Hi guys,

I would like to know which kit is more correct in size and shape. I´ve read that Academy´s are very bad kits.

I am planning in doing a Sheridan and want to know which kit is better in size and shape. I think it is easier to add the details than having to redo a great part of the kit.

Thanks in advance,
Angel

From what I've heard, the ancient Tamiya is quite appalling. Academy kits are supposedly decent kits for building, but awful if an accurate replicate is expected.
Jaguar's mostly resin kit is allegedly the most accurate around, but expensive.
http://www.jaguarmodels.com/135cka.htm

In case you haven't read it yet, here's a comprehensive review
of the Academy kit, revealing it to be lacking in almost every aspect. It supposedly goes together nicely and looks like a sheridan, but that's it.

My friends-- The Tamiya kit (IMHO) requires work, but is fairly well-done. Old, but workable. Add any PE aftermarket resin and she is fine. Academy may not satisfy the purist, but once again, it looks fine on my shelf. I had no issues with it. However, the jaguar kit is an atrocious waste of a lot of money ($100+). The instructions are horrible, the parts too fragile, there is a mix of versions with no clear indictaion of which one you are building. I asked for it for Christmas and started it right away. The hull was a horror story all by itself. Dare I say more! I hated the jaguar kit.
Best of luck
DJ

I got the Tamiya set and a nice PE set. Scratched out a few things like gun tube and searchlight and as DL says it ain't too bad. The Academy fixed a few of the problems while making some new ones. Perhaps a kit bash of those two kits might produce a more accurate version. If you are a super perfectionist, you ae pretty much out of luck and will end up scratching a ton of stuff. The liklihood of someone putting out an accurate one is slim to none, after all it is not WW2 German or a Sherman rarity.

So I got the Academy kit. What areas should I pay more attention to, to rectify or accurise on this kit? Thanks!

B

Thanks guys. I will keep making other kits and wait a little bit.

Have a nice day,
Angel

Wow!!! Thanks for the link and I did not seen that site before!

Its going to take a bit of elbow grease to tackle this one..., darn, if only Academy would to put in a little more effort. They would have gotten it much better.

Thanks again!

The Academy kit is not really that bad. Check out this finished Sheridan to see it done. He replaced the tracks with Fruil metal ones, and used some PE on it. The only way to notice all the angle and measurement differences are if you actually get out a calipers and start measuring. It does look like a Sheridan when completed. With a little bit of effort, it can come out great-looking.

Biggest problems (i.e. something anybody who knows Sheridans will spot from across the room) would be the tracks, which are missing their raised rubber pads (Friul to the rescue), and the right turret side, which should overhang the sponson by a good bit (the Academy turret is too symmetrical). This latter problem would require resculpting the turret shell with epoxy putty, since it is a curved casting. I've been contemplating this--I've done it with other subjects, and it's not really difficult. White Milliputt would be my choice, since it adheres well and can be shaped with a wet fingertip. The corrected profile can be made with .020" sheet styrene, and the epoxy would be applied using this as a guide (the styrene also allows a clean edge that won't crumble).
There are a host of other possible corrections, but this is more like a quick salvage job to make the kit less inaccurate. Personally, I wouldn't want to tackle respacing the road wheels, since that would entail scratchbuilding the whole lower hull.

Gino, Gerakd,

Thanks for the info!

Brent did a great job on the Sheridan indeed! Thanks for the link! I am getting very inspired by the builders here in this board. Fruil tanks..., whew, I have been out of tank/plane modeling for some 7 years so, I hope the price have come down some since.

As I am now familiar with Sheridan but now I know the track and the turret will require some works to get it to look right. Thanks guys, I am looking around and gathering references for this tank for my build sometimes down the line. And white milliput is also my choice of putty.

Thanks again guys!

B

If you're not up for the Fruil tracks you can make the pads very easily with liquid gasket or other similar rubber material. I've done it and it wrks very well, plus you can add damege to each pad or leave a few off if you desirte. As for using the Tamiya turret, that is exactly what I did. A search MAY pull up my old posting on it from about three years ago. I also used the Tamiya TC hatch, added the missing glass and details, and cast my own new one. It has a much more correct shape.