Heavy Arty;

    Do Not worry about wasted P.E. Because on builds like this,There is a little work put into the build, But as in the past, No aftermarket parts are used. Ah Yes! No FruilModel Tracks or P.E. Need apply!

Tanker-Builder

Hi Heavy!

 Well, I just could NOT leave it unbuilt. I guess that's why they call me a modeler, Huh?

 

HeavyArty

Or a glutton for punishment. I just don't see the point in throwing all that extra money in AM parts at a horrible kit. But, like I said, to each their own.

I agree here. It's not worth putting extra money for aftermarket, but okay for chucking some newer stuff from the spare parts box like 5 gallon cans or an antenna.

Or a glutton for punishment. I just don't see the point in throwing all that extra money in AM parts at a horrible kit. But, like I said, to each their own.

Hi Heavy!

 Well, I just could NOT leave it unbuilt. I guess that's why they call me a modeler, Huh?

Well I guess you could still load the thing up with firecrackers or shoot at it with a BB gun... 

I still wouldn't waste my time on it, but to each their own.

You already have the kit; it's not collectable (worth more unbuilt to a collector than to a model builder*), and it is a rather fun build. It looks like the tank it's supposed to and a pleasant stroll down memory lane.

Build it. That the purpose of a model kit.

*Now if the kit was collectable and worth some decent money, I'd tell you to sell it for what it could get on a site like eBay, and use the money to buy a more up-to-date kit.

I bought this kit at Hobby Lobby's clearance aisle for a whopping $7.50 a few years ago and am using parts leftover from an old Lo Models conversion set (circa 1988-89) to build it into an M48A2GA2.

Are there better versions of this kit out there? Yes, Revell recently released one, but I have this kit and it is not a "too" terrible kit.

Yeah, you're probably best off just building and painting the thing as a quick, simple, and dirty build to decompress...

Bill,

Me, too.

Bill

Ah, the Tamiya M41....  I think I've built more than a couple over the years. It's a very "robust" kit, looks like it was meant to be something that would survive motorization and hard use. The one I still have was used to test a four color camo scheme for an ROK M47. It came out too neat to not display it. I even found a set of AFV Club one piece tracks for it, for $4, so counding the $9 I got the kit for, I call it cheap fun. 

Quite a while ago I hacked up a Monogram M48 for the engine deck, grafted it into the rear hull of a Tamiya -A3 and had something that wasn't in plastic yet. I think the rest of the kit ended up gone.

Tanker-Builder

     Well, there"s this. When Monogram and others did this vehicle it was either called 1/35 or 1/32, it's so close they figured no one would notice. The Armored Halftrack falls right in between t 1/34 I have been told. Molding techniques being what they were,the tolerances were done is such a way that surface detail was the only thing in mind.

Monogram introduced the 1/35 scale for armor models and Japanese model companies copied some of their kits and adopted the scale.

Renwal had the largest line of armor kits and it was 1/32. Then Airfix introduced a handful of 1/32 scale armor kits in 1976. These were very well done.

So, Monogram decided to switch to 1/32. Some of their later kits are pretty good for the time, but are 1/32. This old Patton is 1/35 scale. It is long past its prime, but for many decades, was the only way to get an M48A2 in 1/35 scale.

Today, there are many better kits so any money spent on aftermarket would be better spent on one of the newer kits by Dragon or Revell of Germany.

If you have it, build it. It is a fun kit to just glue together and paint. Much like that old Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog.

If you're teaching a young kid to build models, and he wants to build a tank, the old Mongram M48 Patton or Tamiya M41 Bulldog kit are ideal for that task. There are plenty of newer M48 kits on the market today for the serious scale modeler.

Those shelves on the sides of the turret that are supposed to be open grab rails did it for me.

Bill

I agree with Gino, especially if you're looking for a fun build. Heck, even the almost-as-old Tamiya kit is "better".

The kit was first released in 1958. It is an old, really poorly detailed kit that isn't really worth building any longer. If you have all that AM, I would get one of the much better and up to current standards Dragon M48 kits. I wouldn't waste my time nor money on this old dog.