1/72 Giving it a try!?

Any of the wierd Russian stuff, try to stay away from. PST has a few nice tanks, the KV-1 and 2, aren't too bad. The old Matchbox kits are something to be desired. And Arii's armor should be avoided like the plague.

But, the good stuff is Revell/Germany. Their kits are fantastic, about $12. (only thing to look out for is they have some kits that come with soldiers, if the armor kit in the set is not in the regular "kit only" lineup, stay away, it's a Matchbox kit!) The real winner is Italeri, they have been reissuing the old ESCI kits, and they're all under $10.

Hasegawa kits are good (just like their airplanes) Fujimi's are good as well, but they are in 1/76 scale. (If you see a kit by Nitto, it's a Fujimi)

ESCI made some of the best 1/72 armor, luckily Italeri is bringing it back a little at a time. You can find the old stuff on eBay, but expect to pay top dollar, 1/72 armor is coming back with a vengence.

Hope this helps you out,
Bernie the K.
St. Paul, MN

The Revell kits are excellent.
Ace PST plastic is brittle and harder to trim- but where else is modern Russian armour?
Airfix are the old standard. Some kits are good.
Matchbox kits are better
JB models went together well.
Fujimi kits are good choices.

I would suggest a modern Revell kit.

Revell Germany's Pz III, Pz IV, Tiger, Panther series are just excellent. Look out for their Cromwell too. All have hard plastic tracks in sections and individual links that simply beat whatever the other makes can offer (other than a few old ESCI kits that had that feature too).

The ESCI kits are well detailled too for their age. I'd recommend them if you can find them. The Matchbox kits are good too, I think, and they used to have some very unusual subjects. The Fujimi kits are fine (but their tracks suck!) and the Hasegawa are ok too. If you are into WWI stuff, then go Emhar. Some great stuff there!

And when you've done some of those, then maybe you'll consider 'garage' kits in resin and/or metal. Tons and tons of stuff there!!!

Any suggestions on finding an S-tank in 1/72 ? Recommendations re: Abrams kit in 1/72 ? Sources for detail parts in 1/72 ?
Pardon my ignorance, but I'm a total newie at this stuff...just completing my first MBT in 1/72. Wish me luck (and send any modeling tips you care to share)...

Cromwell Models used to have a S-Tank in their range.

As for the Abrams, there's a number of 1/72 - 1/76 kits available. I have the Matchbox/Revell kit which is quite decent, a good base for superdetailling in any case. Only problem with this kit is that each 'double road wheel' come in a single unit. As I'm planning mine with a number of elements of the side skirt opened up, it is a problem. Italeri, I think does the only Abrams at that scale with each road wheels in two units. Other manufacturers are ESCI and Hasegawa. I'll borrow those to complete mine, eventually!
As far as details set are concerned, I haven't got a clue, but I'm pretty sure Eduard and Extratech have some etched sets for those kits. Whether you really need them or not is another matter...

DJ & Frosty,

Revell Germany came out with a new 1/72 M-1A1 sometime ago. Far better than what Ive seen so far. Road wheels come in separate units. The turret basket, the main gun, stowage bins, skirts and turret blast-off panels are representative of the A1. The top of the turret even has a non-skid surface. If I remember correctly, Revell G marketed it as an M-1A1HA (Heavy Armor). But the tracks are of the old variant (chevrons).

I know that Machbox kits get a bit of a kicking now and again but they do have some good(ish) kits in their lineup i did the tank transporter and put their sherman firefly on it and was pleased with the result i also likedthe wespe and puma models that they did. not being an armour man i can't comment on their accuracy... Greg

Thanks Allan, I'll have to re-start my Abrams then! Well, I'll still just nick the wheels, as I've already done quite a bit of work in the engine bay.. The Revell/Matchbox kit I'm building must have been at some point a pure Matchbox kit, possibly one of their very last... It is quite nice. I recently did their T-80 which was a little gem too. I also have their Leopard 2 kit, and it is very nice too. As were a lot of their other offerings in their AFV range, as noted by Gregers. The Pz II was a favourite of mine, but I really had a very soft spot for their Char B1bis. However, in terms of accuracy, there were some problems, the Puma and the Renault FT-17 coming first in my mind. But they still looked quite good once completed. And what a great idea to provide the little diorama/base...!

Thanx for the replies, folks.
I just put a coat of paint on the Chieftain. Boy, does it look evil and intimidating, even in 1/72. I'd hate to run into one that was in battle mode...

yeah I did a matchbox LRDG jeep and chevy 30 wct, (i think that's 1/76 though) It was a good kit with good detail for its size. but I like hasegawa, cheap and they got lots of variety.

As mentioned previously, the Revell/Germany line is the top of the 1/72 heap these days. The old ESCI kits were pretty good, (as long as you get the hard plastic tracks) and I've had good luck with the recent PST offerings. If you really like to squint, try the 7TP from MIrage. I've never built a kit that small that fit together so well, except for the crappy vinyl tracks. I've heard that PART makes a replacement PE set but it costs twice what I paid for the model!

My collection has a variety of Mathbox, Fujimi, Hasegawa and Revell/Germany in it. I really can't add anything new to this thread, except to say go out and get a few kits and build 'em!! :)

DJ,

I've had my share of Matchbox kits, and yep, that little diorama base was a nice touch. Among the samples I had was a Panzer, a Comet and a Hanomag. Oh, the memories...

I actually like alot of the old Esci kits, they went together pretty well for their size. I've built so many kits, propbably one from every manufacturer! PST has put out some excellent kits that are very detailed and go together very well. Here are some examples:









I found them very easy and fun to build.

I just got done with the Revell Germany PanzerIVH and it is a little gem. Have it sitting on the monitor right now. Excellent kit. And for only ten bucks!! From now on I'm keeping a better eye on the 1/72 scale offerings.