Ultimate brand for build / fit quality

I'm a modeller of moderate means and time availability. One of the things I look for in a kit aside from accurate subject representation and reasonable price is how well the parts have been molded (no mold bleed or rough edges) and how well it all fits together. I'm not keen on spending as much time and money building the kits to decent finish as the manufacturer did on developing them, so the question is:

What brand/s (in 1/72 and 1/48 scales) go together the best with few gaps, misalignments etc, in a reasonable price range?

So far, my experience has been good with the German Revell kits and Italieri, all in 1/72 but there must be better ones out there, and now I'm looking at 1/48 which is new territory for me.

-- _________________ Norman Lever Melbourne, Australia _________________

Reply to
Norman Lever
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Tamiya

-John

Reply to
Pacific95

It really depends on what aircraft you're looking for. Tamiya, Hasegawa, *newer* Revell-Monogram, and Accurate Miniatures are all good bets in 1/48. Though some of the Hasegawa have wing root problems, and R/M rebox older kits with less-than-decent fit on occasion...

Reply to
EGMcCann

It depends. Usually Hasegawa, Fujimi, Tamiya, Italeri kits are nice, but there's not a general rule. Sometimes it depends on the age of the kit: for example some Hasegawa or Italeri kits first released in the '70s aren't so good compared to today standards (raised panel lines, basic detail); sometimes they are reboxing of someone else's kit (Italeri reboxes a number of Zvezda/Bilek/Dragon/Esci kits, some are really nice, some are not so good); sometimes even a good company makes a bad kit.

So my advice is to ask first about a particular kit. Here in the group there will always be someone who has already seen the kit.

My 0.02

Reply to
Yuri

You get what you pay for, and in my case I'd rather pay more, get more, and stand a reasonable chance of actually building all of the kits in my collection before I die - therefore I actually depend on the higher price to moderate my addiction...

That being my stated philosophy, my answer to your question is a resounding vote for Tamiya. The kits simply fit beter than anything out there, and they look like what they're ment to.

They can at sometimes be unreasonably priced, though I find I can get them for MY price if I'm willing to wait and I don't have to have it NOW. Latest example is my 1/32 Zero - paid $40...that's almost 1/3 of current list for the full-up noisemaking version. You have to shop as well as dream.

Reply to
Rufus

Trumpeter ............... best ration cash vs quality

remove SPAMSUCKS

"Norman Lever" ha scritto nel messaggio news:blj4u4$hv8$ snipped-for-privacy@perki.connect.com.au...

Reply to
sds

Exactly.

Considering all the features of the 1/32 Zero and other Tamiya kits, I wouldn't characterize them as 'unreasonably priced' even at full retail, which you almost never have to pay.

For example, some mutter about how the new Tamiya 1/48 Thunderbolt is overpriced. Sure, it (can) cost more than the other kits available. (I got mine at LuckyModel. Even with shipping, it ran less than the base price here in the UK.)

But look what you get for your money. Superb cockpit detail and dropped flaps alone justify the expense. I haven't built mine yet--I have unbuilt Monogram, Academy and Hasegawa P-47's in the stash as well--but I'm anticipating a satisfying build.

Some 'real modellers' say building Tamiya kits is uninvolving. Me, I get a lot of satisfaction out of building a well-engineered kit.

And it doesn't have to be Tamiya. Recently, I've been pleasantly surprised by the Sword 1/48 T-38 (which I'm actually building). Not a shake and bake job, but a clever approach to blending limited run injection molded plastic with resin parts...that actually fit.

What a concept.

Scott G. Welch

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Reply to
OSWELCH

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