This review seems to have been done thru rose colored glasses. I guess it's ok for those who buid out of the box. For those who care about accuracy, it's quite the disapointment. Here's what people who get into the nuts and bolts of things think.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/thread/1256368532/T-62+woes

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/thread/1257783750/T-62+Mod+1962+lower+hull+photos...

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/thread/1257857608/T-62+rear+deck+tweak...

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/thread/1257945222/T-62+hull+lengthened...

I wasn't impressed with it.

On a scale of 1 to 100, the Tamiya kit is maybe a 35. The Trumpeter kit is a 90

As for Zaloga being wrong and the Trumpeter lower hull being correct, we need to see the source of that information.

And price is not Trumpeter, that is Stevens Intl. Trumpter kits can be bought in China for @ US$9. Shipping is not adding to it either, it is the importer.

I would, however, again advise Trumpeter to use this wealth of information to fix the kit into something spectacular.

Don't the Trumps have the T-62 1972 model in the pipe as well? I'm sure I saw the box art of it here some time ago

The Trumpeter kit has so many flaws (hull, fenders, rear plate angle, turret, etc.) that to give it more than a 5 or 6 on a one to ten scale is being too charitable.
It being better than the Tamiya kit doesn't give it any extra credit in my view (heck, we thought Big T's effort was bad even when that kit was new!)
Regardless of its price in China it is expensive here in the States and pretty much everywhere else for that matter. And for the price you are not getting a very good representation of a T-62.
Sure, with some work you can "fix" most of the problems but the thing would have to sell for half of what it does to make it worth while for me.
(BTW, Is there somewhere I can mail order the thing for $9.00?? I'd snag a couple in a heartbeat at that price!)

Mark

Also, all the problems that have been pointed out are ones that only those of us that care to know about this stuff will notice. We, the nut-and-bolt fans, are not in the majority of either the buyers or the builders.

I agree that it is extreemly annoying that a manufacturer cannot get ahold of good information, cross check it, and use it for their molds. But the manufacturer's are not aiming for us, they are aiming for the largest group of buyers...and those buyers don't care a whit about the lower hull problems, the fender issues, the blower size...etc.

Mark-Check this out if you think the Trumpeter kit cant be built into a good representation of a T-62 with little work

Mark - Get a contact in Hong Kong. The only catch is shipping a couple of kits usually runs about US$15...which is why there seems to be no real competition for the real importer right now.

Also, all the problems that have been pointed out are ones that only those of us that care to know about this stuff will notice. We, the nut-and-bolt fans, are not in the majority of either the buyers or the builders.

I agree that it is extreemly annoying that a manufacturer cannot get ahold of good information, cross check it, and use it for their molds. But the manufacturer's are not aiming for us, they are aiming for the largest group of buyers...and those buyers don't care a whit about the lower hull problems, the fender issues, the blower size...etc. They don't . And they are normal modellers with good skills that get awards at contests; they are not inexperienced or foolish.

That said, they are also looking at how we handle this, "we" meaning both sides of this issue. Will Trumpeter improve the kit now that these issues have surfaced? How beligerent will the "experts" be? Will this devolve into another modelling subject like dealing with Tiger tanks...where any minor discrepancy is loudly criticised? That will hurt Red Armor modeling far more than this kit Trumpeter put out.

So let's see what happens next. Will Trumpeter rise up to the challenge of dealing with this kit?

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Mark - Get a contact in Hong Kong. The only catch is shipping a couple of kits usually runs about US$15...which is why there seems to be no real competition for the real importer right now.

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Even at $24 it would be a far, far better deal than what these kits are running in stores here in the States.
I emailed a buddy in Hong Kong on business (also a modeler) and the shop he checked has them running just short of $20 from what he says. Even Lucky Model has them selling for $28 less shipping.

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Also, all the problems that have been pointed out are ones that only those of us that care to know about this stuff will notice. We, the nut-and-bolt fans, are not in the majority of either the buyers or the builders.

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I know that well and have said as much on a number of occasions. But as far as only rivet counters caring, wouldn't that be true of all kits?

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I agree that it is extreemly annoying that a manufacturer cannot get ahold of good information, cross check it, and use it for their molds. But the manufacturer's are not aiming for us, they are aiming for the largest group of buyers...and those buyers don't care a whit about the lower hull problems, the fender issues, the blower size...etc. They don't . And they are normal modellers with good skills that get awards at contests; they are not inexperienced or foolish.

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I would argue that the exact opposite is true; Trupeter, DML, Tamiya, etc., are not aiming at the "average" buyer/builder at all anymore and therein lies a problem. Look at the number of completely invisible details (that is, details that once the kit is build can not even be seen) that DML include in their newer kits. This is done exclusively for the advanced modeling crowd because, as you say, no one else would even care if they're included or not (I don't even care about most of it!).
But even leaving that aside, what "average" guy is going to be willing to plop down fifty plus bucks (now on the low side of most new kits) for something he just wants to glue together and paint?
It is the concentration on including tons of detail and added goodies that is to no small extent responsible for how idiotically expensive new kits are getting. (Though not anything like the "whole" reason.)

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That said, they are also looking at how we handle this, "we" meaning both sides of this issue. Will Trumpeter improve the kit now that these issues have surfaced? How beligerent will the "experts" be? Will this devolve into another modelling subject like dealing with Tiger tanks...where any minor discrepancy is loudly criticised? That will hurt Red Armor modeling far more than this kit Trumpeter put out.

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Over too many years of modeling I think we've all heard that argument but I'll ask you; what has been the result of all that criticism? Certainly not fewer Tigers (or any other subject for that matter), that's for damn sure. Instead it has been an unthought of level of detail and accuracy and an explosion of new and better kits!

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So let's see what happens next. Will Trumpeter rise up to the challenge of dealing with this kit?

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My vote is for "no".

Mark

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Mark-Check this out if you think the Trumpeter kit cant be built into a good representation of a T-62 with little work

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No, no. I said exactly the opposite. It can be built up nicely (into an accurate T-62) but only with a lot of work. Steve, as always, did a very nice job on his model but only corrected a very few of the problems.

Mark

They even corrected the wrong lower frontal armour shields on their Spanish version Centauro.
The corrected part is included in the new Italian late Centauro boxing, which is not needed in there. The sprues will definitely show up in later boxings of the Spanish Centauro too. And this problem didn´t cause any waves or flame wars. It was a one time thread over on ML.

Tony, if you rate the Trumpeter kit at 60, then the old Tamiya kit is what, a 5? Just want to see what kind of metric you are using.

I have already seen several very nice OOB builds of this kit and even looking for the issues, it is hard to tell them without a reference book to compare to.

Well the only dimensional issue he corrected was the loaders hatch location. Everything else where minor fixes that one would have to add to the Tamiya T-55 as well, and his model looks very nice. Only if you were armed with a set of calipers and T-62 measurements would you notice the dimensional issues. What im trying to say is that the Trumpeter T-62, is for most modelers a fair representation of the T-62, with need for minor improvements(fuel lines etc)

Well the only dimensional issue he corrected was the loaders hatch location. Everything else where minor fixes that one would have to add to the Tamiya T-55 as well, and his model looks very nice. Only if you were armed with a set of calipers and T-62 measurements would you notice the dimensional issues. What im trying to say is that the Trumpeter T-62, is for most modelers a fair representation of the T-62, with need for minor improvements(fuel lines etc)

This doesnt work for me, I have countless projects which have been stalled because I obsess over correcting issues and making the model as accurate as possible.

Compared to if one used the Tamiya T-62 which requires massive amounts of work to even reach a reasonable level.