belugawhaleman

The tanks marking options are from the time after the time US got into Germany ,at least the marking options included shown on the box. The Tamiya European theater Easy eight also includes the T66 tracks. Adopted dec. 1944 .Thanks for the heads up about the kit being made from styrene BTW........I heard about some parts being made of ABS from a goofy You Tuber I'm glad its not true.

Surprisingly, the parts count (excluding the tracks) is not that large.....like an up-sized 1/35 kit. There is some detail I've never seen on an Easy Eight......I never knew, for instance, that these tanks had a pair of rear view mirrors....these are included on this kit. Most photos show that they were removed. Anyway, it's a good thing I have a lot of Tamiya olive drab. I'm concerned that some parts may be made from ABS......meaning Extra thin might not be enough. Anyway, I Emailed Andy's Hobby Headquarters to see if this is the case. Update: from the manufacturer.... All styrene.

Yikes! Five years is too short a sentance.

Sorry to hear of the decal issues. Have you tried Walther's Solvaset? Works great on decals.....on some decals it's perhaps a little too strong! I use it on Tamiya decals and even on those it works well. https://spruebrothers.com/search-results-page?q=Solvaset

I've been wanting this big kit for some time....It's the big M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" Sherman from Andy's Hobby Headquarters in 1/16 scale. This thing is Huge! The turret on this thing is as large as an entire Sherman in 1/35. Should be fun! I've test fitted the turret halves, as you can see in my picture, and the fit is excellent. There's a figure included, but I haven't dug it out of the box yet....It looks good in the reviews. These kits are apparently made by Takom for Andy...so it should go together well. Anyway, looking forward to building this beast!

I remember seeing the FC conversion on their website and considered doing the same. STAR decals makes a set for Spanish Schnieders. The Spanish Schnieders had a Machine gun port added to the front of the tank, sitting in a kind of trough that was cut into the glacis plate. Interestingly, the Spanish tank had a man-hole cover added to the hull near to the location of where the spotlight was. The FC modeltrend set includes this. Anyway, I'm going to try a french tank.....I've got a few tanks that use this kind of camouflage pattern and I'm going to have to buckle down and try to do this sometime.... I've been putting it off too long! Anyway, when you do your build I'll be sure to follow it.

Well, today came a kit that I've been contemplating purchasing for some time. I finally pulled the trigger on this offering from Hobby Boss. It's their Schneider CA - Armored (83862) in 1/35. An early WW I French tank. My WW I model collection is growing! All I need is a bucket of Moss Green or is it Green Moss paint. For some reason most Copper State Models require this ubiquitous color. The Takom Mk IV and Whippet tanks as well. WTH is Moss Green? And, if all tanks were this color.....how did the combatants know who was who? Anyway, this kit doesn't require that green. It looks like a decent kit of an interesting subject. It has what looks Like working tracks and pretty good detail.

Nice work Peter!

Wow! I can just imagine the size of the box that kit came in!

No, there were a variety of guns used besides maxim types including the French Hotchkiss 1914 , St Etienne 1907 , Chauchat guns. The Americans fielded the Browning 1917 and 1895 guns, The Italians had their Fiat- Revelli. Guns......None of these were Maxim Types. The Danish military had their Madsen guns in use for several years prior to the war.....I'm not sure if these were used in the conflict. The British, in addition to the Lewis gun (actually an American design), and Vickers also used a variation of the Hotchkiss called the portative model.....differing from the 1914 Hotchkiss in the locking system. The Japanese used their own guns, similar to the hotchkiss. A terrific source for info on these is a YouTube channel "Forgotten Weapons"... highly recommended. BTW the French St. Etienne 1907 and Italian Fiat-Revelli are the most arcane, overly-complicated mgs ever produced......google these you won't be disappointed! I've added an animation of the Schwarlose gun in honor of my late freind Mr. Fiesler, late of the Austro-Hungarian MG Regiment.

I recently purchased from different sources two weapon sets from ICM...both the same. Their WW I Austro-Hungarian Infantry Weapon And Equipment. (35671). I bought these after noticing that the Machine guns included in the Hobby Boss Skoda Turtle Are Spandau/Maxims not the correct Schwarzlose guns. The Schwarzlose has a very distinctive large cone-shaped flash hider out front. Czech turtles used a version of this gun modified and re-chambered to take the 7.92x57mm. Cartridge while those used by Austria were earlier guns still chambered to use the original 8x50R cartridge. An interesting delayed blowback gun. As a very young x-ray tech I met a WW I veteran who was on the side of Austro Hungary in a machine gun regiment. He told me he was 17 at the time and remembered using the gun. His opinion of the gun wasn't good and used some "colorful" language about its designer. I x-rayed him a number of times over the next couple of years and always enjoyed speaking with him. That was over 30+ years ago. Anyway, I hope I can adapt these to the Hobby Boss kit. If not, I'll leave the guns off. I saw one of these Turtles as used by the Germans in a picture taken during the war without the guns. The picture is also noteworthy in that one of the soldiers in front of the Turtle is quite stout......You would think the wehrmact would have a weight limit.

Jeez! How can you work in such a cramped work space?

Looks great. What are you going to use it in?

From Scale Hobbyist came an item from Takom. Well, actually, two kits in one box.....and not even a big box. It's their Pz. Kpfw. I Ausf. A & Pz.Kpfw. I Ausf. B 1+1. (No.2145). I think that's kind of a neat twist......One things for sure these were tiny tanks....1/35 scale you could easily place one of these tanks inside the hull of one of Takom's 1/16 versions of the same tanks!. The kits look pretty good...with the the sharp detail seen on most Takom offerings and they seem to made up of lots of parts. The tracks are link & Length and are well-molded with lots of detail. There's photo-etch included as well. Anyway, looks like a nice project. Not sure if I should build them together or one at a time.

Thanks. Today I purchased the Eduard masking set for this bird. It's been a while since I built an Aircraft model.....At one time, I built airplane models exclusively but the big kits prices scare me a bit now. I'd love to build something in 1/24....The big airfix Mossie perhaps. We'll see how this one goes.

Something a little different for me came today. From Tower Hobbies came something that is not armor and not in 1/35. It's Tamiya's DeHavilland Mosquito B Mk. IV/PR Mk. IV (61066) in 1/48. Although now about 20 years old, the kit looks pretty good....and the reviews I've read all say good things about it. Anyway, something different for me.

Well stated.

Jeeez...that's one formidable PBY! Really, Martin, you find the best pictures!

Nice work on the PBY. Still watching with interest. Good stuff! Too bad there isn't a good, modern kit of this bird.....you know, one that average modelers can successfully build.

Some items arrived today: First from Tower Hobbies; came some needed supplies. 1. Tamiya lacquer thinner. 2. Tamiya Lp-18 Dull Red lacquer paint...5 bottles. This looks close to red primer, I think, and I'll be using it on my Takom Krupp Raumer. 3. A bottle of Testors Dullcote. Also arriving today from Sprue Brothers came a model from Miniart; their D8500 mod. 1938 German Agricultural Tractor in 1/24 scale. I've been waiting for this larger Lanz Bulldog . It looks like a really great kit.

When I was a kid living in Oak Brook, Illinois they used to have air shows at a local airstrip. One time a pilot who owned one of these aircraft took my sister and myself, up for a ride. These days such an event would be unthinkable..... We had no parental consent....we were alone. He took us up for a short trip.....he even flew us over our own house, brought us back down in just...probably, no more than 10 minutes. Very cool. It's still the only time I was ever in a light aircraft. But I remember the type. Your build reminds me of the time. 1974 I think it was. I also remember seeing this kit, and taking a peek inside the box at my favorite hobby shop-now sadly, long gone. Thanks; I'll be viewing with intrest. Paul

Looking great Scott! ......and Huge!

Thanks for the comprehensive review Fran. Looks like a great kit.....with the added stuff from Special Hobby I'm sure it would make an awesome project! Thanks again for posting.

Found this. Might be useful. https://kawarthascalemodellers.com/how-to-use-tamiya-paint-mixes-and-recipes/?amp

Thanks guys.