Woah pony, no one mention either of those manufacturers (in this case they're both in the plastic boat).
1. In theory your correct however scaled down material doesnt always behave as it does at 1:1 scale. Talking about steel sheet it's probaby going to end up over scale so won't act the same. In terms of what segment of the market matos going for most will be cast rather than made out of sheet so won't act as the prototype anyway
2. Again in theory this should be correct however in practise I've found chipping over metal in small scale never looks right.
3. Barel wobble isn't cause by the barrel bending so is a moot point
4. I would disagree, this all depends on the master the moulds are based on.
5. When painted you don't notice this anyway.....
6. Only if things are designed to be bolted on (best option IMO), but you can bolt stuff onto a plastic model too......
Saying that though I agree with you that metal is a good option, but in my opinion it's more about the characteristics of the model moving looking more realistic and also provides a more robust model!
ORIGINAL: lposter
Im a bit wary of this topic as it can quickly derail to a T***** Vs. H*** L*** type affair but:
1. Metal , at least steel sheet, must surely provide more realistic damage? There are an awful lot of very strange looking bent fenders on an awful lot Tigers.
2. Metal at least has a texture that is metallic. Not suitable for all tanks obviously but the best thing for replicating the texture of sheet metal must be...sheet metal.
3. Less bending of things gun barrels as you go over bumps.
4. Plastic just looks too perfect most of the time. Lot of tanks out there with great paint jobs but the angles and edges are often way too sharp and the surfaces way too flat/perfect.
5. Plastic looks "warm", metal looks "cold".
6. It gets rid of glue.......
I dont actually see what one loses in metal as opposed to plastic. Plastic is obviously the easier and cheaper option but if you are willing to spend weeks attaching plastic rivets and individual grains of dust to where you want them and buying expensive metal accessories like shovels and cables and so on.......Im not sure Isee the logic at all.
p