Tamiya Models Israeli Tank M51 Model Kit

I'm a life long builder of 1/35 armor and almost exclusively "World War Two" and "German". I've recently made forays away from my comfort zone (US M10 Tank Destroyer, Soviet KV-1 and a French AMX-13) over the past 6 months, but the end result of this Israeli M51 is perhaps the most enjoyable project in years - if not ever.The build was typically Tamiya - Nearly flawless instructions, minimal flash, exquisite part fit, and minimal filler. Note that the 'canvas' covering between the turret front & main gun will require filler, though I prefer my personal method of filling the gap was an excessive amount of liquid glue and taking a bit of fine sandpaper to it later. I'd also say that the later generation Tamiya kits have excellent & realistic exterior detail that is on par with many Dragon kits. The ruddy "steel" texture at the hull front and turret sides is great and lends itself well to color modulation and weathering of all types.I used a combination of black & white acrylic base coat, followed by a (roughly) 80/20 mix of Tamiya Desert Tan & Buff colors to achieve the base color tone with nice starting point shadowing. Beyond that I used the sponge technique for 99% of the paint chipping which I then followed up with heavy use of oil paints (white, yellow/tan & burnt umber) - NOTHING tops oils when you want a unique color modulation/weathering look on your model - but this is of course dealers choice. I then finished off with Desert Tan wash in certain areas and heavy use of a darker pin wash - particularly on the wheels, etc.Bottom Line? BUY THIS KIT.

Pretty awesome kit ,The kit I got came with photo etch which was cool. Nice kit to build not too hard but not too easy.Very good price 100/10

This is another Tamiya top quality attention to detail scale replica … you won’t be disappointed!

Typical Tamiya, great fit, great detail, easy assembly, low part count. You can find higher level of detail but it will cost you more and it will be hard to build. never go wrong with Tamiya. Dragons version is not as accurate or as easy to build and Academy is a different type.

Although the kit came without its usual wrapping, it was complete. I believe I remember reading that a lot of model companies were not wrapping kits with cellophane anymore anyway. The price of the kit was actually better than I could find elsewhere on the internet. It was as expected.

typical Tamiya, all fits perfectly together, no issues but the model benefits from adding details and the rework of the simplified ones. Tamiya should more look for exactly details and don't omit or simplify too much at least with this kit it could be better.

Good accuracy, fit & detailing. I usually do the tanks muddied up & war experienced.

This is a great kit by Tamiya.Plenty of details, easy to follow instructions, parts fit is great!The only improvement would be Link and length tracks.