Takom M47/G Patton

My next model on the bench is Takom's new M47 Patton. For some time now I've been planning and researching the M47 in Belgian service and had planned on using the old Italieri kit for this project, but with the release of this new model I just had to use it. Also with my annual trip to IPMS Belgium's plastic & steel show only a few months away now's the perfect time to get cracking.

This new Takom kit is an absolute belter of a kit, in my opinion one of the best engineered and molded kits I've ever seen. It has no etched parts what so ever included in the box, ( do I hear howls of derision from the rivet counters out there?) but trust me I don't think it needs it. The plastic parts are that good.

The kit comes with two funky track build guides which are something Takom have just started including in their kits. It looks like it will take the pain out of building track runs and you also get the added bonus of being able to paint the track runs off the model. The suspension and lower hull are pretty straight forward but they do exhibit really crisp detail with little or no flash. Likewise the wheels are made up of three parts and once assembled look great.

I've only got as far as the suspension and wheels but so far I'm really impressed. Next time I'll also include a bit about the M47 as used by the Belgian army.