Hi Guys

Where would be the best place to start looking for aftermarket parts? I have a Tamiya King Tiger I would like to build up. Already have the Steel tracks and photoetched grille set, but I now looking the interior parts.

Any help would be appreciated.

Hi James

I see you opted for the Tamiya upgrade bits...

See my reply HERE is your other post

Just as a side note... no one is officially importing Eduard into SA... VLS products tend to dribble in, and almost certainly you won't find the sets I mention in the other post in your LHS... quite honestly your best bet is to order these from Squadron... but be warned, they are pricey.... $26 for the engine compartment!

HTH

Rudi

Hi Rudi

Yip, thanks for the reply. Just had a look on Squadron now and there seems to be quite afew extra's. Pricey though, but guess it will just add to the uniqueness of the model.

But the Verlinden parts look quite brilliant.

Are the Tamiya any good? Or not really, only have the track set and the Grille Photoetched set.

Cheers

Hi James,

To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not a Tamiya fan... so my opinion of them tends to be jaded...

Rersonally I think they're overpriced for model kits that were designed in the 70's and 80's and have simply been re-re-re-released, and not even retooled... I also have an issue with their practice of selling AM products seperately to the kits... DML can lump everything including the proverbian kitchen sink together in a single box - so why can't Mr Tamiya?

I will however concede that as an Allied modeller I have little other choice than the Tamiya kits, and that they are also great for conversions, and especially great for learning how to upgrade and apply PE etc.

As you can see, my negative points against Tamiya are mostly toward some of their business practices, and not per se against their kits. After all, after 15-20 years, no one has managed to release a better T-55 than Mr. T.

Regarding your AM sets... if it were me I'd use them. Simply because I had them. You can always try the Eduard or Aber sets next time.

HTH

Rudi

I was just wondering, since I always thought that Tamiya were pretty good. That was until I built my first Dragon Model

Did you know that Dragon has a Sherman 3in1 ? I have one on order. I expect it should be of the highest quality.

Thanks for the insight, it really helps alot. I have been modelling in isolation but since joining Armorama it has opened my eyes into a new world

The ronson lighter, eh, tommy cooker.. eh, no.. Sherman, yes, thats it, has a good 1000 or so parts in the tracks alone. Very nice stuff..

Howzit James

As I mentioned, my gripe with Tamiya are mostly toward their business practices. They are not per se bad kits, but they are definitely not the greatest... with the aftermarket (AM) products available, and lately all the information that is coming forth about vehicles, they can be turned into something excellent... and they produce more Allied kits in plastic than any other manufacturer

I think being in SA, and modelling in isolation - I as also doing until I found Armorama - we tend to think that Tamiya and Academy are great... simply because those are the main brands available... that and because they are so much cheaper than the likes of AFV Club and HobbyFan...

Re. the Sherman, who are you ordering from? You can expect the 3-in-1 to be awesome! I hear DML have overcome many of the issues they had in their original Shermans and Firefly. I really like the new "Operation Cobra" Sherman. Have you seen the review here on Armorama of it?

As for the modelling in isolation.... consider yourself "once lost, but now found" :-) Welcome to the family! :-) Don't be afraid to post questions, comments, models, etc in the main forums. I'm not sure if you know, but there are also "subscriber" forums like The Junk Drawer where the okes just basically talk kak. :-)

Cheers
Rudi

I'm also part of the LEM (League of Extraordinary Modellers).. Invitation/subscription (free) only (set up after a particularly bad spell at FSM forums). Great place to hang out, very active, very approachable and the entire range of skills are there, from beginning teenager to 40 year veterans.. www.the-lem.com . I glean most of my info from there (armorama rookie, even though I've been registered for years). They usually know where to find what.

HI Rudi

The Sherman, I am getting from Mel (Victors Hobbies) he actually phoned yesterday to ask if i still want it. I actually havent seen reviews anywhere of the DML Sherman which is a pity. As i would really like to see what i am getting myself into. But if it is anything like the one i am busy building now (SDKFZ 251/7 PioneersKampfWagen) it will be brilliant.

I have learnt so much from this site. So i am hooked. Always find it interesting how other people so resourceful. But i am learning now so it is going to be good.





Hi Michaelvk

Thanks for the link above, will be looking at that soon. I guess it is just about learning new skills from others that develops you as a modeller. Puts you in place to implement those skills in other places again.

Cheers
:-) :-)

Hi James,

What's the kit number of that Sherman? I'll see what I can find for you.

Rudi

Mmmmm, good question. Dont really know, will have to phone and find out.

Thats Dragon kit No. 6083, see the review here:

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/dragon/dr6083.htm

Here's the bit from Dragon:
http://www.dragonmodelsltd.com/html/6083.htm

Thanks Michael,

That's the one I was thinking of.... was about 99.9999% sure :-)

jimbrae recently reviewd it here in Armorama as well

btw, that's also the version the SA troops were issued with....

Rudi

Just a short note if I may regarding aftermarket parts.

The guys overseas (Europe) will not touch VLS or Verlinden aftermarket parts. Bad quality, poor fit, inaccuracies are some of the main points.

At Euromilitaire 2005 the top hall was packed with various model and equipments suppliers, everyone was there in force, except Verlinden. When I noticed this and asked, they told me why. They don't have any time nor respect for Verlinden's stuff.

Local guys who I know have used it also testify to this.

There are many other aftermarket producers who offer much higher quality and accuracey from what I am told.

(I spoke to many of the world's top modellers whilest there - so this is not a grip from me. It was all the feedback that I recieved regards VLS/Verlinden)

I just thought I would let you know as to what the serious modeller's feelings are on this subject.

You will, as always need to make up your own mind in this regard.

Cheers
Graugrun

Thanks Graugrun,

I have already ordered the Verlinden, Interior and Engine compartment for the King Tiger. So I hope it fits. Will have to remember this for the future.

I wasnt too familiar with all the companies that produced the Aftermarket stuff. So when I did a search on Squadron it come up with the majority of Verlinden stuff. It looked good and looked even better on the Verlinden site.


Oh Well, will let you know how it turns out.

Cheers

Unfortunately the problem here is that Verlinden are the only company that do update sets for the Tamiya KT.

Personally, and not to contradict my mate Matthew , I think perhaps a better word to describe the VLS products in "inconsistent". One batch may be perfect, and very next batch shoddy. We - the figure team - have found this to be the case with the new Streets of Laredo range... the hotel was magnificent, of the highest quality, but some of the sample figures were pathetic (as far as I'm concerned).

Is it too late to put your order on ice? My suggestion is to put the question to the general population about the quality of these sets... at least then you know what's awaiting you...

Cool, thanks again for the info. Learning such alot again.

Not a problem i guess will have top wait and see when it arrives as to what quality it is. Maybe LadyLuck is on my side.

But i will put it to the forum... :-)

Hey there James,

In an attempt to try make you feel better.... let me share a most embarrassing experience with you... :-)

My wife makes hand-made cards in her sparetime. So this week-end, hoping to score some brownie points I offered to take her and her mom to a card/scrap-booking supplies factory-warehouse in Plumstead (I live in the Northern Suburbs some 50 od KM away)... ever the sneaky modeller though I planned to make a stop at The Model Railway Specialists (also in Plumstead) . Needless to say after about 30 seconds at the card place, I was bored out my mind and went to wait in the car. SWMBO came out about 30 min later and suggested I go to the LHS as they were enjoying themselves and didn't know how much longer they'd be... I happily obliged...
While I was perusing the LHS I grabbed some Heki grass I'd been looking for and then came across something I'd never seen before... a set of Revell 1/35 WWII Scottish infantry in desert gear... you can guess my immediate response.... OMG! I've found some OOP kit! Only R50! What a bargain!... so I grabbed a box...
Getting back to the car, I was feeling rather guilty about spending cash when things are a bit tight... so a slipped the Heki and the figures under the seat, and put the 2 bottles of varnish and the can of primer in the glove compartment... I figured I'd just declare those to the government...
Anyway, much later in the afternoon I took the "illegals" out the car and slipped them into the house... very excited about my "bargain", I opened the box.... guess what I found out about Revell 1/35 figures????? They are bloody no better than toy soldiers... but not the good ones... you remember those bags of plastic toy soldiers we used to buy from Shoprite or the OK Bazaars? They were worse than those! There are 10 figures, all single piece casts, on a single sprue... the plastic is a soft bendable plastic... only a miracle would be able to change these into anything salvagable! :-) :-)

Oh well... live and learn... :-) :-)

Hi Rudi

Thanks for sharing that, does make me feel a tiny bit better :-)

It a shame that our wives/girlfriends dont understand out passions. My girlfriend cant understand why i would spend so much time on something so small...last night i was modelling and she was watching tv, and every so often she would come and "check up" on me. She would like look and shake her in dismay....and then go back watching tv....

But it works both ways, in a funny sort of way...she does beading, so she drags me along all over the place as well, however she doesnt always come along to LHS Confuses me at times

The day of our lives, but hey thats the way you learn about modelling by making the mistakes, no matter how expensive...

Maybe you could fix up those Scottish infantry and do a sort of bronze effect to them???? Just an idea...

Cheers

Women and scale moddeling. My girlfriend supports my hobby enthuasiastically as it means I am at home and not in some pub. The only thing that gets to her is the cost.

She still does not know of the R5000 worth of pewter on the way to me from GHQ in the US. Better keep it quiet.

If she does not understand the hobby try to highlight to her the advantages such as being at home within earshot, being creatively employed (doing nothing being the playground of the devil) and that it teaches you patience which is always in great demand with any woman (just don't say it to them in such a way).

And if all else fails do a tit for tat agreement - you buy one kit and she gets something of the same value. Now I just got to keep that 5 grand quiet.

ah yes.. missus and modelling..

Herself loves the fact that I have the hobby, and supports it, as long as the magazine pays for it..

but, but, but.. yes dear..

Hi,

I do not know if you have seen the latest Dragon armour kits. They have everything in with some spares as well. These kits are available in the Vaal for about R 250, 00. No aftermarket kits needed......

Contact me for more information.

regards,
Tappie

I've had the pleasure to delve into every new Dragon kit thats came out recently, and ended up with a free FlaK 36. Dragon's seriously putting out some excellent stuff, however Voyager are releasing splendid PE sets to go with them too..