So, when I win the lottery, I think I’d like to have several of their kits (okay, all of them!). Has anyone worked with their kits at all? What’s the quality like?
From what I heve heard, the quality is not that great. I personally wouldn’t pay the prices they want for their kits. Way too overpriced. I don’t like working with resin that much either.
If you want accurate kits of British vehicles or other vehicles not put out by bigger modelling companies, Accurate Armour is the only way to go. Their kits may be pricey, but they are the only kit manufacturer putting out someof the more obscure vehicles. I have a few of their kits and I am very happy with the quality.
My LHS recently got a shipment of their kits, and really, to me they’re not worth the price for the majority of them. However, as kaleu pointed out, they’re the only ones producing some of the more obscure stuff, so if you really want it, they’re the only place in town. As for their accessory sets, I can say that they are ridiculously overpriced and not worth it.
I think it really depends on your thoughts about resin in general. Some folks love working with it, some hate it. All resin kits are expensive, whether they be armor, aircraft, or anime. Try finding a resin Godzilla for under $150!
As mentioned above, AA makes kits and accessories for obscure vehicles not addressed by the bigger (and cheaper) manufacturers, so the “worth” of such products is in the wallet of the desirer.
The examples of AA’s products that I’ve seen firsthand seem to be well done, and I’ve recently ordered their resin tracks for Emhar’s 1/35 Mk IV “male” WWI tank. At about $12 USD, that set is much cheaper than anything Friul or Model Kasten put out…plus those companies don’t make tracks for the Mk IV!
In the end, the only person who can truly decide if it’s worth it or not is the person who strongly wants that vehicle in his or her collection and cannot or doesn’t want to scratchbuild it themselves.
Having said all that, there might indeed be better and cheaper resin kits out there, so it’d be prudent to check around before you shell out a ton of cash on a big ticket resin kit, from any manufacturer.
I’ve looked at the Oshkosh HET they put recently and wondered the same questions as others here. But I’m not a huge resin fan and the prices are really way out of the range I’d be willing to pay. It would be nice to see them partner with someone to make some plastic versions of some of their kits, but I wouldn’t imagine that ever happening.
Who knows, one day I may just have the time, money and skills to take on one of their HETs?
See, I love their HET M1070 trucks…but $450? Not a cost I can justify (especially because I hate working with resin). Like I said, when I win the lottery.
Maybe someone’ll make the HET in an injection kit someday soon…sigh