The Best Armor Kit

www.greatmodels.com is nice. They show what is in stock and have pretty decent prices and if you are obssesive-compulsive like me, it gives status updates on your order (they ship Fedex and UPS. UPS gives you a tracking e-mail but for me in Western PA, Fedex is 3 days faster). Squadron.com has great service, but their prices are more expensive. They only show what is in stock

Your choice also depends on what scale you want to work in. The only tank I have built recently is the Italeri 1/72 Merkava I and I love it, it is a delicate little jewel sitting there on my desk. With some lead fishing weights inside it makes a great paperweight.

My LOH does not have Academy Armor kits available. Any good web stores you all shop from?

Hello UA0124: There are so many good kits As it seems you are just starting out in the armour forum, I would suggest (as 'kitbashed' does) that you stick to either Academy or Tamiya kits. Both of same offer a decent range of kits...from WWII Allied or Axis replicas to those depicting more modern vehicles.

JWest21 ya just might be right on that. Building armor vehicles is a totally diffeferent beast the A/C

QUOTE: Originally posted by beav Don't let these freaks try to push tanks on you-which are monsters compared to the delicate art of making a small Armored fighting vehicle--due to the nice interior, usually completed, and the .................................................................(transmission terminated)

Ohhhh, so that is what they are...tank freaks .

You have a pretty good list, ua0124. Remember, the Dragon T-34 is nice, but the tracks come in pieces, where Tamiya's and the Academy are one piece "rubber band" tracks... much easier for someone just starting in armor. The individuals (indies) are nice when built, but they are tricky until you get the hang of it. However, you can find a ton of tips on them here. Just ask.

Don't let these freaks try to push tanks on you-which are monsters compared to the delicate art of making a small Armored fighting vehicle--due to the nice interior, usually completed, and the .................................................................(transmission terminated)

Tamiya seems to be the fav around here. They offer excellent instructions, fits are better than other, is that safe to say? Downside, Tamiya is more $$$. I guess you get what you pay for.

Here is a list of what seems to be excellent start kits.

Tamiya: Tiger l & ll; Wespe; M-60, Panther D late & G; several said no to the Panther A most likely do to be too inaccurate; T-55/72; King Tiger, Pershing.

Academy: M-60; M-51

Trumpeter: K-5; Morser Karl (Rail gun??); T-34

DML: T-34/76 Poor instructions from what I have gathered

Revell: 1/72 Merkava ll

Also stay away form open topped armor for now and railgun,.. more complex???

Don't forget the new Dragon kits that are coming out that are 3 in 1 kits! They include the parts to make any one of three variants of that kit. They also include tons of extra gear, metal barrels, and some Photo-etch parts. Stay away from Dragon's "Imperial Series" however since they are kinda old.

Okieboy

For a beginner starting out in WWII armor, I would have to say that Tamiya's offerings already mentioned would be a good place to start. Same is true of their T34 series from what I've heard (I've not built them personally). I started out my own armor building by doing their King Tiger, Tiger I-Mid, and Panther D Late and branched out from there. I found Dragon's kits to be more rewarding vs. the price and almost exclusively build them but they are more challenging. Welcome to the darkside of armor building and good luck as you embark on your own journey!

Oh thats a hard one to say.I personally like all the kits from different manufuctures.Tamiya makes some of the best kits in the world and are easy going in there assemblily.Some of the details are missing from them but is easily fix with a little sratch buildingRevell of Germany puts out some good kits to along with Iterali.They both have some fine detail and fragile parts to them.They take patients and time to put together.Dragoon puts outs some fine kits to along with Trumperter but these kits I would not recomend for a first timer.So if I was you go with Tamiya at first and I would start out with a Sherman,T-34,Kv-1or some of the modern type of tanks.These have a good assemblily time and can be modified a little with really destorying the theme of the subject.Personally I would start out with a T-34 due to they are fun to put together and can find a host of things from around the house to add on.Like twigs for logs,Chalk for painting a winter scheme and ect....They also come with add on armor and you would have a lot of pics from here as well as the web todo different thing with.Digger

The big problem with Dragon continues to be their instructions. As has been stated, they are ambiguious at times, and often have minor to fairly major errors in them. Their allied tank individual tracks are a nightmare at best, and totally impossible at worst. (btw, Dragon is my overall favorite armor manufacturer!!) For a first tank in 1/35th, it's hard to beat Tamiya for clearness of instructions and ease of build. (We're talking their newer kits here. You'll know them because the price is in the $35.00+ range.) Stay away from their "open topped" armor (i.e. Marders, Nashorns, Hummels, etc.) for your first build or two. Their Tigers (both I and II's) and Panther G's (not A) are very nice, accurate builds. But you'll probably want to pick up a set of pe engine grills for any of them. Stay away from a full pe set for your first one or two armor kits. Decide on a kit and try to find a reference book or two on it. Armor terminology is different than aircraft and can be a little unsetteling at first. Also, another consideration should be, if you decide to do a German WWII piece, do you want to tackle zimmerit coating? This is a wavy kind of paste they put on their tanks (mostly) for a while. There are several ways of getting a tank zimmed. Once you decide on that, check back in and someone (just about everyone) will give you their favorite way of getting a tank zimmed!

Good luck

I don't have pictures yet, but my favorite and best armor builds to date have been the Tamiya T-55 and T-72. These kits have excellent detail and are very easy to build. Tamiya's kit engineering is second to none. I also enjoyed building their King Tiger and the DML T-34/76 mod 1941 earlier this year. I am currently building the Tamiya Pershing and it is also a good kit to build.

Ahh such wealth of knowlege. The learning process is truly ongoing for me. Though sometimes a feel it stops when I watch TV. My goal each day must be to get a little bit better and to build on the previous days progress. Let us narrow our discussion to WW ll and any genre. Perhaps it is best that I ease into it rather than jumping into something too complex and expensive. Hate to waste $$$. Yet it should be somewhat challenging.

Wbill76, Well said. However, I am currious as to what my fellow modellers think is the best.

As the list contiues I will be jotting down the suggestions, then after I feel I have enough I will go and explore to see what peeks my interest.

Tamiya's Panther G family are fantastic. They practically fall together. (Stay away fro the Tamiya Panther A, however). Dragon's new subjects are nice, but a bit more complex. Not sure if you want to ease in or jump in head first!

Hi, If your prefence runs to 1/35 scale German AFVs I think you are going to go a long way to beat any of Dragon's new 3-in-1 kits they are putting out. Really some nice stuff. If you like bigger models I don't think you can go wrong with Trumpeter's K-5, Morser Karl, or T-34s. Any of these last 3 will definitely keep you occupied for quite some time.

Take care, Sgirty

Ahh...the Holy Grail of treadhead-dom....and like a great piece of artwork, truly subjective in its nature. My suggestion is start first with a subject area that interests you (WWII, Cold War, Modern) then a genre (Allied, Axis, Soviet, AFVs, softskins, etc). Find a vehicle that piques your interest and then go looking for kits of that vehicle. Read some online reviews, ask questions, etc. Only then will you know what is the "best" kit for you...as I think that is really what you are after.

They're large and complex kits.
One of my favorites is the Tamiya Dragon Wagon, but that too is a large and expensive kit. Academy M-60 or M-51 Super Sherman are very nice kits as well. THey go together without problems, and are a pleasure to build.

Just don't start out with a rail gun.

Revell Germany 1/72 Merkava III comes to mind. Shake the box, and that's it! Quite amazing...

Hello.
Best armor kit? Good question.I think ,it is in the hands of the builder. My favorites are the Tamiya 1/35 M-60 series , and the Tamiya 1/25 Centurion. I have built many of these. Many modellers find their " niche" , in reguards to tank models .Some prefere Shermans,Tigers, Panthers , Panzer III's / IV's, or a variety of armor. I like Centurions , since it was the first tank , I " gunned" , and " drove". And next the M-60. This tank bring back fond memories, of working with American Tankers , in Germany.( Hohenfels, and Grafenwohr). As for armor in general, look at Tamiya , DML , or Trumpeter kits, I am sure there is something there that will catch your eye. If you want info on a particular kit , just ask in the forum, great modellers , with a wealth of info to offer!
Frank
"PERSEVERANCE"

Do you have a preference? WW II or Modern? American, Russian, German? We might be able to better assist you knowing where your interest lies.

Yeah probably will hear about 50 or so. That's good.

Well, you'll get a subjective list for sure. My Tamiya Tiger I Late was my favorite, though not my best build. Tamiya's Wespe was a nice little kit and a personal fave, though again, not my best work. I'm sure you will hear 50 different kits here. Good luck.