Over the Christmas holiday, my son has received two model kits - 1/35 WWII German tanks:
Tamiya Panther
Dragon King Tiger
Being new to these brands and coming out of a 2 decade “no modelling coma,” I thought I’d look for some feedback from the big boys here.
Where do Tamiya and Dragon rate in quality, detail, accuracy, etc., compared to each other? Just eyeballing the two kits I was very impressed with the mold quality, lack of flash, seams, and such.
As for the Dragon King Tiger kits, (there are three Henchel and one Porsche) I feel they are excellent.
Now, the Tamiya Panther…If you have the old one (released in the 70’s), it will assemble great, but accuracy wise, it is very bad. The later Panther G from Tamiya is an outstanding kit, other than rubber band tracks, which can be replaced by AM tracks rather cheaply and easily, just my 2 cents.
By the way, Dragon Panthers are really great, they offer the “D”, “A” (early and late) and the “G”, as well as other lesser known variants.
Depending on your sons age, and your mothballed skills, you guys should have a lot of fun with these kits…Enjoy
Steve
Start with the Tamiya kit. The Panther comes with one piece vinyl tracks. The Tiger II has individual links which will stretch any newcomer’s patience. The DML Tiger II also has brass photo etch (PE) which may be a little daunting.
If you have the Tamiya Panther A, know that it’s very weak accuracy wise but builds up fine and is good for your son to build up his confidence. The Tiger II is a much more finesse kit.
Get good tools for your son. I’ve seen many beginning modellers quit b/c they can’t accomplish what the “veterans” can do. Often, a good tool set can make a lot of difference:
xacto knife w/ replacement blades
hobby sand paper
liquid cement (testors), toss out the large black brush and use a cheap finepoint brush for application
tweezers and needle nose pliers
needle nose files
superglue (for brass PE set)
At this stage, using spray cans is probably good (unless you have access to an airbrush set up).
A good basic book is Kalbach’s “Modeling Realistic Tanks and Artillery” This is the book I recommend to returning/beginning AFV modellers. For more inspiration, go to the better AFV websites:
www.track-link.net
www.missing-lynx.com
www.armorama.com
Check out their model galleries, articles, reviews, tips & techniques forums, etc.
Good luck!
Roy
Howdy!!! I think Roy nailed it. Tamiya kits build a bit easier,IMO, for the beginner.If you do have the older one there are issues in accuracy but that should take nothing away from the fun of building it.DML kits are superb but as Roy stated certain aspects are a tad daunting for the new modeller.Get a few easier kits under your belts and run with it.Mainly just have fun with your son!!!
Both brands are outstanding and I’d start either way with the Tamiya kit first due to simplicity. They do tend to go together with less hassle.
The Tamiya is a new kit, not some dinosaur on the shelf too long.
Have most of the tools from my stint into N scale model railroading. So think we’re good to go.
Painting is a bit of a question though. Not sure if he’s going gray or camoflauge. If camo, I was looking at some work by the local hobby store guy that has some really decent brush-on work using Tamiya’s paints. But, that’s a BIG if… and rattle-can is a bit limited for camo work, isn’t it?
I’m not talking about some “dinosaur”, the old Tamiya kit is still being released. To get the best Panther, you need the G. Neither one of these kits should be finished in gray, that color was long gone when these vehicles were fielded.
Well, after all of that, if you are interested in seeing a completed Tamiya Panther G and inspiration for what you can do with “band” tracks go to this post: http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/546089/ShowPost.aspx There is no exact name for these colors. That is because I mixed them as I perceived them to be. I was very pleased with how this turned out. Hope this helps get you going.
Yah, I remember that one, disastermaster. That was a really awesome model.
The Tamiya kit, as reads on the box:
Panther
1/35 military miniature series no. 65
Panzerkampfwagen “V”
Panther (Sc.kfz.171)Ausf.A
Is that any help?
Yep, that’s the older kit.There’s nothing wrong with it to build and enjoy. It does have accuracy problems but who cares??Unless you’re really into that aspect it should be fun for you and your boy to build.
Cut both of your teeth on building for fun and as you get back into it you can build some of the other Tamiya Panther kits.Which, by the way, will cost twice as much!!!
I’ve built the old kit, the only thing I’d watch would be the paint job and I had that 1-peice vinyl rip 2 road wheels off my model. (I guess they were too tight?) Overall it’s a fun kit.
I’m not fanatical about accuracy, so I cannot comment there, but they are both great kits, which you will enjoy building. I would start off with Tamiya, as generally they are very easy and simple to assemble. The rubber-band tracks are much easier and less of a pain than the indy links in DML kits.
Having said that, the DML kits are superbly detailed, and are a joy to build, if you enjoy many piece kits.
That’s the early one. The one I did is item 35176. You can also find this identification number in the upper right corner of the instruction sheet. Great kit.
Its allready been said, start with the Tammy, enjoy and gett carried away by the Dragon.
And if your son is still the age he wants your help you both will have a great time, Kris (my son) and myself sure had when his birthday gifts brought me back to kitbashing [:D]
Svenne, still enjoying the moth killer deo