J-Hulk weighs in on the Trump vs Tamiya Chally 2 debate (finally picked up the Tamiya kit!)

Modeling Subjects Armor
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The Trumpeter vs Tamiya Challenger 2 debate has been going on for a while now, and after finally purchasing the Tamiya kit, I can directly compare it for myself to both of Trumpeter’s releases.

I have the original Trumpeter Kosovo Challenger and the Op Telic Challenger, the latter having substantial improvements over the original release. Bravo to Trumpeter for that!

Today I picked up the Tamiya Challenger 2, and had a close look at both of them, side by side.

Hands down, the Tamiya kit wins.

Sharper molding, better detail, and better engineering all come together to put the Tamiya kit on top.

That ain’t saying that the Trumpeter kit is a bad kit, because it’s not. It’s just not as good as the Tamiya kit. Also, it’s not as expensive. But it is a lot more work. Trumpeter’s penchant for overly complicated construction alone will probably add a week or two to your build time!

Some miscellaneous points:

Tamiya’s canvas skirts are more accurately and better detailed than Trump’s.

Trump’s sponsons have bottoms, but with the full skirts on, you’ll never miss the lack of them on the Tamiya kit. Heck, you could probably leave the road wheels off and never miss 'em, the skirts are so huge!

Two semi-dodgy aspects of the Tamiya kit are the tiny molded on grab handles on the rear deck (Trump’s are oh-so-delicately separate) and the open, semi-sided but bottomless holes on the turret roof where the the side and rear storage boxes connect.

But even with the Trump kit, the separate handles are too thick and need to be replaced with thinner brass rod, and boxing in those holes on the Tamiya turret roof (if you deem it necessary) is still easier than trying to get all the sides of the Trump turret boxes to line up (plus you still have to make your own bottoms for them).

The Tamiya tracks win by virtue of their crisp molding along their sides…the pins are very clear and there’s no parting line, as there is on the Trump tracks.

Neither kit comes with the rolled camo net (?) that you see on most (if not all) Op Telic Chally 2s.

Finally, you get a lot of nice clear parts for the various periscopes, lights, and sights in the Tamiya kit.

But to me, the main thing that carries Tamiya way past Trumpeter here is the sheer quality of the molding. Side by side, there really is no comparison.

I thought I would use my two Trumpeter Chally 2’s in conjunction with the Tamiya kit to make a super-duper Chally 2 model, but now I see that is entirely unnecessary.

J-Hulk sez: Tamiya Trounces Trumpeter.

As far as price difference goes, the Trumpeter kit is 2,800 yen ($25.45 USD) and the Trumpeter kit is 3,100 yen ($28.18 USD) here in Japan.

Is the Tamiya kit worth the extra $2.73 USD?

Heck, yeah![:D]

I know that price difference is much greater outside of Japan, but I still think the Tamiya kit is worth it.

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J-Hulk,
thanks for sharing the knowledge!

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Thanks for sharing. I had a very strong feeling that most people would find the Tamiya offering much better in terms of quality of mouldings and detail. It’s interesting that the difference between the two is so little there in Japan. Here, it’s HUGE. I can buy almost three Trumpeter Chally kits for the price of the Tamiya.

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Thanks for sharing your thought. I must say, I’m not really surprised.

IMO, Trumpeter is a great competitor for Dragon. Tamiya is in a league all its own.

Trumpeter’s conpetition with Tamiya is in terms of releasing interesting pieces – unusual subjects, unorthodox scales. Their price is also a great selling point. Imagine how much Tamiya would charge for the huge Karl morser plus rail transport that Trumpeter is releasing soon! (Ah, but if they did, that a gorgeous kit it would be!)

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I agree with you completely, Larry.

Heck, this is the first Tamiya kit I’ve bought since the T-55 came out!

In that time, I’ve probably bought 5 or 6 (maybe even 7) Trumpeter kits. I’m building a Trump kit right now (1/35 EE-T1 Osorio). And I plan to buy quite a few more! It’s the interesting subjects that are pulling the Yen out of my wallet.

As I mentioned, there’s not a big price difference here.

If Tamiya made a 1/16 T-34, I’d probably get it!
Having said that, I don’t see how anyone could do much better than Trump on that one.

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Would you care to speculate? Considering the price of the Famo with Trailer, I don’t even want to think about what something like the morser would cost.
But both of you are correct. In terms of quality, there is really little to be said of Tamiya. But I hope that Trumpeter will continue with more releases of different topics. I can’t wait to see more from both. If anything, Tamiya need a new “next big thing” I think.

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Thanks for the review Brian. My limited observations based pretty much on my only Trumpeter purchase to date is like comparing Toyota to a Kia. Trumpeter may be getting better, but they still have a ways to go.

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On comparison’s whats everyone think of the Trump Finnish T-55 with mine rollers. Just curiuos as I picked one up from Ebay for 12USD including shipping, I dont even know why I bid on it but I believe the price was good so what the heck.

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I am disappointed that Tamiya did not add the anti-skid texture to the Chally 2 kit. I can do this on my own, but for the price ($40-45), I think it should have been on the kit.

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Hmmmm…good points. Thanks for the tip.

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Yeah, that’s another tick against the Tamiya kit, but it’s not on the Trump kits either (at least, not that I can tell).

Just as an aside, I just unloaded my two Trump Chally 2s in a trade for a 1/144 Otaki C-5A Galaxy at the LHS.
Yes my fellow darksiders, that’s two pieces of armor (and a bit o’ spare change) for one wingy thingy! (Granted, it’s a pretty dang big wingy thingy. And it can carry armor! Yes, it’s a friend to armor!)

Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! [;)]

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Brian,
can it be true !?!?!? [:0][:p][:D]
hey a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!
just hope my buddy does not read your post.
or he will trade all the armor in my closet for a 1/48 P51-D!
[:p][:D]

besides, how can we diss the Glaxay ?

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I do recommend getting the Trumpeter KFOR Chally 2. It has a very nice dozer blade (the only dozer blade on the market for Chally 2’s, IIRC). I bought the Accurate Armour sets for the Trumpeter Chally 2 from a friend. It makes the kit heavy when all the resin is put on the kit.

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Thanks for the review Brian, well done. I have yet to purchase a Trumpeter kit, but from what has been shared by everyone on the forum I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase one. I have to say the Tamiya kits are the yardstick by which I measure overall quality of kits though. As far as that little stray from the darkside goes!! you’ll probably find a skeleton or two in all our closets!! I kinda have maybe 15 or 20 wingy things buried here around the house somewhere? thanks for the review, you may proceed to the hanger where you have that galexey stored. semper fi, mike

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Kaleu, true about the dozer blade. That’s the only game in town!

Ed and Mike, yup, you really can’t diss a Galaxy! It gets the armor where it needs to be!

I suppose we could call it the “Wings of Armor.”

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I’m eagerly awaiting my 1/16 Trumpeter T34/76 1942 version…the pics I’ve seen in the reviews are absolutely stunning. The price comparison for this monster, even in USD, vs. same-scale from Tamiya can’t be beat.

Competition among the different makers is always a good thing…it prevents complacency and insures that new subjects are made available that might otherwise never see the light of day in a kit.

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Absolutely!
You will not be disappointed with that T-34! I’ve got the '42 version, too. It looks so sweet in the box, I don’t want to mess it up by building it![;)]

You’re right about the pricing. I have noticed, however, that the Tamiya static 1/16 Tiger II (“Porsche turret”) has been selling for 12,000 yen ($109 USD), probably in response to Trump’s 13,000 yen ($118 USD) T-34. The Trump model is much better, though!

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J-Hulk,

Since you’ve already got your kit and instructions, maybe you can answer a couple of questions I have about the Trumpeter. The interior is incredibly detailed…how much of it is “displayable” with open hatches?

I showed my wife the dimensions and her first question was “where will you put it?”…

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With that huge hatch on the turret, you’ll have a pretty good view of the turret interior, for sure. The big driver’s hatch moves, so you can see in there, too. Take the turret off, of course, and you can peruse the entire fighting compartment.
As for the engine and tranny compartment, the round rear hatch is hinged and the engine room hatch doesn’t have to be glued on, nor does the entire rear plate of the hull, so I reckon you’ll be able to access most of that great detail after completion.

I’ve got the hull sitting right here, and really, it’s not that big.
It’s not small by any means (much bigger than a 1/35 T-34, of course), but not overwhelmingly huge.
Just right, I’d say![;)]

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Thanks for the info! I had hoped it would be accessible, especially with the great lengths they went to on the interior detailing. Nothing more heartbreaking than to put it all in only to have it be covered up in the end.

Finished dimensions are supposed to be 16.5 inches long, 7.5 inches wide, and 6.5 inches tall from what I’ve read. That’s quite a jump up from the 1/35 I usually do. She does have a point, I will have to make some “special” arrangements wherever I put it. It certainly will not fit in the wall case!