I have been buying and building armor kits for years.
Every kit I go to build I find myself looking for PE and resin aftermarket stuff for them.
Where does the madness end?
Is their a good kit out their that looks good OTB?
Thanx all ,[;)]
Personally I think any of the newer kits from Dragon or Tamiya are excellent OOB. Every kit out there can always use a little tweaking, but sometimes we just tend to go a little too far.
I find it refreshing to build one every now and then just the way it came.
I’d say that depends on how detail minded you want to get. I like Dragon kits, because they come with indy tracks and that saves on money for aftermarket ones. My Hetzer comes with p/e parts in addition to the indy tracks. My favorite Tamiys kit is the late model Tiger I, because it does come with the indy tracks as apposed to vinyl. It’s pretty endless anymore to how much extra stuff you can buy to improve a kit. I have to draw a line when extra parts cost more than the original kit itself. [V]
Dragon’s Ferdinand is a pretty good kit out of the box. It does need a little putty in spots, but its was a simple afv, and Dragon has made a good kit for it. As far as OTB you could always add detail to the tool straps and what not, most of which could probably be made from scrap you already have laying around.
Or try the 1/72 scale range from Revell-Germany. Panthers, Pz IIIs, Pz IVs, Cromwell, Leclerc MBT, Merkava MBT… All superb kits.
For us in places where aftermarket details and conversion kits are very hard to find, every thing out of the box is ok. At first we just complain about the inaccuracies but in the end we just have to be contented with what we have and pray that the next kit will be better.
OOB you say?
You CANNOT beat the new Tamiya T-55, nor the Marder III. I haven’t built the IIIM yet, but it should be just as good. For another open-top AFV, try the AFV Club Hellcat, or if you like closed-top, go with the AFV Club Walker Bulldog. You like Prime Movers? There is nothing wrong with the Tamiya Famo, Famo with trailer (I got this for a graduation present a couple years ago–SWEET!) or the Dragon Wagon and Trailer combo.
Gip Winecoff
Styrene, you read my mind!
I’ll just add the Tamiya Pershing!
If you want German armor and you haven’t done many Tigers. Go with Academy’s Tiger w/interior. # 1348 or # 1387. I think one of the most complete kits OOB. There is even PE. It’s going to be a little more but there’s a lot there.
What’s your poison? I tend to lean towards modern armor with US equipment being heavily favored. That being said, a couple of Tamiya “box shakers” are the Leopard 2A5 and JGSDF Type 90 MBT. These tend to go for a little bit of money (over $30), but are worth the expense.
A couple of cheaper kits kicking around are Italeri’s M1A2 and their ex-Esci M60A1 (not the M60 Blazer, the IDF parts are rather bleak). Likewise the Revell of Germany boxing of the ex-Esci M60A3TTS is a superb kit of a tank very close to my heart.
Another kit that is an interesting build is the AFV Club West German Wiesel, both the TOW and 20mm armed versions. They include some PE parts for the little tiny drive sprockets. One of them is molded in white and includes markings for a German vehicle deployed to Somalia. I got mine on Ebay for a fraction of their retail price. Seems like they just aren’t that popular a vehicle, but are very nice little kits. They turn out about the size of a 1/72 scale tank. The TOW one has one of the nicest TOW sets available. I’d like to see it sold separately, apparently it will be boxed with the ex-Skybow M40 recoilless rifle.
Speaking of Skybow, their M38A1 an M38A1C Jeeps are two superb soft skins. Highly recommended. I have the M38A1C which is a Jeep with the 106mm Recoilless Rifle. Cool vehicle.
I have to agree with build22. The Academy kit is one of the best OOB kits I have seen for the cost. As Gip pointed out, the Tamiya Dragon Wagon or Famo are great kits, but with the $100 price tag, they’d better be! Any Tamiya kit should be good, as well as the AFV stuff, but a little harder to find. Just my thoughts.
demono69
Thanks guys.
I have a swap meet coming up in september.
I will be looking for those kits.
Any kit that gives you pleasure in building. Some people get too involved and to the excessive with anything they do. The main purpose for building models I thought is the enjoyment one is suppose to derive from the hobby. It is not the kit but the desire of the modeler and his or her expertise.
The madness never ends. Isn’t that great???
Madness…hmmmm. I think there is no better word for it, Tiger44. It is definitely madness.
Come to think of it, almost all of the brilliant scientists, artists, thinkers and others in past who contributed most to the society have been (for the most of their lives) called mad.
Madness…hmmmm.