Month: January 2024

Out of all the random vehicles I’ve been meaning to build, a Sd.Kfz.251/22 or “Pakwagen” has been randomly near the top of my list for a while now. I’m not really sure why, it looks well proportioned I guess and was one of the more useful late war vehicles the Germans came up with. This is the first AFV Club kit I’ve picked up and got it for $70 CAD. Let’s see how it shapes up!

Kit Features: 18/20

AFV Club kits have a reputation for being detailed and this one includes a lot for the builder. Included is a small fret of photo-etch, a brass gun shield and a metal barrel as well. Also included is a generous amount of small arms (4x Kar98K, MG34, MG42 and a MP40) along with personal equipment that would have been owned by the vehicle’s crew. Rubber tracks are included but I will say that these tracks are the best rubber tracks I’ve seen and very well detailed. I also like that it includes the vehicle tools molded *without* clamps, a very welcome addition. Only points missed out on is the absence of any kind of figures but otherwise This kit is off to a good start.

Quality of Molding: 41/50

As expected, AFV Club’s Pakwagen has a high quality of molding with one exception. In looking over the spues the detail is quite high, with the stand outs being the driver’s seat and crew bench (molded with leather texture), the crew weapons, the gun cradle with all the rivet details and the exterior locker details. While these areas are the standouts the entire kit really is very well detailed and very intricate that an intermediate to experienced builder will be able to flesh out. The only exception to this is the welding detail. The stock welds look extremely faint in some areas and will need to be re-done, no question. All in all however I’d say that I’m not disappointed by the detail present in this kit and considering the comparatively low price of the kit compared to some 2024 releases the welds are not the worst thing in the world and I’d still say the Pakwagen has high detail.

Instructions: 8/20

The instructions definitely are where AFV Club opted to save some money in the fact that they really are nothing special. A short blurb on the front about the history of the vehicle and standard line drawings, nothing special. No colour at all and the profiles included really are nothing special, In fact I’d say the profiles exemplify the “cheapness” of the instructions, no colour callouts (on the profile page) and tiny profiles. Spelling mistakes are also present.

Miscellaneous: 5/10

Included are decals for one vehicle based out of the “western front” which let’s be honest is a huge cop out. The singular saving grace for the markings is that they include division markings and stencils, along with license plate information. I like it when kits include these types of markings because often times vehicles have a lot more organizational markings than just some numbers and a cross/star and adds to the realism of the final subject. In one of my early drafts of this review I initially failed AFV Club’s Pakwagen but thinking about it more now, the inclusion of the division stencils is just enough to warrant a 5/10 score. The quality of the tracks also helped increase this score as they are excellent.

Total: 72/100

AFV Club is shamless for some of the corners it cut while putting together this kit but on some level it’s understandable? I have no doubt this kit will end up looking great, the detail is there and a experienced builder will take advantage of it. Experienced builders put research into the vehicles they build and because of this AFV Club was clearly ok with not putting as much information behind the markings they chose for this subject. This is in stark contrast with a manufacturer such as Eduard that will not only provide a highly detailed kit but also information about the person who operated the real life vehicle. Add on the fact that this wasn’t a $90 monster and some of the errors are forgivable.

I received this kit as a gift this holiday season and as I’ve been meaning to build a Abrams for a while now, a perfect one at that! Tamiya’s M1A2 retails between $50-$60 CAD, and is definitely a bit cheaper than some of the other Abrams on the market (Meng, RFM) In this review I’ll try to find out how Tamiya’s Abrams fits into the 1/35 lineup.

Kit Features: 13/20

When I saw that Tamiya M1A2 was released back in 2003, I have to admit I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. In terms of the features included however, I was pleasantly surprised. For a kit that is now over 20 years old, it is well furnished even by the standards of today. One notable omission is the absence of photo-etched parts but considering the kit’s history and Tamiya’s tendency to not include a lot of photo-etch, this is hardly a major omission. The kit also includes a plethora of stowage options, figures and one very good boy, something that isn’t really seen even in modern armor releases. I also like the wide variety of possible vehicle variants the kit offers. The differences between a U.S Army, Marines, and NATO vehicle are all slight but are still represented and extra parts are included to build those specific variants. The Abrams does well in this category because it includes those extra options that Tamiya didn’t have to include. I initially scored the kit features higher, around 15/16 but upon reflection a score closer to the average is warranted. The features of this kit are good and better than expected but not class beating.

Quality of Molding: 37/50

As with the included features, this kit’s molding detail was a surprise. The weld details are of particular note and very finely molded. Again, despite this being an older kit I really don’t feel like I’ll need to go over these with custom welds. In fact I think that this is an advantage this kit has, it’s straightforward and simple to build with detail where it’s needed. This is in contrast to a more modern Abrams kit that, while it may have more detail, will take twice as long to build. The Tamiya Abrams perfectly balances detail and part count as a “baseline” armor model. The grill detail on the engine deck also looks good and with a wash will look fantastic. Also of note are the M2 machine guns that are included (of which there are several) which are superbly detailed for injection molded parts. Overall it is very hard to find flaws in the molding of this kit. One potential issue is that while there is an abundance of weld details, I am not sure if the detail will be deep enough to hold a wash.

Instructions: 12/20

Tamiya’s instructions are as usual perfectly workable. They are deceptively long as on pages 8 and 9 the builder is only meant to follow one of the steps illustrated corresponding to the specific variant they have chosen to build. I actually quite like how much real estate Tamiya gave to the variant specific instructions as typically instructions give little more than “use this part G56 instead of G23 for option B” Tamiya aides the modeller by including full line drawings for each variant. No full colour profiles are included.

Miscellaneous: 8/10

Tamiya included a whopping 5 different markings for this vehicle and went further than just Iraqi Freedom vehicles by also including a KFOR vehicle based in Kosovo. Tamiya kits sometime have a problem where they offer 2-3 different marking options but in reality there’s only one option (see my G-6 review for an example of this). I wouldn’t say there are a lot of options provided but when it comes to the Abrams (I hope you like desert tan or woodland) Tamiya has covered the bases and then some with the Kosovo addition. I’m quite looking forward to building up a dusty woodland schemed Abrams.

Total: 70/100

If there was a kit that could be described as a “Value Stock” I’d be comfortable saying Tamiya’s M1A2 is it. There is not a whole lot to *not* like about this kit. It’s priced pretty reasonably $50-$60 CAD from what I’ve seen and offers a good amount of detail and options for a new to intermediate builder. If you’re looking for a challenge then the Meng or RFM options are well suited to those types of builders. I’d argue that Tamiya’s Abrams is even better positioned on the market, capturing both beginners and a portion of the intermediate skill level builders as well as people who want a build a Abrams, but not spend more than two months with it on the bench.