As i am new to the military side of modeling…Please don’t stone me if this is a silly question. As I am looking through all the great kits to choose from, I ran across Dragons Smart Kits. What makes them so smart??? While i am here…So far, the companies i am really liking are:
Bronco
Tamiya
Trumpeter
AFV
Dragon
What are your favorite model companies?? Thanks for your time guys.
Brett
The kits aren’t smart—just the people who buy them—if they are smart that is…
The SMart Kits are designed to rely on modern molding technology and use as little Photo etch as possible. You will get tremendous detail molded into the plastic thanks to slide mold technology thus reducing the amount of PE to half a dozen pieces.
Brian
Hey Brett,
In addition to what the other guys said, who probably know more than I, one of my own observations from just building Dragon’s M2/M2A1 halftrack is that it (and maybe several in the ‘smart kit’ line) include enough parts in the box to allow you a choice of variants. This kit made a believer in Dragon out of me, and very soon I’m going to sink some funds into their new Leningrad Tiger. Tamiya has been a standard bearer for years, but I’m also a fan of AFV Club and Trumpeter who, along with Dragon, seem to have established the new standard in kit engineering and detail. I’d add the new Hobby Boss stuff in there as well. Can’t say anything about Bronco, but I think Academy is decent. Of course, from a general modeling perspective the kits I built as a kid were largely AMT, Italieri and Monogram, and I still have a soft spot for them.
Dave
Thanks Brian for the info…I am now enlightened.[:D]
Hey Dave, Thanks for the Hobby Boss tip. They look like great kits also. Do you have a thread on your Halftrack?? Id’ love to see the progress
Nevermind Dave about the thread…I found it. Looks amazing!!
How do we give them less stuff in a box and still make them buy our kits?
Let’s put a catchphrase on our boxes to make them sound special. I know, call them Smart Kits and get everyone talking about them.
More like Smart Marketing… [t$t]
Ah…there IS humor in modeling…now, click your heels and say it with me three times: 'You WILL part with your cash…"
Umm…if you injection-mold it, they will come…
Ok, enough bad take-offs on movie quotes.
I still enjoy Tamiya’s latest releases. There are generally less parts and easier builds then Dragon, but…Dragon offers the most bang for the buck. Tamiya has inched forward with aluminum barrels, and link-and-length tracks. Dragon however, offers dozen of new releases every year, while Tamiya makes a just a few new 1/ 35’s a year. As far as 1/35 goes, so does my money to Dragon.
I’ve yet to try Bronco, but they have a few I’m interested in. Unfrotunately, they too have very few releases every year.
I’ve started one AFV kit, and I’ve found the kit over-engineered and the directions rather crappy.
The Trumpeter KV’s are great to break your teeth on.
It seems to me like Tamiya keeps the SOS flowing but keeps increasing the price.
Dragon is pricey too but you really get more for the money IMHO.
Haven’t built any of the others unless you count Italeri’s ficticious take on the LAV. It is so inaccurate I made it a fictitious build!
G
Tamiya is my favorite because the parts fit. I believe all model companies should make their kits to fit properly. I don’t like filling and sanding. What is so attractive about that?
oh Brett, please don’t forget the wonderful kits from Academy, MiniArt and Hobby Boss…[whstl]
[quote user=“bacasino”]
As i am new to the military side of modeling…Please don’t stone me if this is a silly question. As I am looking through all the great kits to choose from, I ran across Dragons Smart Kits. What makes them so smart??? While i am here…So far, the companies i am really liking are:
Bronco
Tamiya
Trumpeter
AFV
Dragon
What are your favorite model companies?? Thanks for your time guys.
Brett
[/quote
A couple of years ago, DML changed its name to Dragon and really got serious with modeling. They gave us a couple of 3 in 1 kits which were really “super kits” that was pretty incredible. Only problem was that they were pretty intimidating.
So Dragon responded by making things a little simpler - the smart kits. They’re suppose to retrain most of the detail yet be simple to build. IMO, they’re not really simple to build, just simpler than the prior 3 in 1 superkits.
I just picked up a firefly and a panzer iv smart kit. By the look of the instruction booklets, they’re probably twice as complicated as their Tamiya equivalent. Not as intimidating as their super kits. But just enough to challenge you yet give you your money’s worth.
I think that the Dragon kits are pretty incredible.
BTW, you should look into Tasca as well. Some say that they’re slightly better than Dragon.
Dragon have always been Dragon and the Dragon brand and logo has remained unchanged since their first release in the late '80s. . Trust me, I have an original boxing of their first 1/35 release - 3501 T-72M2, bought new at the time of release.
DML = Dragon Models Limited - the full company name.
3 in 1 kits are a great way to build up the spare parts bin. I haven’t build my DML Tiger I yet, I have only raided kit for all the extra parts I will not be using for the version I selected.
From memory there are two sets of road wheels, two muzzle brakes, two of every hatch and more. If you have another Tiger I the 3 in 1 kit can help detail the other without resorting to AM. Just be sure to mark the parts needed or remove all the spares, that also makes the parts count drop by 1/3.
To break into the hobby a good starter kit is a Trumpeter KV series like said above. They are inexpensive, fit well and just give the parts needed for 1 version. No interior or figures help keep it simple.
Hobby Boss is great if you are ready for full interiors ect. Good value for the $.
[dto:] Take Tamiya’s sd.kfz , 222 armored car for example. The kit came out over three decades ago and has been recently re-released with a metal barrel and pe anti-grenade screens. Still the same kit from 30+ years ago and its near $50 at Hobby Lobby . Recently both Hobby Boss and Tri Star released their sd.kfz 222 with complete interiors, pe and engine details for a little more money, ($50-$65 range) but offer a ton of super fine details not included in the Tamiya offering.
[quote user=“brickshooter”]
Yeah, I was looking at the Tasca kits and they do look nice also…sigh…so many decisions.
So it looks like Dragon kits are the forum favorites. They do look nice. I am going to order a few kits and might try one kit from a few different companies. I’ll let you know what i chose. Thanks for all the help guys.
Brett
I still have a bunch of Dragon’s ‘Imperial Series’ kits in my stash. Are they updates on Dragon’s original line or where exactly do they fit in? Just curoius gentlemen.
Bacasino: all the companies you listed make excellent kits. I think you’ve be delighted with any of them.