The ground is shaking, and now I know I'm doomed for sure!

[sturmbird]

the title is code for another new beast at the house. This time a serious beat has knocked on the door.
So who dropped by today? How about a Rye Field Tiger! Kit came in $24 cheaper than the Dragon kit's $79 price. Detail looks nice in most areas, but was somewhat disappointed that they didn't include a metal barrel. Tracks look like a monster to assemble. The instructions after a quick look thru left me dazed. Very little wording but lots of drawings and pictures. Decals looked nice, but the decal instructions seeming glossed over the job without going into any options seriously.

Maybe when I start building this kit I'll have a better opinion, but still the kit seems very nice.
gary

[TRM]

Nice Gary!! I have been waiting to have someone have their way with this one! Looked interesting! First off, you can't go wrong saving a little $$$ when t comes to kits! If the instructions are 1/2 of what the DML come in as....you win again! Take you time and enjoy!! Looking forward to hearing your opinion on things once you dig in!

[sturmbird]

Nov 21, 2015 22:20:44 GMT -5 TRM said:

Nice Gary!! I have been waiting to have someone have their way with this one! Looked interesting! First off, you can't go wrong saving a little $$$ when t comes to kits! If the instructions are 1/2 of what the DML come in as....you win again! Take you time and enjoy!! Looking forward to hearing your opinion on things once you dig in!

You know I'm spoiled, and I'd guess most of us are. I can deal with Dragon's instructions OK (I think the last few kits are getting better). But Tasca has spoiled me rotten! I thought the Amusing Hobby instructions were pretty good, and I can even deal with Trumpeter OK. All these folks do written instructions and kind of coach you along the way. Rye Field really doesn't. They just use a bunch of arrows and symbols.

I like the kit, but the only kits I can compare it with are an Academy and the Leningrad Tiger from Dragon. I bought the Academy kit for a few parts as I got it in the 50% off bargain bin. The Leningrad kit is really a later version; even though it's an "IP". I have about five Tigers in my stash but all are mid and late. Really hard to do a serious kit comparison. Looking at the instructions, and knowing just a very small amount about early Tigers. I know there is the #131 Tiger, but there were others that are just slightly different. I have documentation on the #131 Tiger, and I have to hunt the book up to see if I can build one out of the kit. Right now I think it's easily doable. The kit calls out #141, so I'm guessing it's very similar.

On a couple forums there is a lot of whining and crying about the kit and the interior. One well known expert said his kit didn't come with an interior, but had it written on the box. My box says nothing about an interior! For me the barrel is an issue, but have a cigar box full of A.M. barrels. We'll see on that one. Some folks cried about the wire diameter for the recovery cables, but they look pretty close to me. Ends look a little bulky, but shape is accurate.
gary