Just wondering which ZSU-57 was a better buy, the Takom or Trumpeter?

I built the takom one as a Syrian vehicle. Went together well, no complaints.

I have the Takom kit. It is of course modeled on the very nice Takom T-55 series and shares many parts with those kits. The Takom kit is reputed to be pretty accurate and has a complete ammo load, etc. It also has the external fuel lines for the fender tanks and other key stuff. Is it better than the Trumpeter item? That I cannot say. I am sure that some reviewers like one, some the other. Both are detail-rich and both are fundamentally good representations of the real thing. And both have some problems and errors and issues to contend with. I suggest checking out the kit reviews and read and consider the gripes and complaints on each. Remember, however, that reviewers offer their OPINIONS, and other's mileage "may differ".

Cheers! Bob

Does Takom's ZSU-57 have the same terrible headlight guards as their T-55 kit? Or has this deficiency been corrected? I see it has better decals.

Sadly, you can probably bet on seeing the same somewhat deficient part in the Takom ZSU-57-2 kit. (If the headlight assembly is the same as the T-55 types...). It CAN be thinned down and, if carefully built, butted together pretty well. Some folks make a replacement from wire. I will use stretched sprue to get the thinner component wires while still getting ease of cementing.

Bob

Thanks for the input guys 👍