I have to say the Tamiya T34s. Ive just built one for the Kursk GB, and it still is well made and easy to make. A nice break from my JSU-122’s indy tracks. The tracks are horrible, but with careful painting and dry brushing I think they turn out well.
For a model that is pushing 35 years old I’d have to agree and put the M47 in second place! The Kursk GB makes it evident that this series of kits can hold its own despite some inaccuracies, lousy tracks, lack of sponsons and all the motorization holes. Despite the fact the the Dragon and Zvedza (& Italeri/Revell) kits are out there, it seems the majority of the T-34s in the GB are these ancient Tamiya kits. The Italeri M47 is the only kit of its type out there so it has no real competition.
Don’t ya wonder what kind of kit this could be if Tamiya decided to update it?
I would welcome their '43 version, completely updated with link-and-lengths with the upper sag, ala Trump’s KV series.
Very interesting thread to read and observe what people are choosing. I’ve not been actively building long enough to really comment, but the Tamiya Marder III M still builds up very nicely.
Italeri:
M47 inc tracks,
M7 Priest excl tracks!
Jeep, I got 3
Wasn’t The Steyr RSO kitted by MAX originally? (and/or Peerless, & now some by Bilek) Still a very nice kit!
As Was the WCxx series, inc the Ambulance, the Bedford QL Portee, etc…
Tamiya
M2/3 Bradley
Leopard 4a1
Leo 4A4, & Gepard, I Have the P/E for these two & can’t bear to re-manufacture these, but that say’s more about my p/e skills & the huge amount of bits in the packet.
…only problem is, if they updated it they would probably price themselves outta the market and DML would eat up the sales with theirs…
…my THIRD vote:
Italeri 1/35th Opel Blitz…
It should build up nicely since it is one of their newer kits, less than 5 years old.
A few others have commented negatively about Tamiya’s T-34 tracks. The ironic thing for me, is that out of all the early Tamiya tanks, I have built, started building, or have in the queue, I think the T-34s were by far the best. Their molding crispness and lack of flash seems pretty good. I’m no T-34 expert, but they seem fairly accurate (although depending upon which flavor of T-34 you have and whether or not Tamiya used the same tracks for each version that may not be the case). A big plus is that they have inside detail which is lacking from many contemporary Tamiyas such as the Panther A, Panzer II, M-41 Walker Bulldog.
Andy
Hopefully it’s next in Dragon’s line of T-34’s to come out, but the 42 version might be next. No doubt a Tamiya one would cost plenty.
I agree with the RSO Tractor…was, and still is, a good kit…AND the only game in town—wasn’t it originally a Peerless kit?
Not having been around the ‘old school’ of modelling as many of you have, but I’d have to say the T-34 series from Tamiya are all-around great kits, even today.
[sigh] Rob, somehow I knew that would be the case… [(-D], but then it was around before I started building armor, if only just.
I’ve got older kits in the stash that I’ve picked up here or there (I think) but haven’t built yet that have been mentioned in this thread, so it’s good to hear they still stand up fairly well.
…some of Tamiya’s early work was just sublime…the sdkfz 222, the 223, the Field Kitchen w/ Wagon…and the T-34 series; the tooling detail on the hull and turret welds are at todays standards, as are the casting textures…I still prefer them when I need a T-34 for a dio…I just add MK tracks and sometiems some PE…and these were/are the kits with the cool instruction sheets with little extras, like a wash basin and camo net with the 223, etc…
Italeri Opel Maultier
Italeri 105mm Howitzer
Probably more sentimental than actually “resilient”, if I take MR’s definition at face value, is the Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog. I don’t believe it’s produced anymore, but it still builds up into a nice little kit. With some work, it shines.
Gip Winecoff
The basic kit is still available. It’s the motorised version which goes in and out of production from time to time.
I know it’s not really all that old (10 years I believe), but I’ll drop a vote for Tamiya’s Pzkpfw III Ausf L. Nice kit, even by today’s standards.
I agree that the L is a beauty of a kit.
Silly as it may seem, I still like the M3 Stuart from Tamiya…even though AFV Club and Academy make really nice M3s.