Hello all…first post!!
So I’m getting back into 1/48 WW2 aircraft. I used to build a lot of Monogram kits but and I’m finding they are just not worth the time. I mean some are pretty nice…but…I would like to get into some good detail and good fitting kits! What are some good mid-grade kit manufactures?? Thanks so much!!!
How much you lookin’ to spend on a mid-grade kit? “Mid-grade” these days is around 30-40 bucks for single-seat/single-engine 1/48 fighters…
So far I have found that Tamiya have the best & most accurate directions with fit being very, very good. Hasegawa have a much better selection, maybe more accurate in many cases and fit very good most of the time. Many of the Revell models are re-boxes of the Hasegaw kits and can be cheaper as a result. Hasegawa just raised prices and you will see that 1/48 jets are very $$$ now! That motivates one to research which kits are Revell reboxed.
The easiest 1/48 Tamiya I have put together is the P-51 followed by their BF 109E-3. Tamiya’s P-47 in 1/48 has many more parts than their 1/72 making a little more difficult to build.
For Hasegawa the Bf 109F-4 trop is faily easy and I would stick with the major name brands until you get you feet wet. What I mean is the ICM Bf 109F’s are cheaper but need some wing lines rescribed deaper as they weren’t on one wing! If you have the capability to do this and fill large spaces with putty, etc. then maybe you wnat the cheaper kits with a few flays or lacking extra detail that you might get in the Hase/Tami kits.
Hope this helps and is my 2 bits.
Pam
The best kits around now are from Tamiya and Hasegawa. Expect to pay anywhere from $20 to $50 for a single engine fighter. Revell Monogram has some decent stuff but alot of it is reissued older stuff from the 70’s. Look at some of the pictures on this forum and most will tell you what kind of a build it was. JOHN
You may also want to look at Eduard kits.
They make kits that include a lot of their photo etch stuff and canopy masks and they can get pricey that way. However, they also issue many of their kits under their “Weekend Edition” series which is just the styrene and none of the photo etch and a nice reduction in price to reflect that.
Even without the PE, Eduard’s kits are usually quite nice, fit well, have a nice decal selection and crystal clear instructions.
You may also want to check out some Accurate Miniatures 1/48 aircraft kits. Very well detailed, good fit, and nothing overly complicated in assembly. Also Academy has some very nice 1/48 kits of their own. Hobbycraft can be hit or miss, although many of their later releases are not bad at all.