I got this off my FaceBook just a few minutes ago. It really doesn't look that bad. It's not the Dragon AIM kit, but with some tender loveing care, it could come out to be a very nice model.

Tamiya M1A2 SEP Build

Hello,


I would say it looks like kit for a weekend with very much fun!!!! SImple oob and testing at the same time if the TUSK I and II is applicable on the Dragon for those who have one in their "store"..

But how you said, it is not the Dragon AIM or SEP kit. Toy suspension....

Cheers

Looks really nice, might have to get one of these.



cheers

Looks like a nice kit.

i just noticed looking at the pics, that they did re-tool the upper hull:



They corrected the NBC area, lower right of pic, and added the missing rubber piece, bottom center and left.

It definately has peaked my intrest. Now the price has to be right.

Tom

I agree with TankSGT, it looks pretty good, but the price has to be right.

It looks like Tamiya did a little updating, but as the others have said, it isn't up to the standard of Dragon's AIM or SEP.

Dragon can'r reissue 3536 fast enough to suit me.

My understanding is that it is the same price as their Elephant. With discounts that won't be to bad.
Mike

Personally, I am losing faith that Dragon will reissue it. Their marketing practices can boggle the mind sometimes. Take for example the Tiger I. They have released dozens of Tiger kits and the only Early was a limited edition Cyberhobby one years ago that sold out fast and goes for a few hundred online. You'd think they would make a killing by reissuing it or reboxing it but noooooooooooo.

Hobbyeasy shows it for pre-order at USD 53.33
Not a cheap one, but looking at the re-issues of old 70's kits that Big T is offering lately, not a bad price at all.

The mid $50 range is what I would have expected.

Joel

$53 is not too bad of a price. I am sure someone will have it cheaper.
I will buy several of them. The question is what do I do with my Legend update set?
Mike

Hmmm, for modelers like myself, will be depending on various AM kits coming out to detail this kit. As someone who believes in getting the details right or at least trying to..I won't say what I don't like about their attempt.
But I will say I really like the belly armor and I'd think the gun mantlet and that turret area would be a breeze to assemble as compared to other kits.
The horizontal surfaces on the side armor tiles seem bare for the individual tiles..which could be a good thing if one would scribe their own lines and apply the non slip texture. Legend's version has the recessed line at the edge too thick thus too close to the non slip surface if applied.
Great thing about Tamiya kits is the quality of their plastic and usual well fitting parts. So I'm definitely buying a bunch of these kits but to use with AM kits of course. However I also definitely keeping my Legend kits as well.

Thanks for the link Pete

Looks pretty decent, but I still don't know how you're Tamiya and you go all out by creating new molds and add the fancy TUSK parts, but omit the anti skid.
I'll skip this one and stick with the Dragon AIM and SEP that are still far and away the best, and great bases for the super detailer.

Interesting link and discussion from the build article:
http://andrei-bt.livejournal.com/34475.html#cutid1

Pretty obvious the readers are biased to their own military and designs. What I found especially interesting were the photos and technical issues discussed. I never realized that the TUSK package specs were so widely available.