Advice for a beginner.

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Maybe we should start a list of all the hobby shop adresses we know?

Christian

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Caldric! Just to give you an idea of size, I measured an old Italeri 1/35th scale Panther A. Now these are really approximate numbers, just to give you an idea of size--so you guys with the calipers cut me some slack!!
Here goes:

7 1/2 inches long, plus a 2 1/4 inche gun barrel overhang.
3 3/4 inches wide.
3 1/2 inches tall (to anti-aircraft machine gun)

So, with a total length of 9 3/4 inches--well, there's your shoebox!

Very Best Regards, David

[Caldric]

Ahh great David. I seen during my browsing some 1/16th scale, those must be monsters, they talked about real gears and such. One the Tiger I I think was no longer being produced, I started to buy that right off just to have.

Anyway great thread, I notice that the price of Tamiya kits on the internet are really not bad at all for 1/35, much better then I expected.


Have any of you ran into the M18 Hellcat? US Tank Destroyer. This was what I wanted to start off with, but have not seen one at the Tamiya website.

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Caldric, now this is why I call these the best days in modeling. There are two M-18 kits on the market. One is by AFV Club, the other by Academy!! Both are 1/35th scale and neither is as expensive as a Tamiya Panther G! The write-ups and reviews I've seen basically say it's a buyers' choice as to which one to get, but I like the Academy simply because it contains the gun mantlet cover! Do you need the kit numbers?
Try Squadron.com and just search for "Hellcat" or "M-18". Best Regards, David

[Caldric]

Yes if you could give me the numbers would save me some time I think. Although a search would most likely get me what I want.

My wife just rolled her eyes when I was explaining it to her...

In 2000 I spent 1600.00 dollars on R/C helicopter, radio, engine etc. At least she did not explode this time.

[Starinov]

Can anybody tell me anything about "Academy" tanks? How are they compared to Tamya's?

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Guys!
Caldric, the kit numbers for the M-18 are:
AFV Club--3515
Academy--1375

Starinov, Academy entered the AFV market by re-issuing older Tamiya kits. Kits that Academy actually produced itself
are much, much better in quality. if you have a particular question about a particular kit, I would be glad to help. There isn't a distinguishing mark, that I know of, which will tell you whether a kit was a Tamiya reissue or a new mold cut by Academy. Best Regards, David

[Starinov]

Thanks David, but in general, are Academy AFVs better molded than Tamiya or the are almost the same in quality?

[Caldric]

Found the AFV Club model at greatmodels.com

Thanks David, and everyone else. I will order it up... And so it begins.

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Thanks David, but in general, are Academy AFVs better molded than Tamiya or the are almost the same in quality?

Academy is making good kits, but the older Tamiya mould aren't that good.
Tamiya is still better, although you'll get more for the money with Academy...

Christian

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Starinov, my humble opinion is that the latest offerings from Academy are close enough to the Tamiya standard that they are worth the price, which is generally lower anyway!
Luckily, Academy and Tamiya don't often duplicate the subjects of their new releases. There is no Tamiya equivalent to the M-18, M-10 and M-12 155mm Gun Motor Carriage.
On a few kits, IMHO, Academy is actually superior in quality, these include the M-113 ACAV and the M-60A1.
There have been long arguments about Academy's Tiger Is vs. Tamiya's.
I think the Academy Tiger I Early, with Interior stands by itself because of the interior, but it is an expensive model. Without the interior, the two last Tamiya Tiger I's, the "Initial Production" and the "Early Production" are easily the best on the market.
So it gets complicated unless you talk about individual kits.
Best Regards, David