takom did a rather nice job with this. molding is nicely done, no flash or softness to it at all. parts fit quite well, tho some sprue gates are a bit largeish on smaller parts and a bit fragile. I'm thinking it could've had a few more fiddly bits, but the overall detail is well done too. not many tabks today have openable hatches, but this one does, it's a shame a crew wasn't included, but then what would bravo6 do for a living. one little thing. didn't find any needed poly caps for the gun trunion. dunno if they got lost in unboxing or what, but fortunately i had something for a substitute from another kit. the instructions are well done also. no LINE drawings. ease of assembly is much like anything from tamiya, but a great deal better. one wonders ,tho, why the turret shell is in 3 pieces instead of 2 . you'd be doing yourselves a disservice in not building this one up, which someone here decided to "junk", just to wait however long for meng's, which no doubt will be quite nice too. this is definitely worth building up

I'm part way through a Mk.10 and not enjoying it. I'm not a fan of the soft styrene Takom use and the sprue attachment points are the worse I've enountered in a long time. Granted, it isn't that bad a kit, but given the technology out there used by other manufacturers, I think that Takom could improve their moulding technique a lot.

Gary

I'm one of those who decided to wait and see what Meng will release. I have a few hundred kits in the stash - I don't need to grab the Takom Chieftain immediately to keep me busy. I have many other kits for that, including several other Takom ones. So it is not a disservice at all. And in fact I did bought the Takom Chieftain Mk.5, but before I get Mk.10 I'm going to wait and see the Meng kit first.

Hi Guys,
I have just finished building the Takom Chieftain 11.

I like the kit, but the one thing that bugged me was the engine deck, they provide lovely brass etch grills but then they make all the handles for the engine bay hatches... from brass etch, these should be in plastic. They are substantial pieces and brass etch is really not up to scratch.

The same with the moulded on casting numbers, they should be way heavier, I replaced them with slaters letters.

Overall l think its a good kit, not perfect, but a good kit. I just wish they had gone for the ARV and ARRV as a choice for a variant instead of the Marksman..... a much more useful vehicle all round.

Anto

Agreed. I am also finishing a Mk 11 and I ended up replaced the engine deck handles with ones from copper wire and aluminum tubing, which look much better than the flat PE option. The PE screen sections are nice but I would have preferred individual screens vice the larger etched sections. Also, the idler and sprockets could use some poly caps to make their installation a bit more sturdy. My main gun halves didn't want to line up but thankfully Chieftain crewmen often wrapped the barrel in camo netting, so all is well in that area.

John