Hi to all my modeling friends ...

Yep I need some advice (again), During the weekend I was cleaning out my modeling corner (the wife made me do it, forgive me ) and I re-found a couple of old kits which were laying around for about 15 years or so.

There are Esci Kits still in their original plastic wrapping:

Demag D7 (nr 5007)
SD.KFZ 10 + M18 Howitzer (nr 5008)
SD.KFZ 10/4 (5018)

I remembered that I bought them in a lot of a widow who was selling everything she had from her late husband.

I am not in to German armor (yet) but for ± 5 Dollars (still have the ticket she gave me) I could net leave them.

Well, I presume that these kits are obsolete by today's standards and therefore I was wondering if I could some aftermarket sets on these.
I knew the Eduard has a photo etch set for the Italeri Demag D7, but can I use it for these kit also?

Or are they so bad I only can use them a practice models?

#:-)

The photoetch for the Italerie probably would give a person fits trying to use it on an ESCI. I don't have too much experience with ESCI 1/35 armor, but once you get all of the ejector pin holes and sink holes taken care of, they build up pretty well. There's no telling until you open the boxes if they will have individual link tracks or the old brittle silver abomminations that came with some of their 1/72 AFV's. They usually came with a few extras inside, ala Tamiya

Esci armor kits were rather hit and miss. I didn't do German armor, so I can't comment on their WW2 stuff, but their M1, M1A1 (really and M1E1 try), Leopard 2, and LAVs were very bad and not even on par with the various other manufacturers offerings. Their HMMWVs weren't as good as Italeri's, but they initially had more variants (ambulance, TOW, Avenger). Their Soviet tanks were hit and miss as well. The T-55 was better than anything else on the market, but the T-72/74 were based on fuzzy photos and speculation. Their BMP-1 & -2 were on par with the DML ones.

Their M60 Blazer, M60A1 and M60A3 were and are their best armor kits and are still the best M60 series kits on the market (M60 Blazer reissued by Italeri).

I've built a couple of those old Esci kits,cuz they were so cheap. I used them to experiment new techniques. The old dark green plastic is very brittle and won't bend much before snapping. Also,lots of ejection&pin marks.They were great to practice on but they've been overtaken by newer kits. A fun diversion. JOCK

Ronny,
If worse comes to worese, or better comes to better for that matter, they can always serve in a "filler" role. Burn outs and abandonned vehicles don't reqiuire lots of super detailing (extra detailing though) and add and enhance any diorama display. Another alternative approach.

Captain Jack's model counciling center Ltd

It`s funny you brought these kits up because I just happen to be building the ESCI 10/4..I was nearly finished building the kit and had added the great edward set , extra rivets around the drive sprocket and the 2cm gun was nearly redone ie. rivets reenfoced structurally and even precoated the entire vehicle {i did use the jordi rubio 2cm 30}with my gunzy undercoat.I used modelkasten tracks but undecoat with tamyia buff. But then a book I came accross threw me for a loop. An excelent Schiffer book called GERMAN LIGHT HALF-TRACKED PRIME MOVERS. Needless to say it prompted me to redo the front platform rail the esci kit did wrong, plusascratch built an sd. anh51 trailer. I hope to show it as unftnished . Good modeling prbesch