Heller 1/35 scale armor

Yes and yes. Heller has their own molds but recently some Italeri kits have begun to be released in Heller boxes. The Heller M4A3 Sherman is the Italeri kit originally sold as the M4A2 Jumbo.

The Leopard kits are Heller originals as is the Gepard. The Heller Gepard is poor when compared to the ancient Tamiya Gepard.

Thanks for the info,

I built a Tamiya years ago and wanted to build another along with a Schutzenpanzer Marder in the NATO tricolor camo.  

I would suggest going with the Tamiya Gepard. It is a solid older kit, as are their Marders. Heller armor is finicky at best. I have started 3:AMX-30, Somua S-35, and GMC CCKW. I have only completed the Deuce/CCKW. The other two are stalled due to their tricky construction. In my limited experience, Heller AFVs tend to be a bit more fragile and intricate than those from other companies

How is the detail in a Heller kit compared to an Italeri or Tamiya?

Not as good as Italeri kits from the same era (late 70s-early 80s). Heller over-engineered nearly everything with giant working hinges on just about every hatch and door. Even the hinges were separate.

Tamiya's quality jumped leaps and bounds during the same time period especially when they began designing kits without motorization. I think the best Heller armor kits were their CCKW and their post war Jeep.