With a lot of hype and fanfare, Takom delivered the M103A 1 or 2 to a waiting crowd.
We have had time to digest it and build it. The forums are strangely quiet. I hear no complaints, but I also do not read where any one is building it either. Did everyone toss it into the stash like I did or is someone building it.
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Saw this Takom 1/35 scale M103A1 plastic model kit review on Fine Scale Modeler’s site.
Sounds like the kit tracks aren’t much fun to build.
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I think his point was to take your time. It seems like people start building these things like the order is cast in stone. Just do a few at the start and space the construction of the tracks over the whole build. You don’t have to build them all at once (at least with workable tracks).
I have Takom’s M247 which sounds like they are similar in construction. I am considering starting them ahead of the project as I have limited space here. Easier to put the tracks to one side than an entire hull.
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Surprisingly I haven’t even bought one yet. I still might get one. I have a bunch of the other M60 kits, I wasn’t have the fun I was expecting building the AF version so I have held off and maybe others have felt the same. 
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I have to tackle my Dragon one first!
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I bought an A1, it’s a beautiful kit in the box. I’ve built 3 Takom kits and I like them. The engineering and fit are exceptional. I’ve just got too many kits ahead of it right now. It sits on the stash pile silently waiting it’s turn. Who knows what year that will be.
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Apparently, Voyager thinks they need a lot of help. As usual though, a large portion of the PE in their sets is not really needed nor any better than the kit parts, usually worse since it is flat metal pieces.
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I am currently building the A1 and will do the A2 after that. I can do a build review for the site if anyone is interested. I have also built the Dragon A2 offering and all I have to say is that the Takom kit is by far, very very very far the better one.
I also checked the RB barrel that is recommended for the Dragon kit but as Vodnik points out it is shorter than it should be. Besides there is a metal barrel included in the kit.
The voyager set is a hyperbole, half of it us pretty useless since it offers little to no improvement over the kit parts.
Does the kit require any aftermarket stuff? Maybe some nuts and bolts and a couple of antenna spring mounts.
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In fairness Gino, they would(!)
I find that I hardly ever use an entire etch set, but there always seems to be that one niggly piece of etch one can’t quite do without.
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I would be interested to see it. I built the Dragon M103A1 many moons ago. It wasn’t horrible and looked like an M103A1 when done but wasn’t great either.
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Case in point - the Centurion set. The latches arre worth the cost of the whole set.
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Regarding the kit tracks that are similar to the M48 kits:
Yes they are time consuming. Yes they are a tedious task. Yes there are too many parts and maybe they are overdone BUT
they are far better than the AFV Club T97 ones
if someone decides to glue them and not build them workable they are easy to work with and hold up pretty well.
I have to admit that this style of tracks or the Bronco offering are my preferred track type/engineering to build since I glue my track runs to the wheels and fix the suspension in place.
For someone who is not used to this style of track assembly they might seem a bit overwhelming but, as other pointed out, if you devote some time and patience and divide the assembly into sessions you might find it easier. It is only a matter of getting used to working with the parts and optimizing your work session. I believe that after the first 20-30 links one gets used and assembles them faster and easier. I tend to spend about 2-3 hours for both runs for tracks of this type, including removing them from the sprues and cleaning the parts.
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A buddy of mine built it and liked it.
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Nikos, great information and I appreciate the details. I’d be happy to follow your build and see what’s up with the kit.
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I have both of the Takams M103A1 and M103A2 in my Stash. and both look to be great kits. I just finished Takoms M48A3 and yes the tracks are a pain to build (six parts per track block), but once finished they look great
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If anyone wants to trade their Takom M48 tracks for rubber band tracks I’ll be happy to accommodate them,
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KL
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Really. He says he built and painted the whole kit in 24 hours. What do people want? 
KL
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M103A2 for me; only because there’s an example near me that works as en excellent reference.
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In general, I would like 3D printed companies to release tracks for the M48/60/103 series and modern armor.
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