Wade's World Reviews - Various AFV’s

[Armor_Buff]

Decided to place these in one thread per request. If this should be located elsewhere hopefully a moderator will move accordingly.

All reviews are my opinion based on my build experience.

Kits are rated on ten considerations between 0 and 5. Higher numbers are better, with 50 points best score.

Generally, I view kits that score 46 or higher as top tier. Kits that score 40 or better are excellent and enjoyable to build. Kits that score in the 30’s have deficiency but are still worth building in some circumstances. Kits that score under 30 are lacking in multiple areas and generally unworthy of consideration if an alternative exists given today’s high, quality offerings.

Only items paid for by me are reviewed.

Others may very well draw different conclusions.

YMMV

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Tamiya 1/35 M26 Pershing #35254

5 Price ~$43, May,2024 via Amazon Prime shipped to the door, Spruebrothers.com $53 plus shipping

5 Instructions - Clear and concise. Very understandable. High quality.

4 Molding Quality - kit released in 2002 and mine showed a bit of flash on a few parts plus a couple of sink marks. The kit was outstanding when released. Cast texture on hull and turret is excellent.

5 Plastic Quality - High quality, slightly harder than some popular manufacturers these days. Zero issues with Tamiya Extra Thin Quick Set. Sanded, cut and snipped as expected.

4 Parts Clean Up - The kit is well engineered for easy parts clean up. There are mold seams to remove but these are easy to remove with the back of a hobby knife blade.

4 Ease of build - Goes together without issues or drama. Gluing the two halves of the gun barrel together and the muzzle brake (outside & inside seams) removing the seams is the most difficult part of the build. The working suspension adds some extra but manageable complexity. The suspension seemed like 2/3 of the build.

4 Accuracy - I don’t have references for this vehicle. It looks like a M26. It’s my understanding there a reinforcement braces at the rear the final drive that are appropriate for an M26A1 not an M26. Likewise, external stowage items provided don’t look appealing.

5 Fit - Everything fits as it should without hassle.

2 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket The decals look thick, I ordered aftermarket. The tracks really look soft in detail. I’ve see the glueable Tamiya rubber band tracks look more appealing in several other kits. I ordered white metal tracks. The M2 .50 cal machine gun really shows it’s age in my opinion. Likewise, ordered a replacement. The antenna mounts and .30 bow MG would also benefit from upgrade parts.

4 Details built Out of the Box - When new this kit would have been a very good out of the box build.

42 points out of 50

42/50 => 84%

Highly Recommended!

(Feel free to add 10% when no one’s looking because its an American Tiger Tamer.)

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Table of Contents

Tamiya 1/35 M26 Pershing #35254 ^^^

Tamiya Cromwell MK IV #35221

Tamiya Panzer IV ausf F #35374

Tamiya M4 Sherman #35190

Tamiya Early Tiger 1 #35056

Tamiya #35146, Late Tiger 1, from 1989

Tamiya Panzer 38(t) E/F #35369

Tamiya T-55A #35257

Tamiya Steel Wheel Panther G #35174

Tamiya Panzer IV H #35209 & Panzer IV J #35181

Tamiya KV-1 early 1941 #35372

Tamiya Panzer III ausf N w/PE & metal main gun #35290

Academy Panzer III ausf L North Africa (tp) #13531

Das Werks SuperBlitz Late Panther G #DW35041

Dragon Neo #5 Pz III ausf N #6956

Dragon STZ T-34 1941 (2 in 1) #6448

Dragon #6164 Kursk Panther D

Dragon Sdkfz 251/23 #6985EZ

Dragon 234/2 Puma #6943 Premium

Dragon’s sFH18 #6392 15cm Howitzer

Italaerei aka Italeri Panzer IV F-F2-G #217

Italeri Panther A (D) #270

Meng Leopard 1 A3/A4, TS-007

Ryefield Model’s #5069 Stug III ausf G Early Production

Ryefield Model KV-1 1942 Simplified #5041

Takom Blitz - Panzer III ausf N (8005)

Note: additional reviews will be added but can’t be listed above. The ability to edit this post occurs after about ~60+ days.

Stage 2 - Table of Contents

[Armor_Buff]

My review and rating of Ryefield Model KV-1 1942 Simplified #5041. Just my opinion of course.

5 Price ~$54 now (paid ~$34 on sale)
5 Instructions
5 Molding Quality
5 Plastic Quality
5 Parts Clean Up
5 Ease of build
5 Accuracy
5 Fit
5 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket
5 Details built Out of the Box
** 50 points out of 50 **

50/50 => %

Overall Best kit I’ve assembled.
The Gold Standard of what manufacturers should strive to produce. PE used when beneficial. Designed for easy part clean up. Well engineered for outstanding fit.

Zero complaints with this kit AAA+

Highly recommend.

[Armor_Buff]

Meng Leopard 1 A3/A4, TS-007

2 Price - MSRP $84, Spruebrothers.com $68, (I paid $40 via nefarious sources)

Potentially very expensive 2013 released kit with 1970’s quality suspension, 1990’s quality tracks, a 2000’s quality upper hull and 2010+ quality turret.

5 Instructions - Excellent, organized, logical, accurate, good size, easy to follow.

3 Molding Quality - Not impressed. Issues with flash and sink marks on multiple parts and multiple trees. An early pressing of the kit is very likely a 5 instead of a 3.

4 Plastic Quality - Excellent quality material, zero issues with any of the various liquid cements used.

5 Parts Clean Up - Well engineered with easy parts clean up in mind. Many mold seams are often on edge of part and very faint. Definitely impressed.

5 Ease of Build - Zero fit issues, clicks together, I enjoyed the upper hull and especially the turret of the build. Tool attachment well done with keyed notches.

5 Accuracy - To my eye seemed accurate, no Leopard references on hand, I didn’t notice anything questionable. Impressed with the optics and shutters on the turret.

5 Fit - Outstanding, clock work precision. Clean up the part correctly and it fits perfectly.

5 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - Some folks might want to add a camo net. Details are nicely done overall so it isn’t necessary. PE is provided for what needs to be PE. Softwire is provided for tow cables. Clear perscopes etc are provided.

5 Details built Out of the Box - very good

Two sets of tracks are very nice, one band and other link to link. It’s a good kit that had the potential to be a fantastic state of the art kit but didn’t quite meet my expectations.

** 44 points out of 50 **

44/50 => 88%

Recommended, if subject is of interest to the modeler.

[BringupthePIAT]

Party time! Excellent!

Your review alone has convinced me to seek out and buy that KV-1.

[Armor_Buff]

Please see scalemates:tamiya-35221-cromwell-mkiv for details, availability etc

Revisited Tamiya’s Cromwell, purchased when the kit released in ~1997. Construction started in 2004 and it was finished in 2009.

It was the finest highest quality easiest to build kit that crossed my work bench up to that point with perfect fit. The second one built is a good kit but is apparently a much newer re-pop.

With a prior build plus the experience of refurbishing it after damage, revamping another modeler’s Centaur and building a second one with zimmerit, it’s time for a Wade’s World Review

My opinion, others experiences may vary.

5 Price ~$33, Amazon, a few days ago

5 Instructions - Excellent! Some bonus materials. Pay attention to the interal/external track tensioner comments or the model may end up with a combination of both parts.

4 Molding Quality - The original kit would score 5 as it was flash and sinkmark free. The current kit on the bench surprisingly has some sinkmarks plus minor flash. For a ~28 year old kit it’s very good.

4 Plastic Quality - Recently worked on a Tamiya Leopard 2A7V and a Tamiya Late Tiger 1, both first run production kits and both seemed to have better quality plastic than this kit. Likewise, I recall my first Cromwell as higher quality. The very dark green is off putting compared to the lighter color plastic. The quality is very good.

4 Parts Clean Up - under the fenders is pretty nasty. Lot of punch marks, super glue and accelerator are your friend, if that is the sort of thing bothers you. Several sink marks have to be fixed and sanded flush. Some parts have flash and many have mold seams to remove. IIRC this was the first I saw where the mold seam on the wheels was pushed towards the edge of the wheel. This makes cleaning the wheels easier and seems to me like an excellent approach. Kudos Tamiya.

5 Ease of Build - Still nearly 30 years later one of the very best building kits to see my work bench. This kit literally makes me hate all Dragon kits in general.

4 Accuracy - Looks like a Cromwell to me! One of the few choices for the subject matter. I have zero references on the Cromwell to check. Unlike Airfix’s 1st attempt at Cromwell a few years ago, the Tamiya kit has the correct number of bolts on the road wheels (8) instead of six like Airfix. I have a later produced Airfix Cromwell with the correct number of bolts on the wheels. Scored 4 in light of the errors on the engine deck pointed out by another modeler.

5 Fit - as good as it gets. Not one 2020+ kit I’ve built was better. Exactly one was equal, Ryefield’s KV-1 1942.

2 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - that mesh Tamiya put in the kit in place of PE just looks nasty. The mesh looks terrible if installed compared to the Tamiya PE parts. Ripped the nasty mesh off of the previously built Centaur, can’t stomach it. It too will get PE. The kit tracks are passable and the sag can be simulated by using CA to tack them to the top of the road wheels. The MG’s have flash supressors and are easy, enough to drill out. Aber brass barrels if available would rock.

4 Details Built Out of the Box - in ~1997 and years after, this kit was in my opinion a Natural Born Killer for the out of the box category at model contests.

** 42 points out of 50 **

42/50 => 84%

Highly Recommended, with the aftermarket PE screens.

[Armor_Buff]

Tamiya #35374 Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf F from 2020.

4 Price ~$59 MSRP, ~$50 (paid ~$45)

5 Instructions - top notch

5 Molding Quality - Free of blemishes, like sinkmarks etc

5 Plastic Quality - Top quality! Tamiya always makes me wonder if some of the other weaker manufacturer’s kits are ~75% scrap recycled plastic (j/k)

5 Parts Clean Up - well engineered

4 Ease of Build - lost one point due to suspension & wheels, no polycap wheels, wheels are very loose and fall off unless secured in some way.

4 Accuracy - suspension & wheels are some what lacking for 2020+, rest of kit is very nice

5 Fit - outstanding, made Dragon’s Pz IV F look like it was engineered by amateurs

4 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - had link & length tracks vomit personally not at all happy with kit parts , replaced with aftermarket , kit MG barrels are junk need replaced.

3 Details built Out of the Box - missing flat head screw details & wheel welds, MG not slide molded, string tow cables, missing external vane sight for commander, all minor but it adds up when factored in today’s kit market.

** 44 points out of 50 **

44/50 => 88%

Highly Recommended as a low stress fun build. For more enjoyment, budget for track replacement and MG barrel replacement. Other enhancements could be added as desired. Very nice canvas for the modeler.

[shermadude]

Kit #5041 isn’t the ‘simplified cast turret’ version of the KV 1, it’s the ‘reinforced cast turret’ version. RFM made the same mistake Trumpeter did with their KV’s and mislabeled the kits. The ‘simplified version’ is actually RFM kit #5056 which is an excellent kit too. The Trumpeter kits aren’t bad either.
Regards, Bob

[Damraska]

Your reviews make for good reading, especially because you build the models. Your rating system is pretty good. Knowing your personal tastes, I can adjust for the Wade Factor.

I recommend making the first post in the journal a Table of Contents with links to each new review.

[SableLiger]

I built this kit and it was very enjoyable throughout.

[jpwaller]

Nice work Wade Good to have these short/sharp synopses from someone who’s opinion I respect and know I can trust.

[Armor_Buff]

@shermadude Robert, thank you for that insight and the details.

@Damraska Doug, thank you! Adjusting for the Wade Factor, that brought a smile to my face! I’ll try a table of contents in the initial post but, after ~30 or 60 days the ability to edit ceases so it will be incomplete.

@SableLiger Reynier, that’s a sharp looking Pz IV!

@jpwaller John, thank you! That’s very kind of you and much appreciated.

[Armor_Buff]

Dragon’s #6392 15cm Howitzer.

My comments are based on the Howitzer only.

Perth Military Modelling Review - Dragon #6392 sFH 15cm Howitzer says there are several items to keep in mind and this would have been a miserable build to me without PMMR to guide and point out problems.

4 Price ~$50 now (paid ~$25, 2014)

1 Instructions - horrible, many mistakes, need updated

4 Molding Quality

5 Plastic Quality

5 Parts Clean Up - I was surprised! The parts and lay outs are well designed and engineered.

4 Ease of build - with a good instruction sheet it would be a 5. The wheel attachment is fragile. Take care handling model after the wheels are attached.

4 Accuracy - Perth listed omissions

5 Fit - excellent, this type model!

5 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - the kit has the metal barrel and brass tube for parts that often have trouble some seams in artillery models. PE is provided where needed.

5 Details built Out of the Box - I felt like this was on fantastic artillery piece .

42 points out of 50

42/50 => 84%

Highly recommended

Naked…

…Dressed

[Armor_Buff]

Ryefield Model’s #5069 Stug III ausf G Early Production

rfm-stug-iii-ausf-g-build

5 Price ~$47 now (paid ~$29 on sale)

3 Instructions - There’s a couple of misnumbered parts and a part called for that wasn’t included. I had to remove this to fit the hull together but don’t recall that being mentioned in the instructions.

5 Molding Quality - State of the art 2020’s

5 Plastic Quality - Goldie Lock’s Perfection! Soft enough to be easy to clean up parts and stood up to liquid cement well.

5 Parts Clean Up - well designed for easy clean up and that’s good because a lot of parts clean up is needed. Given how the lower and superstructure assembly meticulous part clean up is mandatory.

2 Ease of Build - Painful to write that because it’s a marvelous kit but there are compelling reasons for that score:

A) Track assembly is a little fiddly. A thicker liquid cement like Testor’s Liquid Cement is your friend as low viscosity liquid cements like Tamiya Extra Thin make assembly of the working track, track pins more difficult. I’ve talked with multiple people (5+) that had difficulty assembling these track links.

B) Assembly of the superstructure goes well if one studies the sequence and test fits and all of the parts are cleaned up and burr free. This is easy enough for experienced builders. However, its more demanding than typical due to the build up sequences for the superstructure.

C) see comments on instructions and picture.

D) The kits a little more complex due to other versions havng an interior.

5 Accuracy Looks like a Stug III G to me. Tracks, suspension dimensions looked right to my eye. I’ll leave the hairsplitting to the the detail ninja’s

5 Fit - Oh and it is sweet! Very rewarding when it all goes together!

5 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - maybe a few wing nuts and two Aber antennas. Some will dislike the tracks and decide to replace. If tracks are assembled meticulously, they are very good. This kit sold me half a dozen RFM Pz III/IV track link sets!

5 Details Built Out of the Box - Very formidable kit for model contests.

** 45 points out of 50 **

45/50 => 90%

Very Highly Recommended, especially if caught on sale

So how good is this kit?

The numbers fail to fully communicate the favorable impact this kit had on me as a model builder. I learned to trust RFM generally knows what they are doing and achieve excellent fit with this kit. The kit peaked my interest in Stug III’s.

[RandyT]

Wade nicely done. Thanks for sharing your reviews.

[Armor_Buff]

Salty but accurate (as I see it) review of the 1993 1/35 Italeri’s Panther kit. Here’s the basis and documentation of this review.

This is of course is just my subjective opinion, others may, will and do have other opinions, I fully respect that.

TL, DR Readers Digest version of the review, the kit is garbage, don’t waste time with it. It’s old, totally pathetic but more expensive than far superior kits here in the USA. In other markets, it’s likely far less expensive.

X-Panzer Police Strikes Back, adjust for Wade Factor if needed (j/k)

1/35 Italeri Panther A
0 Price ~$53 (Spruebrothers.com) I paid $1 as this was a raffle ticket win.

4 Instructions - they are clear & concise best part of the kit

0 Molding Quality - flash, sinkmarks, multiple worthless deformed parts, mold shifted parts, soft details. Zero quality control, not a sliver of pride to be found given how poorly this copy of the kit was manufactured. If the manufacturing quality had been to the same standard as my 1970’s era Italeri Pz IV G kit then this review would have been significantly more favorable.

3 Plastic Quality - decent enough

3 Parts Clean Up - the useable parts approximately 13% of my build, cleaned up well enough without excessive hassle

1 Ease of Build - out box 3, poor upper lower hull fit, stock turret sits too high and fixing requires tweaking. Fixing multitude of issues complicates the build.

1 Accuracy - Has multitude dimensional errors in hull & turret, turret sits wrong stock, many details are wrong, rear engine deck has errors. For many folks, none of that will matter. Yes, being scaled for the suck-taclular kit zimmerit has impact on creating many of the errors but not all of them. The length of the hull top to the front edge of the engine deck is off per line drawings etc.

0 Fit - upper & lower hull and rear plate didn’t align properly without significant effort to fix with both examples I’ve built. Turret doesn’t fit correctly stock. Can’t think of a worse alignment of key hull parts out of the 220 + AFV kits I’ve built.

0 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - every part needs help by today’s standards. They needed help 30 years ago as well. Over 80% of this Italeri build is replacement parts or reworked parts.

0 Details built Out of the Box - pathetic unless one likes sinkmarks, short shots and mold shift.

12 points out of 50 possible

12/50 => 24%

Not Recommended, far too many kits with better everything out of the box.

Italeri’s pile of bat guano from over 30 years ago typically retails for more than a new tool Meng Panther A.

Uses? A few…

Being given as a Christmas present to someone you don’t like, donated as raffle prize filler or built as a demonstration of your sado masochism tendencies.

BTW - it’s one of my top 5 favorite models out of my ~220+ AFV’s built, now that it’s finished and on the display shelf…so there is that in it’s favor.

YMMV

Next review will be more positive (I promise) featuring an even older kit with it’s roots in the 1980’s.

[Damraska]

So…for the most fun and best result…purchase the worst model possible, start building it, let it sit for 10+ years, purchase a bunch of after market stuff, really fix it up, and enjoy the epic win. Got it.

Alan Su 76, here I come!

[Armor_Buff]

…secret is in the shelf queen marinade of at least 10 years…and yes the fun can be inversely proportional to how bad the kit is in my experience…if it gets finished it will be your unique model not a cookie cutter build that’s duplicated with minimum effort.

It’s a bit counter intuitive…but yes it was one of the most fun projects I’ve had…it has the most elaborate base in the works I’ve attempted, eating up precious shelf space. I may even get extra stupid and take that turd to an AMPS show just for kicks.

Fun factor only surpassed by an Italeri Panzer IV G kitbash that literally fell together

[Armor_Buff]

Tamiya M4 Sherman #35190

5 Price ~$33 shipped from the land of Bezos, (I paid ~$35, from Tank Museum’s Gift Shop during COVID in 2020) ~$40 is fairly typical today.

For $12 shipping, the Tank Museum averaged six business days from ordered placed to my door during COVID for three different orders. That was a delightful surprise . Supporting the Tank Museum with purchase or donation is more satisfying than saving $10 and helping enlarge the Land of Bezos in my opinion.

5 Instructions - Old school Tamiya Good . This is what I like in instruction sheets and supplement material.

4 Molding Quality - Very good overall, some of it shows some age because some of the kit is 40+ years old. The 1995 era parts are noticeably superior to the earlier parts.

5 Plastic Quality - Consistent quality Tamiya

4 Parts Clean Up - My kit did have flash on an occasional bit parts etc. Cleaning up the kit rubber band tracks requires a sharp blade, patience and fooling with track position placement to hide artefacts under wheels, on sprockets and under the sponsons.

4 Ease of Build - The nature of the wheel and bogie complicates painting, not the kit’s fault just the nature of the subject matter. Likewise, the sponsons need sealed with sheet plastic in my opinion.

2 Accuracy see Garrand’s post below.

“It looks like a perfectly valid target, I’d shoot at it”…according to a Panzer Police we interviewed for this review. (j/k)

Pretty sure Otto Carius would say it looks like a Sherman too (j/k).

I know ZERO about Sherman’s, have no references and plan to keep it that way, so I can continue too ENJOY building Sherman’s.

I really liked the weld details, texture and add on armor.

If you want to add stowage, the provided parts in my opinion detract from the model and should be replaced with Value Gear or similar quality aftermarket.

5 Fit - With parts deburred fits surprisingly well. It might require a little extra time test fitting and mocking up to ensure alignment of hull, skirts and transmission cover etc.

5 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - I think the kit tracks get a pass with the skirts & fenders on. Skirts & fenders off, I’d want a set of aftermarket tracks. See Ease of Build for reasons. The 50 cal could be updated with better 3D printed MG etc.

5 Details built Out of the Box
Don’t call this M4 Sherman kit a “Ronson” unless you want it to burn your pet Tiger project to the ground. I regret not building this kit back in the late 1990’s as it had the potential to TERRORIZE the out of the box category.

** 44 points out of 50 **

44/50 => 88%

The Panzer Police call it like we see it, 1980’s roots, plus quality control and it scored 94%

[M70]

Why stop here? This should also be a YouTube Channel - The Wade Factor.

By the way, are you from western Pennsylvania? I recognize a subtle colloquialism.

[Armor_Buff]

Thank you, that’s very kind and flattering.

The Wade’s World Factor, (TWWF) a YouTube Channel with an obnoxiously cheeky, condescending AI generated voice
the defacto pretentious love child of Boxman Builds and Lazer-Pig

Getting ten subscribers and ~25 views would be quite an accomplishment.

The idea got kicked around once with my stepson and son-in-law but always sounded like six to eight hours of actual work for ten minutes (plus or minus 45 seconds) of video.

However, lighting a phat stack of crappy Italeri Panther kits on fire with a 5 gallons of gasoline from an actual Jerry Can does have visceral appeal…

Sort of like this from that old Battle of the Bulge movie from the 1860’s with Mr Everyman, Henry Fonda

Take that Italeri!