry for crying like a little girl, but most of my other armor kits have just a torsion arm, a bumper, one or two wheels, and a poly cap.
I am glad DML provided DS tracks, as I detest end connector/pad/center guide indy tracks. Another nice thing about DS tracks is that their end connectors are usually slide molded, as is the case for the T28.
Yeah, the T28 is cool but not $200.00 cool - aka I’ll pay $60-70 for the DML kit but $180-200 for the AA kit is just more than I’m willing to toss out esp if the side skirts cover the inaccurate suspension.
Very happy to see the tracks, assembled some AFV Club three part per link tracks for a M46 and not in the mood to do that again for awhile… [:XX]
Hey all you guys who have the kit, or are waiting to recieve one, feel free to post your thoughts and progress on this thread as well. It would be beneficial to get input from all. I’m no armor expert, I just like weird subjects.
Speaking of weird, is anyone working on the Meng Tortoise? A group build, maybe? “Super Heavy Armor Build, aka The Great Turtle Race!”
I am thinking that it is now no longer unreasonable to wish for esotreric armor kits, like the Conqueror, M103, MBT-70, T-10, or maybe even that wacky Soviet “UFO tank”:
Major thanks for taking the time to photograph and post!!
This is a Holy Grail kit for me, too — I remember as a kid seeing a scratchbuilt T28 in the old Military Modeler Magazine as a kid and wondering if I’d ever see a kit of this beast! Definitely going to build min "Berlin '46} combat mode.
Sure I wish it was perfect (is any kit…??), but in the end, warts and all, it sure looks like a T28 to me… Can’t wait ta get my paws on one when my LHS re-stocks. It’ll definitely be an attention getter on the club table — if I ever make it through the suspension, of course. Thankfully, my seven year old son is a fledgling modeler (of course, he loves cars), so maybe I can coerce him into helping the Old Man out with the bogeys!
And yep, I’d love to see an M103 and an MBT-70 (Commander just released this in resin BTW) in styrene, too.
Thanks again, G, and please keep the info and build log coming!!
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