1/72 Scale Pre-Built Military Vehicles
Several manufacturers offer pre-built plastic and die cast metal models of military vehicles. 1/72 scale is popular due to the ease of collecting and displaying the models verses the larger standard scales like 1/48 and 1/35. They also look great displayed with 1/72 aircraft models that come in both kit form and pre-built as well.
Hobby Master HG3415 British M-10 Tank Destroyer
As with almost all products, some manufacturers are better than others, and some stand miles above their competitors. In my opinion, when it comes to attention to detail, historical accuracy, quality control, and general quality, two manufacturers dominate the 1/72 scale pre-built armor model industry at this time: Dragon Armor and Hobby Master.
They do have competition, but none of the other companies can compete at the level of quality produced by these two. Some come very close and have some products that achieve this quality, but not in the consistent manner displayed by Dragon and HM.
Dragon Armor 60088 German Panzer IV Ausf F2
As a collector of these products, I have learned through trial and error that there are some releases to avoid from any company. The best method is by finding like-minded collectors and discussing the merits of manufacturers in general as well as specific releases. My favorite place to discuss these issues is currently at The A.F.V. Model Forum. Granted, this forum is dedicated to armor and military models of all scales, whether they be pre-built models or plastic or resin kits, but it is a great resource to me. I encourage you to check it out sometime.
I'll continue rambling to myself occasionally, but I do hope someone finds this information useful as this is a great hobby for people with an interest in military history, especially from World War II to the present.
Modern M-1 Tanks and M-998 Hummers by Dragon Armor
U.S. Army M-46 Pershing from Hobby Master
German Panzer 1A by S Models
Russian T-72B with ERA by Modelcollect
