Howdy All,

Was hoping someone here might be able to advise me on the quality and potential 'ease/difficulty-of-build' factors for the World War I series of kits made by Tauro Models?

I have my eye on a 1/35th scale German A7V kit that my LHS has on sale from a private collector's stash that they are liquidating, and I just wanted to see if it was worth the $36.95 that they have marked it with.
I realize that it's probably the only game in town when it comes to the subject matter, but I was just trying to see if it's worth buying. But please remember everybody....I don't have much hair left on my head, so as much as I'd really like the kit, I would rather hold on to what little hair I have........

tia

Tread.

I've built two of tauro's kits, the A7V and the Fiat 3000. Tough kits in general. Both of Tauro's A7V kits are the same with different decals. The tracks are individual vinyl tracks that have to have holes drilled through them so you slip a metal pin in to keep them together.

Once assembled, the tracks are quite fragile and must be handled with care. I did mine in ten block sections to make handling easier.

Accuracywise the kit has issues, but I'm not an expert enough to be able to relate them first hand.

Both versions are readily available at Squadron.com for roughly the same price. You may find them on eBay cheaper.

I would steer you towards Emhar's 1/72 scale A7V, a real nice kit.

Tread,

there is a build review in German:

http://www.panzer-modell.de/ Go to bauberichte, scroll down. Right under the yellow bar "neueste bauberichte" there is a build review of the kit. It has some pics.

These are a few comments:

He used a build-review from 1990, sohe new of some potential hazards (though he does not mention any of them).

The tracks are single link vynil, but assembly was no problem. Supposedly no glue is needed. You should have enough spares if you damage one.

Warning: sidewalls are not interchangable, even though they might look so. Supposedly has to do with the moulding of the exhaust system. He replaced the exhaust pipes by scratchbuilt items (brass rod, as the kit ones supposedly could be too "angular".

Be carefull with placement of the doors (open forward).

Overall he is pleased with the kit.

Marks:

bang for buck: 4 out of 5
fit: 3 out of 5
details: 3 out of 5
difficulty: 2 out of 5 (comparable to DML Ferdinand and Tamiya Tiger Mid)

Howdy fellas,

Many thx for the comments guys, I really appreciate your inputs on this kit. For the most part it seems that you both kind of agree about most items.
Your provided link was very helpful DutchBird, and the build up photos in the article are a great help as well in that I can see the finished kit in all it's glory...
The photos in the article look a bit compressed {left to right}, from what I remember the vehicle looking like, but they are still helpful indeed.

Thanks to you Rob for pointing at the 1/72nd scale Emhar offering. It's always puzzled me why so many neat subject matters are tackled in the smaller scale, whilst, they are absent from the larger.....interesting. But, if you think the Braille scale version of this vehicle is accurate, then maybe I can pick it up and simply scratch up a larger cousin based on it's measurements.

Thx again fellas for your assistance.

Tread.