I thought it might be fun to compare these kits a bit. One of the first things I noticed, was the substantial difference in boxsize for a kit that, when built, should not differ greatly, sizewise.
I wondered what might cause that?
And then… AFV’s…
15 (!) sprues (no interior), vinyl tracks and a tiny alu gunbarrel. 15?? Feels rather overengineered to me and I am really curious as to how that will show when all are done.
And while I’m at it, I’ll show you some comparisson shots of the hull parts.
First Tamiya M3 vs. Academy/Italeri M3A1. At first glance they appear quite similar;
Then Tamiya M5A1 vs AFV M5A1. There is a noteable size difference in the upper hull sections, but given the actual size of the kit I wonder how much will be noticeable in the end:
Pretty much like their M-113 kits. Tamiya and Academy kits are like twins, separated at birth, with newer Academy kits being an upgrade from the “rank and file” Tamiya kits.
I built one last year, but its been languishing in my bench; needs paint. I even bought USMC decals for it to ad it to the “Guadalcanal” modeling campaign.
The start for this “madness” has been made!
First off are the 2 Academy Stuarts. The USMC M3A1 will be strictly OOTB to get, and give, an idea of what it is. The “honey” will be more personalized with some minor add-ons.
Recently built the old Tamiya M3 Stuart and the M8 Scott SPG. Enjoyed the effort quite a lot.
I also have the M3A3 in the stash wanting to build it in French colors but doing the version with the quad gun is also very tempting.
M3 in PTO markings: (Battle for Kwajalein Atoll - don’t know how they managed to use tanks as the Atoll is so small - even smaller back then - and it was already partly cleared as an airfield. Also it is only abut 12 inches above high tide so underground bunkers were not possible there.)
Those 2 kits look very good, despite their age and flaws. One could hardly tell by looking at them. The tracks are the giveaways.
For me it is “Stuart”-weekend. Finished building the M3A1’s interior yesterday.
I don’t mind the rubber band tracks on US tanks with “live” track but for the German stuff I gotta do individual link to simulate the sag and the slack.
On these two I just decided I was going to do the best job I could while still staying OOB.
Also, not a lot of track sag showing on these real Stuarts as seen above.
I really do not want to rain on your parade or on your very well done models, but Tamiya’s old tracks have endconnectors that do not connect anything. They are ayttached to the sides of the pads, instead of connecting them.
Perhaps you can exchange them for some Academy/Italeri ones, since these have 2 sets in their kits.
I’d send you mine, but I will be using them myself for the exact reason just explained.
And I am quite envious that you get to “play around” with the real thing…
