best 1/72 scale armor

Revell of Germany is tops overall, but there are several very good kits among just about all 1/72 scale manufacturers. Revell does have a dog or two (StuG IV, M4A1 Sherman) but their kits are generally very good.

I liked ESCI but not sure if you can find them these days.

Regards, Dan

ESCI is available from Italeri now. Not everything but enough to keep you busy all summer. I just saw a M48 in my local hobby shop for under $10.

I personally like the new Revell stuff and the old ESCI (Italeri) kits for detail, good fit, etc.
Hasagawa also has some good stuff but most of the new stuff is German. There are also several companies from Check, Russia, etc bringing out some great kits. These are sometimes a little thicker in detail but still build up nice, ACE, PST, Rodan for some.
A great site to see reviews of 72 stuff is http://www.ontheway.us/default.htm
but you won't find any 76th stuff as he focuses just on 72. He also has some great links to other small scale armor, definitely worth adding to the bookmarks.

Revell Germany for sure, although I'm ready to bet that Trumpeter 1/72 AFV kits will be good! If you want to foray into garage manufacturers, MMS of England (metal) and Millicast of Scotland (resin) are best, often even better than Revell!

Rev AG tops all I've seen, Dragon makes a really cool mini RC Tiger so I suspect their static kits are pretty good.

Ausf,

actually, Dragon's little AFV are a mixed lot really... They still have some features of the toys they are derived from but some details can be as good or better than Revells. Their tracks are very nicely detailled for instance, but are in a plastic that refuses to let itself be glued. Altogether, Revell and Italeri's track link/section system is better.

I haven't build much (and by much, I mean like 3 models) in 1/72 scale, but two of the three are Revell, and I liked them well enough.

I was disappointed with Dragon's 1/72 scale armor line. While the tracks looked very nice, they were a bear to work with and the Elefant tracks were way too long to fit the vehicle properly, even when the tracks were tied down for sag.

I was very disappointed in their M1A1 and M1A2. Both were based on motorized vehicles and it made the model look poor.

The Panther has this diecast upper and lower hull that don't fit too well together. Also dealing with the diecast cased my 10 yr old to have to work with super glue verses the normal styrene cement.

I do have the Rodan JS3 Stalin tank. It is very nice, but the tracks were rather wavy. They only make this tank and two different SdKfz armored cars. My Stalin had short shot sprockets but Squadron.com replaced them for me. Detail was soft, but I used an ExtraTech photo etch set to improve the kit and added an aluminum barrel by Armo.

I also have the ExtraTech M-36 Jackson tank destroyer. Another nice kit, but this one is in the $25 price range. On the plus side, it includes photoetch and resin parts. The plastic tracks and suspension are some of the best I've seen for a Sherman chassised vehicle in 1/72 scale.

The two Trumpeter 1/72 scale kits I have are nicely done as well. I have the ZIL-157 cargo and fuel truck. I recommend either of them or the Chinese variant (CA-30? same kit different cab). The ExtraTech photoetch set adds some missing detail like headlight guards and wiper blades.

Still for overall quality and selection, Revell is tops.

i'd always liked ESCI, except fot the T34 vinyl silver tracks

They're not quite 1/72, but the most recent 1/76 Fujimi kits are some of the best models I've ever built, any scale, period. Excellent detail and fit, with beautiful link-and-length tracks. The JS-2 and JS-2M are absolutely incredible. The Tiger I Late and the JGSDF Type 61, 74, and 90 MBTs are all excellent kits as well.

Beware of Fujimi's older kits, though. They're not terrible by any means, but they're just old, and not up to the current standards as exemplified by the above-mentioned kits. Fujimi did try to improve some of their older kits by re-releasing them with fairly decent link-and-length tracks to replace the entirely silly detail-free rubberband tracks that are supplied with their older stuff.

I've got a bunch of the Revell AG kits, most of the Dragon kits, and a few others by different manufacturers.

I really like the Revell kits. The Tigers are especially nice and the PzKpw IV is not bad either. The weakest part (literally) of that kit are the shurtzen brackets. Their older kits leave a bit to a lot to be desired.

My biggest complaint of the Dragon kits is that the instructions always seem to have errors in them. Sometimes it's no big deal, but on others, it can cause some real problems. I had to pull out my 1/35 Elefant and my 1/35 Abrams for reference while doing the 1/72 versions. (The Abrams is a really weak kit, in my opinion!) Like Maj. Rob said, the Elefant tracks were way too long. I wound up trimming off 4 links from each side. Not as easy as it might seem as the end two links from each end of the run overlap each other and need to be shaved in half! But I didn't have any trouble superglueing them together. Here's a picture of it.

[image]http://rongeorge.com/albums/armor/elefant72Right.jpg[/image]

I've also got an ESCI, a Hasagawa, and an Italeri kit. The ESCI is a mess, the Has tracks are really poor, and the Italeri doesn't seem to be too bad, but the detail isn't as good as on the Revell's.

I understand the Trumpeter kits that have just been released have PE mesh for the engine grills. But I haven't read anything more about them.

Sometimes, it's a matter of buying what you can find. i.e. I don't think anyone but Dragon has a 1/72 Sturmtiger out.

Good luck.

Trumpeter has released 1/72 scale Armor? Man! I'm behind the times! Anyone have the link?

I myself have built over 390 tanks and vehicles in 1/72 scale, most of which were the ESCI kits either under that name, or Italeri. I have never had a problem with them, except fot the rubber band tracks that sometimes caused problems. My favorite kits for ease of build and best detail are Revell/Germany and PST in that order. ACE kits build into beautiful models, but it's a bit of a fight to get them there with all the modifications you sometimes have to do, and all the flash you need to remove. Still, ACE is the place to get all your modern Soviet Armor in this scale.

Duke, The only 1/72 Trumpeter I've seen so far are the Elefant and Ferdinand. (Check out greatmodels.com and search for tp7204 and tp7205.) They run about $14 retail compared to about $9 for the DML's. I had one in my hand a couple of weeks ago, but didn't get it. More are promised, and if I remember, some are subjects I haven't seen before in 1/72. I remember seeing a Bergepanther (or Bergetiger??) announced, but don't remember if it was Trumpeter or DML. keep your eyes out!

390?? Wow, that's an impressive build! Did you do them for wargamming or display?

With all the good remarks about Revell, I am going to have to try some kits. I have a PzkpW Mk.III from Revell but haven't built it yet. I am not familiar with PST...Russian?

Dan

PST is Belorussian company I believe, but I'm not positive. It's defintely Eastern European. I've ordered a couple of their kits from the KV-1 and IS-2 series and was very impressed. The plastic is a little soft so you need to be careful assembling them, but the detail is very good. They've got a very nice line of variations on both the KV and IS families of vehicles, and a few soft vehicles and towed arty pieces. I've heard that they're now working on the T-34 family but haven't seen anything official yet.

Wow. Thanks for the replies guys. I am looking at synchronizing all my model building to 1/72 scale, mainly because I really enjoy small details and detail painting with my airbrush(can't get tired of the airbrush!!).

QUOTE: Originally posted by philp A great site to see reviews of 72 stuff is http://www.ontheway.us/default.htm

Thanks for the link philp. it's just what i've been looking for. a good review site w/ no b***s***!

Anyone have any recommendations for what 1/72 WWII tank to build? there are lots of choices, and i'd like some of your opinions. thanks a bunch to all of you.

My favourite WWII kits have usually been German vehicles, mainly because there's more room to do fun things with camo schemes. In the 1/72 scale world there's also the advantage that there are a lot more (or at least it seems that way) kits for German vehicles, so you've got more to chose from...which may or may not be a good thing

There are planty of typical, classic and obscure answers to this, but my suggestion is,
pick a good brand,(as above) and then buy the one you like the colour of, or the look of. Then read about it, and by association read about some others and go from there!

Matt

Check out www.tracks-n-troops.com

I just started on the Trumpeter 1/72 Zil Army truck and it seems just fine.. After the problematic Airfix the kit seemed to be a breeze... Just bought the Hasegawa Willy's jeep.. See how it turns out...

Cheers,
Nandakumar

I have bought and built many of the New Dragon 1/72 kits.. They need a little finessing, but they are the best as far as details and tru to scale.. I have built Hasegawa 1/72 and it is more like 1/76.. I am interested in the new Trumpeter kits, but they are kinda pricey for 1/72.. I am looking forward to the NEW Dragon kits coming soon.

QUOTE: Originally posted by wipw Duke, The only 1/72 Trumpeter I've seen so far are the Elefant and Ferdinand. (Check out greatmodels.com and search for tp7204 and tp7205.) They run about $14 retail compared to about $9 for the DML's. I had one in my hand a couple of weeks ago, but didn't get it. More are promised, and if I remember, some are subjects I haven't seen before in 1/72. I remember seeing a Bergepanther (or Bergetiger??) announced, but don't remember if it was Trumpeter or DML. keep your eyes out! 390?? Wow, that's an impressive build! Did you do them for wargamming or display?

Thanks for the word on that! I'll have to keep my eye peeled for some of that unique Trumpeter stuff. It'll be welcome since I've built almost everything out there in 1/72 scale, except for ACE's offerings, only because they bring them out so fast I can't afford to get them when released!

Actually, at first I did do them for wargaming, but not quite like the wargaming you might think. I had two friends who I wargamed with and since one of them had Armor and troops, I just had to start building them since I HATE TO LOSE! LOL! I also started helicopters then too, so I could take his army down better with anti-tank helos and vertical envelopment!

Okay, guys, I did it. I bought a 1/72 Trumpeter Ferdinand. Kit looks really nice. They have even included a small PE fret with the engine screens, rain guards(?) on the front of the hull, and some fittings for the hull side. A piece of string is included to make the cables, too. There are 257 plastic parts, and the castings look very nice and sharp. The tracks are really nice link and length in black plastic. (They do look like they have a very small ejector pin mark on half of the links, but I'm not sure. It might be correct. I'll have to get out the magnifiers and compare them to my 1/35 Jaguar Tracks.) There are some massive ejector pin marks on the top of the fender moldings on the bottom hull, but I think they will be covered up by the hull sides. The only other ejector marks I see that might be a problem are two small ones on the lower rear hull. Why they molded this piece the way they did, I don't understand. They may wind up being covered over by the exhaust shroud. I'm not sure, yet.

Over all, I'd give this one an A in the box. They build will tell.

I prefer dragons 1/72 scale models over hasegawa's. Have already finished ferdinand, abrams, panther g, on the waiting list of to be built are hasegawas kits., as soon as the photos were printed, will send it here.

Ben Borja
IPMS_Manila

Any of you guys ever built any of the Matchbox 1/76 AFV range..? I mean, they're not the best, by far, but what a neat idea it was at the time to provide the modeler with a piece of road, or some building, bridge,... to serve as a base for the completed model... As a kid I loved them!

Some of the subjects were and still remain unique at those scales... Monty's Caravan, Char B1bis (although that will soon be taken care of!), Wespe, M16,...

And who started with the old Airfix kits? My first ever tank must have been their MkI Male (although I now know it's a MkII in fact). It's still a very good kit! My favourite in the Airfix range was the Sheridan... (not so accurate though!)

QUOTE: Originally posted by djmodels1999 Any of you guys ever built any of the Matchbox 1/76 AFV range..? I mean, they're not the best, by far, but what a neat idea it was at the time to provide the modeler with a piece of road, or some building, bridge,... to serve as a base for the completed model... As a kid I loved them! Some of the subjects were and still remain unique at those scales... Monty's Caravan, Char B1bis (although that will soon be taken care of!), Wespe, M16,... And who started with the old Airfix kits? My first ever tank must have been their MkI Male (although I now know it's a MkII in fact). It's still a very good kit! My favourite in the Airfix range was the Sheridan... (not so accurate though!)

Yeah, I did build those old matchbox lits. I think somewhere I still have all the old bases that those kits came on! I gotta pull them out and paint them, now that I know how to make them a bit more realistic looking.

I also built alot of the old Airfix kits, but not the ones you've mentioned. Ah memories!

well, my hobby shop carries airfix and hasegawa, and just now, dragon. I detest airfix, but I'm happy with hasegawa. their just plain fun to build!!! revell has a lot more little pieces, but I enjoy them too.