Hi all
As Finescale has decided to restore the email link between the Group Build and my computer, I'll report in. I decided to build the new tool 1/35 Tamiya Valentine. I was thinking of a Asuka/Tasca Firefly, but it would have been a more complex build, I'm under a little time pressure and the build already has a Firefly. Here it is:
kit by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr
Here is what it's supposed to represent:
ValPic1 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr
This is a very interesting kit. First, the tank itself was very small – not much bigger than the Panzer II, although better armored and heavier – figure 16-17 tons. The last tank I built was the Tamiya SU-76 and the kits are very similar in size. This is not a simple kit – part count is 250+, and a modeler is well advised to follow the instructions because the build sequence very important because the hull is made of separate pieces.
That said, this might be the best engineered model I've ever built. (I'm not done yet, and troubles may lurk, but I doubt it.) In all seriousness, the fit is so good that I could have made almost all of this kit with white glue. I'm working on the pretty complex multi-part suspension now and the thing just clicks onto the side. Amazing really. Tamiya's recent kits all have very thin sprue gates – thanks to my very neat Tamiya long blade nippers, I deal with very little clean-up. And the detail can't be faulted. (Lots of it underneath if you can figure out how to show it.) It's done with link and length tracks which probably aren't needed if you build the British version because, judging from online WWII pics, almost all of the desert Valentines wore the big sand skirts which will hide the sag created by the complex tracks. Many Valentines ended up in Russia (where they were very popular) and there are no skirts there. I'd build the Russian configuration – except that wouldn't fit a British Army Group Build very well.
Phil Flory did a kit review on YouTube and he did a lot of close up examination of parts showing crisply molded pieces that look like they're two pieces (and would be two or three pieces if Dragon made this kit.) Flory concludes that Tamiya is feeling competition from Meng, Takom etc, and decided to remind the world that they still make the best models available. I am a hard-core Tamiya fan, and can't disagree and give this kit highest recommendation. BTW – Tamiya also put out a version of the Archer – a self-propelled tank killer built on the Valentine frame mounting a 17 pounder. To mount the huge gun on the little frame, it was necessary to mount it pointing backward – looks neat. Anyway, here are two pics showing progress so far. A detail pic shows some of the splendid detail.
body1 - Copy by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr
detail1 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr
More soon.
Eric