Easiest 1/35 Modern Tamiya Tank to start with?

Hi all

I’ve been building 1/48 planes and helicopters for the last 2 years. I’ve recently had this urge to try to build a tank. (don’t ask me why, even contemplating a 1/350 battleship)

Tamiya tanks are the easiest to get hold of from the lhs and was wandering which of their modern tank kits you would recommend for a beginner?

How do you weather them, same as with planes? ie. gloss coat, panel wash, flat coat.

Are the kit decals good enough or is aftermarket better? I ask because the tamiya decals for their planes that I’ve come across are atrocious!

Thanks

Any one of their M1 Abrams tank kits will build quickly and easily. Accurizing them and turning them into award winners is another matter, but they assemble quickly, easily and can be painted in overall desert sand (much easier than attempting a 3-color camouflage scheme).

Their armor decals are likewise “good enough”.

For a single color scheme modern tank there is also the challenger 1 mk 3 and challenger 2 available. modelmaster has british gulf sand available through their enamel 2 line.

If you do (=P) like to play with 3 color camo, there are always the German Leopard2A5 and A6, French Leclerc 2, Japanese Type 90. All with well done details and really good fitment. Those all have overall slightly newer molds than the chally and abrams and just about the only games in town anyways. Revell do make their leopards and Trumpeter with their challengers but the quality-wise Tamiya is always a better choice IMHO.

Hello. Welcome to the armor world.

There is no doubt that Tamiya kits (especially the newer ones) are the most forgiving. I’d recommend the M26 Pershing. It has a workable suspension, but it is just a matter of tightening 4 screws to make it work.

Very little filler is needed, the tank goes together well, and it looks angry when finished.

Paint the with whatever you are comfortable with. Gloss coats are necessary where decals are going to go, and I’ve never had a problem with Tamiya armor decals…probably because I end up weathering over them.

My current (and ever changing) weathering scheme is a follows.

  1. Do about 3 highly diluted enamel dirt, dust, and gray washes to grunge up the kit. Be sure the drys completely on each application before you start the next.
  2. Do a dark panel line oil wash, but not on the open plates (don’t want to stain the paint on this wash).
  3. I switch to pastels to add dirt to the kit…especially near the running gear.
  4. Dry brush the high areas.
  5. With a small brush, add nicks and scrapes to the kit in random but well thought areas.

This is just my way of doing things.

Grant

Tough question. What is “modern”? Do you mean a recent release kit or post WWII armor? The T 62 is very easy to build. The M48 was also easy. The M551 is easy if you can find one. Greg.

Their Leopard 2A6 is also a nice kit to start with. Also, not quite as modern, but their T-55 is a great kit

[#ditto] I have that kit… really nice for a begginer, you only need a green color like Humbrol Hu 30 for the hull… the kit needs some improvements, but what kit doesn’t?.. The only major improvement that you can do is to fill the road wheels grooves, the thread pattern is reccesed, and it must be raised… After all, It looks very well one finished…

Why would you buy a beginner kit? Go for the big one you’re interested in!! Ask for some help and tricks, take your time to build it and have fun!!! You are an experienced modeler so go for it!!

By the way, I know nothing about tank but I’m pretty sure I will build one some day. And I will definitely buy the most detailed and awesome one.[:)]

It’s pretty much the general concensus that any of the newer (1997-present) releases from Tamiya are “shake and bake”. Drop in some glue, shake the box, and out comes a model.

Personally, I really (really!) enjoyed the Pershing and the T-55, although I’ve heard great things about the JS-III, LeClerc, and the Challenger II. I’ve also heard that Italeri’s Leopard is quite nice.

I’m not a modern-armor type, the T-55 is about as new I’ll get.

Jeff

Hi guys

Thanks for all the responses, tips and suggestions.

Based on the responses I’m thinking of heading the desert scheme route which leaves me an option between the abrams or challenger. starting off with a one tone scheme would be easier and I wouldn’t have to invest too much money into a lot of paint that I might not use again(incase tanks don’t turnout to be my thing)

I assume that the turrets generally swivel and therefore should be painted seperately?

I downloaded the instruction sheet (M1A2) from HobbySearch and noticed that the tracks get added onto the model quite early in the build cycle. Can these be added after the painting is completed?

Would the tracks be moveable?

Again, thanks for all the assistance so far.

  1. Build the turret along with the hull and spray the whole thing at the same time.

  2. I usually put the tracks on last myself, because they have different colors than the hull.

  3. I don’t advise using the tracks as functional, but rather static.

These tanks are pre-80s era and are a good kit to start with as far as modern gos.Walker bulldog,T-55 and the M-48 Patton all are good simple Tamiya kits to start with and will not brake the bank in price.Digger

The M1A2 is a great kit. As long as you don’t glue the drive sprockets in place, you can install the tracks whenever you want. When I did mine, I assembled and painted everything, (turret and hull painted seperately), and then installed the tracks. I glued them together with them on the bottom of the road wheels and when dry I just rode them over the sprocket until the glue joint was hidden by the skirts.

Another option for a desert vehicle is the T-55. Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran used this vehicle. Yes, you can add the tracks after painting has been completed. You do want the turret and hull separate from each other while you are painting. Much better coverage on the hull this way.

Another way to do it is to build the hull and turret but leave the wheels and side skirts on the sprue to paint. After painting you can assemble the wheels and put on the tracks (with the seam on top), then the skirts.

Hi all

Once again, thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

I went out and bought the M1A2 OIF boxing and upon opening the kit I was very impressed.
No flash, very detailed moldings, poly caps and rubber tracks. (Why haven’t I build a tank before?)

Since this will be my first build, I hope you don’t mind me posting a ton of questions here.

First question, does tamiya have a bottled offering of TS-46 Light Sand? If not which tamiya colours can I mix for the right shade? Tamiya is the easiest paint brand to get hold of. I don’t mind the spraycans(often use them when I’m too lazy to setup the airbrush) but wouldn’t mind an alternative for touchups and closeup/delicate painting.

For those of you who’ve built this kit…in step 1 you are directed to paint the top of the wheels flat black and to assemble them. step 3 is when the wheels are added to the hull, step 4 is the assembly of the tracks. step 7 tells u to attach the tracks to the wheels(although not how?) and then the top hull and sides are added over this.

Therefore I assumbe the the “body” colour of the wheel sides must be done before attaching them? How do you mask the tracks and wheels after this? Or can the sides (B41 and B24) be painted seperately and added later?

Any assistance on these two matter would really be appreciated.

Thanks

bump

just bumping my last set of questions to the top

The closest paint match to the real thing is, unfortunately, not Tamiya but Model Master sand. I am unsure as to which Tamiya color would be the closest.

As for the tracks/wheels I generally leave the wheels and tracks off until painting to make sure I can paint in behind them. I paint everything Sand, then paint the rubber road wheels a lightened flat black (Tamiya NATO black works or use a sharpie marker if you want). I paint and weather the tracks before I put them on. After everything is painted, I then put on the tracks, using CA glue on the attachment tabs. Then I attack the skirting (B24 and B41), which I also already painted. This saves a lot of difficult masking.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will try the method u mentioned above.

osjohnm,

I usually start with what is in stock at home for a base coat (if it is close). If it is too dark, I highlight over the base coat. If it is too light I darken it with washes. Weathering is a fantastic thing. Good luck with the kit.

Grant