Im a prop guy, My planes are complete and heading the direction of armor. Im want to do 1/35 scale tanks, one from each, USA, German, British, Russian... Id like to get some opinions on the best tank kits, for my first purchases... Any help is appreciated...

Any tiger 1 from tamiya late version such as 35194 35216
thats all for me

Seeing as you are a prop guy as opposed to a jet guy, I am making the following recommendations based on the assumption you prefer WW2 armor. Suggestions are also based on ease of build straight out-of-box (no AM really required).

British: Tamiya Cromwell or Centaur (same kit different gun). Great kits.
US(big): Tamiya M26 Pershing, can be built as a WW2 or Korean variant (I believe)
US(little): Academy's new M3A1 Stuart
Russian(big): Tamiya JS3 Stalin or Trumpeter JS3M Stalin
Russian(little): a T-34, unsure of the best on the market, I think it might be the Maquette T-34/85 "Rudy" (Eastern European kit, might be a tricky build)
German(big): One of the many newer Tigers out by Tamiya or Academy. Era, interior and cost are your factors to chose from.
German(little): Tamiya PzKpfw III Ausf. L (new one, not old Ausf. M/N)

To add on to the list:

I highly recommend all of the Skybow 1:35 scale kits. This will give you a mix of WW II and Cold War subjects. All are outstanding - so much so that aftermarket parts are not relevant to building quality models out of these subjects.

Currently available:
M41A3 Walker BullDog
M38A1 Willys MD Jeep
M38A1C Willys MD Recoilless Rifle Carrier
WC-51 3/4-ton Weapons Carrier
WC-62 1 1/2-ton Weapons Carrier

Gunnie

Here are some of my favorites:
Italeri; Sturmtiger
Tamiya: Ardennes Tiger, Famo, Jagdpanther, Panther (late version)
AFV Club: SdKfz. 11
Academy: Tiger I Early
Since you are a prop guy...I've just gotten into WWII Planes..mostly German...Can you give me some advice on those preferably 1/32 scale? thanks, jeff

For your israeli tank

make a good Academy Merkava 3 tank

greatzz

Any Tamiya Kit with a product number of, oh lets say 35146 and above. All should prove to be a satisfying build and fairly accurate.

What no soft skin adivce?

Just finished the Italeri Horch - Easy and fun.
Also, new Tamiya Willy's Jeep is a beauty.

These go together easy and they are relatively inexpensive!

Keith

For me:

US:
Sherman M4 - M4A3 (Tamiya)
Abrams M1A1 (Tamiya)
British:
Firefly Ic Hybrid (Dragon)
Challenger (Tamiya)
German:
Tiger I (Tamiya)
King Tiger (Tamiya)
Leopard (Tamiya)
Rusian:
JSU 122 (Dragon)
T34/85 (Dragon)

If you decide to do a T-34 or Stalin I would suggest going with the DML/Dragon offerings. The DML T-34/85 is by far the nicest T-34 on the market and their Stalins (and variants) are great. The Tamiya JS-3 is good, but that vehicle didn't see any action in WWII. If you want a Stalin that was actually used during WWII you should go with the JS-1 or any JS-2 that DML makes.

And the Tamiya Stug III G's (early or late) are fun builds, too.

hmmmm....

Unless I am wrong, the Zvezda JS-II is more accurate than either the DML or the MB Models kits. Dragons kits have the problem of a compressed suspension, or a low lower hull.

Italeri's Sturmtiger is always a good way to go, no problems and cheaper than the Tamiya offering.

Personally, I really like the DML Scud-B, the Italeri M923A1, and the DML JSU-152. I know the suspension is low on the JSU-152, and I plan to see if I can bash it to the Zvezda kit, but it is just so damned cool...that is a assault tank, no doubt about it! Nothing like direct fire artillery. :-)

If you like soft skin the Tamiya Duce and Half, 2 1/2 Ton Truck is very good. Also their LRDG Chevy truck is a nice little kit. I don't do German, and I haven't done Russian yet so I can't comment on them.

Tamiya's Bren Gun Carrier, the European Campaign version, is a fun quick built. And it is just SO cute sitting next to the Dragon Maus... Hee Hee

Any Tamiya Sherman (except the Jumbo). Very easy to work with and build into a great representation without any add-ons.

Propboy,

I can't resist adding to the list of advice on your question. It's hard to limit myself to picking just one from each country but here goes. My suggestions are based on building a quitessential tank from each of the nations you listed. I made a WW-II and post war list. If you're not into superdetailing, these models build well and are excellent representations right out of the box, IMO.

WW-II
US -Tamiya M4 Sherman (early) or M-26 Pershing
German - Tamiya Panther G or Tiger I E
Russian - DML T34/85
British - Tamiya Cromwell

Post WW-II
US - DML M1A1 Abrams
German - Tamiya Leopard 2A5
Russian - Tamiya T-55 or T-72
British - Tamiya Challenger

Tamiya - new Kubelwagen
Academy - Hummer versions

I have decided on the Tamiya 1/35 Churchill TM35210... So thanks for all the input!

If you want something cheap and easy to put together just to start and see if you like it I can suggest the Italeri M7 Priest.
Ciao

Trust no response that does not list all variants of the Sherman. There is simply nothing to compare to it...... #:-)

Well, you've got a British. For German I'ld go with the Academy Tiger 1 full interior, I haven't seen it yet but everyone is raving about the Russian T-55. And I think the Pershing by Tamiya is another exquisite kit. Modernera stuff like M1's and M-60's I'ld go with Tamiya or DML on any of those

The New DML Nashorn/Hornisse are all very sweet.