| Del Prado M1A1 Abrams
Hi all,
Fellow forummers Tedongganas, 91ken and a couple of others had asked me earlier about Del Prado's AFVs.
According to the Mike's Tanks website, Del Prado has produced around 15 to 16 AFvs in 1:60 scale. Little is known about it apart from the fact that it was released in Japan starting in 2004.
I had come across some of these earlier in a local hobby stores. Went back yesterday and bought my very first Del Prado AFV yesterday - an M1A1 Abrams. I was rather surprised to find that the store has slashed the price by half. It was retailing for S$30 (about US$23) previously, but is now marked at S$15 (US$11.50). The packaging was all in Japanese though, so I could make no head or tail as to what was printed on the box.
Besides the affordable price, collectors who like heft would probably like Del Prado. The model is quite heavy, with both the turret and chassis made out of diecast metal. On the down side, the finishing and details are far from sharp. The workmanship is pretty bad in some areas, particularly on the body work and turret. The MG mounts also look kinda fake. But I guess I can live with it since it is not at all expensive.
I had put the Del Prado Abrams next to the HM Abrams (1:56 scale) for comaprison's sake. It's quite obvious that Hobby Master is in an entirely different class altogether, in terms of weathering, finishing, paintwork and details. Unlike the HM Abrams, the tracks on the Del Prado can't move. Anyway, I got my HM Abrams at US$11.95 from Monkey Depot. So to me, the HM Abrams carries a better value for money.
Paladin18 |