Tamiya Models French Battle Tank B1 BIS

Seamless and "fun" build that goes together with zero issues - which was greatly appreciated after completing a slew of Takom, Dragon and Bronco kits this past year. Those are excellent kits in most cases, but the builds are far more time intensive and there are often fit issues that require patience & experience to resolve.This kit has sufficient exterior detailing that provides a great "canvass" for weathering, etc. The price was fair in this era of skyrocketing inflation (Approx. $48/USD with delivery). There are numerous decal options (save your leftovers for other kits). The individual track links are EXCELLENT and are not difficult to assemble IMO and they also look fantastic after painting & weathering.WW-II French armor is extremely fun to replicate due to their unique, albeit somewhat outdated, technical designs and the prevalence of interesting camo schemes. I still have some final weathering & fine detailing to apply later, but this one is about 95% complete. GREAT KIT.

This is by FAR one of the finest kits I've built from Tamiya, and I've built over 35 of them. I'm not sure if anyone else even offers the B1 bis, except maybe Hobbyboss. The fit of the parts is exceptionally good, with witness marks placed where needed for correct alignment. Sprue gates (where you cut parts from the sprue) are small and sensibly placed. Ejection pin marks are only located in places where you'll never see them. And the workable tracks are a breeze, MUCH better than the similar tracks from Meng for their Char 2C. These are sturdier and stay connected. Still, I plan to avoid enamels when finishing the tracks....The solvents used could compromise the connection points. Acrylics (i.e.Tamiya paints) seem a safer way to go. Markings for four tanks are provided along with an excellent two page full color guide.The hull goes together great, but since it isn't the standard tank "bathtub" hull be sure to dry fit parts before committing to cement. Sand properly and you'll have no worries. That's what makes Tamiya such a great model kit maker....The parts are always flash-free and they FIT like they're supposed to.Two tiny drawbacks I've noticed (assembly about 75% completed) is that the decals feel thick, but hopefully microsol or markfit strong will cure it. Also, inexplicably, the periscope dome on top of the turret comes in two halves. I don't get that when other parts, like the actual turret and hull are clearly slide molded. Nothing sanding and putty won't fix, but just weird when the rest of the kit is so clearly well thought out. Certainly not a deal breaker, though.Kit came in original box and triple wrapped in bubble wrap from the seller in Japan, and arrived a few days early , slightly squashed courtesy of U.S. Postal Service but thankfully undamaged.Highly recommended for intermediate level modellers.

Great fun to build and palnt.

Tamiya models are almost always well engineered and a pleasure to build. This kit is no exception. Also, informative as this French tank was better than anything the Germans had. Was also more numerous. Shame The French didn't have better generals.

I purchased this model as a present for my friend's birthday. Although he was new to the 1/35 modern armor genre, this kit was large enough to accommodate conversions into other vehicles for sci-fi and steampunk settings. In addition, the hobby arrived in my mail box in less than five days of ordering online.

Great kit

Usual Tamiya quality and half the hobby shop price.

Good kit but mine came completely crushed.Funny thing is that the Amazon box was intact so that’s the way the seller (Jin-store) put it in...Good thing that I was not planning to gift it.

Rien a dire, cette maquette est juste parfaite et de très bonne qualité

maquette reçu ce jour comme prévu et rin à redire au sujet de la maquettemerci amazon pour le délai conforme

BEL KIT. NON TROPPO COMPLICATO.

Calidad tamiyaEncaje perfecto , molde de 2005 y orugas eslabón a eslabón.

買って良かった。