AndrewJosie
I am a novice/intermediate and looking for recommendations on a Sherman Tank kit as it seems like there are quiet a vew out there.
Thank you!
Hi,
As a novice builder (like me) a couple of things to look at when considering an armor build are:
- what kind of tracks does it come with
- does it come with add-on stuff, like photo-etch parts and/or crew figures, and
- what is the total part count
In general there are a lot of newer kits coming out that are very detailed (some even with full or partial interiors). But as a novice that may be more than you might want to bite off, before you gain more building experience. In general many of these kits are the ones with very high parts counts and sometimes even tacks where each link has to be built up from several parts.
Other kits though may come with tracks that are molded in regular plastic where large sections (representing numberous links) end up being glued togther to make one entire track. Some people like these type tracks while others don't. In general I kind of like them because they can give you a build with authentic looking "sag" in the tracks in the right places.
Many older kits (and some newer ones) however come with tracks molded in either vinyl or a softer plastic where you sometimes have to melt some tabs at the ends so that they form a single loop. These type tracks can be sometimes easir to deal with than others, as long as you can get them to stay as a loop, and as long as the plasttic/vinyl hasn't gotten hard and brtlle. A drawback with them are that sometimes it can be diffificult to get them to sit right (since you are trying to bend them around spindly road wheels and axles) and they can kind of not look like they are sitting right, since the stiffness of the treads may make them "arch up" above the road wheels rather than "sag" like on a real tank.
And finally, while photo-etch can make for some nice details, there are some manufacturers which kind of seem to go overboard a bit and add photo-etch for parts that maybe don't need to be. Since poto-etch can sometimes be a little difficult to work with, espacially when you are first just starting out, it might be worthtwhile to specifically focus on kits where it isn't necessarily needed, for starters.
All that said, there are also alot of variation in Sherman tanks, from the earliest ones with rounded cast hulls and 75mm guns, to upgunned ones and/or oneswith angular, welded hulls and even some post WWII ones.
In general many of the Tamiya kits look like they could be a nice option.
Regards
Pat