Hey Guys,

I was looking for new tank to buy and the pershing has been catching attention quite a bit.So first question:

Are the Tamiya and Dragon Pershing the same?

Was Accurate Armour's Pershing used in WW2?

What after market acessories to get
(barrels,tracks,PE,and little things to give it life?

Any good books to get?

What Armored Division used them in WW2 and did they ever see combat?

Well thats all I can think of now any suggestions throw them at me and any advice will help.

Thanx,
AJ

Hi Jack,
Hijack? Call security.I digress.
If funds are available,buy all Pershings by both DML and Tamiya.It looks like the Tamiya is similar to the first Zebra mission vehicles which were sent to Germany just before the end of the war.The Dragon (DML) M-26 and M-26A1 are the net variants which were developed after the war.The Dragon M-26 (T-26E3) has the fender bracing turnbuckles,which were determined to be needed,after some combat use.It would be a fine tank for A Korean war subject.
As for aftermarket,I would go for after market track for the Tamiya,just to get the individual link look.Tha Dragon kits have respectable/fiddly individual link track,but they do fill the bill.
As for books,there is a Concord book out,and of course,the bible: Hunnicut's Pershing book..

Check out this site and it will give you all the info on Pershings that you want. Pershing Info

As for the kits, both are great. As stated above the Tamiya is an early version while DML has the later version and a M46 version as it evolved into during the Korean war.

Here is my build of the Tamiya version.


Tha Tamiya articulated suspension is a nice bonus. It looks really good on rough terrain.

No, the Tamiya M26 and the DML T26E3 do represent the same vehicle, however there are big differences in the shapes of the turrets. So, do not expect the aftermarket for the DML to automatically fit the Tamiya kit.



Yes, Accurate Armour does make a T26E3... though, it's a very, very tough build. I have the kit and it's made of resin, white metal, photoetch and plastic.



I used the Jordi Rubio barrel on my first two Tamiya Pershing kits... It fit, but took a little work. There is a new barrel from ModelPoint that is matched to the Tamiya kit.

I am currently using the Eduard Photoetch set for the Tamiya kit. I would say that it is a bit weak actually, you don't need to replace much except the brush guards for the lights and periscopes. The sponson handles do need help also.

The verlinden set is interesting because it has a complete set of sponson boxes that can be opened up. It also comes with an engine.

I HIGHLY recommend the engine from Caliber 35. It's a very detailed, easy to assemble set which really fills up the rear of the Pershing.

Tank workshop makes a mantlet with canvas cover, it does NOT fit the Tamiya kit as it was designed for the DML Turrets.

Finally, look into the two sets from Trakz, the first one is a pair of replacement mantlets on fully covered in canvas and one half covered in canvas.



In addition to the books already mentioned I can recommend the following books -

Schiffer on the M26 variants.

Allied and Axis vol 7.

Squadron Pershing / Patton in Action.

Osprey M26/46 book.




The T26E3's served in Operation Zebra and were credited with killing at least one Panther Tank. The tanks served with both the 2nd and 3rd armor divisions.

All the Pershing kits on the Market are very nice... so buy one and enjoy.

Later,
Tim

I have both kits of the T26 E3 And as the others say the Tamiya kit is a much easier build ...I too used the Eduard set and didn't use half the stuff on it ...I think they were just looking for stuff to make the sheets bigger (helmet straps and the strap for the binoculars)..But I must say that the periscope guards are the thinnest I have ever seen in P/E and the Star masks make the buy worth the price ...The WWII Production tracks are a great addition to this model...Expensive but worth it ...I used the Trakz Model stowage and the mantlet covers ..really makes a big difference in the look of the Tank...Verlindens set ...I wouldn,t bother to buy it again unless you really want to have a sponson rack open ...The P/E is no where near looking like anything that should be on a Pershing..I did buy the handles for the sponson racks from tigermodel designs...You get lots so you can build a few ...If you are building a WWII Pershing don't forget to remove the phone from the back of the Tank... One thing really missing on the tamiya kit is the casting numbers ....I used different sized numbers and letters from an Academy kit I had sitting around and also scraped off some smaller numbers from the Tamiya sprues to do the numbers on the exhaust system ...I also added two supports on the back engine cover panels that supported them flat when they were opened,and added bolt ends to the hinges on the engine deck....I used about the same refferences as Gino and had a great time building this kit...I'm still waiting for my Royal model P/E set to show up but hey I'll just have to build another one ....here are a few pictures to show some of the work I did ....





This is a great kit and lots of fun to build so have fun with it ...
all the best
Rick