Hi all its my first post here.
I usually build 1/24 or 1/25 scale cars but want to try and tackle a tank.
I want to do a WW2 American tank.
I dont have a airbrush so a single color scheme I can use spray cans on is what I will need.
I hear that Tamiya makes some good kits but I just dont know what would be good for a beginner.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi, and welcome to the site!
I'd recommend the Tamiya M4a3 kit myself, pretty straight forward, lots of stowage included a few decent figures and not to terribly inaccurate. Should be able to find it pretty cheap too.
The DML kits are great, but have at least twice the parts count than the Tamiya offerings and some of the older ones have inividual link tracks that will have you pulling your hair out until you get the hang of them.
have fun and let us know how your projects go, lots of help in these forums!

http://cgi.ebay.com/REVELL-1-32-M3-LEE-TANK-/360206272560?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

this is a pretty good one. the m3 lee tank, was a fun build for me and i used it to play around with paint ideas and it was very forgiving to me and my acrylic ideas, lol.

reb

The kit 1:35 Tamiya M-41 Walker Bulldog Tank #35055
It cost about $12.00 on line and makes a good model.
George

I think any Tamiya old kit will be fine, they were intended to be motorized kits, so they're quite simple to build, decent fit, some details are soft, but way more detailed than Trumpeter's motorized kits. Some examples.., You have Tamiya's M41, Pz. Kpfw. II, T-34 series (including self-propelled guns), British Centurion, Chieftain and Pz. Kpfw. IV ausf. D. All of them have very good instructions sheet. More recent kits are very well detailed and have very good fit, but have more pieces (some of them tiny), not recommended for a beginner. Best regards.

José.

Hey Dale. Welcome to the site. I would agree with Eric on the Tamiya M4A3. It builds easily, has rubber band tracks and I think, either 3 or 6 figures. And painting can't get much simpler than OD out of a rattle can. Good luck!

If you had an absolute free choice, I'd say a Hetzer. Why? Because (i) it has a fixed superstructure insead of a turret, so should be easier to assemble, and (ii) most importantly, it has only eight wheels. Painting tyres is an absolute bore. If you want an Allied vehicle, the KV series is even better, as you don't have to paint any tyres at all (although there are 24 wheels). But if you want something American, the M4 is the next best thing, as it has only twelve tyres. Just avoid the M4A3E8 version (it has 24 of the little buggers!)

Welcome aboard, Dale
I, too, would recommend a Tamiya kit. Their ease of assembly makes for an enjoyable build for a starter. You can't beat the Sherman, either, it's a classic.
Peace and Love,
Randy

Welcome to the site! So let's see, first tank, WWII, American...

Definitely Tamiya for ease of construction. That pretty much limits you to any of the M4A3s (75 or 105) and the M4. Or if you don't mind accuracy issues you can try to find an M3 or M5 light tank.

Another possibility would be Italeri/Testors. Probably to be found a bit cheaper than Tamiya and the older kits have good fit and are easy to build. They have the M4A1/76, M4A3/76 and 2 M4A2 (IIRC). I can only speak for the first two and they go together well, but the tracks are kind of stiff. You might also want to consider an M24 by the same manufacturer.

Be sure to post some progress pics whatever you decide!

HTH!
Cheers!
Stefan

i'd say that for a started kit, go with italery's sherman. cheap, easy to build, and end result is quite nice

Thanks folks.
I think I'm going to try that Sherman.

I agree with the rest you can't go wrong with a Tamiya kit for ease of build.

When I jumped from cars to armor, I made the mistake of letting the DML panzer III Ausf. J become my first armor kit. Looking back it is amazing that I stuck with armor kits after that.

By the way If you are going to build the Tamiya M4a3 do not use the hull appliqué armor the kit gives you on it. That was a feature of dry storage M4's and the hull Tamiya gives you is a wet storage one.

Tamiya Shermans! Or T-34s All are easy builds, but not totally accurate. Not something I stay awake at nights worrying about.. Italeri is another company to look for.

DML, Dragon, TASCA, AFV, and Bronco are much harder to build, more parts, smaller parts

Stay away from Panthers, Jadgpanthers, Tigers, Jadgtigers, Churchills. The road wheels are a little trying for first timers