Just a quick question for those who have done it. How long does it take (man hours) to build like a Sherman or Tiger from Tamiya? I don't mean with all the cool upgrades and special extra details, just the straight up build?

Thanks,
John Ebell

Sherman can take (depending on speed and experience) 3 to 5 nights. I would say about 10 to 25 hours, that is if you paint everything seperately and or use any slow setting glues/epoxies.

Some folks seem to do it in a couple of days or so, but in my case I took about six weeks. No idea what the actual active time was, sorry. I just enjoy the process and am in a position where I can leave the thing lying about and just do another bit when it takes my fancy. That time does include a bit of 'did that tank have that bit on that date?' research stuff, but no major upgrades.

John on the strength of your replies I'm going to have to change my callsign to THE-SNAIL...It's taken me months to build my Sherman and it's not finished yet. However, I spend a lot of time researching articles and poring over pictures etc. I like doing that and I enjoy research etc. as much as the build. I also spend a lot of time on this forum, it's an amazing area of knowledge. I hope you intend to buy and build a Sherman soon, you won't be disappointed with it. All the help you will ever need to complete it is on here for you.

Gigantohawk

You buy it,then build it,Then you run it --set it on the shelf--or sell it---and then buy and build another one.Thats what keeps the forum going.---------------------------------BIGMIG

4 weeks to six months. I don't know how to build it straight up.

Build time is a hard call! I've yet to truly finnish a tank! I always find something to work on, That's the truly great thing about this hobby!



Greg

My post was an estimation. I have since then rebuilt and repainted my first Sherman.

If you wanted to build it fast and out of the box I'm sure I was pretty close.

Even considering that nearly every plastic part has to be trimmed from a sprue and cleaned up to look smooth, the build itself is not what takes all of your time; it is the painting. If you want it to look like a real tank that has been shrunken down to 1:16 scale, the painting, weathering, wash and details are the time-consuming part and they make all of the difference in the world. I always assemble some, paint some and then repeat until there are no more steps in the manual. I bet I could build a Sherman in six hours if I was only putting the parts together in stock form...okay, maybe eight. [sm=50_50.gif]

I hope that helps a little. [&:]

Build Times:

From ordering the kit, waiting for any replacement parts, building and paint takes about 3 months to complete a tank and balance marriage and a day job.

Though, my Sherman took 2 weeks to build and paint, about 6 months ago and I am still detailing it and not yet weathered it.

I guess overall, it takes me about 3 weeks to assemble the German panzers and get them setup and running well.

Then I disassemble them for final painting and weathering. And that takes me about another 60 days plus.

Also look at ebay for built tanks you can reverse engineer to learn what's up with these neat kits. It is a good cost effective place to start the hobby and see if you want to get further into the Tamiya tank end of the rc hobby.

Enjoy your build.

I built my Tamiyas straight out of the box. The Sherman was built in a few days. It was an Christmas gift for my son - how do you tell him to wait a few weeks while Dad "researches" his tank? Once the Sherman was done, I needed the Tiger in a hurry to battle with the Sherman, and it also went together in a few days. While it might be "easier" to do all your research and build you tank the way want the first time, it is not that difficult to do it after the fact. Below are some shots of my "factory fresh" tanks from 2005. Second are shots of my Sherman in 2007.