Bob Griffin has a new Chieftain book coming out in the next few months from Kagero publishing. It will include colour plates, plans, manual diagrams and plenty of colour and black and white photos. It will prove worth the wait. The Tamiya kit is OK as a starting point for a late Mk2 conversion, and makes a good early Mk3 out of the box, but needs surgery for later marks. Castoff has some good sets to make later marks, and some useful accessories like crew helmets and stowage, but if you have the cash, the AA sets are the best available.
Regards

Merlin

The Tamiya kit is a mishmash of Mk2 and Mk3.From what I can see the main difference between an early Mk3 and the Tamiya kit is the commander's cupola, which in the kit is a No.15 Mk1 and needs to be a No.15 Mk2 for a Mk3. In the Tamiya kit the NBC pack and lights are correct for a Mk3 early (the kit NBC pack is not correct for a Mk3/3 of course) and the engine deck should be right for a Mk2 or early Mk3 as far as I know. For a Mk2 the kit has the wrong headlamps, wrong set for the turret stowage on the right hand side of the turret, and (for early Mk2s) the wrong rear hull stowage bins. The Mk3/3 is where the more modern features start to pop up, and things like the Tank Laser Sight start to be introduced, and the engine deck layout changes with the Mk5 onwards. I really wish that the Mk2 and Mk1 were better represented in the resin conversion industry, at least the later marks can be converted nicely from AA and Castoff! That said, Dave Foster of New Zealand has converted the Tamiya kit into stupendously accurate renditions of an early Mk2 and a Mk11 with card, rod, wire and plenty of elbow grease! The Tamiya kit is a good starting point, we need to see a new tool Chieftain though! merlin