Tamiya 1/35 M3A2 Half Track (Armoured Personnel Carrier) - Kit Review
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- čas přidán 13. 04. 2021
- A review of Tamiya Model's classic 1/35 scale, M3A2 U.S. Half Track, Kit No. 35070, first released in 1975, under Kit No. MM70.
This 'Hard to Find', older style, Tamiya model kit, comes complete with 9 U.S. Army figures (Tamiya Kit No. MM180 U.S. Combat Group, (released 1976 - re-released 2007 #35080), with accessories, including radios, mines, packs, and tarpaulins, and includes a basic Painting and Marking Guide for 2 vehicles. - Zábava
Love this kit , got it in my stash and when I got it , it came with 2 sets of figures for it very cool
Nice one. Must admit, this old half-track is on of my favourites too. Having build it back when it was "New", it's just part of my modelling memories. Still looking for another one at a bargain price. Cheers!
I wish Tamiya would either give us new tool kits of the US half tracks. Or re-release the old kits. Built one of these many years ago. It looked epic back then and would still be a great kit today.
Agreed. Wish they would bring out a standard M3 Half-track. There's a serious lack of Allied WW2 half-tracks available at the moment. :(
@@PetesKits It was this kit and the M16 half-track at the time.
Tamiya has re released their half tracks
@Greg-qi9tw I have had one on pre-order since back in May. Still waiting for mine. UK retailers didn't get enough kits to fulfil all the orders. So, I am still waiting for one.
Thank's for your review. Alot of people growl about Tamiya. My personal opnion . Tamiya kit's are smoothly engineered. Some kit's are more challenging than others. Thank's for your time.
Thanks mate. Yes, some people don't like Tamiya because they are too easy to build ( ! ), but, like you said, they are well engineered, and just work, like they're supposed to. You know what you're getting, and you know it won't be a struggle to build. That's why they're so popular. Cheers!
Cheer's as well to you.
I have this kit in my stash to build , so looking forward to building it soon
Best intro music…ever! Great review!
Thank you. Thanks for the great compliment, very much appreciated. Cheers!
It's monkey music.
The M 16 and M 21 have recently been rereleased so this one may again see light of day
Yeah, I saw that, so hopefully, this one will come back soon. Although, I don't think they're updating the moulds, but, doesn't matter, still looking forward to seeing this one back, Cheers!
Built that kit back in the 70's, & 80's. Sadly out of production. Would be nice to see it come back. Thank you.
Same, same. wish Tamiya would bring it back but as the standard M3 half-track, not this one, the M3A2 prototype, which they only built about 20 of. Cheers!
Thank you.
Hello, many thanks for the review. I am building this kit. I LOVE LOVE IT ! Thanks for sharing and Happy Scale Modeling.
Thanks, glad you liked the review. Enjoy the build! Cheers!
I have the Dragon US M3/M2 guntruck version which I found in Japan, and had it shipped to the US. Very nice kit. I wish Tamiya or Dragon would release this again as I would like to get more.
Fully agree. If Tamiya brought out an M2, with variants, they would make a killing. Supply probably couldn't keep up with demand, the market is that strong for a new U.S. Half-Track. Know I would get a couple. Cheers mate!
Despite it's age, this should be a great kit. You've also got it in a huge bargain. Really nice review. Thanks for sharing, take care and keep up the good work.
Fully agree, despite her age this is still a nice kit, and still holds up well. The bargains are out there, you just have to be quick. Cheers mate, thanks for the compliment!
Ohhh man. Another Tamiya classics. A nice find. =)
Pure lucky find. Amazing these are still out there after all this time. :)
Bonjour Pete
Hi friend great review
This kit tamiya is a masterpiece
Nice review Pete!
Thanks mate, appreciated.
Nice review, recently back into building military, HO kits after a long hiatus from youth in the 60’s..sticker shock prices definitely prior to Covid and beyond..
Thank you. Glad you liked the review Welcome back to modelling! Cheers!
Nice review, it looks like a pretty good kit for its age!
Thanks, yep, still holds up but pretty hard to find nowadays.
Wow that brings back great memories. 😁 I have 5 dragon halftracks in my stash. And I'll never get to them. Just getting to old to do the fiddle work. Again great vid.
Thanks Clayton, much appreciated. Yes. Built this one back when they first came out. Last Century :) Cheers!
@@PetesKits Me too, remembering how much I fancied building it ! Great memories...
Thanks for this👍🇳🇿
Great review Pete. Recently got ba k into modelling again. While my main interest is Tamiya German subjects, I would love to get my hands on this one again. First built this kit in 81 or 82. 👍🇨🇦
Thanks mate, much appreciated. Got back into modelling myself only a couple of years ago, after a 30+ year hiatus. Loving it all over again. These still pop up occasionally but you have to be quick. Here in Oz have seen them go from $30 starting bid to over $70 in a couple of days. Still much in demand. Cheers and thanks again.
Tamiya has re released their half tracks all three
I've seen the mortar carrier, and quad .50 M3, but missed out on them "by that much", but they're all on my shopping list for the new year! Cheers!
If you can find the sdkfz.223 kit. I'd highly recommend it. It's a quick, easy and really fun to build. And despite it's age, builds into a really decent kit.
Thanks for the info. Both the 222 and the 223 are on my Hit List on Ebay. Like this M3A2. Just going to play the waiting game. Cheers mate!
Very nice kit for a 70s kit .Tamiya vs dragon m3 h.t. I choose Tamiya for easy building . The details are still great.. even figure s are ok
Very true, despite her age this kit still holds up very well, and yes, even the figures aren't that bad. Cheers and thanks for the comment!
The half tracks WHITE TRUCK made had a engine with a hi nickel content and in destructeble.
I did read that somewhere. Their engines were considered virtually indestructable. Something I'm sure the crews really appreciated. Cheers!
I think that the kit has been reissued because I bought a couple of them at my local hobby lobby about 5 or 6 years ago I do still have the instructions I will try to find them and see if I can find a date on them
Possibly. Tamiya puts copyright dates on the Decals, Instructions, the Box, and the Sprues. As this is a 2nd hand kit, there are no decals to check, and the Instructions and box are in Japanese with no copyright, the dates on the sprues have been blanked out. However in this kit, the small "Caution" sheet and the box are both noted as "Tamiya (Europe) GMBH, Furth, Germany. So it is possible it has been re-issued at some stage since 1975. But just have to go by what Scalemates says at this stage. Please keep us updated. Thanks
It could be that they were hobby lobby old stock to I only paid 17.99 each for them and when you started talking about what they are getting on Ebay there is no way I would pay that it's a nice kit but for that amount I would go with the Dragon
@@modelmantstewart1292 That's a pretty good price. Down here in Oz, both the old Tamiya and the newer Dragon kits, can be as rare as hen's teeth, and go for between $70 - $80 Aus. as a guide. Love the U.S., land of the true bargain. Cheers!
@@PetesKits That's probably why you haven't seen them. Ozzies get the short stick when it comes to model kits coming in.
I have one new in box, bags are still sealed. Kit # is MM170 It stamp1975 and instruction is in English.
Nice one! The original release! Very hard to find the actual original M3A2 from 1975. Good to know they're still out there somewhere. Cheers!
It's strange that Tamiya didn't re-issued a newer version of this model, also because they could make a lot of versions, it was used by the IDF until the'80s.
Yep, seeing as they have reproduced their German Hanomag almost continuously since the 70's. It is quite strange. Dragon has several IDF versions in their stable. I think most modellers would love to add a new Tamiya M3 to their stash. Know I would probably buy at least 2. Cheers!
@@PetesKits I would like Dragon's standard M3 half track. I already have the Mortar carrier version of that kit. I really didin't know about the Tamiya Mortar carrier version I only have the M16 that I built.
@@michaelbenjmitchell1 Saw one of the Dragon U.S. Army, M3's on Ebay recently, starting bid at $90 Australian, and one of the Tamiya M3's at $100. So they do appear quite regularly, but at a price. I guess because, at least out here, they are quite a rare beast. Really would love Tamiya to release a new moulding of the M3. Cheers !
@@PetesKits I've seen the Tamiya ones low end $40 to $50 on Ebay in the states. The Dragon ones are around $50-$70 here in the states. the ones on Ebay selling out of Japan are over $100 for Tamiya and Dragon.
@@michaelbenjmitchell1 Here in Oz, Dragon kits start around $70 (that's any Dragon AFV kit), and upwards. Dragon and Tamiya M3's are much sought after and the asking prices reflect that. Cheers!
Good review. Whats the difference visually between an M3 and an M3A2? Regards Stu NZ
Hi Stu, the basic obvious difference on the M3A2, is the "Ladder" on the side, which is actually a frame for hanging gear off (which is molded flat onto the model, and would be a pain to remove) and an additional side piece to the .50 cal "Box", (e easily removed), but apart from those, there's pretty much no difference. Cheers, and thanks for watching!
@@PetesKits I believe the ditching roller was part of the M2 variant and not used on the production M3s, but was replaced with a winch. There was probably retrofitting going on, so some M2s may have a winch.
@@darkwood777 Yeah, same with most big things in the military. If it breaks you get issued what's available, and fits, so there would have been some with, and some without entirely. Cheers!
"OKAY"
Can’t find this kit anywhere
It is a very, very, hard kit to find. First released in 1975, under the old Tamiya numbering system as kit no. MM70, and then a couple of years later under this reviewed kit's number, 35070. They do appear on Ebay occasionally, which is where I picked mine up. I think the last time I saw one here in Australia on Ebay was about 6 months ago. Dragon also does a WW2 US half track, but even that one is scarce, at least here in OZ. It really is just a matter of keeping a constant eye out for one appearing. But, don't give up, they do still turn up. Cheers!
@@PetesKits cheers, I don’t even mind having that exact I just want 1/35 scale half track would be sick
@@PetesKits I even considered 1/56th scale which I don’t like lol.
@@ChaseBeadleContent Dragon's US half track comes up more often than the old Tamiya one. There's a few on Ebay at the moment, mostly in the US but 3 in Oz, but not cheap. About $110 Oz dollars, then of course, you'd have shipping on that. But, you never know, mine came up cheap without any bids on it apart from me, which was weird, but fortunate for me. Never give up! Cheers!
ok
I just paid 17.00 dollars for my kit last week. Bought it from Scalehobbiest. And it's missing a suspension part....
Damn. It's always frustrating when there's a part missing. Especially something critical. Hopefully, you can scratch built something that will work!
@@PetesKits Either that, or I may be able to order the A tree. I can get the parts and just build them as spares for something. I have a ton of spare stuff that I save.
@@GorillaCrewWarGaming That'd be great is you could. Save a lot of fiddling around. I'm the same as you. I have a box of spare parts, and bits and pieces, from all sorts of kits hanging around. Never know when something might come in handy!
@@PetesKits Exactly. I may take this kit and fabricate a floor jack and a couple jack stands and make a "maintenance" display with the armed figures spread out in a security formation type arrangement. Maybe even put a shjtload of bullet holes in the armor with a hot needle.... 🤣
@@GorillaCrewWarGaming Nice. Or, it could have run over a mine? Much more dramatic! 😆