I’m curious to hear from folks on potential manufacturer recommendations or kit recomendations that align with my criteria. I’m about a year back into the hobby and I’ve done a good deal of searching but I’m always on the quest for that next level. For reference my current go-to model kit company is Tamiya for all subjects. I realize that some manufacturers do certain subjects better than others and certain kits better than others. What I’m looking for is high quality engineering of course but also a focus on design, packaging, reference materials, instructions etc… Essentially companies that focus on the “full experience”. When you open the box you are impressed for example. I think WingNut Wings could fall into this category as well as Tamiya. love when a kit is about more than just the end result. Most of the time these kits are going to be at a higher price point which is totally fine.
Any manfucturers come to mind or even specific kits perhaps? I realize that sometimes manufacturers can’t make every kit in this way so I’d love to know if there are certain kits that you’ve come across that fall into this category. Thanks!
Once upon a time, Tamiya set the standard for quality, accuracy and ease of building. And they still do really nice kits, but often, not the best one out there.
Google is your friend. Whip out the smart phone and Google whether or not the particular kit you are looking at is any good or if the price is right. Folks will drive an extra 10 miles to save a nickel on a gallon of gas (and what, save 50¢ on the fill up?), but won’t bother to google the price of a kit to see if it’s worth the money.
There are so many new companies that make very nice kits. Company A and Company B make versions of the same kit. One might be more accurate, but the other is cheaper and builds a little easier. It’s up to you to determine which one you’d rather have.
I think that the biggest deciding factor is what is your preference is in kit subjects, and in what scale? Are you looking for 1/35 German armor? Cold War Soviet armor? 1/32 WWI aircraft? 1/48 Japanese aircraft? 1/72 Cold War aircraft? 1/350 modern warships? Each of those subject areas has their own dominant kit maker.
Sure, I can of course google “quality kits” and do some digging. And I do do this. And I agree with you on price. And specifically for this question, price is not really a factor in my mind.
In terms of subject, I am open to anything really. I find typically smaller scale kits don’t come with the same level of padgentry and extras that a larger scale kit does.
There’s something special about how companies will present certain kits. I’m just curious if anyone’s come across any that have stood out for them.
Scalemates has reviews of the more popular kits