Tamiya 1/35th Chieftain V

[Simon Cornes]

I haven't done any AFV modelling for around 35 years but I picked up one of these at a car boot for £10 yesterday.

Could you give me some tips about building this straight from the box - assuming no big accuracy issues?

I'm an enamels man so any guidance you could give on techniques would also be much appreciated as I don't imagine going into AFV's big style - this one just scratches an itch!!

Thanks

Simon

[SaintsPhil]

You could do a lot worse than looking at one of Dan's builds

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234981662-chally-1/page-5#entry2033966

Be careful though once you start on AFV it's infectious...

[Kiwidave4]

It dates from the time when Tamiya was unsure if it was making toys or models but is quite accurate if you want to build a Mk2+. It is not a Mk5 as stated on the box.

The main shortcomings are lack of detail, but I don't know what sort of accuracy/detail you want. Robert Lockie made a corrections list for it years ago which can still be found on Dan Hays site <http://www.onepointed.com/dan/model/ChieftainTweaks/>.

There are several discussions about the kit on this site, and many builds in the Armour section, ranging from OOB, through aftermarket updates to a couple of my scratch built conversions.

The kit goes together well, and I would suggest that the only thing you really must do is remove the clips that attach the side skirts - these date from its original release as a motorised kit and are definitely not scale!