which company?

Hans von Hammer

First think you need to decide is if you want a kit with two one-piece tracks, 50-piece link & length,  or 600-piece indy-link tracks...

 

Which has nothing to do with the brand of kit. Tamiya, DML, Italeri, Tasca, AFV CLUB, Hobby Boss, Trumpeter, Bronco... ect... ALL of them use a variety of different track designs in their kits. It doesn't even have that much to do with the subject. Trumpeter for example gives you rubber band tracks (that SUCK) in there BTR-50 kit but provide indi links in the ASU-85 kit. Same exact chassis, same track design... two methods of modeling them. Bottom line, Do your research to see what's included...

Also, on a side note.... Indi tracks are not hard, they're quite easy in fact for a modeler with a shred of patience. Anyone who favors building old Monogram kits shouldn't be lacking in patience and as such... really has no reason to whine about indi links... :)

First think you need to decide is if you want a kit with two one-piece tracks, 50-piece link & length,  or 600-piece indy-link tracks...

I believe the only Merc IVs out there are the Academy kit and the Hobby Boss kit. Each has their relative merits, either kit should build fine. I would not suggest either kit to a first time builder though. They are relatively expensive and rather involved builds.

I'm also a firm believer in not chosing a company blindly for a kit. Just about every company (except for a couple of high end manufacturers) has a few dogs in the pound that are still found on the shelves of the local hobby shops. I suggest you chose a subject (like you indicated with the Merk) and then find the kit that would suit you best.

If you like modern main battle tanks, I would suggest a Tamiya Type 90 MBT. High quality, solid kit that's been around for over a decade and can be bought relatively cheap, in the $20 range.

I am thinking of building an Israeli MERKAVA IV tank.  There seems to be a lot of different mfg of kits out there and I did not want to in way over my head or build a kit with only 12 pieces or wildly inaccurate.

That's all good advice, and I'll repeat some of it.

If you're looking for a quick, simple build, Tamiya kits are the best.  The practically build themselves, and they can look very respectable.  I'm a big fan of their 1:48 tanks just because the tracks are so easy to assemble.

If you don't mind occasionally cursing at the instructions or a few poor fits, Dragon kits tend to have a bit more detail than Tamiya.

AFV Club kits tend to be over-engineered, in my opinion.  They have a lot of neat subjects that no one else does.

Bronco and Trumpeter are a little hit and miss.  Some good kits, some bad.

Tasca kits are the best quality of any, but they're pricey.

Academy is a little spotty too, but some of their kits are first rate, and they tend to cost less than the others.  Some of their kits have accuracy problems, but the M12 I built was a gem of a kit.

My preferred companies are Trumpeter and AFV Club. 

Are there certain subjects that you favor? WW2?  US?  German?  Modern?

To ask which company people prefer is too broad a question.  The fact is each company has its share of dogs and gems.  Tamiya is understood to be a good "entry" kit company.  But they also make some god-awful kits that are widely available (1/35 Panther A and 1/35 Panzer II F/G).

As for pricing, much of it depends on where the company is located.  Ukraine?  France?  China?  Japan?  Don't let price suggest quality-- that's of limited correlation.

 Tell us what you like and you'll get well informed advice options.

Tojo72

I like Dragon and Tamiya

Generally,

DML= more detail, more parts, trickier construction, but very nice

Tamiya= easier construction, but not as detailed, great fit, still a quality kit, sometimes pricier

 

Dragon offers more subjects and gives more bang for the buck.

Italeri makes some nice easy kits, but tend to be more simplified then say Dragon without all the AM parts included in their kits. Price is usually quite reasonable. I enjoy them and are nice if you want to pound a kit  out.

First,,, welcome back to the hobby and welcome to the forums.

If you want to get your feet wet without overwhelming yourself, pick up a Tamiya armor kit....  good value for the money, ease of construction and accuracy.

I like DML and Tamiya

Generally,

DML= more detail,more parts,trickier construction,but very nice

Tamiya= easier construction,but not as detailed,great fit,still a quality kit

I only built a handful of Club AFV,Revell,and Trumpeter,so I dont have too much info on them,but no major problems,of them I prefer AFV