What kits come to your mind when you think of older releases but still hold up well against today’s new standards? A few that come to my mind are:
The Opel Blitz truck by Italeri released in the '70’s(some say that it is even better than the brand-new Tamiya offering).
The Tamiya 2nd Generation Tiger II and Panthers released in the late '80’s and early '90’s…these, IMO, are just as good as the new DML kits to serve as a basic platform for reproducing these cats. I was going to include the Tiger I but the turret issues knocked it out of contention for me.
I believe it was Aurora’s kit of the Long Tom 155mm. I have the kit and added Nitto’s rendition of the Fast Tractor. I believe it was 1/32 scale and the tractor is/was 1/35. Doesn’t look that noticeable if you don’t use a ruler.[swg]
And what about Italeri’s RSO? That is still a neat kit, although with aftermarket tracks.
I’m not sure if this counts since its the only one on the market…Italieri’s M47 Patton, originally released back in the late 70s and still available, is considered one of their best tank kits. It really doesn’t need much to detail it and the vinyl tracks are actually quite acceptable! I’d say it can hold it own against many of the newer kits.
Tamiya Stuarts M3 & M5. Although their lower hulls are the same, an error, they both present great starting points for improvements or modifications. that and they’re fun, easy builds.
Definately the Testor’s/Italeri Opel Blitz and RSO… As well as the M1A 105mm howitzer and M-7 Priest, and the Duece & a half, Sherman ARV, and the M109A2. Their figures were horrible though.
Tamiya’s M151s and M113 series, M-41, M4E8A3, heck, pretty much all the 80’s armor…
I’m pretty “Old school”… Anyone can be a super-modeler with all the AM stuff out there now… Photo-etched welds, fer cripe’s sake… Try makin’ weld-beads from Testor’s tube cement and texturing it with a knife-blade… Or tread-plate from burnishing aluminum foil over a piece of screen or using sprue to make lands & grooves in a howitzer tube…
I agree with the OP, the Opel Blitz by Italeri. I have 5 (1 on the bench and 4 in the stash) and they are a dream to build. They have little clean up (the worst are pin marks on the inside of the side panels) and I scratch build those anyway along with the bed.
Another vote for the Italeri Opel Blitz. I can’t see how anyone who values accuracy and detail over ease of assembly can prefer the Tamiya kit, even if they were both the same price.
In fact, Italeri did a lot of excellent stuff in the 1970s - the M47’s already been mentioned, but there were some really good softskins too. Tamiya did some really good stuff, too. The M113 - especially the command version - the 25pdr, quad & limber, and the 1/25 Centurion too.
Little side-quest here, what’s wrong with their Tiger I turret? I thought that kit 35146 was the be-all end-all Tiger kit, and really heralded the advancement of 1/35 scale modeling into the modern era.
Do all of the Tamiya Tigers (early, mid, initial) share this same defect?
The real turret is asymetrical, meaning the side with the gunner/commander had more room than the loader’s side…it took DML to finally rectify this…still a good kit…If you ever look straight at the front of the mantlet in refs it is very obvious that there is a difference…
Of course I can only go by what I’ve built, but Tamiya’s ancient Pak 40 is still a pretty good kit and when built up looks as good as the others. Same can be said for their 88mm flak.
Several Italeri kits released around the same time as their M47 Patton are their M4A1 Sherman, Leopard 1 and Willys Jeep, all of which are still decent kits today.
Easy builds they may be, but it’s a pity that the Tamiya Chieftain bears only a passing resemblance to the real thing (and that’s ‘passing resemblance’ as in right number of gun tubes…) Also, if you want an Op Telic Chally 2, you’re better off with the Trumpeter kit. Better detail for less than half the price, and the things that are wrong with the Trumpeter Chally 2 are hidden, on the Op Telic version, by the side-skirts and side armour.
