Yeah, I suppose it was only the first reply that came down on the side of aircraft.
There is a Meng 1/48 scale P-51 Mustang kit that’s suppose to be good even it’s a snap kit.
Tamiya has some really nice 1/48 scale armor kits that are relatively inexpensive and a lower parts count that are great for beginners. They sell the M1A2 Abrams at Hobby Lobby and with a 40% off coupon, it is quite reasonably priced.
It’s basically a weekend kit that can be painted all sand and is quite detailed as Tamiya tends to do.
Tanks are an inherently easier build than many aircraft kits. Most seams on a tank are where actual metal plates or parts meet. Rough cast texture, welds or areas where the metal has been grinded are common. Damaged parts can be attributed to maneuver or combat damage and missing parts like fenders or headlights are not unheard of.
There are some pretty simple aircraft kits too. The one thing I would stay away from as a beginner is a ship. Not even talking about a sailing ship- even a modern warship is a more complex and lengthy build than an aircraft or tank.
I don’t know about that Don,the Tamiya 1/350 Fletcher Class built out of box is a really simple kit as is their I-400.If he was talking ships I would definitely recommend them.
Hi,
I think I agree. Alot of the old Airfix, Revell and Mongram ship kits can build up ok. If you want to go into photo-etch and stuff they can get really complex, but as just base kits they don’t seem too bad. And I still really like the old Revell USS Arizona and USS Olympia myself, while the USS Eastwind also looks nice (though I haven’t tried building it yet).
Though since the OP asked about planes or tanks, I would echo other peoples thoughts here that you can find some reasonable good, simple stuff in either category. [:)]
PF
I disagree that ships are categorically more complicated, and I refer again to older kits. As was mentioned, Revell’s old ship kits, especially the 1/720 kits, but also the Missouri kit in its various incarnations, can be built without much effort, out of the box. Along the way, they provide good practice. Same goes for the Waterline series of kits from Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi, and was there one other company? Relatively simple kits, that can be turned into attractive models, without resort to the aftermarket pieces that today’s modelers consider baseline to a build.
And you can find simple kits from newer makers, too. Hobby Boss’ Arizona in 1/700, for example, is very simple, as I found when I bought it. It takes a lot of effort to make it accurate by contest standards, but again, it can be built quickly, providing good practice, and look OK.
I remember now, that the other Waterline series company was Aoshima.
I 100% disagree. When I first started modelling, I took on a ship kit and didn’t have trouble building one. You name it, I built them - destroyers, cruisers, battleships, carriers and sailing ships. Who to say a begginer has to do rigging? Most rigging from the Mayflower I did were plastic pieces.
How about a WWII Jeep? That would be a simple build without a lot of parts. No airplane fuselage seams and no tank tracks.
Especially the old Monogram Jeep kit. That would be a good kit to practice on.