Some 2012 Builds from AFVFan

[afvfan]

Here are some of the kits I finished in the past year.

Semovente - 1/35 Tamiya





Czech ST-1 - 1/35 Bilek





StuG Ausf.D - 1/35 Dragon





Polish TKS (captured) - 1/35 Mirage





Tiger I Initial Production - 1/35 Tamiya





Sd Kfz 234/4 - 1/35 Italeri





Jagdtiger - 1/48 Tamiya





Minenraumer - 1/35 RPM

[deafpanzer]

Outstanding builds!!! Always wanted to build that 234/4! I am not even sure if I have it in my stash because I can not remember the difference between 234/3 and 234/4. LOL

Thanks for sharing with us and hope you will have another great year!

[Tojo72]

Another very good year,I really like the little Jagdtiger

[afvfan]

Thanks guys! In light of all the fantastic builders on this forum, any boost to my confidence is welcome!

Andy - the /3 had the short 75mm from the early Mk IVs. That /4 was a tough build. You have to do surgery to the hull to get the superstructure to fit. I also articulated the wheels and steering gear and added a lot of PE, including working view ports.

Tojo - That was one of my personal favorites for the year.

I count the Minenraumer as the major success of the group, though. Anyone who ever complains about one of the major company kits needs to build one of these. It'll teach you what dealing with a bad kit is really all about! There are about 350 pieces (102 in each wheel, plus the hull and turret) and EVERY one needs to be sanded, trimmed, or completely redone.

[wbill76]

Nice collection of work for the year AFVFan!

[afvfan]

Thanks Bill!

[bullardino]

Nice builds and very interesting choice of subjects

How was the fit of the mirage one? They make a nice polish artillery tractor that I'd like to build but a friend of mine told me their overall fit and detail is poorer than old airfix kits...

[afvfan]

Thanks for the kind words. I do lean a bit towards the odder things to build.

Well...what can I say about a Mirage kit? It's better than an RPM! ;D
Seriously though, I'm not familiar with anything Airfix has put out in the past 40 years, so I can't confirm your friends comparison. I can tell you after building about 5 Mirage kits while the fit isn't too bad, the real problems are the soft molding and, if you want real accuracy, you'll get a chance to hone your scratch building skills.

I know the tractor kit you mentioned. I've not build one, but I have read a couple build logs from people who have, and it doesn't seem any different. Like the TKS above, it will go together into a reasonable facsimile of the original as long as you aren't too worried about counting rivets. Personally, I say go ahead and build it. They aren't that expensive of kit, and everyone needs a few challenges to keep them on their toes.

[bullardino]

I was already leaning towards giving it a try the next year, and your words make me lean even more. I'm not scared by soft plastic and your tank looks great