Is Tamiya T-34/85 kit a good one in terms of details. Or should I look for the Dragon model or even the Zvesda kit?
Knowing that you have to mortgage your home to buy Tamiya in Canada (everyone LOVES Borgdfeldt, right?), I wouldn’t bother with their T-34/85 kit. The DML one is considered the best. IMHO, the Dragon T-34/76 m. 1941 is one of the best OOB allied WW2 tanks on the market. If you can go earlier war, get that one instead.
There are about 3-4 Dragon T-34/85 kits. I would recommend any of them over the Tamiya kit. They do not build as easy, but are much nicer detail wise and more accurate. The latest one they released around 2002 was the T-34/85 UTZ. They do a Korean war era one, another used by the NVA in Nam (also includes Angola war markings) and another WW2 version.
Dont be picky… build them all! You know you want to…[}:)]
I have built Tamiya’s T-34/1943 kit which aside from the turret must be mostly the same as the 85. It’s an easy build, and it was reasonably well detailed, although there are a couple of slight issues due to the kit having descended from a motorized version. Still, if it’s built well even OOB, it will make a nice looking T-34 and they are cheap, at least in the US, often selling for 16 or 17 dollarsUS.
The Tamiya T-34 is an old kit dating back to the 1970s. The Dragon molds are less than 10 years old. One of the Russian companies also makes a T-34 in 1/35, but I’ve heard it’s a tough build and not very accurate.
Because Tamiya’s product line dates back so far, I was be cautious about paying retail for any of their armor kits without doing some research first. They retooled their Tiger I in the late 1980s, which was a change point for them. The molds produced after that tend to be much sharper than the ones produced before. Some of their other kits have been retooled too, such as the Panthers, Tiger IIs, Panzer IVs and Panzer IIIs, but many of their kits still date back to the 70s.
For a 1970s vintage kits, their old kits are excellent. They were the undisputed top maker of armor back then. Other kit makers have beaten them in the 1/35 niche, which is why they are now releasing all those 1/48 scale armor kits. Except for a few new 1/35 releases like the recent B1 bis, they have mostly abandoned 1/35 to the Chinese and are just milking as much as they can out of their old molds before their reputation sours.
Bill
I’ve read in a kit comparisonreview that the DML kits are the best, and Zvezda isn’t far behind. I’ve recently purchased the DML T34 German Army (which i’m going to build as a Russian tank anyway [:P] ) and it is very good! I haven’t seen the Zvezda version (yet) but going by their SU-100 i’d buy one. I’ve build the tamiya ones in the late '80-ies and early 90-ies, but would not bother with them anymore… unless you can buy one on the cheap at a (garage)sale or something like that [;)]
Hth, Jan [:)]
Is this because the moldings are poor or lack of (or incorrect detail)? What makes Tamiya the “lesser” manufacturer?
The tamiya molds are from the early 70-ies, and they where made to be moterized. It’s got all sorts of holes in the botom to accomodate the batteries and switches… The tracks are poorly detailed rubberbands, overall detail is not up to todays standards. The T34/85 seems to be way off scale, where the turret is concerned.The only plus is that it is an easy build, you could do it ootb in an evening [swg]
Thing is, nowadays us modellers are spoiled rotten… just compare the trumpeter KV kits to the old tamiya ones. For years the tamiya ones where the only ones on the market, you’d have to spent a fortune on AM to get it ‘right’. Now you can buy a great KV from trumpeter, for half the price of an old tamiya kit, and it’s great ootb! The only thing it needs are a few pieces of mesh for the airvents.
Kits will become better and more complex in the years to come…moldmaking techniques are becoming better and better, and the kits are coming more and more complete with aluminium barrels PE-frets and all sorts of detail stuff. In a decade we will say these (now new) kits are outdated by the new arrivals of that day and age. [;)]
So, to cut things short…the DML offerings are the best available at the moment [:D]
Cheers, Jan [soapbox]
Yann,
Udisco has the Tamiya T-34/85 for $27.00. A DML T-34/85 will cost about $35.00 or so in the Montreal shops.
Dragon’s are top of the line. More goods and more modern molds. The biggest drawbacks on the Tamiya kit are the tracks (rubberbands and too taught) and the motorization holes for the sprocket and idlers. I need a Dragon T-34 1942 or 43 version. Come on guys, build me one.
Tamiya has always had excellent fit to their parts. Many of their older kits still are pleasant to build out of the box. However, research techniques have improved, so most newer kits are more accurate than what came out in the 1970s.
Additionally, in the last 15 years or so several new mold making technologies have come into use. The first of these is the use of higher pressure in the molds. This allows for sharper detail on the parts.
The second new technology is the heavy use of computer ided design (CAD). This allows the kit makers to test fit all parts on the computer before ever cutting the mold. Tamiya kits from the 70s have good fit because Tamiya spent a long time test fitting everything from the test shots before going to production. Modern kit mkers can do this with a lot less effort and so fit, overall, has improved dramatically. The new Tamiya kits are still top of the mark, but their older kits are clunky compared to any major manufacturer’s new kits.
Dragon has pioneered some new technologies too. They do slide molding, which hollows out gun barrels and other parts that simply could not be molded as accurately a few years ago. Some of Dragon’s newest kits have included what they call Magic Track, which is easier to build than the old individual track links, but still has the advantages of the individual links. A few of their newest kits have also introduced some new plastics for use with the accessories and figures that they claim have some advantages over plain styrene.
Many kit makers are also including metal gun barrels, photo etch parts, and other non-plastic goodies in their kits right from the factory. Dragon is the most agressive in this regard. Most of these goodies are included in their 3 in 1 kits, or other kits with special advertising on the box. The T-34s haven’t received this treatment yet, but they probably will the next time Dragon does a production run.
The Dragon T-34s are still the top kits of the type around. Since the molds are newer, they were made with CAD and higher pressure molds, so the detail is sharp and the fit is pretty good.
One thing I forgot to add above was many of the older Tamiya kits were also released in motorized editions and had the space for batteries and a motor molded into the lower hull as well as a hole for the power switch. This caused some innacuracies in those kits. The newer kits are intended for static display only and the lower chasis tends to be more accurate.
Bill