So coming back to the hobby I have read several posts stating Tasca makes some of the best detailed Shermans around. Where can I purchase them from a US retailer/online source? Is Tasca still producing these kits?
Yeah, Tasca has pretty much the Cadillac of Sherman kits. They seem to only run each kit for a certain time though and if it’s out-of-production at the moment they can be a little hard to find (at least for me). HobbyLink Japan generally has the in-production kits available. Other than that you can look at model shows and there’s always Ebay, some dealers charge outrageous prices- esp check the shipping and handling before you bid. I picked up the M4A3E2 ‘Jumbo’ recently for a very reasonable price so it bears checking though.
BTW: They recently changed their name to ‘Asuka Model’ so you might find them listed under that name too.
The US distributor is Pacific Coast Models (who also sell directly – cf their website). If speed isn’t an issue, luckymodel.com in HK is a good source (although they are low/out of stock b/c they just had a huge January sale that depleted them). HobbyEasy.com out of HK is also another source.
Thanks for the advice Roy, and thanks for bringing this up S2B. I didn’t know about Pacific Coast Models and didn’t even think of using a Chinese company to look for a Japanese product. Just assumed Hobby Link Japan would be the best source…[bnghead]
If Tasca shermans are so well regarded, why in the world is Tasca not producing them any longer?
They were bought out by a new group, Asuka. Some previously labelled Tasca items have come out under the Asuka label. Other lines haven’t come out yet. The molds are extremely valuable – no one is just going to sit on them. Why the lack of current production? Probably behind the scenes business issues. I bet if you called Pac Coast models, their US distributor (and their own webstore), you might get the latest answers.