plastic-stasher Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I have been building aircraft kits for some years now and decided some time ago to dabble in the black arts of armour modelling.You can probably guess my thinking: " Slap a load of glue in its general direction and then cover it with thick, gloopy, mud-coloured paint." Well, I had a look at the selection on offer at my local model shop and picked out a kit that I thought looked how tanks should be.It was a Dragon 1/35 Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. C. On a visit to Telford shortly afterwards, I recalled what a friend had said about Friul tracks and duly bought some for the aforementioned tank. Having now opened the box and had a good look at the contents, I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that I may have done the equivalent of buying an F! racing car before passing my driving test. It occurs to me that I may be well advised to try my luck with something much less complicated first before embarking on the Dragon kit. Can anyone recommend a more suitable entry-level kit to start with, and are there any good research sites I could use when the time comes to embark on the Dragon kit? Thanks in advance from a somewhat nervous newbie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangor Lad Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Almost any Tamiya armour kit would be a good intro. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I agree with Bangor Lad, Tamiya go together well. Some are old moulds, but still good. I've just made a Tiran 5 Israeli tank,a WW 1 British tank and I've just started their new Jagdpanzer IV/70 Lang. All went together really well. Good luck, and enjoy the dark side of the creepy crawlies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 You can also try the smaller 1/72 scale, but if you want to go for 1/35, I'd agree with Tamiya. Also look for minimum road wheels count, such as the Panzer II. regards, Jack 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Vor!!! Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Tamiyas Cromwell is a good kit to start with No vices at all The Strumgeschtuz are aslo good but more involved build 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 You can also try the smaller 1/72 scale, but if you want to go for 1/35, I'd agree with Tamiya. Also look for minimum road wheels count, such as the Panzer II. regards, Jack Good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs2man Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Also worth considering is the Tamiya 1/35 Tiger I late version . The advantage of the late ones is that they had internally sprung steel wheels with no rubber tyres , so it saves you the bother of painting all the tyres and means you can assemble all the wheels before painting . Also , the track guards are well clear of the tracks , so you can fit the tracks after you paint everything . The only downside is that the kit comes with individual track links , which take a bit of cleaning up and assembly . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plastic-stasher Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Thank you all for the advice. I know Tamiya have an excellent reputation for build quality as far as aircraft are concerned, so it doesn't surprise me that the same applies to their armour kits. I also like the idea of starting with a vehicle that doesn't have a particularly complex system of wheels and tracks. From an aesthetic point of view, I rather prefer what I presume are the older types of vehicles. In other words, I think a tank should look like a tank, covered with lumps and looking like an apprentice piece from a Clyde shipyard. Some modern tanks look far too smooth to me. I would also appreciate any advice on good research websites, especially with walk-around photographs so I can get an idea of what the original looked like. Thank you again for all advice. It is greatly welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintsPhil Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 My first armour build in 15+ years was the tamiya cromwell, lovely kit I highly recommend it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vally G Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Here are a couple of walk-around links: http://svsm.org/gallery/armor http://www.primeportal.net/the_battlefield_armor.htm A couple more Tamiya suggestions for you: BT-7 and Matilda. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radpoe Spitfire Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) I concur with all the comments about Tamiya kits as starters, the company have a good reputation for kits that fit well. A good starter of theirs is the Sherman M4A3- it is one of their earlier moulds and relatively inexpensive. No internal detail, but externally not bad for its age. The same goes for Tamiya's Matilda, again an earlier kit. For German AFV's the Jagdpanther assault gun is a good buy, as is the Panzer II- a smaller tank used in the early Blitzkriegs and western desert which has all the whistles and bells of the apprentice shop build look you're after. Regards Adrian Edited June 11, 2015 by Radpoe Spitfire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingers Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 The same goes for Tamiya's Matilda, again an earlier kit. There are two versions of the Matilda by Tamiya an older and a newer (2 year old?) the newer is the better although iirc the older goes together well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_biggles Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You can also try the smaller 1/72 scale, but if you want to go for 1/35, I'd agree with Tamiya. Also look for minimum road wheels count, such as the Panzer II. regards, Jack Tamiya kits for a newbie are perfect as they fit together pretty well, and I don't think that there are no kits out there, that do not require a little bit of cleanup and the odd bit of filler. I know this as I have two kit on the go - 1/35 Tiger 1 mid-prod with fruil tracks and photoetch (both a first for me) and about 80% complete and a 1/35 Challenger 1 Mk3 (50% built), and both kits have given me the confidence to enable me to be a returning newbie after a break of 20+years and not scare me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Av8fan Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) Another vote for Tamiya , and for fewer road wheels. I have a Tamiya Challenger MK1 & a King Tiger started. The MK 1 is not as smooth as this current gen of tanks imho. Take a look here for some builds. I found that there were enough road wheels to make me wonder what I had gotten into, but not so many that I gave it up. At least it isn't like the US T-28! I like the King Tiger very much. I have to get the paint stripper out as my pattern for the paint job is a mess. Having to pack up the work area has stalled any/all builds. I added a few more kits before packing up the bench: HB Canadian Leopard and Tamiya Tiger 1. I did find the builds that I had started to be fun and interesting. Good mojo restorers. Edit for typo. Edited June 19, 2015 by Av8fan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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