Thinking tanks

[PR19_Kit]

Having read through my recent purchase of the Haynes Manual on the Challenger 2 tank (and becoming TOTALLY swamped by the vast number of acronyms the author uses  ) I found myself quite interested in the darn things.

So who does a decent kit of a Challenger 2 please, and what sizes are they available in?

Do they come with engines and insides to the turret etc as well, or are tank kits usually just the outside bits, like most aircraft?

[Gondor]

The more expensive they are then the more of the interior they will usually have. The sizes they come in are 1/76, 1/48 and 1/35 being the more popular with 1/35 being the usual.
Level of interir also depends on the scale, subject matter and the kit manufacturer although after market parts are usually available which will provide most of the parts not available in a kit. Scalemates should be a help for all of this I would think even though I have only used it to look up 1/72 aircraft so far.

You also pay a lot for the armour kits as well I think though some aircraft kits especially from Japan have cought up.

Gondor

[Rheged]

Fortunately, I have access to an interpreter who can convert tankspeak into English.  Rheged minor (he's the one whose Masters thesis was on UK tank procurement and doctrine between the end of the 2nd world war and the fall of the Berlin Wall) understands these things, and commends the Haynes manuals  on the Churchill, Centurion, Challenger 1  and 2 to all Whiffers as a good source of information; a launch pad  from which soaring imaginations may take off.

[PR19_Kit]

I just KNEW it'd be more complicated than I imagined.....................

[Martin H]

As I understand it the interior layout of the Chally 2 is classed as secret.
Members of the public can see it but they wont be allowed to take photos. I'm sure we have ceratin bits of kit that we dont want our friends to know about let alone any potential enermy.

It would explain why no UK spec Chally 2's have been exported.

So its likely any interior that comes with or for a certain kit will be either pure guess work or generic based on what might be known about the Chally 1, Leopard or M-1 for example.

[JayBee]

Well my first thoughts from the title of this thread, were, Autonomous tanks guide by an onboard AI. 
The back story could be fun!
Hannants have a number of Challenger 2 kits listed, in both 1/35 and 1/72 scales, all by Trumpeter.
I have no idea what level of interior detail they give.
There are also lots of aftermarket deatiling sets available for the larger scale.

As far as size goes, in 1/35 the hull will be about 9" long.

So you just have to ask yourself two questions :

How much detail do I want?
and
How big do I want it to be?

[PR19_Kit]

A 1/72 scale tank sounds TINY to me, and I've seen the stuff that The Chaos turns out as well. 

I recall that the only AFV I've ever built was an RW Airfix Buffalo with a small turret on the top, (0.5 MG maybe?) and that was positively MINUTE!

[Mossie]

That makes it a bit easier.  You've got two choices in 1/35, Tamiya or Trumpeter.  Tamiya apparently goes together like a dream but is twice the price.  There's only one variant, Iraq - Op Telic.

Trumpeter's has the usual caveat of nice model if you put in the effort.  The bonus is it's a lot cheaper and there are four variants available, early, Op Telic, KFOR and late with slat & ERA armour.

So it boils down to:
Tamiya, great fit and accuracy,  1 variant available, around £40.
Trumpeter, average fit and accuracy, 4 variants available, around £20-£25.

[Steel Penguin]

id say in 1:35 go Tamiya
I have put the trumpy  ( also sold as airfix) one together and I wasn't very impressed, some of the parts are awfully sloppy,  wile I haven't done the Tamiya one, ( I have it in the to do pile)  ive made both versions of the Challenger One,  standard, and the up armoured gulf war one version, and they were a pleasure.

[Rheged]

Well my first thoughts from the title of this thread, were, Autonomous tanks guide by an onboard AI. 
The back story could be fun!

The BOLO universe, the creation of author Keith Laumer,  probably provides the backstory you want

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolo_universe

To quote Wikipaedia:-  The Bolo universe is a fictional universe based on a series of military science fiction books by author Keith Laumer. It primarily revolves around the eponymous "Bolo", a type of self-aware tank.

[jcf]

Most tank kits are the outside bits, which is preferable from both the cost and build
standpoints. Some are the full deal, like the full-detail version of the MiniArt T-54
which has 1,055 parts: 950 injected polystyrene, 105 photo-etch brass.

Here's former Seattle area, he's since retired and moved back to NZ, modeller Andrew
Birkbeck's build review:
https://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/t-54-1-model-1947-soviet-medium-tank

Kit contents:
74 sprues large and small of gray plastic parts (I kid you not!)
1 sprue of clear plastic parts
2 frets of photo etched brass parts
1 sheet of water slide decals with 4 different marking options
1 black and white instruction booklet, 24 pages, with 89 assembly
steps and incorporating a color markings and painting guide

[jcf]

Rye Field models are also doing Challenger 2, which looks good and isn't a parts count
monster:
https://www.themodellingnews.com/2020/04/preview-ryefield-models-new-35th.html

The Tamiya Challie 2 has 5 sprues, the Trumpeter has 8 sprues, the new Rye Field has 6.

My preference is for Tamiya when it comes to armour as they don't needlessly break
things down to multiple parts when there is no legitimate need to do so.

[PR19_Kit]

I've heard mention of the Ryefield stuff before and it gets good reviews, but the Challenger kit's certainly not cheap, but prices vary enormously. Their kit builds into the Megatron tank (which I know all about now, ,having read the book...  ) and I like the idea of doing one in the Berlin Brigade camo that I can remember from my time in that city. The Brit tanks  there at the time were Chieftains of course, but there are some Challengers painted in a similar scheme (pics in the book.... )

I'm getting sorely tempted..............

[Weaver]

Well my first thoughts from the title of this thread, were, Autonomous tanks guide by an onboard AI. 
The back story could be fun!

The BOLO universe, the creation of author Keith Laumer,  probably provides the backstory you want

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolo_universe

To quote Wikipaedia:-  The Bolo universe is a fictional universe based on a series of military science fiction books by author Keith Laumer. It primarily revolves around the eponymous "Bolo", a type of self-aware tank.

And of course Bolo was one of the principal inspirations for OGRE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogre_(board_game)

[PR19_Kit]

Hmm, it seems the biggest problem with the Rye Field Challenger is finding someone who's actually got one in stock. Amazon reckon they have of course, but I'm not paying THAT much!