opened up the one decent xmas gift i got this year. kit # 35020 which is tamiya 251/1 hanomag. I see lots of pe or resin sets that say they update certain kits, sometimes from a different manufacturer. Does anyone know, will these kits work with a little extra work? such as I see updates for differnt versions of the 251. Say i buy a pe set for a 251/9 or a 251 d will these kits turn my 251/1 into that version or do these kits just improve the original kit it was designed for? Does this make any sense?

The truth is, that the Tamiya 251s are well-past their sell-by dates... I'm not saying that the addition of PE won't improve the kit (with a lot of work you'll get a nice model) .As far as 251s are concerned there are only two games in town - AFV Club & Dragon... , It might also be useful to check this out:

251 Resource Feature...

Hi mike,so you got a tamiya 251 for christmas,you have to understand this kit was produced in the 70s and does not live up to todays dragon standards
might of been a top notch kit back then but i just built it to see if i could continue with the hobbie.

i dont think theres much point in spending money on PE and friuls for this kit,your just wasting your money.
instead go and buy any dragon 251, id recomend there 251/16 flammpanzer,comes with driver figure plus 2 flam crew and lots of extras also Individual Tracks links.
heres one that am working on.





just my thoughts

cheers karl

Hey Mike, I'm with Genabrams on this, don't let the others rain on your parade!! The whole purpose of modeling is to have fun building something you like. If you have the old Tamiya kit, build it the best you can, and have fun, it's a great kit to try new things on-like the photo-etch, and am tracks you mentioned. Post some pics here when you finish.

Hey Mike,
Im with Brian on this one.. Although the kit is older, it still goes together fairly easy.. I just finished one a month ago, and really enjoyed it.. I would save your pennies and add the extras to a Dragon kit.. Use this one to hone your skill and have fun with it..

Dave

Couple of things here..first off, JIM RAE, you rock! Thank you for posting that link! Im working on the DML 251 right now and needed some more information.

Second, Mike, dont worry about your kit being 'out of date'. As others said, just build it and enjoy the experience. If you want to do another one, I highly recommend the Dragon version. Extremely well done, but many, many parts. If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area, keep an eye out for their frequent "50% off" sales on their models. I got a $35 DML 251 for $18.

Please post some pics when you are done!

Steve

Mike,

If you want to build a more accurate 251, use that money for purchasing PE and AM parts to buy the new DML kit and build it instead.

If you are not willing to spend the extra money, then build the Tamiya kit out of the box and have fun! Before DML and AM parts came along, people did build this Tamiya kit with amazing results!

Either way, have fun and don't forget to post!



WC

With a code number like 35020, I think this must be the original Tamiya Ausf C. Yes, it's from the 70s, & no it doesn't bear comparison with modern DML or AFV Club offerings, as the other have said, but that doesn't mean that you can't have fun building it! I wouldn't bother with a lot of PE or other AM parts though, I'd suggest you use it to try out either conversion ideas, or heavy weathering techniques. The inside is basic, but why not put a tarp over it? If the detail on the running gear isn't very good (& it isn't!), you're not losing anything covering it with mud, while I find it a wrench to mask all the fine detail on later models!

Just a comment on this.. Great idea! Always use weathering or other effects to cover up mistakes, bad detail or other things you dont want a viewer of your model to notice. Dioramas that include battle damage on vehicles are a great way to compensate for missing parts as well.

Here ya go Mike, check out this thread-Subject: SdKfz 251/1 Stuka Zu Fuss-it's an old Tamiya kit that looks great.

EDIT-Ok, the link doesn't work, not sure how to fix it, but you can go to the afv section of the forums and find the link.

Mike posed some interesting questions about the Tamiya 251s. Some of us answered as honestly as we could. However, once again, this doesn't seem to be acceptable. No-one told Mike that he should just dump it and buy an AFV Club or DML one, what we tried to do, is to point out the pitfalls and problems in the kit. Let me summarize:

1) It will build into a 'reasonable' replica of the 251 with careful building and painting.

2) Is it accurate? No. in many areas it is overscale and simply incorrect in many areas. These kits were originally designed to be motorized and the provision of this meant that accuracy had to be sacrificed...

What has irked me with some of the replies, is that if the answer doesn't fit in with certain people's views, it's seen as an attack. No, there is no comparison between this and a modern kit of the same subject and yes, there are quite a few of us know what we are talking about.. No-one was trying to 'get Mike down' - we were simply trying to answer something which was (well) within our experience. If people want to build 30 year-old kits, that's fine with me. Don't however, start attacking people when they have another point of view... That is simply unnecessary...Jim

Mike joined us a month ago, this is his second post, and he opens his second post thus :
I'm not Sherlock Holmes, but I don't think Mike is an experienced seasond modeler, the Tamiya Hanomag is his only decent pressie so I don't expect his normal kits fall into the all singing and dancing AFVClub ( since when? and I can't help but feeling a slight feeling of deja-vu whenever I open up an AFV box...) and Dragon kits. He then asks about the availability of PE sets, and how they work. It is always nice to point somebody in the direction of what may be better kits, but for some people these kits are unobtainable...

Mike, the way you word you questions I presume that your experience with PE is nil or very limited so I'll keep it simple.
PE is more than 'a little work', it can range from simple etched screens to complicated assemblies. Most PE sets are for specific vehicles, and usually add detail missing in the kit or replace badly molded or inaccurate details/parts. The PE set for the 251/9 will need the 251/9 to start. The difference is between update sets and conversions. Update set replace what's already there with better quality, conversions have all the pieces that are different from the kit you would already have.

Depending on what you are looking for, what you can afford the options are wide.
Built the kit as is. It won't be accurate, it will be rough, but you can do a lot with it when you paint it.
Get a cheap, basic PE set to both improve the kit and get some experience with PE.
Get every possible PE set and replace all molded nuts, bolts and rivets with resin ones.....
Buy an interesting conversion (like the 'Stuka zu Fuss' mentioned earlier) and try a conversion project. Cheap kits are best for this, as it is a pain to put the razor saw to a kit which has set you back £30 or more.

Any more questionns, just ask.

Cheers
Henk