Sorry for a “whats best” post but i am new to this subject.
I understand that in general Hasegawa and Tamiya take some beatting in 1/48 and 1/32.
Of the 2 nearest LHS to me 1 has very little to choose from and the other has a huge stock of revell only.
I have done a search on Revell kits in 1/48 and 1/32 and see some are good.I read that some are reboxed from other makers and some are old reissues.I have no idea of the good and not-so-good.It would be great if someone could point out the good.Some in 48 and 32 if that is possible.
It would probably help to know what specific subjects you are thinking of building. Many of the later releases are good to really good. As you said some of the kits are reboxed versions of kits released twenty to thirty years ago.
With the new (re-release) of the Monogram 1:48 AC-47 (new parts combined with old kit) it makes a great model even though it is old tech…and for the price tag of under $25 you could do much worse.
The 1:32 Revell Hawker Hunter is a kit that I’m wanting to lay my hands on…like I said you just have to look at the subject and when they were introduced into the market.
As Gerald said, if you tell us the kind of subjects you’re interested in, we can tell you what the Revell kits of the subjects in that area are like. There are too amny kits to give a cvomplete list of what’s hot and what’s not.
BTW, Gerald, my LHS has several Revell 1/32 Hunter F.6s. GBP25.00, or just under USD50.00. I can put you in touch if you want.
I’ve found the early released Hunters for as little as $30.00USD around here…lets see that is just a little over 6 gallons of gas or three small bags of groceries. As much as I would love to go out and drop some major moola for some kits to add to my build pile (not stash), it just isn’t in the budget. However donations will be gladly accepted…[;)]
I’ll reiterate the fact that subject is a better way to gauge which is a good kit. Revell makes some pretty nice kits, but it also makes some not so nice kits. If you have a subject of reference, it’s much better to say which are the good kits. And for some subjects, Revell is the only game in town. And don’t forget you have to make a disctinction between Revell/Monogram USA, and Revell of Germany. They are now, and have been since 2006, two seperate companies (thankfully).
For example, for the F-16 in 1/72 scale, the RoG kit is still the best.
In 1/144, RoG makes the only Airbus kits in scale in injection plastc, so not only are they the best, but the only kits.
As been mentioned, their Hunter kits are great, in 1/32, and 1/72. If they popped it out in 1/48, it might give the Academy kit a run for its money.
In 1/48, RoG’s Eurofighter kits (new tool) are hard to beat. Also goes for their 1/72 Eurofighters.
It’s true that they rebox Italeri, Hasegawa, Zvezda, and others, so I’m only speaking of their own original mold stuff. Their reboxed stuff is again, dependent on the subject.
I have no idea what the revell in the shop was.It just said revell on the box if i remember correctly. i will have to go back and check the box.Dors it literally say revell germany or revell/mongram.
then its the excellent Hasegawa kit, re-boxed with better decals and at a slightly lower pirce (in Europe at least). Of the 1/48 WW2 subjects in the current Revell Germany catalogue, the origins are as follows:
Ju.52: Monogram; excellent
Vought F-4U-5 Corsair: Hasegawa; excellent
Messerschmitt BF-110 G-2: Monogram: very good but some minor shape errors, especially the engine nacelles.
Supermarine SPITFIRE Mk.IX/XVI: Hasegawa; easy build and good detail, but too short and some siginifcant shape errors, especially in the rear fuselage.
Mosquito Mk.IV Bomber: New mould and an unknown quantity as yet. Not yet available.
Douglas A-20 G/J Havoc: AMT, dating from the mid 1990s. Very good.
Revell Germany have produced many more 1/48 WW2 kits in recent years, which, although not in the current catalogue, can still be found on LHS shelves. Many of them are ex-Hasegawa, sometimes modified. The way to tell for sure is to look for the words ‘made in Japan’ in a small white rectangular panel on the side of the box.
BTW, the boxes don’t realy say ‘Revell Germany’ or ‘Revell Monogram’, but you can tell because the boxes are different. Revell Germany kits come in blue, usually end-opening, boxes which have the words, ‘Printed in Germany by Revell AG’ in a white rectangular panel on the side of the box, and the address of Revell Germany’s website, www.revell.de .
In practice, there are very few Revell-Monogram kits remaining, and most of these are 1/25 cars and trucks. If the Revell kit you’re looking at is not a 1/25 car or truck, it is almost certainly a Revell Germany product.
