Heya !! I want to do a smaller (light) tank for a change. Something like Panzer II. I saw this cheap old Tamiya kit on my local shops. What do you think of this kit ? The one and only review ive found so far was negative (AMPS Review). Thanks !

Hello ToonArmy

I too am looking for a Panzer II for a 1940 France dio. I haven't yet been able to have much luck locating one. If you find one that is still being made, please post.

Thanx

Hi ToonArmy,

Hope I can help you here. It really depends on a couple of factors as to whether or not it is a "good" model. First, what kind of budget are you working with? The Tristar Pz I kit is much better, light-years ahead in accuracy and detail, but if you can't afford you go with what you can, that's why I drive a Chevy and not a Jag! Second, what level of sophistication does your modeling fall under? If you would never dream of building a kit without adding P/E, link tracks, and half-a-dozen other upgrades, this is not the kit for you. On the other hand, if you are still working toward a high level of proficiency and can live with poor tracks, open sponsons, etc., while you are learning than this will be a fine kit for that. No one will mistake it for a VW bus when you are through, it will look like a German light tank but it would be hard to build a show stopper with it as the base kit. I hope I have been clear enough in my explanation, if I have left anything out I'm sure someone else will pick-up on it and fill in any gaps!

Coop

My 9 year old daughter built this kit during a 4 hour AMPS club build meeting in March. I helped her along with the kit and I have built one long ago when it was the only PzKpfw II kit in 1/35. It was originally designed to be motorized and it has several holes on the underside of the hull for the screws that held the gearbox as well as the on/off switch.

The tracks are one piece vinyl with a smooth inner surface and the roadwheels have detail on the outer surfaces only. The fenders are rather heavy-handed as are the various sponson boxes on the fenders. This is due to the ruggedness needed for a motorized tank that is handled frequently. A lot of detail is simplified, but a decent panzer can be built from the kit.

Experts will be able to tell you if the hull width is proper or if it was adjusted to fit the motor gearbox. I've got a few PzKpfw II's one is an ICM PzKpfw II (F) "Flamingo" flame tank, another is an Alan PzKpfw II Ausf. C that is a real nice kit. I also have an ICM PzKpfw II Ausf. L "Luchs" that is just as nice.

These newer kits are better detailed and the Alan PzKpfw II C was only $10.

I've built three of those little guys and have one more on the shelf. If you want a fun and quick build that looks like a Panzer II go for it. If you like accuracy and you want an Ausf. F and not an Ausf. C (like the Alan kit Sabot mentioned) then be prepared for a crap-load of work and a bunch of AM. It isn't accurate in the least.

Hasty, as far as i know, Tamiya and DML/Alan made Panzer II. Both are old, like 20 years ago ? I couldnt find any Alan kit here in Australia, but i'll have a look at the Tristar.

I saw some pretty good pics on completed Tamiya kit, but Sabot mentioned about holes on the chassis ?? How big/obvious is it ? Can it be fixed with putty ?

Thanks for the replies guys !

Hello all,

This is my first post on Armorama , and this is my two cents.

Now on the subject, I've build both the Tamiya and DML panzer II and I must say that the Tamiya one , despite being an old kit, is fairly good. It can use some detailing and modifying, but considering its price it's worth the money. I know of a couple of shops who still have it in stock, but I don't know if it is still in the current range of Tamiya.
About the holes, if you don't put the tank upside down, you don't see them .

The DML was a bit better, but still needed some modification. However I also think it's no longer in their product range .

Greetz,

Kris

Im just finishing this off at the moment also. I found it it to be a nice little kit, quick to build and makes it fun for a practice kit. Its so cheap its perfect for trying out new weathering techniques etc. It may not be top notch from the box, but I was happy with it.
So depending on your own demands........ i would recommend it.
I am finishing off a panther D also...... and it makes the panzer II look like 1/72 scale almost.

Easily, I usually use the convenient Tamiya flat sprue portions (where the Tamiya name or "A" or "B" sprue is labeled) to glue to the inside to the hull and putty the outside. But these motorization holes are not seen when the kit is displayed unless you flip it over. Unlike some of Tamiya's kits that have the holes in the side of the hull where the axles meet the drive sprocket.

I built one of this. In my opinion it´s a good kit. If you can replace the tracks with an aftermarket set it will look better. I posted some images of my Panzer II in the Gallery, the tracks yoy will see are the ones from the kit.

I wholy agree. I used the fruils and they were great. An Eduard pe set and I am very happy with it.

I did this one as my first tank model, and it was good practice on building and painting german armor. It is cheap so there is not as much fear of messing up as there would be on a 40 or 50 doller kit.

I just finished this kit as well, and had a lot of fun with it. It is cheap, a quick build, and if you want to try out new techniques, this is a great kit to do it on. I would recommend it. It looks like a Pz II to me, and when placed in a little "vignette" setting, looks good.

Mike

Thanks again guys....so many positives.. I WILL get the kit then Thank you

You can't go wrong, as you can see, it is a great starter kit. Here's my daughter's kit, she doesn't like to apply decals or paint, but she loves to build:

Toon Army, you can putty the holes and also sand down the raised plastic that denotes the on/off posiiton for the motor that shows on the bottom.

You can also drill out the gun barrels and muffler and use plastic card to seal the holes on each side under the sponson (although with the tracks on you probably wouldn't see the gaps).

Beyond that, the one problem in terms of fit is where the front glacis meets the hull - use filler to seal that.

I also just noticed that Achtung Panzer No 7 is out and it looks like it goes into detail on the Panzer II if you want to go crazy. This is the only armor kit I have built and I really liked building and painting it!

My only major problem was that for some reason, my kit didn't have english instructions but was able to negotiate the F/G issues by looking at the pictures in the japanese instructions.

GR8Voyager

Sabot, that's great! Did you show her that you posted it on the net? She would get a kick out of it!

I didn't post it but the webmaster for the club did. She's seen them all.

Toonarmy

Thanks for the info. I just got a Tamiya kit off a website for only 17 bucks. I think it is the one everyone is talking about.

Regards

HastyP, $17.00 US or Canadien? If it is US, then I think you might have either overpaid or you got the motorized version of the kit.

GR8Voyager