Absolutely recommend this to any Tank/MOC enthusiast!
I’ll start with the overall customer experience, which is fantastic. The shipping is quick and simple which is rather impressive considering it’s being shipped from the US to England. The packaging keeps the contents safe and the bags within keep everything nicely organised. The instructions are also kept in a bag to ensure they’re safe which is a great extra touch. There are even a good number of spare elements supplied to prevent any missing parts.
Next, the build experience. It is hard to decide, but this is possibly the best thing about the Crusader! The instructions are nicely printed on high quality paper (much better than most modern Lego instructions) and have a nice summary of the history of the vehicle at the beginning. The instructions themselves are easy to follow and almost without flaw.
There is a small mistake on step 115 whereby a part is missing, however this is fairly easy to spot and most people will quickly work out that an extra 1x2 plate is needed. Putting the model together is a blast with some rather fun techniques, plenty of SNOT action and some very subtle angles that I didn’t expect.
Any experienced builder will find the Crusader a joy to put together, but it’s also suitable for beginners due to the well thought out instructions.
Onto the Crusader itself, and to be completely frank, this is by far one of the best looking models in my collection! It has an outstanding mix of complex angles, small details and incredible clean joints that flow together amazingly well. The turret is certainly the highlight of this and accentuates all the great features of the model. All of this detail and shaping hasn’t come at the price of strength and stability either, the model is built like a brick and has no easy to knock off details. The tracks surprisingly roll rather well too, especially on carpet or other rough surfaces.
In terms of scale, this is a new experience for me as a 35th builder. 45th had always seemed a tad small for my liking before I built this model, but now seeing it in the flesh next to a minifigure has opened my eyes to the advantages. The main downside of the model however is that it’s not strictly 1/45th scale. In fact measuring it I’ve found it’s closer to 1/38th. In my opinion this is a small compromise that allowed the designer to capture the shapes and the details faithfully, and thus I am unbothered by this, however there are some who may feel more strongly.
The model is also helped by the 8 custom printed elements on the Crusader that depict all the important insignia, really elevating the design. In addition to this, there is also a printed ammunition crate and a Panzer Bricklabs logo on a 2x4 tile. The crate will be very handy for anyone interested in making a diorama with the tank. The print quality is rather good and very clear, not quite Lego quality but rather close.
Given the near 500 elements, instructions, many printed elements and the build quality, the list price of £113 is rather fair even with £24 shipping to the UK added to that. If you’re interested, it’s absolutely worth the price.
All things considered, this is a 9.5/10 from me and I wholeheartedly recommend it!
