Hey guys. I have started modeling again after 18 yrs. got myself all kinds of good gear (Iwata HP-CS with SmartJet, lots of paint, cement, files, etc etc.) I used to build WWII aircraft but these somehow lost their appeal for me. Want to try my hand at 1:35 armor and I see a great Dragon sale at Sprue Brothers. What to buy though?? Any suggestions for “must-have” kits which are highly accurate?
Vivian
Sherman [:D]
Oh and [snWcm] back!!
Hi Vaw
Armor is a great venue for sure. But, the kit list is VERY extensive. Dragon does make great kits however their part count can be very high at times. Most with individual track links (scary stuff for some). You might want to get your feet wet with an older Tamiya or Italeri etc. They are nice kits with minimal parts count. I wouldn’t worry too much about every nut and bolt being accurate. Most offer a good representation. With a good paint job and weathering almost any armor kit can be a gem…
Best of luck with it…
You can’t go wrong with almost any of the Tamiya 1/35 stuff. Even the older (think the towed Flak 38 from the 70s) kits almost fall together with no flash to cleanup, etc. That was the first kit I built this past week after taking a couple of years off. Nothing like having a quality kit to ease back into things. Look at the M4 Sherman with either the 76mm or 105mm gun. I believe the 105mm gun version is a bit newer (at least I think it was released in the early 2000s) and has a few figures in as well.
Oh and on the Iwata HP-CS, I have one… thing is a really good, durable brush. You won’t be disappointed in that.
Oh, and Welcome!
I wondered he same thing… I do mostly ships & boats. After looking at some of your guys’ work I would like to give armor a try as well.
What kit(s) do you guys recomend that looks good without any 3rd party parts.
Thanks guys. I kind of like the idea of high part counts to make it interesting 
Plus, Dragon is so cheap at Sprue Brothers right now. Would you say that Dragon kits are too hard for a beginner in armor?
You can always pick up one of the “Smart Kits” from Dragon… they are a bit less daunting. The “Magic Tracks” individual track links can be a bit intimidating, but still are pretty easy to work with.
Don’t worry about it. Just buy the one you like and build the dog gone thing.[t$t]
Tony Lee[:D]
Tamiya kits are easy builders and help with restoring confidence. [:D]
Beware Dragon’s instruction sheets, It’s as if something gets lost in translation. How a diagram requires translation is beyond me but …
G
What bothers me about Tamiya kits (maybe I’m wrong here?) is that few or non of them have zimmerit. I want it to be as authentic as possible and don’t need a fast build. But that said, I don’t want 300 parts and unclear instructions
The Tamiya Panzer II Polish/French campaign kits are pretty nice, with link and length tracks instead of all single link. If it has to be a Dragon kit, you can’t go wrong with a Tiger Initial Production!! Actually, just about any Dragon kit would do fine. They have a high parts count, but are well worth the effort.
Yes, I also need some ideas for kits that are highly detailed and don’t need 3rd party parts. Any suggestions here?
Just because a kit lacks the Zimmerit, doesn’t make it inaccurate… According to my sources and contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t on every German armored vehicle, nor was it applied at the factory until December of '43 and discontinued at the factory after September '44 and from application in the field after October '44…
Yeah, it “looks cool” and all that, but don’t get hung up on it… If you must have it though, there’s a number of after-market sets of the stuff, plus it’s relatively easy to apply yourself with several different mediums… I’ve use both Bondo Glazing Putty and sheet-rock mud, applied with a section of razor saw…
I prefer the sheet-rock mud, since it chips nicely and where you want it to, for “old zim”, and can be removed easily if you screw up a section, unlike an after-market set (which requires sanding to scale thickness for resin sets, removal of all surface deatil for both photo-etch and resin sets), and you can’t “walk away from it” for a few hours once you start a section… With the mud, you can do small sections at a time, a couple inches here & there… It’s cheaper too, by far…
If you want it “as authenthentic as possible”, then you need to pick a particular tank, from a specific unit, at almost an exact date, and you’ll risk the wrath of the dreaded “Rivet Counter” as well, lol…
However, if it’s like you said, and you really don’t care about time, want clear instructions, and fewer than 300 parts, then there’s absolutley nothing wrong with the old Tamiya kits, and even the newer ones are ok, just more expensive, with less “bang for the buck”, IMHO( I say “less” because they don’t allow you as much to scratch-build and cost more for that)…
I’m old school though… I don’t mind filling motorization holes, making grab-handles, cutting sheet styrene for filling out sponsons, rubber band tracks (in fact, I prefer those and avoid kits with link & length or indy-length tracks at all costs), don’t need metal gun-tubes, and build dioramas, so super-detailed tracks get muddy anyway… Plus I know how to tie or glue tracks for the proper sag… We all had to do it that way back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, ya know, lol…
I’d rather have 3 Tamiya Panther-A kits than one Dragon Panther G… (I can get five for that price at Hobby Lobby during 40% coupon weeks, lol)
Looking at this Dragon Panther G, I’m not all that impressed with it… Not for 60.00, anyway… All the focus on the Zimmerit and hoto-etch, and the guy didn’t bother with gluing or tying down the tracks…
http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/misc/vehicles/germany/stewpang.htm
Y’alls call though… I’m only speaking for myself… For me, armor price matters a LOT, since I’m on a more or less fixed-income, so kit quantity matters more… I just like to offer alternatives to the building “latest & greatest” kits. When they start approaching 35.00-40 bucks, I kinda go the other way and hunt down “Ebay Armor” with the old Tamiya, Academy, and Testor’s/Italeri kits… Sherman’s a Sherman, and a Tiger’s a Tiger, as long as some one who looks at can say, "Yup… That’s a Panzer IV ", and it’s not supposed to be an Elefant…
My recomendation would be Tamiyas Hetzer, its is as close to shake and bake as you can get.
And you can follow Hinksy’s build log in this forum, lots of inspiration in there!
If it has to be a Dragon I would like to recommend the Tiger I Initial Production, # 6600.
Go nuts
The part count is high but you actually only use 25% of what is in the box.
And the price is right.
Very Best Regards
Johan
The Tamiya Panzer II requires no Zimmerit, nor does the Dragon Tiger I initial. Dragon kits are ALL parts-heavy. Some of Dragon’s Tiger kits have the Zimm molded on. Do a Google search like Dragon (kit number) review, and find out what others have to say about the kits. The reviewers that Dragon use are very good. http://www.dragon-models.com/html/modelnews.html and search for the kit number. Or look at PMMS (Perth Military Modeling). These sites could help you pick your first Dragon kit.
The Revell reissue of the Monogram Sherman “Hedge Hog” in 1/32 is a fun one. Inexpensive to buy and quick to do and offers you the opportunity to work on the painting effects for wood and sandbags and the figures.
Hi Vivian. Welcome back to the hobby and to the forum. I agree with most of the others here in that I would go with a Tamiya kit for someone just getting back into the hobby. They’re pretty accurate, have great instructions and go together well. That being said, I took a look over at Sprue Bros. and that is quite a sale. Many items are 1/2 off or more. But I would still look at the possible frustration level of the kit as well as the price.
Oh, and I also saw two of the Trumpeter KV series of tanks over at that sale for $13.99 each. That’s a fantastic price for two excellent kits that are also accurate, easy builds.
Thanks. If I want to minimize on shipping, and order paints and a couple of kits at the same time, how do I know which colors to get? I have a collection of Tamiya Acrylics, I guess around 25 paints, all new. Are there a short list of typical paints needed for say Shermans, Tigers in various theaters of war?
Paint for Shermans and all other American ground equipment:
Olive Drab.