Got home from work and the box from Luckymodel was waiting.

I have to say, it's like the best of the dragon and Tamiya kits but better.

Dragon like parascopes(rotatable, not open though, I bet a dragon open one would fit). A detailed bow Machine gun. Full engine and some other interior detail.

The treads are soft plastic. They look pretty good, they have the bolt head for the end links.

The storage boxes on the fenders can be set open.

I really like how Hobbyboss wraps foam around the delicate parts. I may start on it this weekend to see how it it fits.

My first impression is very good though.






I can post more shots if you guys want.

Hi Jon, does the kit include the turn buckles for the fenders? More pics would be most appreciated.
Thanks!

Yes it does.

Here is a shot of the instruction sheet with them being added.



You can see them in this pic I think., they are under the foam, in the upper pic. I can take a pic of them later if you like.

Jon, no need for a pic of them, I'm glad they were included. Thanks for the instruction pic, much appreciated. I think I will grab one of these.

No problem.

I really like it. The dragon kit is really dated and the Tamiya kit is really pricey for what you get.

The engine detail looks really nice, I hope they do an M26A1 and super Pershing as well.

I think I am going to Start the build and build it to the point I have the Dragon M26, and then build them side by side.

I wonder how long it will take someone to come out with an interior..

Started the build today.

Went fairly well until I went to put in one of the inner hull sides, then I had a slight fit issue.

Here are the sprockets and road wheels from a DML and the Hobbyboss kits side by side.



Here is a shot of how the inner hull should fit.

Here is the other side, sticking up a bit. It looks worse then it is, it sticks up 2 maybe 3MM.

Another view


The good side.


I think I can just trim it down and it will be fine.

the Persh is one of my favorite tanks of all time. I think I may get this kit. Definatly will be replacing the rubber band tracks with Workable AFV Club tracks, simply cause they have been collecting dust in the back of the stash for the past year.

Shame about the two part barrel....

Good luck with this kit, I will be following it closely.

I may get a metal barrel for this kit.

I will post more pics over the fourth, I plan on spending allot of time on this and the Dragon M26.

Few more shots from today's work.

I have run into no other fit problems on the Hobbyboss.

I did run into a fit problem with the Mantlet area on the DML M-26, but it wont be hard to fix.

Here are a few shots of the turret shells and I threw in the Tamiya turret in one.




Sitting on the hulls


Turn buckles

It looks nice but I've already got both the Tamiya and Dragon kits so probably won't pick on up unless is significantly better. I wish they'd included an interior instead of an engine, I would have picked one up in a heartbeat!

Matt

Few more shots of the hobbyboss M26


Working torsion bar suspension, the bars glue in and then the suspension arms slip in and you put some glue in a hole on the arm. On the non warped side they all fit fine. On the warped side a few didn’t line up will. It would be a better setup then the Tamiya setup if they had included a poly cap for each front suspension arm. Still it’s a pretty cool setup and as if the one part was not warped it would be a sweet setup. The shock slide in and out like real shocks.


Motor and tranny

Turret with Dragon parascope installed



The Dragon open Parascopes fit perfectly in the Hobbyboss Parascope holes. I had a spare from a Sherman kit.

The handles for the stowage boxes are not separate parts?

Cheers,

Christophe

So this HobbyBoss kit is a real mixed bag, its cheap at 24 bucks or so, little more local but it should be anymore then 34 bucks and its as detailed as the Tamiya kit. It is also better then the dragon M26, both are older. Neither has an engine/tranny. The Dragon has seperate storage box handles. The Tamiya and Hobbyboss do not.

The Tamiya I think looks the best in over all shape. The dragon is to humpbacked in the engine area and the Hobbyboss is to flat. The Dragon kit has fixed suspension that look fine. The Tamiya and Hobby boss have working suspensions.

The Dragon suspension was the easiest to build.

The Tamiya suspension is a beat weak once in and the rubber band tracks fit a bit loose.

The Hobbyboss has a working torsion bar for all the suspensions arms, and shocks that telescope. The shocks fit to tight and need to be sanded or the upper shocks drilled out a bit. It would be a nice setup if I didn't have a problem with the inner hull side. That problem cause the bars on one side to not align with the holes in the suspension arm. So those arms have been glued in place.

I think the Hobbyboss is a pretty good kit. The Tamiya is an easier build but at over 50 bucks at most places you can get two of these hobbyboss kits and it builds up just about as nice as the Tamiya.

I am going to build another one for sure, maybe when the release a Super-Pershing.


Test fitting a track.

Engine and tranny in and weathered. I still needs to paint a few details.



Here is a shot with the turret and upper hull on


Progress on the dragon kit.

Glad to see you are still on top of this project. So which one comes out on top? HB, Tamiya, or Dragon.

its between this Hobbyboss and Tamiya. I leaning towards the Hobbyboss.