This^^^^!
Absolutely the best fitting kit I’ve ever worked on. I’m on my 2nd build out of 3 in the stash and I’m planning on more.
Gotta agree with the Revell F-86D being a pure joy to put together. Earlier in the year I also finished the Revell/Monogram F9F Panther. Honestly, I don’t think I used one iota of filler on that one either. Both of those are in 1/48. I also recall the Monogram F-4J in 1/72 was a gem as well. I’ve heard nothing but stellar things about the Revell F/A-18F kit. I have that one in my stash and it’s moving its way up on the “to do” pile. I can’t wait to start that one simply because I’ve heard it went together exceptionally well. Eric
Another perfect kit is the Revell Germany F-86D. Perfect fit with no warps.
Hi;
I have built numerous Monogram - " Pro - Modeler " F-100 fighters . Foiled them and gifted them to folks .I don’t think I ran into any problems of discernable notice on any of them .
I never have used Alclad or other metalized paint . I foil in four or five different colors and then Decal , Clearcoat and there you have it . T.B.
Tamiya tends to be the benchmark.
Not everything that glitters Tamiya is gold. Their older kits have as many fit issues as anybody else’s. In 1/48 try their Sea Harrier or Ki-84 kits. They need good old fashioned modeling skills to fit right.
That is so true…
I recently started a Hobby Boss build. This kit (1:48 P-59) has been in my stash for a number of years, so it is not a recent kit. The details are not great- I had to put in a lot of scratch detailing in the cockpit- but the fit is superb. I already had on the bench a Czech Models F-80C, and the difference is night and day. The Czech Models kit is a real putty queen, though the details are really good. I have not got to the painting (nor even priming) yet on the P-59, but the looks of the seams so far make it look like this model will require almost no putty! I have built a couple of more recent HB kits recently, and they have come a long ways on detail, while still keeping the great fit!
I will start with the caveat that my experience is minimal compared to the other posters here.
Nonetheless, I agree that not everything that Tamiya produces is great. I’ve recenty built some of their older kits (Raiden, Walker Bulldog, Hanomag, etc) that are just OK (or even poor) in terms of fit. Certainly no better than other kits of the same era.
I have not built the Harrier or Ki-84, but I’ll take your word for it! Any company is capable of producing a kit with problems.
As for the new(ish) Tamiya kits that I’ve built however, the fit has been excellent. With the P-51, the fit was so tight that it felt like building Legos.
And that was the impetus for the original post. I thought “I wonder if any other kits by any other companies fit as well as this?”.
Thanks so much to everyone who has chimed in, Im realizing now how important it is to look at individual kits rather than just the name of the manufacturer.
Maybe not everything Tamiya makes is gold, but I tend to put them together without filler. And, they look really good. To be honest, I try not to buy older kits. I tend to look for the newer stuff. I’m not affraid of using filler or scratchbuilding detail, but I try to minimize it.
For example, I know that Tamiya has some old A6M Zero kits from the '70’s for under $20. Hasegawa has some Zero kits from the mid-2000’s for about $30-40. Tamiya also has two Zero kits that are newer than that for $45-$50. I’ll choose a new Tamiya kit. I’m stopping at the hobby shop tomorrow.
I really like the Hasegawa family of 1/48 scale F-104 Starfighters. Amazing kits.
I’ve also built many ‘newer’ 1/48th scale Tamiya kits and haven’t had to use filler on any of them. Examples include the Me-262, Bristol Beaufighter, Dornier Pfeil and Corsair.
As mentioned, 1/48th scale Revell’s F-15E Strike Eagle (85-5511) is a gem.
I also like Revell of Germany’s 1/32nd scale FW-190, Me-109, Zero and Bubbletop P-47. I think they’re all re-issues of Hasegawa kits, if I’m not mistaken.
That’s my take on the subject.
Tamiya has the best fit but a limited number of choices when it comes to kits.(aircraft wise).