Ready to give up on Italeri

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Sadly, they’re the only company making current aircraft on 1/48, but every single one of them seems to have at least one flaw that drives me nuts. I smashed the Comanche helicopter to bits out of frustration last year. The F-22 was coming along all right (not great) until the intake lips last night, which do NOT fit at all (nor does the exhaust interior detail, but I could live with that) …ARGH!

One more chance - the F/A-18E. Anyhting gives me a hard time on that, I’m swearing off the brand altogether.

Why oh WHY can’t Hasegawa do these subjects!?

2

I built (nearly) the 1/72 scale version. It looked okay in the box… I’ve stopped because hasegawa announced their F-18F (I’m sure that the E will come very soon) I may finish it, but I won’t put much effort into it. If it weren’t for my desire to do the Rafale, F-5E and a couple of others, I would never touch Italeri unless doing armor.

3

I’m not sure why some people get on Italeri’s case like this. The only time I can see reason for it is when they try to re release something off of Testors or old Esci molds then you get the problems. Italeri’s own kits are relatively trouble free in my experience. They can be a bit sparse in details, but I’ve never found them to have more fit problems than anyone else’s kits in the same price range.

The best advice in dealing with an Italeri kit is to do careful research before buying to ensure it is indeed a true Italeri product. After that, just approach it as you would any other kit of comparable price. Yes, you’ll get fit problems you won’t find in Tamiya or Hasegawa offerings, but I find Italeri compares quite favorably with the likes of Revell, Monogram, Airfix, Heller and the more basic end of the Academy line.

You can’t expect a perfectly engineered kit at the price most Italeri comes at, If you want a Hasegawa or Tamiya looking result, it can be acheived, but will require patience and a wilingness on your part to get your hands dirty with some scratchbuilding or aftermarket details.

Its manufacturers like Italeri that remind us all how important the basics are in the way of modeling skills. I’ve built kits of theirs that had fit problems, but nothing that some time dry fitting didn’t overcome.

If you saw Pat Hawkey’s article in last month’s FSM about bringing Italeri’s 1/72 EB-66 kit up to par, there’s some proof that an Italeri kit can be a winner with a bit of work. He didn’t even do anything really advanced to rectify the problems of the kit and its an old kit.

If you want to slam a manufacturer, there are many more worthy ones than Italeri. Zvezda and Zhengdefu are the first two that enter my mind for a good slamming.

4

I was disappointed that my crappy F-18E cost $20. A hasegawa F-18C can be had for under $10 in some cases but no more than $18. Better quality, cheaper price, even at it’s worst.

5

Now that’s an example of sham rage! (See Shermanfreak’s thread on how we all chose our nicknames for this site)[B)]

6

BTW, I’ve just bought the Italeri S-3B and am looking forward to superdetailing it. By looking at the parts, esp. cockpit, it’s clear that the detail is extremely sparse to nonexistent. Fortunately, there’s a selection of aftermarket kits out there. You may want to look for some to help you acheive the level of detail that you want. Don’t know how to fix the fit problems, though. C’mon, Italeri is from Italy; they can’t be that bad! :wink:

7

Nice apologism, but it doesn’t matter WHO provided the molds or parts to Italeri, it’s got their name on the box. In fact, I suspect Svezda IS doing the modern aircraft series that Italeri boxes. And sadly, Revell also sells the same F-22 kit under their famous label. It’s not safe to buy models by manufacturer any more, the way everyone is sharing molds these days. You buy Revell, you get Svezda. You buy Hasegawa, you get Monogram (and vice versa). You buy Academy you get HobbyCraft…

In any case, I have turned many a sow’s ear into a silk purse in my life, but when EVERY kit I buy on a certain subject from a certain manufacturer has at least one major fit issue, it takes away my enjoyment of my passtime, and turns me away from that manufacturer.

Price doesn’t matter a whit. ProModeler kits have given me Trimaster quality at Monogram prices (since many are from the same moldmakers), and Czech resin kits that cost $40+ need great skill and lotsa rework to finish nicely - and I DO finish them nicely.

And the difference between the Italeri F-22 at $22 and the Hasegawa F-15 (for example) at $29, ain’t that much. Are we saying that if it’s around 2/3 the price, then 1/3 of the parts don’t need to fit right?

Folks, I’ve been building models for 40 years, and I think I’m pretty good at it by now. But I’ve also been stockpiling kits for 40 years, and with over 1,000 to build in the pile, I can’t afford to be sidetracked for a couple of days fixing a problem that any reputable styrene kitmaker (who’s been in the business as long as I’ve been modeling) should NOT have on their product. Kitmaking technology being what it is today, there’s just no excuse for a new kit from a major player that can’t be assembled without major fit issues on half a dozen parts.

8

Sorry, but I have no idea what you’re referring to, and I can’t find any thread started by that person.

9

Oh, it’s called “The Story Behind Your Name” in the General Discussion / Off Topic category. Lots of replies from people on the Forum, telling how they chose the names they did for their handle.

10

some of their models are really nice. The Viking is a re-issue of the mid eighties Esci. At its prime it was top notch…ok nort now but still very decent. it is not meant to be shake and ready kind of model. Always remeber that before passing judgment.

11

This theme comes up from time to time, against various manufacturers, and for whatever reasons. To me, there’s a very simple solution: don’t buy that company’s products, which is the conclusion John P is rapidly coming to concerning Italeri. That is certainly the prerogative of any consumer.

For me personally, however, I don’t choose what I wish to build based on the manufacturer, but based on the subject, as I’d guess a lot of us do. So, when I decide on a subject, I look for the best kit. If the only available kit is from a company that I view as sub-standard, I’ll get it anyway, knowing it’s not going to be an easy build. But if I really want to build that particular subject, I don’t mind working a little harder. Sure, fit problems or lack of satisfactory detail are frustrating let-downs, but I can deal with them.

The point is, my advice to anyone who is considering boycotting a particular company because of construction difficulties is to just put them at the bottom of your list. Buy their products only when there is no alternative.

Having said all that, John P, I will add that I understand that it sure does feel good to rant about a crap product! [:D]

12

The trading of molds between companies is very vexing for me as well, thats why I spend more time these days researching the origins of “new” kits than actually purchasing them. The manufacturers have created a real spider web for us hobbyists to cut through.

As an example, in the past year, Italeri released a 1/72 F-8 Crusader. I didn’t buy it, but I saw it in the box once and I swear it was the Hasegawa kit I built 15 years ago. Not a bad kit, but still some honesty would be nice.

I think price has to be an issue in what you can expect a kit to be straight from the box. I’ve noticed the price differential between Italeri and Hasegawa kits where I am is much greater than what’s been mentioned further up in this forum. Both Hasegawa and Italeri currently have 1/72 F-111s on the market, I know the Hasegawa one is a reissue of their FB-111 of the mid 80s made to look like a current RAAF F-111G. I suspect the Italeri kit is also a reissue of somebody’s kit.

The Italeri kit is around 20 to 25 dollars Canadian while the Hasegawa is flying around 45 to 50 dollars Canadian. I have the Hasegawa kit on the go and they didn’t change anything but the decals from the first release of the kit as an FB-111. Thats a steep price to be paying for a reissue that essentially hasn’t been changed or upgraded in any way.

To Italeri’s defence, I can say in the past few years that I’ve built their 1/48 Eurofighter and the only complaint I could make is that the cockpit consoles are all decals. Not only did I have no fit problems, I didn’t even need filler anywhere!

I built their 1/72 T-45 Goshawk a few years before and can say its a real gem of a kit. went together like a breeze, I’d built it again anytime.

I’ve never built their 1/48 Panavia Tornados, but I’ve known folks that did and I’ve heard nothing but glowing remarks about them.

All the mold trading requires a different approach to kit purchasing than good old brand loyalty. Its getting to the point where I wish Consumer Reports would start putting out a modelers version of their magazine.

Shopping around is a must and research into the kits we might want before purchase is also getting to be a must. Dig around enough and you’ll find out if a kit is really new or a reissue quietly making its way back onto the market under someone else’s label.

Italeri is no more guilty of making a crap kit than any other Western manufacturer. I’ve built kits from the likes of Hasegawa that have given me fits and almost made me want to swear off the brand. With all the mold trading, the brand mark on the box is getting irrelevant, it could be anybody’s stuff inside.

Don’t shoot the (most recent) messenger

13

Bingo, J-Hulk!
See, here’s the project: I work at ITT Avionics as a graphic artist. A recent renovation has given me a tad more cubicle space so I put in a shelf with the intention of combining work and hobby - I’d build a series of models of the aircraft we have electronics on and put them on my shelf. To that end I picked up the only kits available in 1/48 of those subjects. Italeri’s F-22, V-22, F/A-18E, and Panda’s F-35. I figured, since they were new, modern kits, I could bang them out while the paint’s drying on the more involved projects (I usually have 3 to 5 kits on the bench at once). The V-22 went together okay, being an older Testors kit (though the Italeri decals don’t agree with the box art or photos of the prototype model [xx(] ) . The Panda kit built fine, although it has tons of inaccuracies. So I get two kits on the shelf at work (that I’m not entirely happy with due to the makers’ inadequacies) and I hit a roadblock with a new kit from a major kitmaker that’s going to take way too much work to make presentable. Pfah! Pfah, I say! :smiley:

Again, BINGO!! :smiley:

And again I ask, why doesn’t Hasegawa do these airplanes? Does Italeri/ Svezda have the licensing locked up for 1/48?

14

In defence of Italeri re releasing models from Esci, the Esci 1/72 Sea Harrier FRS 1 is THE Sea harrier model, long out of production, once it is re released here in NZ in a week or so I’ll be buying at least two of them, Good on Italeri for releasing the best molding ever of this aircraft.

15

Hey, if they’re releasing GOOD reboxings of other companies’ kits along with their crappy ones, good on 'em. Too bad there’s no way to find out until you buy it.

16

Well I’m not gonna scavenge thru 8 pages to find what you’re talking about. Are you trying to say my “rage” at that Comanche is a “sham?” I assure you it’s not often I get pissed enough at a model to smash it to bits.

17

it always pays to read kit reviews and use the forum…
good to now from my kiwi friend that the Italeri Harrier is good…

18

I wish Italeri would say on the box if the kit new, retooled or what. For example, kit #2620 SH-60B has nice molds, recessed lines and a good review from FSM. Kit #2622 V-22, on the other hand, has raized panel lines and from the pics on the side of the box one can’t make out what kind of panel lines it has. I think they photoshopped the pictures. Both kits are issued in 2003 . I’m a little pissed off I guess at Italeri.
Borislav

19

Well, the V-22 is a reissue of Testors’ prototype V-22 kit from about 10-15 years ago. If you look close you can see mysterious scribings on the surface that were locator squares for antenna and test pitots that were on that kit, but are not on the current MV-22.

Those rotor cuffs are a bitch to fill and smooth too!

The thing that annoyed me the most is the decals - the box painting AND model photos show dark gray markings on a ghost gray aircraft. But the decals are the opposite - lighter than ghost gray. I fished around Boeing’s photo gallery trying to get a definitive answer, but apparently it went both ways and it ain’t easy to make out the right markings for the particular plane the kit represents.

That’s one of the kits I wanted to “bang out quickly” for my shelf at work, so I just held my breath and went with the kit decals so I could move on:

http://www.inpayne.com/models/v22.html

20

I hear you John P. There has been a time or two when I had thought about putting a crappy kit back in it’s box with a note expressing my unfiltered opinion and mailing it to the company from whence it came.