I don't hear many people talking about verlinden products....
Is there something wrong with them, or are there better parts out there?

John

john
i haven't bought any verlinden products but from what i've heard this isn't a thing wrong with them. in fact i think keith (kfmagee) uses alot of their products.

There's not a thing wrong with Verlinden's products. I mean some of their things could be a smidgen better but, for the subjects they produce for, no one else really does. I use them all the time. Great stuff!

I love Verlinden Productions. There Resin Figures are one of the best, as well as there plaster cast Diorama buildings. Although there updates sets are to be a little desired in my opinion. I had to by four Tiger1 update sets before I was able to get a kit with all the necessary pieces.

While I don't think Verlinden stuff is always sized correctly their casting is good to excellent. I don't think there is any prejudice here against Velinden , The plethora of AM parts available means unlesss someone specifically asks about a set you won't see it mentioned.

Josh Weingarten
aKa shiryon

I think Shiryon nailed it. Recent VP update and conversion sets are pretty good and the prices have come down over the last 10-15 years. One tip, however: If you buy an update or conversion, make sure you have the correct kit for it to go on. For example, don't expect a kit designed for the Tamiya T-34 to also fit into a Zvezda T-34 or a DML T-34.

Also, many of Verlinden's older kits have erroneous details or dimensions. The best way to find out about these is is ask on forums, like here on Armorama.

One last thing and I'll get off the soapbox. Verlinden figures are BIG compared to most other figures, both aftermarket and kit. Be careful if you intend to mix 'n' match Verlinden parts or figures with other companies' parts and figures. VP also tends to "recycle" parts, i.e., if you buy a few sets, you may get the same lower torso for several figures. This is noticable when you put them together in a dio or vignette.

I'll echo the size issue. I Love the casting and the detail is great. The variety is good. The only thing is that thier figures can be slightly larger than 1/35. I've seen posts that spec' them at 1/32.
I've got some waiting for a dio to be built and I am not planning on changing or altering them. I'm going to work with spacing and perspective (if there is a size issue).

I just love Verlinden Products, but i've got no clue where to buy them. Harly any stores who sell the stuff in Holland.

I just wanna go to a store, see touch and feel the product and then buy it. Don't feel like purchasing those products over the internet.

I find Verlinden's older products to be much more difficult to build than other aftermarket products, part of this is fit to the kit issues, part is the terrible directions that were a part of the older sets.

Since their split with VLS, I haven't gotten too much of the 'new' stuff.

I've found fit problems with both Panther engine compartments and the M163 is all but unbuildable for someone with my attention defecit problems..
Some of the 'drop fit' modules like the panther engine, well... don't fit
I do like their 50cal , sagger set, and Fn Mag sets, but the Dshk AAmg is overengineered and more difficult to build than it needs to be.

Then there is the issue of guilding the lilly, by that I mean adding very nice very fine details, but not correcting a known major fault of the base kit.

My main example here is their 'new' T62 upgrade set. The turret on the old Tamiya kit has the incorrect profile, and everyone knows and has known that for a very long time.
Admittedly the master builder (builder of the masters for Verlinden) did some VERY nice work, but since they recast the turret, how hard would it have been to add then shims to make it the correct height?


My $0.02 US before inflation

I have used Verlinden stuff, and have no complaints. I have not run into the comments above but have heard them before. My only gripe is that the Verlinden stuff seems a bit pricy for what you get. Of course, if you need it badly enough, price isn't a problem.

I've never had a problem with Verlinden. In fact, when I first got back into modelling over 10 years ago, Verlinden was one of the things that inspired me. At that time, he was the "Big Kid on the Block". However, the industry has grown tremendously. Now, I have much more to choose from, i.e. Yanks, Warriors, Aber, Eduard. These products are just as good as Verlinden and sometimes have more variety.

i got some stuff from vls a few years ago they make great stuff i buying more of there 1/35 scale german figures the detail on them are great

I've got a lot of Verlinden stuff, mainly conversions or detail stuff. I like their stuff. When I first started to model "seriously" I was stationed in Germany and the Verlinden stuff was everywhere and it was the only game in town.

DITO on the Verlinden stuff. I have used thier figures along with a couple conversions and thaey have been good for me. Ya I watch the size of figures, some do look like herman monster standing by a tank. I have to say though that the price is extreemly good for two resin figures. :-)

Caveat Emptor -- buyer beware.

My advice -- and it may not be worth much to many of you -- but check it out before you buy. My experience says Verlinden is hit and miss. Their first WWII U.S. tank crew kit is way too big for 1/35th scale -- I will probably never use it. On the other hand, the early M4 interior and the 75mm ammo set are fabulous!

Check it out before you buy.

True - i do use a TON of verlinden figures, etch brass, and lots of their accessories. There IS a definate tendancy for irregularity of scale sizes particularly on figures, but it is because Verlinden uses a host of freelance sculpters... (at least a dozen that I know of). Mike Good (now at Jaguar Figures) used to do a LOT of stuff for Francois Verlinden and his scale was always a perfect 1:35... other artist renderings were closer to 1:33 or 1:32... just depends on how precise the artist measures his armature while building. I don't have a "real" problem with some variation... after all, there was always some 6'4" dude in every squad, right?

My 2¢ worth of Verlinden advice......

Stepping up to the soap box,
adjusts tie - NOT

Now,
I have to chime in here with a bit of a complaint. A bit I said.
Yes, there is a BIG problem with some of the Verlinden pieces as they are 1/32 and not 1/35 (get the BIG reference...... ). Real pisser as their casting and resin quality is excellent.

Also, there are cases where the master is not as accurate as it couple be. In fact, there are reported (can not remember what/which ones right now) areas that are complete fabrication. Check out some history over at ML's Axis area for further details.

Lastly, to the T-62 comment, I have to really chime in here. I have met and talk several times to the master of this set. Yes, the turret is the Tamiya copy and if you really want to do a decent job, you have to get the CMD kit. So what happened, production demands dictated that the master's molds were cut down and some not even included (front and rear fenders....).

So am I an anti-Verlinden'er

Not sure. As I said, their resin is superb (although, VLS is kickin' a** lately) and their subject mater is great (hey, check out the finders for that T-62). But, it seems to me that there is cracks in the building as Verlinden (the company) is just cranking out stuff to get it on the market. But it is terible to buy a 1/35 MG-34 kit only to find it is 1/32 and is way too big for any real effect.

So what do I do, not totaly sure. I will buy and beware (is there not a Latin phrase that should be inserted here....).

OK, now he is stepping down from the soap box......

Next person please!

Dave