Hello professionals
I have a question…what is the qualioty if anigrand kits?? I was looking at their website and they hve some very unique and pretty interesting kits. I am just wondering what the quality is. Thank you to all.
Scotty T
I have their 1/72 C-17 and it is about what you could expect from a good cottage industry type business. I’m sure I have one of the later production runs, the mold seems to be showing its age.
Several dozen bubbles and holes to deal with, along with no positive locator points (not really a problem) will make for a lot of work before paint.
There are some mistakes in the actual molding, panels missing or on the wrong side of the aircraft, things like that. This is annoying for those who want a lot of accuracy. I’m not sure how easy it will be to fix, either.
On this model, because of the size, they added white metal landing gear, which is a nice touch–it will be a heavy lifter for sure. I don’t think they do that on all the kits they produce.
The canopy/ glass goes on much like a typical airliner kit, if you’ve ever built one, you know what I mean. It is made of clear resin, which is done well, but I will likely replace it with a vac-formed piece because of the thickness and clarity.
The interior has some seats, no belts, and a vague representation of the IP, but is not detailed at all. I bought a 1/72 F-15 detail set from Eduard (mainly for the HUDs) and ended up cutting it up to give the interior more dimension.
Now, this is only one of their many kits, and it may not represent the overall quality that they produce. The C-17 does seem a bit “rushed” to me, but again, that could be because I got one from an older mold.
Was it worth $200.00? Eh, I’m not entirely convinced of that based on quality alone. Add the amount of resin used, the white metal gear, and the fact that this is the best 1/72 C-17 available, and I’d say the price was fair.
Will I buy another Anigrand kit? I’ll say this: based on the quality and price, the subject would have to be one I wanted really bad. But that’s not a definate “No”; I would get another if the right subject was there. They make some of the most interesting and unique aircraft, things you won’t find in the main-stream injection molded kits, which is something to consider.
A final piece of advice-- the way I wish I would have done it-- find the kit you want, preorder it, or get it as soon as possible, especially if you can afford it, and you’ll probably get an earlier produced kit, which I think would make for less clean up work.
I’ve done one, the Lavi fighter. It was a challenge from the start. The overall shape was good, but the smaller frail parts (landing gear) were broken. No problem I can do a gear up or source the spares box. After sanding and filling of the pin holes I primed, let it cure. After a while the primer started lifting off. I thought it was from residue left on the resin prior to painting, but even after cleaning again the same thing happened again only later in the process (final paint applied). What I found out was (by drilling a small hole into the middle of the effected areas) the resin had not cured fully inside…it was still outgasing and curing. It has since been added to the model graveyard awaiting disposition.
Would I do another one…maybe sometime in the future, but resin models are a skillset all of their own.
Well, I don’t qualify as a “professional” by a long shot, but I would have to say that Anigrand is on a par with any short run/special interest kit - not for the faint of heart! A good deal of modeling skill is required, but the end product is usuall well worth the aggravation. Anigrand and Olimp both provide a wide variety of unusual subjects, most unavailable elsewhere, so they may be your only choice. They are more expensive, and they are resin, which dictates a different, not necessarily harder, method of building. My motto is “I’ll try ANYTHING once”, and that includes these limited edition kits. The injection molded limited edition kits have the same issues.
Brian [C):-)]
Thank you for the response. It hasnt made the decision easier. I am looking at the C-17, very interested in that in either 1/144 or 1/72 scale. So know I feel I must do some soul searching and see about doing this. It would be nice if someelse did a C-17, but that is wishful thinking. Thank you again.
Scotty T
Someone is doing an injection C-17 in 1/144. It was announced at the Nuremburg toy show recently. I want to say it is Revell Germany, but I don’t know for sure. I also am not sure of the planned release date.
And there is someone working on a 1:48 one too! It was suppose to be released already but I believe they ran out of funding before the master was finished. They were taking pre-orders, but giving money to an unknown is risky so I think their success at raising the capital in this manner was a bit short sighted.
I picked up my first and only Anigrand kit, also my first all resin kit, the Republic XF-12 Rainbow, about a year ago. It is part of a long term goal to build a collection of multi-engined R4360 powered beasties in 1/72.
Immediately I decided the kit was over my abilities, and since it cost me $ 100, it can wait until I have the time and talent to build it.
It looks beautiful, though.
The C-17 is my favorite aircraft of all time. But 1/48!!! Seriously! You have to draw the line somewhere. Wow, that would be incredible. I am not too sure if it would even fit in my model room.
1/48 scale C-17…wow, that would be amazing. I would just like to see the 1/144 scale C-17. Would look nice next to the C-5 and C-130. Thank you for all the advice