Dug out an ole Monogram, M-48-A-1 to piddle around with. Just remembered sumpin. The Engine deck area is so thick it takes a grinder to fix it. Why’d they do that? Was it so when those of us who liked to B.B. our finished Armor it would therefore make a tougher target? I have some nice engine detail parts, mainly hatches and vents that I was given to detail a tank of this type with. So why do I have to set up a mining operation for this to happen?
Well, there"s this. When Monogram and others did this vehicle it was either called 1/35 or 1/32, it’s so close they figured no one would notice. The Armored Halftrack falls right in between 1/34 I have been told. Molding techniques being what they were, the tolerances were done is such a way that surface detail was the only thing in mind.
There wasn’t much aftermarket out there for sure. I also have a set of American Armor Tracks for this kit by FruilModel. This whole project will get my mind off the “Laker” when I get ready to erupt like a volcano again!. So this tank is for relaxation and experimentation Only. Do you Armor Folks have to put up with this all the time? Really?Remember this. The old models can be fun. For “A” team detail though ,they take some work. I figure this will take me as long as the ship.
The kit was first released in 1958. It is an old, really poorly detailed kit that isn’t really worth building any longer. If you have all that AM, I would get one of the much better and up to current standards Dragon M48 kits. I wouldn’t waste my time nor money on this old dog.
If you’re teaching a young kid to build models, and he wants to build a tank, the old Mongram M48 Patton or Tamiya M41 Bulldog kit are ideal for that task. There are plenty of newer M48 kits on the market today for the serious scale modeler.
Monogram introduced the 1/35 scale for armor models and Japanese model companies copied some of their kits and adopted the scale.
Renwal had the largest line of armor kits and it was 1/32. Then Airfix introduced a handful of 1/32 scale armor kits in 1976. These were very well done.
So, Monogram decided to switch to 1/32. Some of their later kits are pretty good for the time, but are 1/32. This old Patton is 1/35 scale. It is long past its prime, but for many decades, was the only way to get an M48A2 in 1/35 scale.
Today, there are many better kits so any money spent on aftermarket would be better spent on one of the newer kits by Dragon or Revell of Germany.
If you have it, build it. It is a fun kit to just glue together and paint. Much like that old Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog.
Ah, the Tamiya M41… I think I’ve built more than a couple over the years. It’s a very “robust” kit, looks like it was meant to be something that would survive motorization and hard use. The one I still have was used to test a four color camo scheme for an ROK M47. It came out too neat to not display it. I even found a set of AFV Club one piece tracks for it, for $4, so counding the $9 I got the kit for, I call it cheap fun.
Quite a while ago I hacked up a Monogram M48 for the engine deck, grafted it into the rear hull of a Tamiya -A3 and had something that wasn’t in plastic yet. I think the rest of the kit ended up gone.
You already have the kit; it’s not collectable (worth more unbuilt to a collector than to a model builder*), and it is a rather fun build. It looks like the tank it’s supposed to and a pleasant stroll down memory lane.
Build it. That the purpose of a model kit.
*Now if the kit was collectable and worth some decent money, I’d tell you to sell it for what it could get on a site like eBay, and use the money to buy a more up-to-date kit.
I bought this kit at Hobby Lobby’s clearance aisle for a whopping $7.50 a few years ago and am using parts leftover from an old Lo Models conversion set (circa 1988-89) to build it into an M48A2GA2.
Are there better versions of this kit out there? Yes, Revell recently released one, but I have this kit and it is not a “too” terrible kit.
Or a glutton for punishment. I just don’t see the point in throwing all that extra money in AM parts at a horrible kit. But, like I said, to each their own.
I still have one I built in high school (78-82) and repainted in 1984. Yeah, it’s an older model, but it still checks out.
I agree here. It’s not worth putting extra money for aftermarket, but okay for chucking some newer stuff from the spare parts box like 5 gallon cans or an antenna.
Do Not worry about wasted P.E. Because on builds like this,There is a little work put into the build, But as in the past, No aftermarket parts are used. Ah Yes! No FruilModel Tracks or P.E. Need apply!