M551 Sheridan Tank

I'm sorry I cant help you but.... to the FSM Forum

Hi, Matt. A most hearty welcome to the forum. Lucky you, working right at the heart of it. Well, okay, one of the arms, anyway!

I've never seen either of the kits you are talking about, but I'll tell you this, as a general rule, Tamiya have always pretty much been the best kits around for the time they were released. So, the Tamiya will probably be a nice kit, but not up to todays standards. May mean it's a little inaccurate and you may need to do some tweeking to it. For an example of an older Tamiya kit, take a quick look at the page 103 of the Panther Group Build. I just posted a work in progress picture of my Tamiya Panther A, which is a 70's era kit, I believe. But it's coming out okay. It just takes a lot more work than the new stuff. As far as Airfix goes, they are USUALLY one of the least accurate, least detailed kits around. I'm sure they must have a few good ones here and there since they are still in buisness after all these years, but comparing the two, I'm sure the Tamiya would be the better kit. Also, a 1/35 kit will always have more detail to it than a 1/72 kit.

Hopefully, someone will get on here soon that has a more intimate knowledge of one or both of these kits. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Again, welcome!

hehehe
well thanks for the welcome
i hope someone can help me decide, and soon.
i dont have much time hehe

All I know is Tamiya is awsome quality, but if it's an old tamiya kit it might not be up to par with today's. It really depends how old it is. I've never done Airifix, but if you prefer 1:72 then get it. 1/35 would be cool though, but it really depends on what you want. But ! Go to the "introduce yourself forum to introduce yourself to everyone here. Hope you like the forums!

By the way, Great Models has the Airfix kit in stock for $5.60. So beware of e-bay. You may be paying too much.

Bill

is there a link to Great Models site or online store?

http://greatmodels.com/

Thanks for the link :)
im thinking im going to go for the 1:35 Tamiya kit.
some of you have said that Tamiya is by far more detailed then Airfix.
although i enjoy 1:72 because they take up less shelf space and require less paint and glue, the 1:35 might be worth it for the detail.
anyone have any thoughts before i go for it?

Watch the shipping costs. Some of them are rediculous! Oh, and check out the feedback rating before commiting. I only deal with a very high rating.

yeah, the shipper is in Hong Kong and it will cost an extra $12 for shipping
which isnt that bad.
the seller is 100% positive but only has 3 feedback.
unlike me, who has 100% feedback and is in the hunreds hehe

The Tamiya kit is '70s vintage and has much of the detail, like tools, molded on. i built it a whilke back and added alot to it to make it look good. It came out well, with much work. I prefer 1/35 exclusively, so I would still go with the Tamiya kit. there was an article here in FSM a few years ago about making the Sheridan in Vietnam. Here is the link; http://www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=i&id=81 . I used this to make mine.

hmm...
this is such a hard decision!

Welcome to our little community Maxx. The Tamiya/Academy Sheridan are the same kit, both are not very good. The biggest problem is with the hull which was over simplified to make room for motorization. I finished one a few weeks ago, but I spent a bundle on AM parts. It still doesn't make up for the hull and track, but it's a Sheridan. I built it cause it was the first armor I was a crewman on. I have no knowledge of the Airfix kit, but I haven't heard much good about their armor kits.

its awesome you were a crewman on a Sheridan thats cool

but this is bad for me, both kits arent that good i gather.
only if Dragon made one or if Tamiya made a new one....

I've often wondered why one of the "Big Boys" haven't made a new one, it's a cool little vehicle. Very fast for it's time, but not much compared to an M1 series.

yeah...
they should make a new one...
but until then, i have to decide which one im gonna get.. Tamiya 1:35 or Airfix 1:72

Welcome to the armor forum Maxx. Good luck on your model.
mark956

Actually, it was very effective for its time. It was not designed as a Main Battle Tank, as the M1 Abrams is. It was a light, airborne recon vehicle designed to give the airborne troops some anti-armor capability. The 82nd Airborne is now pushing to get the defunct M8 Armored Gun System for the same purpose they used to have the Sheridan for. It was found after operations in Iraq, that they still need the capability that the Sheridan gave them. The Sheridan was retired from service in the mid '90s. It was pretty effectve in the Gulf war in '90-'91. It is still used in limited numbers here at the National Training Center, Ft Irwin , CA as OPFOR (enemy) vehicles. They have sheet metal pieces added to change their profile so they look more like soviet-style vehicles.

Here is some info on both the M551 and the M8.
M551: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m551a1.htm
M8 AGS: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m8-ags.htm

ahh yes i know all about that too ;)
my teachers think in a psychopath because of my love of militaria and military equipment and history.

Unfortunately, right now there is not a good Sheridan. Airfix's is, well, Airfix, late 60's early 70's vintage with regular re-relaelases but no upgrade.
Tamiya's as mertioned is essentially a motorized toy. I built one 9-10 years aog as an 82nd AB arriving in Desert Storm, the swan song of Sheridan combat. The last ones now are bieing used as opfor vismods to look like BMP's. The scale is said to be off on the Tamiya and Airfix amy be more porperly 1/76. If you must have a represebntation of a SHeridan, Tamiya's will be okay, but the kit does not represent a vehicle as it saw combat with the extensive shield and external .Ma Deuce.
There is a resin kit, hideouosly expensive by Warriors, IIRC. It is supposed ot be a really tough build.

why must the coolest tank have such mediocre kits?

I would dearly, dearly love a Sheridan kit :(