Hasagawa's New Puma, nice little kit review

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Ok, this is a nice little kit of a great subject. The Puma has soem great things and some ok things.

Great.: Seperatly molded tires, held in place by a front and a back. Makes for very easy painting.
Engine deck detail looks great.
Beautifully molded main gun and open muzzle.
almost perfect fit and finish.
NO sink holes

Not bad: SOme fit problems getting the upper hull to mate withthe lower hull.
tools molded on, however nicly done
Smoke ejectors on turret are nicly done, but overscale.
Crew figures are not that great, have a melted look.

Overall, this is a kit that will benift from a nice photoeched kit. I built this stock to try her out, however a bit of detail work would make this quite a show piece. I will put up some pictures in a few days of the finished, painted model.
Bill

2

I’ve always like the Puma. What scale is the Hasagawa Puma in? I’ll probly try it either way.

3

Sorry, its 1/72. Bill

4

[:D]bummer,too bad its 1;72, i like that kit.[:D]

5

Some of us don’t view 1/72 as a bummer but rather as a challenge!!! [:D] I look forward to building that kit. Thanks for the reivew.

6

I am building this kit right now. Its a nice little kit with great detail and I agree with everything that Bill has said so far.

As Bill said the upper and lower hulls were the worst part to try and fit together. The bottom is narrower then the top and it took alot of fiddling around to get it right.

I eventually had to cheat a bit and line it up best I could but its still not perfect. However the fenders cover most of the offending areas and all I needed was bit of putty to make it look good.

The main gun is a very fragile little piece. I managed to break mine but was able to repair it.

Nice kit overall and I have enjoyed working on it. Once its painted and weathered its going to look very good.

I want to try the Roden offering next to see how it compares

7

I am doing the Roden kit for a review for IPMS/USA. Most of the tools are separate and the smoke discharges look to be in scale but I have had a problem with both of these. The shovels are very hard to clean up (big sprue attachment). The smoke discharges are so small, I have lost all but 2 to the carpet monster as well as some of the linkages to the suspension. Not too noticable but I have decided a few less parts would be good [:D].
Just need to finish the painting and decals then will be sending the review in.

8

What scale is the Roden kit? Is it expensive?