US Light Tank M5A1 w/4 Figures

This is a nice older kit. The level of detail is not up to today's standards, but it builds up nicely. The parts are big enough for young modelers to handle. this one also has the rubber band Tamiya tracks that glue does not like to stick to. I heated and flattened the posts in the tracks after the track ends were joined, as per instructions. Just in case, I put a staple across the join. To install the tracks, I left the side skirts and drive sprocket off until last. I threaded the track around the wheels, and then fit the drive sprocket inside the track. The drive sprocket was pressed into place. This keeps pressure off of the track join and makes it easy to slip the track in place. the skirts were added last. Why only 4 stars? it is an old mold with a bit of flash to trim off.

The Tamiya M5A1 Tank kit was, overall, a good kit. In fact, normally I would give it a 5 star because the fit was great, instructions were clear, and overall it looks good. However, I gave it only 4 stars because there was a lot of trimming required to get rid of molding and clean up edges, something that I've never experienced with Tamiya before. This extra work wasn't a problem, but like I said, not what I'm used to from Tamiya products.

A good kit. Not a modern kit and a bit fiddly at times. A good kit for the price. A set of aftermarket tracks is recommended as the kit supplied ones are wrong. The end connectors do not connect each track links. Otherwise a nice little, quick kit that looks good in the end.