Cobrahistorian Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Ok guys, I'm looking at taking a bit of a break from airplanes, just to refocus so I can do the next several uniform builds I've got without distraction. Since I'm now the director/curator of the Air Defense Artillery Museum, I thought an M16 halftrack in 35th scale would be a perfect subject. Looking at what's available, I'm now trying to figure out which one to build. I'm pretty sure I can rule out the old Tamiya kit, but now it comes down to the Dragon or Lion Roar offerings. Anyone have any advice on which is a better/easier/more accurate kit? Thanks! Jon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Holeshot Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Congrats on the new job. The Lion Roar "kit" is an EXTENSIVE conversion/detail set for the Dragon kit that basically replaces all the armor plate with PE. The Dragon kit is very nice OOB. If you wanted to do a couple relatively quick & easy upgrades to it just get a set of resin front wheels and some nice brass barrels. PMMS has a good comparison of available .50cal barrels to refer to on the latter front. The resin wheels (Tank Workshop or Tiger Models, I forget which I always get them confused since their websites are very similar) add valve stems and ditch the incorrect bulged "weighted look" that the kit parts have. (If you look at period pics, the original bias ply tires didn't bulge the way modern radials do.) Good luck, Curtis PS, Trumpter does one in 1/16th scale, but it's generally considered to be a bit too toy-like for the scale. Edited March 3, 2012 by Holeshot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobrahistorian Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Ah, ok! I'll probably go that route, although I just saw an all resin 48th scale M16 that I may do instead. However, I do have a few 35th kits, so I'm not ruling it out just yet. It would be nice to display a 48th M16 alongside my M27 bomb truck and M2 Cletrac though... It's roughly the same price as the 35th scale, which is a bit of a bummer though. Thanks for the advice! Jon Edited March 3, 2012 by Cobrahistorian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChesshireCat Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I have the older Tamiya and the Dragon kits, and the Dragon is by far the best of the two. The Tamiya kit has serious issues with the road wheels and drive sprockets (can't remember about the idler). With the Dragon you can use their wheels and tracks without any problems. Also the quad fifty is much better with the Dragon kit with it's finer detail. You can get aftermarket stuff to fix the Tamiya kit, but why bother when everything's in the Dragon box. gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobrahistorian Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Ok, now the next question is, does anyone do an M15A1? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChesshireCat Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Ok, now the next question is, does anyone do an M15A1? I picked up an Academy M151a1 at the show in Indy over the weekend. I don't know if Tamiya or Dragon do one (Tamiya does do the M151a2). The Academy kit looks nice, but never took anything outta the bag to see for sure. On the otherhand the M38 is very nice if your looking into that era of Jeeps. gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevenichols Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Here's a picture of the Lion Roar kit on a dragon chassis. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobrahistorian Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Here's a picture of the Lion Roar kit on a dragon chassis. Very nice! I'm thinking I may go with a Kengi models 48th scale resin kit, but I'm not 100% decided just yet. Chesshire Cat, I'm looking for an M15A1 halftrack, not a M151 Jeep. The M15 halftrack had a fully rotating turret tub mounting a 37mm gun and two .50 caliber MGs instead of the quad .50 turret in a fixed tub of the M16. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Netz Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I have the Lion Roar set I'm trying to sell for my Model Club, if anyone is interested in it I'd like to get $85.00 OBO for it. I will be taking it to be sold at the kit Collectors show in Buena Park this Sunday, so I'll give you guys 1st chance at it. Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Ah, ok! I'll probably go that route, although I just saw an all resin 48th scale M16 that I may do instead. ... From whom? I do 1:48 armor to have a consistent scale with my aircraft, and I've not seen an M16. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChesshireCat Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Very nice! I'm thinking I may go with a Kengi models 48th scale resin kit, but I'm not 100% decided just yet. Chesshire Cat, I'm looking for an M15A1 halftrack, not a M151 Jeep. The M15 halftrack had a fully rotating turret tub mounting a 37mm gun and two .50 caliber MGs instead of the quad .50 turret in a fixed tub of the M16. my error! I don't think I've ever seen an M15 half track, but I bet there's a conversion out there someplace. Just wait awhile longer and Dragon will pop one out of the oven! gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Given Dragon's obsession with getting the most value out of the base parts, I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before they pop out an M15A1. The base M16 kit is pretty nice all by itself. If you want to read up on the M16 kit, Perth Military Modeling Centre has very in depth reviews posted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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