Trumpeter K1A1 - Nightmare or is it me?

I built the Trumpeter Geschutzwagen and quite enjoyed it. Some parts went together well, some didn't, but then again I find the same thing with Dragon. It cost $20.00 compared to $50.00 for a Tamiya or Dragon.

As a novice armour builder I quite enjoy less than perfect kits. Good chance to practice with putty and styrene.

Thank you all for your help!

Size and the noise of bigger compressor is not an option for me at this time (since I have tenants live within same house), so for now I will be practicing with whatever I have.  However, I am going to purchase bigger compressor within this year. 

Heavyarty, I just ordered bunch of stuff (model master enamel paints and moisture trap) from Hobbyinc.  I'm off to the Home Depot right now to pick up some lacquer thinner.  By the way, after you are done with schooling down in AL, try to get station near by NY so I can personally give you a visit and bother you all the time with silliest questions. 

Jeff, I guess I shouldn't really complain about quality of Trumpeter kit after hearing what you've gone through in your life. 

I hear you Jeff.  Noise isn't an issue for me.  I spray out in my garage/workshop/modeling space.  I also don't do it very late at night, and have a house, not an apartment.  Ditto on the quality of kits and complaints about how bad one is over another.  I think any kit can come out looking great if you put enough effort into it.  At least you have something to start with.  Guess it is the old glass is half full attitude.  Model on!!

Industrial or shop compressors are a double-edged sword. Sure, you can get all the air you need quickly because a typical airbrush doesn't use a lot of air. But, they make an awful racket, and if you're like me and build into the wee hours of the mornings, a compresser going off in an apartment is like the alarm clock going off...

If you buy a regulator/moisture trap combo, especially if it's a shop-sized version, the moisture trap is generally decent sized. This acts like a tank in a manner of speaking, as the pulse from the compresser head is absorbed into the moisture trap. The regulator balances the flow as long as your incoming pressure exceeds your outgoing pressure.

As for the quality of kits...it still makes me laugh when I hear guys complain about an Academy kit or a Trumpeter kit...I grew up building old Frog and Airfix and Aurora kits...you wanna talk about crude, no-fit, warped, plastic??

Bah...you guys are spoiled...we had to walk to the local hobby shop, 25 miles away, with no shoes, in the winter, just to buy a Hawk kit with our allowances...

Jeff

Yes, you can add an air tank.  I would eventually look for a homeowner type compressor that comes with a tank at Wal-Mart or the likes.  They can be quite small. Something like this goes for about $75.  Has a regulator as well.

Or a little bigger for around $125.

I find the hobby/airbrush compressors too small and not really that good.  1/8 HP isn't really much power either. 

 

 

I don't think my compressor has an airtank. Can I add the airtank to it?  I'm going to order moisture trap for it though.  Description saids, approx. .90 CFM @20PSI when airbrushing, HP 1/8 HP, max pressure 40 PSI. 

As soon as I move to a bigger place, I will definitely get a craftman or other industrial type compressor.

 

 

I just use the cheapest lacquer thinner I can find.  They are all the same.  Store brand will do.  The compressor you got should work.  Does it have an air tank though?   An air tank is a must since the air will be pulsing out of the compressor and won't be an even flow without it.

I am actually moving to Maxwell BAF, AL thi ssummer for a year of schooling there.  No idea whree I will end up after that.

zokissima wrote:

Lot of people tend to complain about the earlier production Trumpeter kits. No, they're not Tamiya, but they do come at a third of the Tamiya price, so you get what you pay for. IMHO, they're good kits. No major fallbacks, and as HeavyArty wrote, most of the fixes are fairly simple additions of sheet styrene and a little filler.

You are absolutely right.  You get what you pay for and being 1/3 price of Tamiya, I'm willing to spend more time to turn it into something decent.  I like Trumpeter for having armor kits that other companies are not currently offering.  However, quality is not bad, but not that great either IMHO.  I happened to built Tamiya M1A1 and Trumpeter K1A1 back to back and my experience between two products were a night and day.  After putting good amount of time and TLC, Trumpeter K1A1 came out to be a decent product.  I also have another Trumpeter kit (K1 ROK Tank) on my shelf and will be building it sometime within next few months.  This was my very first Trumpeter kit I built and from now on, I know what to expect and I'll be more well prepared for those minor fixes and simple conversions. 

HeavyArty wrote:

Hope you like using enamels.  Another pointer, use straight lacquer thinner to thin them with.  It cuts them great and leaves a dead-flat finish.  Thin them to about the consistency of 2% milk.  Also, lacquer thinner is great to clean your airbrush with.  Good luck with them.

 

Thanks again for the info.  I will be going to local Home Depot to pick up some lacquer thinner and purchase Model Master Enamels at a LHS tonight.  Any specific brand of lacquer thinner you recommend?  By the way, I picked up an Airbrush Compressor last week.  I was going to purchase Craftman, but I ended up using 50% off coupon to purchase a badger Cyclone II (total came out to be about $130) at a local Michael's store.  Unfortunately, I don't have a big property so having bigger compressor was a bit of a problem.  My airbrush is also Badger as well.  Would this be a good starter airbrush/compressor combo?  Also, which online hobby shops are good for purchasing paint supplies?

Any chance you may get station in East coast?

 

Lot of people tend to complain about the earlier production Trumpeter kits. No, they're not Tamiya, but they do come at a third of the Tamiya price, so you get what you pay for. IMHO, they're good kits. No major fallbacks, and as HeavyArty wrote, most of the fixes are fairly simple additions of sheet styrene and a little filler.

Hope you like using enamels.  Another pointer, use straight lacquer thinner to thin them with.  It cuts them great and leaves a dead-flat finish.  Thin them to about the consistency of 2% milk.  Also, lacquer thinner is great to clean your airbrush with.  Good luck with them. 

HeavyArty,

Thanks for the info!  I've ever tried Model Master, but heck, there's got to be first time for everything. 

I exclusively use Testors Model Master enamels.  I used Dark Tan (FS# 30219) for the brown, Dark Green (FS# 34079) for the green.  For the sand squiggles, I used Sand (FS# 33531) and flat black for the black squiggles.  The tan and green were airbrushed, and the sand and black applied with a brush.

Good luck.

Heavyarty,

Can you tell me which paints you used for your K1A1?  I'm planning to use Tamiya. What are correct colors for K1A1?

Thanks

Feel your pain my friend, I'm trying a Tamiya M60A1 USMC.. ..Wish I knew then what I know now.  I thought the kits got better with age. Not just the price. Have to say though, after 20+ years away myself this sure is bringing back some skills that I have, don't have or need to improve. This forum has helped alot. Thank You All!

Heavyarty,

Most of research I've done on K1A1 is mostly from your previous work and threads you've posted.  Anyway, I feel like I am building an Academy kit from 1980's.  As you said, it needs lots of TLC.  I think it is decent kit overall, but trumpeter K1A1 lacks some minor details (like you've mentioned, bottomless stowage).  I'm almost done building this kit and it is rather coming out nicely. 

I will be adding a K200 KIFV,  a M2 Bradley IFV, a HMMMV and a Deux and a half to this diorama. 

Thanks for the tip.

tigerman wrote:

I thought the same of their M1A2. A messy build. Gave it to a friend.

Have to disagree there as well.  With the exception of the left, front turret profile being a little off (easy to fix with sheet styrene and a little filler) it is a decent kit.  About on par with DML's Abrams kits.  Not a shake-and-bake Tamiya kit, but not too hard to build either.

Here is how it can come out.

More here.

m1garand wrote:

I've been away from building models for about a decade and after collecting about 200+ kits, I finally decided to build Tamiya M1A1 and Trumpeter K1A1.  Both of them will go on my diorama (it will be a scene from Team Spirit in Korea).  Anyway.  It did not take me long to finish building Tamiya M1A1, but this Trumpeter K1A1 is just a nightmare!  I spent more time trimming and sanding this trumpeter kit than building Tamiya M1A1.  I've read other forums in regard to this K1A1 and it seemed like others didn't have much problem building it.  Well, just wanted to vent off my frustration.  Happy Easter!

I thought the same of their M1A2. A messy build. Gave it to a friend.

The trumpeter kit does take a little more TLC to get it looking right.  I didn't have any major problems with it though.  The biggest issue sis the turret storage boxes.  They are molded without bottoms.  I closed them off with sheet styrene.  Came out looking pretty good.

 

Good luck.