M42 Duster, Tamiya 1/35

[PaulTRose]

continuing my current 'theme' of doing ancient kits this is now on the bench

dates from 1970 when it originally came with a battery powered motor

also continues my occasional project of AAA

picked this up at a show and there was an Eduard pe set in the bottom......as i have fat finger syndrome im not a lover of pe......im going to use bits and bobs here and there but theres no chance im going to use it all

pics to follow once i have bits glued together


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[adt70hk]

Nowt wrong with an old kit. My recent Tamiya Pz II was of the same vintage.

Good luck with the build.

ATB.

Andrew

[PaulTRose]

Nowt wrong with an old kit.

totally agree!

just looked and id guess 75% of the last years worth of builds have been 20 if not 30+ year old kits

might be cheap and basic but its the sense of satisfaction of turning it into something presentable i like

[The Smythe Meister]

Hi Paul,
As Andrew said,"Nothing wrong with an old kit"!!
I recently acquired the 2019 version of this,(apparently it`s basically the same,just with some "New Parts"),and have been looking forward to building it in the not too distant future:nerd:.
I`ll follow your progress too,if you don`t mind..... i think it`s a very cool looking AFV,
Andy

[Mark1]

If it comes with rubber band tracks then that's my kind of tank lol.

[Airborne01]

Do like the M42 - Vietnam/Korea-era vehicles are becoming increasingly attractive as a change from WW2 German armour. Once the Sheridan diorama is complete I have a 155mm M40 that is sitting with a 'Make me, make me ...' look about it!

[Guest]

Nowt wrong with an old kit.

That depends on what you expect of it Speaking for myself, I don’t think I’d want to build this kit in this day and age — I’d go for the AFV Club version instead. But it is, of course, possible to make a good model out of the old Tamiya one too.

Which reminds me: I think I have an article in an old magazine (FineScale Modeller, off the top of my head) about improving this particular kit. I could go and find it, if Paul’s interested.

[Jim R]

Hi Paul
Despite the inaccuracies of these old Tamiya motorised kits they can make fine models. Interested in seeing how it goes.
Jim

[PaulTRose]

thanks for all the words. guys

im not too bothered that its a 50 year kit with a 30 year old pe set.........i build for the fun and the challenge

the pe set isnt the greatest........the instructions are absolutely dire!.............and ive never seen the point of cutting off something to replace it with a bit of pe that looks exactly the same...or worse!.......so im only using it here and there

[Guest]

My experience is that a lot of PE sets make it appear like they’re a lot better than they actually are, exactly by replicating plastic parts in brass when they actually make the thing look flat instead of how it’s supposed to be. I’ve not bought an Eduard set in ages, but 20 years ago that used to be a major problem with theirs: half of any set would be intended to replace plastic parts that didn’t need replacing at all.

[spanner570]

I heartily agree with the positive sentiments posted re. old kits.

They are cheap and great fun to build.

It's fine if our buddies on here want to build more detailed, and more expensive kits, as long as they don't slate the older ones - To each his own, in'it.

Whichever path they choose, as long as the builders gets a buzz out of making the thing and chuffed with the end result, that is all that matters.

Following along, Paul.......

[BarryW]

My experience is that a lot of PE sets make it appear like they’re a lot better than they actually are, exactly by replicating plastic parts in brass when they actually make the thing look flat instead of how it’s supposed to be. I’ve not bought an Eduard set in ages, but 20 years ago that used to be a major problem with theirs: half of any set would be intended to replace plastic parts that didn’t need replacing at all.

I have to agree with you in general about not just etch but resin and other aftermarket too. These sets can add detail but you have to be really selective otherwise you end up wasting a lot of money on them. Just because an aftermarket set is available it does not mean it’s worth using.

My recent experience of the new 3D detailing sets suggest to me that these are the future. They are straightforward to use and don’t have the downsides of the flat appearance of etch. It really is nice to see that since Quinta Studios first introduced them companies like Kits World and even Eduard are embracing them as well. Even so, I think it is important to still be selective with these.

[PaulTRose]

50 year old tamiya kit plus 30 year old eduard pe set divide by someone with limited pe experience times fat finger syndrome equals frustration and headaches

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[PaulTRose]

state of play

painted, glossed, decals on, dark wash........next job is a bit of muddiness, then final assembly and a matt coat

the decals were garbage.....no idea how old this kit actually is but the decals just dissolved in water!!....found some spares that will do

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[Guest]

the decals just dissolved in water!!

That’s odd. I have Tamiya decals going back 30 and more years, and they still work … in fact their main problem is usually the opposite: having to soak for ages before they even begin to come loose (which isn’t related to their age, as they required that back then too).

But anyway, stars are probably easy to find if you’ve built a few American vehicles before