I agree. I look to DML first for new kits then Trumpter and maybe Tamiya but mostly only for thieir older stuff.
I would not count Tamiya out all together they may come back when they start to feel the market shift. Can they make their newer 1/48 molds 1/35?
…well if they are going to make their move, better not wait much longer…I would say they have been outclassed by DML for about 5-8 years now…I’m no injection molding engineer, but I would guess that if the mold could be upscaled that the loss in detail would make the models even less detailed than their older stuff…
Aye. First the StuG B and now a Hetzer were both done in 1/48 and are now released in 1/35. I might have missed some others.
Tamiya can outdo Dragon in quality and detail anytime they wanted to and they could come out with newer subjects anytime they want to. BUT if they do they would be coming out with a very expensive kit that only a very few could buy. AND that would be a bad business decision.
I am now building a Tamiya Panzer IV J, the first Tamiya kit I have touched after a long time. I have been doing mostly Dragon and Trumpeter kits lately and I must admit that they have improved by leaps and bounds. But I am enjoying the Tamiya kit because for its age, the details, engineering and fit are still topnotch.
Tamiya maybe giving up much of its share in the 1/35th market to Dragon but we all know that it is purely for business reasons.
As for me, the whole thing is just part of the dynamics of global business. Somewhere along the road, DML will become too expensive and some smaller company will eat up its market share.
Some of the older Tamiya kits (1970s era) that are reissued are sometimes produced in the Phillipines.
The Tasca Luchs is very nice. Such a high quality kit. It is a shame their line is limited to just a handful of model kits. There are several small Japanese companies that make just a limited number of high quality armor kits like Fine Molds (one of my favorites) and Tristar.
The bottom line is that one should not chose a kit solely on the manufacturer. There are plenty of times when one kit is better by Tamiya, and other times the DML, Tristar, etc. kit may be better.
Looking for a PzKpfw IV Ausf D? Unless you are new to the hobby, why in the world would you chose the ancient Tamiya kit over one of the newer releases by Tristar?
…maybe those kits (Luchs and Fly) of such high quality because the manufacturers take SO LONG with their pre-production research and tooling of molds…I still believe Tamiya can’t compete because of labor costs…I feel their only hope is to do things noone else is…as they did with the Char…there ar plenty of subjects that would sell like hotcakes if they chose to tackle it, anyone for a new Opel Blitz truck, or Panzer II w/ interior in 35th…? And why didn’t they follow thru with their StuG G early, everyone was waiting until they released the late G, etc, and while we were waiting, DML kicked their butts…even now their early model StuG is competing with DML, and has had more issues than is typical of Tamiya…and please, if you are gonna throw in an interior, Mr. Tamiya, throw in the entire interior! With a agonizingly few more parts they could have “finished” their StuG B and made another classic, but no, then they would have made a buck less profit…sheeesh…
I really have to say I don’t think DML kits are a fad. Why would someone prefer ill fitting funny looking stretched rubber tracks? I just picked up Trumpeters AS-90 Howitzer, very nice, except for the tracks. It’s not as much of a big deal on newer armor with tensioned tracks, but due to the rubber tracks I will not buy Tamiya or anything else with rubber tracks for any kind of older afv. I also bought and built the Russian KV-1 from Tamiya, again nice kit, but it looks phony because of the tracks. I can’t see spending 40-50 bucks plus 10-15 in shipping for tracks to go on a kit that cost me maybe 25 bucks. Now if I spent 100 bucks on it, well that might be a different story, but if I spend 100 bucks on a kit and it has rubber tracks, well, then I have other issues with that company. I would have to agree with the original post though that DML has taken Tamiya’s thunder in the WWII German AFV front. I just wish Dragon would do a few modern subjects as well. Or if I could at least find some. Honestly I like Tamiya’s modern armor except for the rubber tracks. Maybe one of these days I’ll get around to making a single link and then casting a whole bunch outta resin and doing it that way. I have to basically agree 100% with Manstein’s Reven here.
I’m a big fan of Tamiya kits - some of the DML kits have too much in the box (I’m still procrastinating on the Late Tiger sitting on the shelf). I don’t find Tamiya too expensive either for what you get - it all depends where you shop. While their msrp for the new Hetzer is I think around $48, you can preorder it now from Luckymodel for US 24.99. With shipping, it is still only 32.92. I think that is a great deal for a new, well-engineered kit from a company with a terrific track record. Just my 2 cents.
Jim
…dude, can there EVER—and I mean EVER—be too much in the box?
I sort of relate to this. I like detail and all, but am not to thrilled with a bizillion pieces, especially a bunch of microscopic pieces that can get lost. I think Dragon’s smart kits make some sense: still highly detailed, but with less parts. Just MHO.
…true, some of their older kits were insane with sprue count…sometimes you would need one piece and you would get an entire sprue that was generic to many kits, such as their Mk III series…if you played your cards right you could almost build 2 …LOL … this continues to point out just how far they have gotten past Tamiya
I happen to love their new Smart Kits…if the Mk IV F2 is any indication of things to come we aint seen nothing yet…
Three kits that I would wish Dragon would come out with would be a M3 Grant, Mk.III Crusader and a Mk.II Matilda. I’m tempted by Dragon’s Mk.III Sherman. In my view, Dragon is the way to go if there is an option.
David
I’m so with you on the Crusader and Matilda! Still waiting for a Russian BT-7 too. Neglected subjects by the Big Boys.
…their Tarawa Sherman has tempted for some time…that is another thing they do so well: they take kits and customize them to a specific campaign or battle, giving you the extra parts and decals to modify it to the particular variants and field mods…
hmmm, I love DML and want to marry the company…lol
I might say that DML is the next best thing next to beer and pizza. Definitely addictive. [dinner]
…careful about writing that DML has too much in the box…some people will take that as an insult to their modeling skills…LOL
It’s all relative. [:-^]
For an experience modeler, the Dragon Kits are awesome, especially some of the newer kits that are very highly detailed. [8D]
For a novice, some of those kits are overwhelming. [:O]
I agree…I wasn’t referring to myself…I wrote the same thing you did in another thread and some hot-head took offense and started crying like a baby…really set him off…I was just warning the other poster to maintain PC decorum or face a 30 day cooling off period…LOL
And it also depends on the criteria you’re using to judge if it has too many parts. Once I took all the parts out of the box of my Dragon JagdTiger it was impossible to get them all back in! [:O] [(-D]
Re: gettin’ 'em back in the box, that happens with two-sprue Italeri’s, at least with me! You’d think someone who’s been doing this hobby this long would have better space perception…