Hi,

Since I have yet to see anyone else post about this particular kit, I've decided to show you my progress so far with it. This is the Hobby Boss T29E1 kit. It's pretty big - the box was a third longer than the usual DML boxing.




Overall impressions are mixed. I am a novice level modeller so take my opinion with a grain of salt. On one hand, the kit is unusually cheap. I got mine for roughly 29 USD. In a day and age where new kit releases by Dragon, Trumpeter and Takom usually sell for 40-60 USD, this is quite a huge bonus for a budget conscious modeler like me. Detail wise... it does a good job in some respects but many parts are oddly simplified. Take for example the stowage boxes on the hullsides. These have separate molded on handles/loops for stowage (around 6 on each side). While immensely frustrating to build (I lost quite a couple. The mounting points are also small and don't help much in placement) - it did provide a good level of detail for the kit. The instruction also asks me to add more of these handles to the hull sides itself but I am thinking of either not doing so or using copper wire. In contrast, many of the hatches have their grab handles molded on solid. This is quite noticeable and you may choose to replace this with wire.



The turret has some really nice cast texture.... that is only applied on the top part of the turret shell. The bottom part is as smooth as a baby's bottom. Immensely disappointing. I stippled on some Mr. Surfacer 500 to compensate for this and used that to hide the joint seam that resulted from joining both together.





Fit wise is neither here nor there. Nothing a modeler with average experience can't handle. A lot of the larger parts would not fit until you sand it down a bit. The rear of the lower hull went not so great for me but this is hidden by the drive housings. This is definitely not a Tamiya kit.

Overall, I like this kit so far. Have yet to do the tracks. Will report on how easy/difficult they are - they are designed to be workable and looks fiddly. Hopefully I don't butcher them too much.

Here it is beside a Tiger I I am painting the camo on soon. The T29E1 definitely a pretty big tank. Looks really cool and imposin but I can already imagine all the problems it would encounter in trying to get to combat like crossing bridges and getting stuck in mud.

Actually in Hunnicutt's Firepower book, the T29 and T30 did better than the T26 Pershing did in the mud, mostly due to fact they had wider tracks and lower ground pressure then the Pershing.

Good to see your post Nigel, I also bought the HB T29 because of the price. I don't think you have to hide the seam too much, as it looks like there is a mold line on the real thing in the same place:



Looking forward to seeing your progress on the tracks!

update: infuriated at Photoshop holding your photos at hostage. Have a hard time looking at older articles and guides on modelling... I'm nearly as mad at these tracks for being utter rubbish. They were advertised as workable... Until you actually fit them on. They fall apart so easily and the attachment points are brittle as well. Worse, the sprockets don't fit with the tracks. I had to nip the teeth a lot to get them to fit. Really disappointed.

Sad to read the fit problems. Anyway would you recommend buying this kit (maybe with Friul tracks, or else)? I love these behemoths...

I only have a few issues with the kit:
1) The lower turret is smooth as a baby's butt. No texturing... which is odd because the upper half of the turret has quite a decent cast effect molded on
2) The handles supposed to be attached all over the hull of the tank are small, brittle and have large sprue attachment points. I placed those on the superstructure and decided not to put the rest on the fenders
3) Tracks, tracks tracks. You need patience with the tracks (thick attachment points, many tiny parts, loose attachment points = tracks aren't really workable.)

Honestly, aside from the issue with the tracks, I really loved this kit. Much cheaper than the takom in where I live (Takom costs 75% more). Not too sure about accuracy issues but for the casual modeler like me (who also plays wot), this is a great kit to have. The side fenders hide the top run of the tracks. I plan to not finish the entire thing and build the lower run which is exposed

Thanks for the info Nigel, cant wait to see some paint on!

Thanks Nigel! Maybe some aftermarket producer will hear us and starts to produce really workable tracks for this lady.
Looking forward for your progress pictures
cheers,
Zsolt

It's worth mentioning that you could use any aftermarket T80 track set and buy the extended duckbills from MMC Designs on Shapeways.