I would like to know what would be considered the creme de la creme in 1/72 scale armor.

Any type of armor, time period, etc. I'm looking for what is considered to be the best kits. I suppose WWII era would be my first choice.

Want to give this scale a try as I think the builds may be a bit faster and let me get to the fun stuff (painting/weathering) sooner and the size may allow me to actually display my work.

Really appreciate first hand knowledge/opinions with this.

Steve

Hi sniper,
being da self declared master of 72 (this being the only thing I can afford ) ,I would suggest hasegawa kits,easy build,nice detail,and LOTS of extras! including a whole other turret with thier wirbelwind!Also,Italeri makes nice 1/72,but thier tracks can be fiddly.

Revell makes some very nice kits as well, WWII and modern stuff.

Any specific kit that you think would be the best you have attempted so far?

Yeah, those prices are very attractive. Have lots invested in 1/35 and will never get around to finishing them all!

I dunno in the USA, but over here in the Philippines, 1/72 can be quite expensive compared to 1/35 - especially the 1/72 T-55 Enigma which bloody costs the same as a 1/350 Tamiya Yamato battleship. I'm not kidding.

Have tried one 1/72 kit (Revell, Challenger I KFOR) and I liked it very much. The decals are splendid, and the detail quality was superb. Very nice to build and collect. I plan on giving mine some weight to make it as my office desk's paper weight. :-)

It depends on what you want in a kit, Fujimi is 1/76 scale but is so close to 1/72 that you can't tell unless you put the kits side by side. I would rate them the "best" if you are into the building side, many of the the kits I've built included interiors, but they are also fairly expensive, most being about $15 (US), at that price there isn't much cost saving. Fujimi also has one of the widest selections of vehicles followed by Hasegawa.

If you are primarily interested in the exterior, I like Revell and Hasegawa, they include fairly good detail and are cheaper then the Fujimi kits (most are $7 - $10).

In my opinion based on overall quality of the finished product I'd rate them Fujimi, Revell, Hasegawa, Matchbox, Italeri and Airfix, when you include cost as a factor I'd put Revell and Hasegawa over Fujimi. The last three are more hit and miss, some kits are really nice but I've found others to be kind of sloppy.

If you want to spend most of your time painting, you might want to look at 15mm scale, a company out of New Zealand Battle Front has a nice selection of WW2 vehicles, artillery and soldiers http://www.battlefront.co.nz/ most kits only invlove 1/2 dozen parts (resin and metal), the castings are pretty clean so you spend most of your time painting.

I was buying 1/72 but started getting frustrated by the limited range (and the tiny wheels), the 15mm vehicles are also cheaper than most 1/72 kits (about $8 even for large vehicles like a Tiger). 15mm (1/100 scale) is about 3/4 the size of 1/72 or 1/76 (in theory 1/72 is 25mm scale but most kits I've done are closer to 20mm which is supposed to be 1/76). There are a number of compannies out there making 15mm modern vehicles and 15mm terrain / buildings are more available than 1/72.

I've built a fair number of 1/72 but lately I've started getting the 15mm for the small size stuff and spending my building time with 1/35 since I can enjoy the building process more (I can see the parts)

Steve,

I'm a 72 builder myself and I would say that the new revell kits are the best at the moment. With more and more aftermarket stuff comming out. But take a look at this site and compair for yourself.
http://www.ontheway.us/default.htm

regards, Hut

Most mags these days say that Revell at the mo is the king of 1/72 I've got the 72 warrior not bilt it yet but looks very nice go with them not too many turkeys in their range

What armor that I do build is almost exclusively 1/72 and 1/76. The new Revell and Hasagawa kits are gems that can be polished up (if you want to spend the extra shillings for a photoetch detail set and photoetch zimmerit). Even without, if you spend the time and put in the effort, you can produce a model that is just as detailed, just as accurate, and even if it is not as impressive size wise as say a big, new 1/35 Tamiya Tiger 2, remember that you can park a platoon of vehicles in the same space it takes for a 1/35 tank. What's the old saying? Quantity has a quality all its own? Then of course, there's the old fall back, "He who dies with the most toys wins"!!!

check out this site

http://www.ontheway.us/default.htm

great 1/72 site.

I think Revell kits are great. I picked up some Tigers, a Panther and an Abrams - amazing detail - nice kits. The only downside is lack of stowage and figures.

Peter

I only have one which is Revell Tpz1 "Fuchs" I kinda like it. The only problem is, the small parts in 1/35 are smaller in 1/72! Especially the parts under the vehicle, it's a pain in the neck! The good thing is, once you've done it quite well, it can go hand to hand with AC's

Thanks for all the answers. Think I will pick up a Revell and a Hasegawa kit. Am working on a Hasegawa Pz. IV right now and it's nice. Have a Fugimi Stug IV too.

Steve