I just finished building this model yesterday. I have to say that Tamiya's new 1/48 line of models is far, far better than anything else on the market. It's incredible. At every step of construction I was constantly struck by the amount of forethought and consideration for each of the other steps involved that the instructions and design of the model convey. Tamiya's ability to anticipate every hitch of model building and design around it is really striking. That's to say nothing of the detail involved. There is less detail on your standard, larger 1/35 scale model. I was impressed by things like: precision seams that totally disappear when assembled, decals with very low reflectivity, super-crisp detail on even the tiniest parts, and an overall look of crisp, clean lines when finished. This one really looks like it's the real thing when completed! And what's amazing is that the die-cast chassis gives a preportional weight that even seems in-scale with the model. Astounding! These folks really know engineering! Believe me I've put about a thousand model kits together in my life and this is the only one that I've been moved to write a review on Amazon for!
One last thing, these 1/48 kits are in scale with 28mm miniature figures which makes them ideal for wargaming! Not since the mid 1980's has a line of WWII tanks been offered in 1/48 scale. Thank goodness they're back and better than ever.