I guess I'll jump in here and add my two cents worth. No doubt I'll be shelled for my high opinion of the Black Label kit, but that's okay. I just finished a build review for AMPS and if you're interested, you can read it at:
http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/reviews/showReview.aspx?ID=3456&Type=FBFrankly, I was very happy with the kit. Does it have some issues? Of course it does. Is it missing some detail? Of course it is. Show me a kit that doesn't fall down in either of those regards. However, I only have to look at the engine deck louvres on the Accurate Armour model posted above, think about the price I'd have to pay for that kit, and I'll put my money on the Black Label kit every time.
Have you fellows who lament about soft detail in the Black Label kit actually looked at the louvres on the Accurate Armour engine deck? I mean seriously, if ever there was soft detail, that is a text book case if I ever saw one. Odd that there's never any mention of that though. The Black Label kit is far and away superior in that regard. Have they missed detail on the deck itself? Yes they have but it still looks ever so much better than Accurate Armours.
The main fault with the Black Label kit as I see it is that it appears that they've incorporated a Mark 1 roof plate over the driver's station, instead of the horizontal version. Yes that's a major mistake, but in all honesty, unless you're a dyed in the wool rivet counter, the down angle is hardly noticeable unless you know what you're looking for. Compare it to the louvres in the Accurate Armour kit and tell me that they don't look MUCH worse.
Another complaint is that the kit includes a two piece barrel. All I can say to that is that it mates perfectly with very little seam clean up to be done. Yes, the grab handles on the transmission and engine deck louvres are molded as single piece blobs, but the same can be said about Accurate Armours Conqueror. Again, nothing said about that in anything I've read when comparing the detail in both kits. I think we can agree that in both cases, they're easily shaved off and replaced with wire, as are the handles on the fender stowage bins. These are minor improvements that can be made by any modeller. After all, it's not like we don't do that for just about any other kit, right?
I honestly can't comment on the shape of the turret as I don't have manufacturer's plan view drawings to compare it to. I doubt most others who are critical of it do either. All I can say is that it looks good to my eye, based on the secondary references I do have.
At the end of the day, the kit assembles like a dream, the finished model looks every bit like a Conqueror (to my eye) and the tracks and hull scale out perfectly when compared to secondary source measurements I have on hand. Some may prefer to spend the considerably higher price for the Accurate Armour kit for what they perceive as being a better kit. So be it, but you'll still have those engine deck louvres to haunt you. We may yet see a Conqueror from Amusing Hobby (or not) in styrene and I'll pick one up to do a comparison. Right now though, I'm pretty darned pleased with the looks of my Black Label Conqueror. Putting my money where my mouth is, I just bought another one.
Cheers,
Chris
