New to the forums, so please excuse me if this is not the proper forum...

After 35 yrs away from the hobby my 9 yr old son has shown a lot of interest in WW2 modeling and I thought it might be fun to share a hobby. After looking at several sites I am completely overwhelmed at the sheer number of model companies- back in my day I collected Tamiya WW2 german models, but I am looking for something a bit more detailed, especially when it comes to 1/35 figures. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! I am looking for detail and accuracy, but I certainly don't want to break the bank (see statement about 9 yr old- he's EXPENSIVE!) Mailny looking for WW2 Axis/Russians since my passion is Eastern Front. US-based if that makes a difference. I am hoping someone can steer me in the right direction.

Thanks guys!

Ola Dave

Welcome back to the hobby mate and welcome on this great site.

Figurewise if you want more detail you could check out the lines of Dragon, Miniart, Tristar and Masterbox. They have absolutely great figure sets where the detail is much better then most of the Tamiya Offerings. Plus they each have a lot of figures of the Axis and Soviet sides. So there is plenty to choose.

The above mentioned brands also have vehicle ranges in 1:35 and most of them are great and again a bit to a lot more detailed then the kits from Tamiya. I could add Italeri as well as a lot of their newer kits are right gems. Same can be said from ICM. There is lots and lots to choose from.

Welcome back to the hobby, Dave.

Aside from resin, there aren't any US manufacturers of model kits. Tamiya have improved on their figures in recent releases, but you get much better variety from Master Box, MiniArt and Dragon figures (more recent releases). You can add some Tamiya and Trumpeter kits for vehicles. Check the reviews and news sections, especially if you have in mind what you want to build, or ask about it here in the forums.

For a 9 year-old, I would recommend some of the Tamiya kits. Overall, they aren't as detailed as those by Dragon, Bronco, AFV Club, MiniArt or Master Box, not to mention "upstarts" like Riich or Meng, but they more or less put themselves together.

My suggestion (as someone else who was away from the hobby for 30+ years) is to take it slow. You should purchase kits gradually, because in most cases, they live on forever in swap meets, eBay and even in our Buy/Sell/Trade forum.

And WELCOME BACK!!

If I may second the vote for Tamiya. If you get a modern kit from them (say, something from the past 10-15 years) you'll have a well detailed model that is quite straightforward to build. Their Panther G and Nashorn and JS 2/3 are wonderful kits. If not them, go with Meng or Trumpeter (recent kits though, their first ones are dogs. the KV series is a thing of beauty). AFV Club is often quite good but tricky, Hobby Boss may have some tricky assembly. Dragon often has the best detail but research the kit on the net as damned near all of them have errors in the instructions or things that don't fit well. For figures, Dragon, Masterbox, and Miniart are good choices.

The Trumpeter KV series of tanks are like 20 bucks. Goes together pretty easy, only tricky part can be the link and length tracks. But I guess you'll be helping him along.

You would love the Dragon Smart Kits of the Panther, Tiger, King Tiger, and Panzer III and IV series. Extremely well detailed and fit well. They may be a bit too involved for your son to do, and might be out of your price range. For good detail and good price, perfect fit and great fun, I recommend the Tamiya 1:48 scale armor subjects. The cover a wide range of WWII subjects and are very easy to assemble. The provide link-and-length which might be a challenge at first, but with a little practice I'm sure you and your son can handle it. Best of luck and happy modeling!

If I could add one thing; several years ago when first started modeling with help from my dad our first model was a Revell B-17 model of the, "Memphis Belle." looking at that kit as well as other Revel kits the very well fitting kits with a nice level of detail but wont break the bank. Since I started building models with my dad (when I was about 9 years old) I have built quite I few models but now as my interest in armor modeling, detailing, and weathering increases I build my models alone. I will say this I still have the B-17 proudly displayed in my room the model looks very nice but there was no weather what so ever, one of the reasons I am now building alone. All in all before I moved on the Dragon and Bronco models and well some other kits, such as my latest kit a, 'What If,' build of an Amusing Hobby Lowe, I found the Revell kits quite good. I hope this helps you and your son.

Thanks for all the replies- I now have a good starting point to research which direction I want to go. Just for the record, I will be building the models- my son just wants to watch and learn (for now...) Might have to check out the various KV models since I love that tank style.

Thanks a bunch for the suggestions

I had a great time with my son when he was 9. Be built a Tamiya StuG III. I cut the parts from the sprue and cleaned them up. He placed them on the kit, doing the actual assembly. As we went through he began to cut and clean up the parts himself. We spend a couple of days on the project and had a great time together.

Tamiya and Academy have the most straightforward builds so for those out of the hobby or new modelers they will make for a more satisfying build.

A lot of the newer kits have quite a large number of parts so if you want to take it to the next level try some. i am working on a Meng and the fit is very good but it is a big build compared to a Tamiya kit. Trumpeter makes some decent subjects but I always get a degree of frustration with them because the plastic they use is too brittle making it difficult to cut small parts off sprues.

Even though I am not a big fan of Tamiya, I would second that. Small size with reasonable detail and reasonable price (usually!) and easy fit. You can build one of their kits between lunch and supper . BTW, Bronco just announced a 1/48 ISU 152, which will be much better than any Tamiya equivalent, but also more of a challenge (more parts).

My seven year old daughter has become a happy little modeller, pretty much anything she can snap tight together. She and I are working on a Trumpeter KV-122 right now, with her snipping the sprues and helping glue parts together. It's made for a nice father-daughter time sink. . .

That's awesome! My son still has some attention issues, but I am really hoping he takes an interest in this. Looking good so far... Are the Trumpeteer models challenging?

Not quite so much as Dragon or Bronco as they don't suffer from over-engineering, but they do have occasional fit problems.

Welcome back into the fold! As a modeller of some 55 years of experience, my advice would be to take it slow, especially if you're introducing your son into what can be a very rewarding hobby.

I model 1/35 scale AFVs, 1/48 aircraft, 1/24-1/25 Classic Cars (1920s-mid 1950s), the "high-end" spectrum of HO (1/87) brass and hybrid Steam Era Locomotives and Trains, 1/35-120mm Figurines and occasionally, 1/350 Ships. As you can see, I don't confine myself to any one niche of this wonderful hobby.

THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN BUILDING MODELS IS PATIENCE...

I DO NOT suggest buying an expensive ($60.00 and up) model to get started with, no matter how intriguing it may look- Expensive kits usually carry a very high parts count, so you don't want to get your son bogged down in an initially overwhelming kit, yet you don't want to insult his intelligence by buying one of those silly "Snap-Together" kits, either. However, there ARE some very nice kits out there that can be had for a modest price, yet fulfilling the desire to have accomplished something.

DON'T FEEL OVERWHELMED BY THE NUMBER OF PARTS THAT YOU'LL SEE WHEN YOU FIRST OPEN THE BOX...

It looks more complicated than it actually is. Study the instructions a little bit before actually assembling anything. This will prevent any nasty surprises later on. "DRY-FITTING" the parts is a great way of determining how things go together without making messy mistakes...

USE THE RIGHT TOOLS...

I have a great deal of money tied up in my workshop, what with airbrushes, compressors, spray booths and specialized hand-tools. But, that's all stuff that I've accumulated over 55 years' time... When starting out, I recommend just a few base-line tools that will help you and your son to develop good habits in your modelling, and will also help you to progress in your mutual abilities...

1. ADHESIVES- Buy a good TUBE GLUE, such as TESTOR MODELLING CEMENT, AND a good LIQUID GLUE, such as TESTORS LIQUID CEMENT. Both of these adhesives should be used sparingly, especially the tube glue. Using too much adhesive will invariably mar your model, with excess glue winding up on your fingers and turning your model into minor disaster...

For very small parts, you might want to use a pair of tweezers to gently hold the part while you join it to another. I suggest squeezing a drop or two of tube glue onto a piece of scrap plastic or better yet, an old plastic top from a coffee can or sour cream, etc. You can transfer a little bit of glue from the blob on the scrap to the required place on the model with the tip of a wooden tooth pick. Using a tiny drop of tube glue on the tip of your tooth pick, it's best to apply a little bit of the glue to the appropriate place on the larger part. OR, if you have steady hands, you can connect the smaller part to the appropriate place of the larger part and apply a small amount of liquid cement to the parts join by using a small brush, (00-size or similar) and letting capillary action do it's work. I prefer this method, myself. I generally use the TAMIYA LIQUID CEMENTS for all of my modelling, but they DO cost a little bit more than the TESTORS varieties...

If the need arises, I sometimes use KRAZY GLUE and/or KRAZY GEL or their equivalents, especially when joining brass or resin parts, which you probably won't encounter until you're well along in your modelling experience.

BASIC TOOLS: A HOBBY KNIFE, such as an X-ACTO or TESTORS, with EXTRA BLADES, a pair of small SCISSORS, a pair or two of TWEEZERS, 1/2" or 3/4" MASKING TAPE or LOW TACK MASKING TAPE, SMALL PAINT BRUSHES, ranging in from 000 to 0 sizes, small FILES or EMERY BOARDS, WOODEN TOOTH PICKS, fine grained SAND or EMERY PAPER, and RUBBER BANDS. These tools will aid you greatly in your modelling skills. Perhaps, you may even want to invest a little bit of money in a basic modelling skills handbook- I've seen these kinds of primers on eBay for as little as couple of dollars... These booklets are usually arranged in such a way as to afford you many helpful tips and techniques, and will answer questions that you may run into.

EYE PROTECTION- I CANNOT EXPRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF EYE PROTECTION ENOUGH!!!

A WORK PLACE- Not Mom's DINING TABLE!!! This should be close to a window for ventilation, as FUMES from your glues, paints, etc can be harmful. Make sure that your table is covered with some sort protective sheet, such as a vinyl table cloth, unless you are lucky to have a dedicated work-bench. I'm lucky enough to have a separate workshop, with 4 worktables, a spray booth and more than adequate lighting, including magnifier-lights, and probably close to $1000.00 dollars worth of modelling tools and accessories. Of course, I didn't accumulate all this stuff overnight- it took YEARS...

ALWAYS RE-SEAL YOUR ADHESIVES AND/OR PAINTS- These substances will dry out on you if you're not careful. Besides, they expel harmful vapors. You don't want younger siblings or pets to get into them either!!!

If I may make a suggestion, maybe a relatively uncomplicated vehicle such as the 1/24 HASEGAWA US WWII Jeep- that is a VERY NICE kit, which carries A LOT of history as well as appeal in that it is an immediately recognizable subject that your son can relate to. Or, if he wants to jump right in with a WWII tank, May I suggest the TAMIYA Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L- This is a very fine kit which goes together very easily. EVERYTHING fits as it should, the instructions are very clear and uncomplicated, and as an extra bonus, you won't have to deal with confusing inter-leaved suspension and wheels assemblies. It's great subject matter, as the Pz.III was the backbone of the German tank forces from 1939-1943... The kit will introduce him to smaller parts without requiring a magnifier, yet it will get him started in a way that will hopefully whet his appetite for going on to better things.

I like diversity in my modelling- WWII Aircraft are an excellent counter-point to Armor. Generally, aircraft kits are simpler to construct, since the most details are found in the cockpits, and will require at least a small modicum of concentration. I like 1/48 scale personally, but you may want to start him with 1/32 scale, simply because the small details of the cockpits are easier to handle for a beginner because they are molded in a larger size. We don't want your son to get frustrated so early in the game...

As your skills develop, you may even want to start adding reference material to your shop to help you to achieve more realism in your hobby.

If your passion is WWII AXIS and SOVIET, I'd like to suggest the DRAGON line of 1/35 vehicles and AFVs and the TRUMPETER kits as well. Neither kit manufacturer will break the bank, if you know what to look for. The TRUMPETER KV-series WWII Soviet tanks will satisfy- they're relatively cheap and un-complicated kits. Some come with individual track links, and some with "rubber band-type" tracks. The older TAMIYA T-34 and KV-I and II tank kits come with the rubber band tracks, and are a bit simpler AND quite a bit cheaper than their DRAGON and TRUMPETER counterparts, yet their detail is still quite acceptable for beginners. They also make nice companions to the TAMIYA Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L kit that I mentioned, earlier.

I will be happy to answer any all questions that you may come up with... GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY MODELLING!!!

PS- I HEARTILY AGREE with the other modellers that have contributed to this forum- DRAGON, MINIART, MASTER BOX, ZVEZDA, REVELL-GERMANY, TRISTAR, TAMIYA, and to some extent, TRUMPETER all make fine 1/35 scale figure kits to complement your 1/35 Armor. There are manuals available that will help you along with figure-painting, as well... The OSPREY MODELING series of books are especially helpful in this regard... Enjoy!!!

The Trumpeter KV series is a very good balance of detail, fit, price and fun factor.

Speaking of the excellent Trumpeter KV series, my little girl helping dad build the KV-122. . .

Hi Dave, and sincerely welcome back to this fantastic world.

My suggestion: for your 9 yo son, better to start with some easy kit, not so expensive but attractive, with nice box art and quick to finish. It is important he will enjoy building and painting, and to be satisfied by the result.

Then proceed with something more difficult...

My first kit was a 1/35 Tamiya King Tiger. Almost 30 years ago...

Regards

Giovanni

Wait a month or two and get Tamiya's motorized WWl Mk lV. A relatively easy build, and then he can have fun playing with it.