Re: Car Kit Company Preferences

Sep 17, 2003 7 Replies
H

snipped-for-privacy@SPAMBUSTERS.yahoo.AGAIN.com (Thomas Parson) wrote in :


Not being an expert, but you DID say you wanted opinions...
>I've only done AMT/Ertl and Revell Monogram cars thus far, and by far,
>the Revell/Monogram cars are better fitting, more detailed, and less of
>a hassle to get looking good.
>My opinion, your mileage may vary,

Mine did... Of the kits I've built, I'd say (from best to worst)


  1. Tamiya
  2. Hasegawa
  3. Revell

The Tamiya kits went together without a hitch, the Hasegawa had a few problems, and the Revell kits (especially the Jaguar XK-E/E-type, and the Mercedes 300 SLR) had major problems like warped bodies, impossible-to- assemble/badly-fitting parts, and lots of flash to clean up.

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T

Its a bit more complicated than good and bad. If one puts subject matter first, as many do, that dictates pretty much whose kits you build.

Most american iron is done by AMT and Revell but there have been several subjects covered by Japanese ad now Chinese manufacturers and that appears to be continuing. If you like sports cars and sports racers, Tamiya and Fujimi usually can't be beat, with a few Hasegawas up there too. If you like F1, Tamiya is hands down best in the galaxy.

A blanket endorsement or slam for a brand based on only a reissue of an ancient kit or of a recent subject would be terribly unfair. A 40 year old tool isn't going to be as well engineered nor should expectations be as high as for a recent one. The price is less than their asian counterparts some take that into consideration while others don't. There are many fine domestic offerings and some investigation will reveal the age of the tooling, level of detail, and fit you shouild expect. Cooperation between companys confuses the issue. For example Testors has reissued Italeri and Fujimi kits, Revell has reissued Revell of Germany kits (and many Hasegawa kits on the airplane side). Some kits from the same tooling have been issued by as many as five different manufacturers.

Tom

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L

All great for the plastic fantastics but you guys haven't even mentioned

1/43rd scale auto kits. They go from the sublime such as Marsh, Formula Kit, Tameo, SMTS, etc to the esoteric and over the top kits of the Make-Up Co. of Japan ( Ferrari GTO & 250LM) that retailed from $800 to $1500 per kit. Then you can get into the larger scales 1/25 - 1/8th or larger Studio27, ABC Brianza. There are so many niches out there it's mind boggling!

Les (nomad1955) Build! Damn you build! there's so little time left!

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C

Thanks! Such a compliment from the likes of you is flattering.

I used 'Tilt' in order to make the thing shorter ... ;^)

-- C.R. Krieger (Just bought their CSL!)

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C

You didn't specify the scale. In 1/43, Marsh Models, easily. About the worst I can say is that they're intimidating to start on.

Joe

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A

The likes of me?? I'm just another modeler - having been around for a long time isn't anything particularly special...... ;)

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S

Hear! Hear!

They are go bad that they have reissued a lot of those kits with Cartograf decals for an extra dollar. I will ebay my non-Cartograf Ford GTs to pay for my ones with good decals.

--scott

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