Academey kits-opinions

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Since I have returned to this madness a couple of years ago most of what I have built has been the mainstream Tami-Gawa type kits. The Academy 1/48 Spitfire Mk. XIV I am working on now is the first of their line I have tried. I believe it is an older kit… I wnat to say I saw a date of 1993 on the sheet. Have to check that though. And I am impressed. Fit, level of detail, crisp fine recessed panel lines… all great.

Are all academy kits as good as this? Or are the some that stand-out that others can suggest?

2

Marc:

I picked up a few of their “Between the wars” kits, the P-26, P-35 and P-36, plus a La-7 and a F-86F. I have built the P-26 and P-35 and was equally impressed. They lived up to the on-line reviews: Fit was solid (a few seams here and there but nothing unusual), the engraved detail was crisp, no flash, but a bland interior. Many people like resin and PE, so I think to keep the kit prices down they maintain modest interior detail.

The La-7, P-36 and F-86F all look to be similar. I’d “recommend” any of the kits I have to you. In your capable hands, they can be stunning models.

It’s good to hear about the Spitfire…now I want one!

3

I have built quite a few Acadamy kits, I love 'em! The prices are reasonable and the detail and fit is very good. Also for “super detailers” after market sets for Acadamy kits are getting more plentiful.

4

Marc, I have done a few Academy kits and have a few in the stash, and quite frankly, I like them! They are certainly not Tamigawa level kits, but that makes them more fun, to me…a bit of a challenge, but not “over the top” like Fonderie Miniature, etc. Detail is decent, fit is quite good, and with a bit of work, they are winners, in my book! My [2c] !

Brian [C):-)]

5

Academy gets two thumbs up from me. They are some of the nicest kits for the low price they sell for on the market. I have quite a number of them, both built and still in kit form.

6

For the price there good kits. Some (seems to be newer kits) are better then others. I built there 1/48 corsair, 1/72 tempest, 1/72 fw190D all 3 were good kits. The 109 I built had alot of accuracy issues, but the fit was ok. If built out of box it most likes would be a easy build. I also have there 1/48 tomcat and 1/48 109G14 but have not built these yet

7

It has been my experience that most of their kits are a good deal for the price. The only kit of theirs I can complain about is the 1/48 F-16. The wings simply do not fit the fusalage. I could see of no way to correct the fact that the wings were a good 1/8 of an inch thinner than the attachment point on the fuselage. All of their other kits I have have been good though. Their 1/48 F4 Corsair is a great kit with good fit. There Me 109 line of kits go together easily also.

Soulcrusher

8

Marc, I only build in 1/72 but for my money the Academy kits are the best bang for your buck. Sure Tamigawa have better fit and sometimes more accurate detail and yes Airfix kits are cheaper but Academy has found the best compromise between the two and gives you the best value. I have noticed however that the prices on their more recent releases in this scale are getting up there with Tamigawa. I’m not sure if that is the case with the 1/48 scale as well.

9

The plastic is nice. The decals are JUNK. Throw them away. Don’t even try them.

I have come to believe that Academy decals are put in the box simply as a cruel joke.

Academy decals are, I think, made of some space-age super-secret polymer that is resistant to all solvents and decal softeners known to man. And the adhesive on them is non-existant.

If there were a nuclear war, I think all that would be left would be roaches and a small pile of Academy decals - and the roaches wouldn’t even eat be able to eat them!

10

I couldn’t resist agreeing with gatormark. The kits themselves are nice (I’ve built 3 now), but decals are disappointing. They look fine, but are very thick and decal solutions seem to have no effect on them whatsoever!

11

[bow] That was very well put…LOL!

12

Marc, I’ve built a number of Academy kits over the last few years, both in 1/72 and 1/48. Their 1/72 Me 163 is just the best, seeing as it also includes the schlepper tractor to go with it. Their 190 in the same scale is awful, not as good as the revell kit.

The 1/48 109D may not be the most accurate rendering, but at less than 35% the cost on the CA kit, well worth a look.

Overall, I’d give them a thumbs up.[tup]

Karl

13

I’ve built the 1/72 Academy P-40N and Hurricane Mk. IIC. Both were good kits. A little sparse on office detail, but nice. Their 1/72 TBF had a poor cockpit, but overall wasn’t bad.

The P-40C was a nice kit, though office detail was sparse, and there were some accuracy problems, though nothing that a rivet counter or P-40 fan would really pick up on.

I will buy more Academy kits though- they fit well, are generally a good value for the money, and have good fit. (I enjoy Airfix and Revogram… so I’m easy to please! [;)])

I do agree on the decals… every single one I’ve built has really been a challenge. So I’d say factor in the cost of AM decals if you make a purchase.

14

Their 1/48 F-16 is a disappointment in the seam department. And I concur on Academy’s decals as well. Buy aftermarket!

Their F-86 went together nicely though.

15

Not adding much new to what was already said… I have several Academy kits (mostly 1:72). Their newer molds are getting close to Hasegawa quality at half the price. Overall, most of the Academy kits I have built have been a little above average. Their older kits could be real spotty, with soft details. Newer molds, like their F-86F, F-8E and P-38J are real gems. Their Helldiver has gotten rave reviews. I have to agree about the decals - get aftermarket! Hope that helps. Frank

16

Well looks like the vote is in and Acadmey is well thought of. I will be looking at these a little mroe closely now. I am really loving this Spitfire. I may just get a few more of them.

17

I have just been working on their 1/72 Ju87G-2 Stuka and I was very impressed. For the money it was a good buy and a fun kit to assemble. I need to paint her up and then try the decals, but I was very impressed for the cost. I have been very dissappointed in cheaper kits in the past, especially the Airfix kits, but this was a pleasant surprise.

Steve

18

Marc,

There were a few comments that came up a few weeks ago about academy kits in this thread: /forums/783898/ShowPost.aspx

I have to disagree with some of the comments about decals. I haven’t found the stiffness problems that some others have.

Sure - some of them have been a little on the transparent side, but I’ve seen the same with decals from other manufacturers including Hasegawa, Revell, Italeri, Airfix… When you have a white star decal or a large roundell over a line in a high contrast camo pattern - it’s gonna show through unless you take some precautions.

As I mentioned in the thread above - I’d stay away from some of their older kits, but I very heartily recommend the newer ones.

This 1/72 SB2C Helldiver kit below is one of their newest. The quality of this kit really impressed me and I’ve built a few more Academy kits since this one…

Chris

19

i have approx 34 of their aircraft under my belt. i like them very much, and i build only OOB

[#offtopic] their 1/35 scale armor are not as good as their aircraft

20

Howdy. This is my first entry in the forum in several years, but I’ve enjoyed tremendously the models all of y’all have built, and I’ve learned a lot from y’all.

I guess I’m the dissenter on Academy. I just finished their 72nd scale B-17F, and a few months go finished their 32nd scale Sopwith Camel. Worst kits I’ve ever tried to build. They were for clients, and if I’d known when I started what I know now, I’d have never chosen those kits. Surface detail isn’t bad, but the fit was atrocious. On the Camel, there were no holes for the landing gear struts, and the holes for the cabin struts were at the wrong angle. I had to fill and re-drill them to get the struts on. If you cut the fuselage in section, you’d see that the lower surface was concave; it took hours to fill and sand it. The plastic is soft enough that if you use anything but the finer sanding sticks you’ll just gouge it, and it doesn’t glue worth a flip. I tried several styrene glues, superglue, Elmer’s, and a light epoxy. The super glue worked best, but not well.

On the B-17, again surface detail was okay, but the fit of the wings and stabilizers was awful. I had the same glue problems, and when I sat the finished model on its landing gear, the tail wheel strut just folded up! The clear parts were worse than on my Aurora Famous Fighters kits. The instructions were abysmal, especially on the Camel, which was designed by a demented tailor, anyway.

And those decals! Whew! Another writer talked about them, and I agree. I put the decals on the Camel - applied them over gloss laquer, dabbed some Micro Sol on them, and set them aside for the night. When I got up the next morning, the bloody things were laying on the table top under the model!

Oh, and on the B-17, I used the Legends detail set, and found it to be 'way out of scale. The detail was exquisite, but most of it didn’t fit worth a hoot.

Academy does some wonderful subjects, but I don’t know if I’ll ever buy another one.