From the hardcore modeller's perspective AFV Club are
fast overtaking Tamiya
as the only real competition for Dragon in 1/35.
Tamiya has rushed into 1/48 scale by leaving detail out (i.e the metal
hulls) which to me seems a crazy 'dumming down' of modelmaking to toy-like
levels. Italeri all but disappear for the serious end of modelling, then
bring out the odd stormer such as the AA Crusader. Too little, too late?
Meanwhile Dragon march ever-onward, even threatening the aftermarket
industries with their incredible value for money kits stuffed with plastic,
brass and metal- it seems amazing but the shelves are now dominated by them,
harking back to the 80s when Tamiya were almost the only game in town. Thank
God for AFV Club, Academy, Trumpeter, Bronco, Mirage et al. or we'd have no
choice at all. And there is a good reason for this. Competition is good.
Monopolies are bad. This is why.
Dragon need reminding that, just because they SAY that their Sd.Kfz.251s are
accurate and that everyone else is wrong doesn't mean that they ARE. Their
kits ARE nearly 2mm too narrow and are effectively impossible to alter as
the internal dimensions ARE ALSO too narrow. The road wheels are also the
wrong profile and no amount of superdetailing will make them right.
I now have bought nearly 20 of the various 251 kits to make, so think I can
offer an overview based on this kit.
Tamiya's 251D kits, strangely are more accurate than Dragon's even though
they hark back to 1993 or earlier, and with a little tinkering and
superdetailing will still make up into show-winners, so don't throw them out
guys! This doesn't apply to their 1970's 251C by the way, which is well past
its sell-by date and should be trashed.
Dragon's kits look great in the box, being literally loaded with detail and
extras such as tarps, brass seat backs and even crews in some of them. But
your only way to make a really accurate 251D is to throw away the hull top
and bottom and graft all that lovely Dragon detail and drive sprockets onto
an unused Tamiya hull and wheels, which is what I'm going to do. It's easier
than you think as most of it is supplied separate. The drive sprockets won't
be quite as good as AFV Clubs', but with the tracks on it's hard to tell the
difference.
AFV Club got the basics right at the start - and with newer tooling they
have improved on Tamiya's detailing and have much better interiors, the
wheels and drive sprockets are the right profile, the hull is correct in
width and they have introduced this variant just as the whole 251 thing is
getting very crowded. Still no rear door handle though!
The AFV Club Drilling is interesting as it is based on the later 20mm MIG
151 gun platform, whereas Dragon's is based on the 15mm version. Both gun
assemblies look pretty accurate considering the vehicles were very
infrequently photographed, with the exception of the Dragon unit sitting too
high. This is very apparent if you compare the side views in the instruction
sheets. Use the AFV Club fit to correct the Dragon height issue.
The AFV Club version is spot on, and the Drilling comes with up to 4, yes
4!!! (2 plastic and 2 brass) Gun shields and two versions of the 20mm gun
version, with early and late sights. Even the early sights are different
from Dragon's but from my own research I'm inclined to think that all are
correct, each gun change bringing about a change in this area also. The
plastic 'early' shield has too-small openings for the gun barrels (compare
with the brass ones which are correct). HOWEVER, this would work with the
15mm gun Dragon version and is slightly more accurate, I think, than
Dragon's own shield.
So, with this kit and Dragon's it is now possible to make all 4 of the
possible versions of the Drilling:
C hull - only a few made (at least 1), 15mm guns only - use the AFV Club C
with the Dragon gun assemblies, which is what I will be doing. (The new AFV
Club '3-in-1' kit by the way has a 251/21C with, I think, the 20mm guns,
which would probably be incorrect, but easy to swap hulls for a D model)
D hull - 15mm guns. Use the AFV Club hull with the Dragon gun assemblies and
possibly the early AFV Club plastic shield.
Both of these would have the early sights and full side shields, though a C
has been photographed with no gunshields at all, and may be damaged, or a
field-fit.
D hull - 20mm early version - AV Club out-of-the-box, early shield and
sights.
D hull - 20mm late version - AV Club out-of-the-box, no sideshields.
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