Wanting to build my first armor kit

well if you look in the Sherman group build there are most of the US tanks there
the Tamiya kits are good
but for your first kit go for the Sherman then the Tamiya Pershing

Welcome to the world of Armor... As far as recomending a good American armor kit, about your only choice is something based on a Sherman or Stuart... Tamiya's old M4A3 is a great old kit and is easy to build. It has aged well, there are some problems with the kit (most glaring is the absence of sponson bottoms) but for a first timer that isn't such a huge deal. The suspension looks complicated but as far as makers its the easiest to build.. Kits from AFV Club and Academy are more accurate in this area but more complicated to build because of it. That would be my suggestion though is kit number: tam35122 It isn't a hard kit to find and its priced reasonabley. Tamiya's newer Sherman kits are nice too but are more expensive. Hope this helps...

Good luck with your first foray into armor, and let us know how it progresses. If you have any questions o'l Shermanfreak (who should be chiming in shortly[:D} ) is a fountain of knowledge as are most of the folks that frequent this site... you came to a good place.

I enjoyed building the Tamiya M4A3 Sherman. It was one of my first tanks that I did and had no problems with it and really enjoyed building it as well. Other than the only WW2 US kit I have done is the Academy Stuart Honey. It was a nice little build to with only a few minor hurdles.

!!!

Yes! Grab up a Tamiya Sherman and join the Group build! It'll be a great intro to 'the dark side'.


Ron

I built Tamiya's early Sherman and it was straight forward with no problems. I've got Academy's Hellcat and have heard good things about the company.

I have to agree with the rest, get the Tamiya Sherman. It is a pretty straight foward build.
As far as the bottom of the sponsons being open it's not really a big deal because you probably wont notice it when your done.

A Tamiya Sherman is a simple and good kit to start with. The Tamiya Pershing is another cool kit to build. Straightforward and simple. I have built both of them and I had no problems with them as far as fit is concerned.

Tamiya's 1/35 M60A1. Thats the first armor kit I built; it went togeather great, it detailed, has a basic camo sceme, plenty of aftermarket support, and it took me 3 days to built. It is not a common kit in hobby stores but u can find it on ebay easily. What period are you figures from? this is a post war/ vietnam tank ( not used it action much ). Yea it is also cheap!!

I found the Taymia M4A3 105mm for REALLY cheap on Ebay. Is this the same kit? Thery also have the M4 version. Are these kits as good as the M4A3 kit?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record:

The Tamiya Sherman is the kit of choice.

There are four versions of the Tamiya Sherman, any of which would be a good choice, but the most economical will be the original release of the M4A3.

Both are excellent choices sphealey.
Any of the Tamiya Shermans ... with exception of their very old Easy 8 kit are great builds. All are very well engineered and fairly accurate. All great first builds.

Sherman (Tamiya/Dragon), Stuart (Academy/Tamiya), Priest (Italieri).
All great Tiger targets.
Gotter.

Hi sphealey,
I'm going to join in and vote with the majority, a Tamiya Sherman, specifically the Tamiya M4A3 #35122 would be my choice . Simple, staight forward and fun to build.
Regards,
Joe

QUOTE: Originally posted by Gotterdamerung All great Tiger targets. Gotter.

Aww don't do that.. You'll scare him off!

Welcome to the Darkside sphealey. Tamiya's Sherman tanks are very good and would make a good first armor kit to build.
mark956

I have just recently started building armor ,before it was always WW2 german aircraft.Now I like armor better. My first was a panther tank by tamiya.It cost about 10 dollers at a Hobby Lobby on sale for half price. I took my time and it turned out good.I put in on Ebay and got 32.00 for it.The buyer was happy and so was I.Now I have about 5 to build.Plus about 15 aircraft. I love it and it helps me calm down after work and after dark.

Sounds great gagoatman. You could also post some pictures of your models here.
mark956

I've got to agree with everybody. The Tamiya M4A3s(all versions except the old old motorized easy 8), can't beat. They are all easy to build and with no problem. If buget is a big issue, also try the older Tamiya M5A1 Stuart, Italeri USMC M4 Sherman and M-24 Chafee, they are also very good although not as perfect as the Tamiya M4A3s.

hey goat what scale and how in the world did you sell a model kit?

If you want to expand the options a bit from "tank" to "armoured vehicle," I'll play devil's advocate and suggest the Tamiya Greyhound! A wunnerful, wunnerful kit!



It's such an attractive little thing, and it falls together. Remember that the vast majority of vehicles in the armies of this period were not tanks.

An alternative suggestion would be the Tamiya 2 /12 ton 6x6 truck -- the one vehicle, more than any other, that defeated the Nazis in WWII! Now this is a truly SUPERB model. What a beautiful kit!



Or hell just do a Sherman. Enjoy.

Here again i have to agree with everybody, get a sherman, When i started armor kits it was my first tank. Its a excelent kit and easy to add to. I know this isint ww2 but i also recommend the M48A3 patton tank that is another great kit. As with all Tayima kits armor shouldn't be much of a problem to build but to armor.

Awsome i am also building a sherman for the group build. But it is the M4A1 series streight from the box