Well, I hate to spoil the fun, but somebody might beat me to the punch. [B)] In March’s FSM, the Readers Choice Awards gave the best armor kit to Tamiya’s M1A2 Abrams, beating out such others as Dragon’s King Tiger and their T-34. Excuse me, but unless I’m mistaken, wasn’t Tamiya’s kit just a rerelease of their older one with some stowage gear? I have the old Tamiya kit and it is okay at best. My assumption is many modelers missed out on Dragon’s newest releases. Where’s their 251 3-in-1 series? In case anyone was wondering, Trumpeters T-34 1/16 scale falls under “other scales”. I smell a rat. [:D]
Funny, but I was reading that and wondering what the popular opinion would be. I guess it bois down to what are the qualification for kit of the year. Is there a number of sprues that need to be added to a reissue or is it just a new box?
Hey…let Tamiya think their ‘king of the hill’! Meanwhile AFV Club, Trumpeter and Dragon have to be slicing into their market share! Huh?
Glenn
…and then some. Hehehe. [8D] Remember, competition is good for the hobbiest.
It would be interesting to know the paramaters of the judging. There’s still alot of people who buy Tamiya just because they’re Tamiya! But I don’t know if the kits are judged on sales or what?
Actually, they did a little more to the kit than just add some external stowage. They retooled the turret completely, did some tweaking to the hull, added new tracks and added parts to make the US Army M1A2, US Army M1A1HA or USMC M1A1HA.
I’m not saying it is better or worse than any other contender, just pointing out it is a little more than Dragon’s M1A1HA reissue with extra stowage.
Rob, did they ever add the missing anti-slip surface to it? Seemed to be an unfortunate deletion on their part.
Nope, the anti-slip surface was not added by Tamiya. Overall it is a nice kit. I voted for the DML T-34/76.
I agree, some people use “Tamiya” as a euphemism for modelling in general. In my home town put a monkey as a Labour party candidate and they would vote for it. Mentioning modelling in the UK and non-modellers mention Airfix as a reflex action. Tamiya resting on their laurels? or trying to divert into another armour market, 1/48 because they are being beat hands down in 1/35 by the newcomers, Trumpeter have turned the modelling world upside down!!
No judging at all. It was a vote, by us, the modellers, if I’m not mistaken.
Like it or not, evidently the Tamiya M1A2 got the most votes.
No sense in starting another round of Tamiya bashing just because a Tamiya kit won a vote.
If you think about it, early M1A1s had a less pronounced anti-slip surface that was applied by a brush. Since Tamiya did omit the texture, it will be possible to back date the turret to a pre-Desert Storm M1A1 (non-HA). Also in the future, the anti-slip coverage may change or if other nations use the Abrams, they may have different patterns. It would be easier to apply the pattern than it would be to remove the pattern.
Leaving it off is less of a big a deal than leaving off zimmerit on German tanks.
Think about it a little, OIF just happened, so more modellers are going to get inspiration from it than WWII. So, the Abrams probably got a lot of extra attention and sales while others didnt get much attention due to the subject. Me personally, I think Tamiya has some catching up to do, they make great kits, but others make slightly better kits, or a greater variety of kits.
I have made both kits. In my OWN vision, Tamiya is making simple kits that you can look at it from a distance and say WOW. They omit some small details that you will not see if not looking close enough. While the other has many small details that will not shown up if not dry brushed. Think about the nice fine details we have on those photoetch tool clamps that blemished into the model if there is no dry brushed.
I thought it was literally a reader’s vote, in which case the parameters can be entirely arbitrary. One factor that may favor of the Abrams is the Iraq war which has the Abrams very much in the public eye. Perhaps because of that, more people bought the kit, and having bought the kit, liked it enough to vote for it without any real basis of comparison against other kits. The T-34 may well be an excellent kit, but perhaps a Soviet subject is not as popular in the West , thus maybe fewer sales results in fewer votes.
I think he means “what qualifies a kit to be on the list to vote” not “how the vote was conducted.” That’s what I was wondering in my first post, at least. Is it ANY kit released during the year? Would a straigh reboxing of an old kit qualify? If it wouldn’t, where is the line? In other words, how much new stuff or retooled parts need to be done for it to be considered “new”. Reading Rob’s description of the Abrams, I can see how it could be considered new, but I was just wondering what qualifies a kit
I just build what I like, I really don’t pay attention to the “kit of the century” editorials. I mean, if you want to find out how good a kit is, there are plenty of voices in this forum that will tell you. I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but, who cares what the "readers say? Everyone in the hobby should build what pleases them. I’m sure the Tamiya M1 kits are great, do I want one? nope. I’m sure people are driven by the subject and thier budget and taste. More power to the readers!,more power to FSM,
Steve
Talk about injustice!!! My FSM isn’t even here yet!!! Now how cruel is THAT??
Steve, I’ve got to take a bit of an exception with you. I care a lot about what others think is a good (or the best) kit. I might have no desire to build this tank or that airplane, but I still like to see what others think. For one thing, it makes me consider other kits from the same manufacturer that do interest me.
As I recall from the “rules” laid down at the beginning of the voting, a rebox/reissue is not supposed to be considered. There must have been enough new stuff in the Tamiya kit to have been judged as a new kit.
And that is what I was wondering. What tipped the Tamiya Abrams over from “reissue” to “new” status (mind you, I am not arguing the vote or anything…just idle curiousity)
Maybe one of the moderators will pick up on this thread and answer that exact question, Jason. It’ll help take certain minds off other more larsonist activities!
LOL
If you ever want to see your FSM or your Dragon Tiger agian…wait, I am not giving them back. Nevermind.