Kits from "OTHER" Manufacturers

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

I haven’t been in the A/C game for long, and up to this point I’ve limited myself to building (and stocking the stash with [;)]) kits from Tamiya, Hasegawa, and some Academy. Looking at the voting lists for several of the other members of the “In My Stash:Redux” GB (mostly A/C veterans), there’s alllll kinds of other manufacturers I’m seeing in there. After all the glowing reviews of most Has/Tam stuff, I sort of figured I couldn’t go wrong with them.

So my question is, is it worth it to branch out into other companies? Obviously if “they” make a subject that isn’t available elsewhere it is, but do any of “them” make kits that surpass the Big Guys?

2

There are lots of great kits from other manufacturers. Add Accurate Miniatures, Eduard & the newer Trumpeter kits to your list. Revell/Monogram has some high quality kits & a few dogs as do most others. If you want more of a challenge, kits from Classic Air Frames, MPM, Roden, Special Hobby & others offer subjects not covered well by the big guys. But it really depends on the subject matter you’re interested in, so to me that is the major factor, not who made the kit.

Regards, Rick

3

Revell of Germany too.

4

Definitely worth broadening your horizons. As Rick already mentioned there are several good smaller manufactures of kits doing lots of stuff different from the couple of really big guys. I personally feel that Eduard is riding the top of the power curve when it comes to new high detailed kits. Classic Airframes, while always good has made some dramatic tooling improvements over the last year. MPM generally takes a little more work but are doing stuff you don’t find anywhere else. Dragon, Italeri, Revell, Revell of Germany, these guys are all making fine kits within every modelers skill range. Under the MPM umbrella you have Czech Master Kits, Condor, Special Hobby, Planet Models and a few others that I can’t remember off hand but they are all worth looking at. While Trumpeter gets a lot of flak for copying other manufactures I think they have been the most prolific recently with new kits in all scales that build up easily and nicely.

5

Man, yeah! It sounds like you are ready for a change in diet. It only depends on your willingness to step away from the safety of the shore, thats all. If you, as a reproducer of miniatures, want it all done for you - then staying on the dock with the Tamicademygawa breed is fine. But if you want to see the other side, then you have to cast off the lines and make for the farther horizon. It will make you a more accomplished, satisfied modeler.

Lou Holtz said: “Show me a man who has done something and Ill show you a man who has overcome adversity.”

If any one knows what they’re talking about, it’s him. And there is a side benefit: not only will you advance, you’ll probably find that your pocketbook will get a break, too. Most of the “other” kits cost less than the more costly safe guys.

I have recently been snagging up some of the ICM kits you may have heard about, when I can find them. I got my first one a while back and was very surprised at the goodness packed into that flimsy, gawdy ICM box.

Are they the undisputed best? Nooooo, they’re not perfect and in fact, they require some actual work. But some of them are quite nice for the money. Luckily, they never seemed to have really caught on. Most people dont know just how much innovation has come from that part of the world over the years. The most recent ICM gem I acquired was their excellent 1:48 MiG-3, which comes highly recommended by the “guru’s”. Total cost? 13$, including s/h. And where else you gonna get a Yak-7 UTI, hmmmm? Surely not from the Big 4.

My current building fixation is the Curtiss P-40 and all it’s variants. This, naturally, includes the P-36 Hawk, it’s sire. While there are any number of good P-40’s (and a few barfaroo’s), my research indicates the Hobbycraft 1:48 kittings of the P-36 Hawk have been the standard since their release, in terms of accuracy and shape. Again theyre not perfect, most notably they lack fine detail overall. But Im trying to be a skilled modeler, not a mere parts assembler. There is such a thing as scratchbuilding and even AM parts. If you get a decent inital price on the right kit, then even after buying a few AM parts, you can come out ahead. And you get to work with multimedia components, some of which are little wonder bits in themselves.

Two things have been stressed so far: NO kit is ever perfect and research is, as always, the key. Even the much vaunted offerings from the Big Guys have flaws and the way to know is to research them. Just about every kit that comes out is critiqued, picked apart and tattled on as soon as it is released by someone. If there are problems, theyr’e going to spill it! Bad news, after all, travels fast.

In one of these forums I posted the following. It may help:

Scale Modeling Rules To Live By

1. Absolute Perfection is un-achievable in miniature. You can get close, but that’s it.

2. Critics always abound, the worst of which is yourself. Relax and overcome AMS. This is fun, remember? Have a beer.

3. Few people, if any, will ever notice minor mistakes or inaccuracies on your models. How about your spouse, inlaws, kids, co-workers, or any of the other people in your life? Won’t they notice? Not a chance. You’ll be lucky if they care at all about your hobby. Won’t your modeling buddies notice? Maybe, but probably not (all that beer, you know). So what if they do?

4. If by a random act of chance someone does notice, simply shrug and refer them to Rule #1.

Steadfast progress at both building models and the skills needed to recreate your miniatures is what is important. With enough of these, you can turn any POS into a masterpiece. So, do your research and see what else you might want to try. Just stay away from those ICM kits, they’re real junk. [;)]

6

I echo with what the others have stated about the various companies and add this. If you are a modeler it shouldn’t make difference who’s kits you purchase to build. Yes, some are really bad while others are ‘shake n bake’. If you’re a kit assembler, then stay away from the dogs, stick to the better quaility kits. If you are a modeler, then tackle a couple of the challenging kits to increase your experience and skill sets. Like they say if you don’t vote, don’t complain about who won the election. Same goes for kits IMO. I know that I don’t ever want to do another vacform kit, why been there done that. Some turned out okay, others sucked all because of me. But I can now say that I have atleast done them. I still like a challenge in a build from time to time, just assembling kits gets boring. You got to reach into your skillsets once in a while to feel like you really accomplished something. The self satisfaction last longer too.

7

I agree that ICM is a lot of value for the dollar (see my post “Little MiG Man”)…Gavia is also good for more Russian stuff…

8

Gavia was a subsidary label under Eduard. I don’t think they are being marketed under that label any longer, although Eduard re-issued some under the Eduard label as Week End Kits. ICM has done a few good kits, such as the Mig 3, & offer low prices. But when they started pirating other manufacturers tooling (their P-51 kits are direct Tamiya rip-offs for example) I quit buying them.

Regards, Rick

9

But when they started pirating other manufacturers tooling (their P-51 kits are direct Tamiya rip-offs for example) I quit buying them.

What do you mean when you say “pirating tooling”. Im thinking hijacking, as in, to make off with the tooling. I picture some beat up truck, quietly making it’s way through the Russian night. The bitter wind blows, the tarp at the rear flaps open - and revealed there, in the blowing snow, is a scruffy crate packed full of injection machine molds.

On the other hand, if you mean they made their own molds by copying another kit…well, hmmmm. I’d like to see the proof of that, out of curiosity. “Innocent until proven guilty,” you know. I wonder; has this ever been decided in a court, or is it modeling ‘scuttlebutt’?

If indeed it IS true, well, I should nobly follow suit with you and enact my own boycott. And I may, yet… naw, ( [sigh] sigh ) I’m weak - I probably won’t. I like their kits.

Call me a scoundrel, curse me for all it’s worth and forever give me a black mark, if you will. I probably deserve whatever I get. But, I suspect that I’ll give in eventually, and snag the next ICM kit that floats by.

10

Another manufacturer I do not think was mentioned yay or nay is Airfix. While some of their older kits can try the patience of even the most jaded modeler, a few of them build up quite nicely. I just finished their Seafire Mk.46, and while not exactly “shake-n-bake”, it went together nicely with only a small amount of filler. One manufacturer I have not had good luck with (or anyone else if I recall correctly) is Fonderie Miniature. [xx(]

11

Wow, thanks for taking the time guys! Didn’t think I’d get so much detailed feedback so quickly. [tup][tup]

Apparently I DO need to broaden my horizons a bit…and am certainly more willing after hearing from all of you. I’ll probably have to come for a little more info on a kit-by-kit basis, but not quite as scared as before. [:D]

I had never really thought about the hobby this way…or made a distinction between an assembler and a modeler. Which is probably why I’ve been sticking to the “tried and true” stuff available…so far. [;)] The more I think about it, the more I like the distinction.

Again, thanks guys for your time! Hopefully you’ll see a lot more of me in the future. [^]

12

You’re welcome Dupes!

In between the difficult kits that try every bit of skill I can muster, I do like to “assemble” an easy kit just for the pure satisfaction of it. Nothing like taking a little break from more demanding projects once in a while! [tup]

13

I’m still fairly new, back into the plastic after a 20 yr layoff and i have been collecting almost every manf. But i have limited myself to building “the dogs” from Revell and Zveda. Why? I want get my skill level up enough so when i break out the $80.00 kit it will be easier and will be really good when finished.

14

$80 kits? OUCH!

Couple of other manus that were on the voting list:

Arii?

Heller?

Can’t say I’ve even heard of them before. [D)]

15

LOL. I only have 2 of those. Both 1/48th Soviet birds. Go figure.

16

When ICM first released their P-51B kit, a lot of folks noted the remarkable resemblance to the Tamiya kit. They didn’t Pirate the tool exactly, but they made their molds using the Tamiya kit as the base. Hyperscale did an in-depth comparison of the two & showed how one half of the ICM fuselage would exactly mate with the other half from Tamiya. That couldn’t happen with independent tooling. Other similarities were too much to be coincidence & the conlusion was that the ICM kit was pirated. Sure ICM saved a ton of money on research & cutting molds by using the Tamiya to make it’s molds & sure they offered the kit at a very low price, but it was stealing IMHO. Haven’t bought an ICM kit since & never will.

Regards, Rick

17

Arii - yes. These can also be found under the Otaki label - same kits different marketing. The external detail tends to be pretty good but the cockpits tend to be very bare bones. Of course for the low price tag you can easily afford to pick up a resin cockpit and maybe some squadron wheels and canopy. I’ve built many Arii/Otaki kits and have virtually all of them in my stash. Heller - I’m not a fan of Heller. I’ve found them to be difficult builds with poor detail and lots of flash not to mention several other short comings. There may be modelers out there who like them but I am not one of them. Fondarie Miniatures or FM is a French company that does take on some rather different subject in short run but do require considerable work. I built their Do-24 and had a real hard time with it. I did finish it and it is a star piece in my collection but would not tackle that kit again. I also have their Halifax but am afraid to dig into it simply because of the trouble I had with the Do-24. I am also a fan of ICM kits. Their plastic is a little soft and they use lots of mold release agent so you have to be careful to wash all parts well before begining assembly and don’t leave under hot camera lights for very long or you will be sorry. ICM kits usually include full engines and medium level detailed cockpits. They are also very nice on the wallet. Accurate Minatures is another good company based here in the USA, they make very accurate kits with lots of detail and they generally go together well. They tend to be a little more pricy than some of the other offerings but I feel you get your moneys worth from them. Amodel is a Russian kit manufacture who makes lots of 1/72 scale kits in a wide range of subjects. They suffer from lots of heavy mold seperation seams, flash and rough edges but if you are willing to put the time into cleaning up the parts you can end up with some very unusual builts and again, very good on the wallet for the most part. I just did a Sh-2 amphibian from them and it only cost me $7.00. Another good Japanese manufacture is Fujimi, they don’t have a large selection of 1/48 aircraft but they make some interesting stuff like the Bf-110 C/D - probably the number one kit currently being compared to the hot Eduard release. Obviously does not include the level of interior detail that Eduard does but externally is a very sharp kit and does not cost $50.00.

18

Matt (Swanny) is right about the Arii offerings. They are superb in form and outline, external details being well done. They were one of the first (if not the first) to really do engraved external details justice. They still can hold their own in this department.

Alas, finer details are lacking in them and they are best considered a starting place. AM detail sets are their salvation and for the money (usually around 10-15$ a kit), they arent bad at all. I snag THEM, too, whenever I can find them… right along with those now-comtemptable ICM kits. Youll find 6 of the ARII kits in AMT/ERTL boxes, too:

A6M5 Zero, FW-190 A8, ME-109G, P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk, F4U Corsair. And this doesnt account for their Tojo’s, Oscar’s, Tony’s and other Japanese subjects. They are stricly on the collector market, since ARII isnt making them anymore - and they are still a bargain. I think they had 12 fighters all together, maybe more.

Someone mentioned Airfix. While a little long in the tooth these days, this English company has put out some goodies for the money, especially the 1:48 offerings. On the other hand, I had a smattering of their 1:72 kits once - and got them out of the stash, pronto! I havent had a modern Airfix kit in some time, but have kept an eye out for ther 1:48 spitfire Mk. 22 and English Electric/BAC Lightning.

My best recollection is that their 1:48 Me-109 F was likely the best of that little seen variant in 1/48, well before The Asian Collective did it. Many of their other WWII kits of the same vintage are at least adequate.

FUN TRIVIA: Did you know the Messerchmitt Franz was the acclaimed favorite of the Jagd Experten, most of them lauding it’s excellent flying qualities. It was too lightly armed, though, and was more of an interim measure before the more gutsy Gustav came along. The F model accounted for only 7% (2450) of total Me-109 production.

One maker that seems to have been glossed over here is Italeri. Some of the best detail in 1:72 I’ve ever seen comes from their injections in that scale. Im looking forward to a few of their 1:48 kits in the future, their P-40N and and IL-2m, but those are someone elses sprues (or at least sourced by another maker - Rich take heart).

Nevertheless, I rarely feel disappointed by anything packed under Italeri’s green and red logo. If you like helos and modern jets in 1:48, they are a great game at reasonable cost.

19

Dahut!

Great, informative post, man!

20

I’ve actually had more fun with the kits that many folks don’t consider the “mainstream” kits.

For instance, if you want to try out a resin kit, take a look at Anigrand. For a bargain kit in 1/32 scale that is a lot of fun to build, try a 21st Century Toys kit. I grabbed a couple of Spitfire Mk. XIVs at a discount outlet toy store for less than $10, from a company called Kitech- I’d never even heard of them!

So I “ditto” what others have said- it’s fun to branch out. Sure, it helps to do your research to suit your personal preferences. For me- if it’s styrene, it’s all good! [:)]

And keep in mind- it’s often the kits that aren’t marvels of engineering that really stretch your skills. The Tamiya Spitfire Mk. I practically builds itself into a beautiful kit. The Airfix Spitfire Mk. I produces a beautiful kit, too- plus the bonus of learning how to tackle gaps and deal with fit issues. [;)]