For me nowadays, cost is not really an object, but buildability definitely is. I will avoid needlessly complicated kits and go looking for a more benign building kit. There are some things that for me demand PE like screens on tank engine decks and bustles, and luxury items like 3-D printed ejector seats are an acceptable expense.
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Dragon did the 3 ālevelsā with their regular kits as the top, Smart kits as a mid range and Neo Smart as a even more basic entry level. Mind you they are all still Dragon so some would still consider them overly complex.
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Great thread! Iām about 2ish years into modeling, painting 1/72 soldiers, now working on a Team Yankee starter kit.
Early on I ordered some of the 6 box kits on Ebay from China Iām pretty sure. Mainly just for practice and learning how to use, or I should say āstart learning, cause Iāve got so far to go, but start learning how to use my spraygun.
Well, I also then bought about 12 1/72 kits in a package from a guy in Greece. Good purchase, but I learned after starting on a couple about how different manufacturers can be on the detail the gentleman who started this thread is discussingš Letās just say I walked right into a Dragon kit with metal etching I wasnāt necessarily ready for, but ended up doing okay with.
Anyway, sorry to rant. Iāve since learned to reasearch the manufacturers and the kits, and have ordered some 1/35 and 1/72 kits closer to my level of experience to continue progressing/learning from. Great hobby!
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Ah yes, Dragon! Mind went blank but was their Black Label series included in their ālevelsā? Something makes me think that this was more so geared towards straight forward builds without taking away from the detail?
Happy Modeling,
Mike
I just watched this kit being built and it reminds me of the Tamiya offering except this kit has the link and length tracks.
Personally, Iām a stickler for the details but as was mentioned earlier by @Dayhut , it all comes with a cost. The way I look at it is that it usually takes me around 6-9 months to finish a build (which is usually what it takes me) and if a build costs me $300 total, for instance, then it all breaks down to around $45-$50 a month for entertainment. To meā¦thatās worth that cost.
I will agree that there are manufacturers who go out of their way to create an unnecessary number of parts to do the same thing that other kit manufacturers can do with half of the parts.
Eduard has recently released a new tool S-199 that has a LOT fewer parts with some fantastic detail and that seems like a good path forward to mitigate the problem thatās being talked about here.
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I believe it was the Dragon Shanghai versions that would do without the PE and extra goodies, all parts in plastic. I donāt really remember when those appeared, nor when they faded out, but I donāt see them anymore.
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Exactly, cost isnāt a huge factor for me, buildability is. And itās not like I build my kits just out of the box most of the time, but I want to choose where I want to āsuper detailā. 95% of the kits I build have some after-market parts. Since I build mostly aircraft, Cockpit details are important to me since that is very easily seen. Also most of my aircraft are in 1/32 scale, so there is alot to see in the cockpit. I typically always do the instrument panels as there is no way I can duplicate the level of detail. Just donāt have the steady hands or skill to.
I prefer to have a good kit that I can buy aftermarket or parts for if I so desire. I have no issue if a kit cost me say 100 bucks and I put another 100 bucks into it because itās what āIā want to do. I know I can build that helo rather than it sit in a box and I never buy another one.
And itās not like some manufactures donāt already do something like that. I look at how Haswegawa products bomb and rocket kits for aircraft. I built the 1/48 A-10 and it equipped okay out of the box. But if you want it in ābeastā mode, you need to buy those other separate kits. Fine with me.
And of course Iām not criticizing those that love the super detailing. More power to you! But again, I donāt feel the majority of builders are in that category based on some of these responses.
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I totally agree with you Joe! I have a few kits that are in the three digit price range and my thinking is what you mentioned about price and then the breakdown per month.
This selection of Hasegawa jets, I bought new when they first came out in the early to mid 90s.
For there time, they were the cats meow and the detail was like no other.
At the time for me, these kits were expensive ranging from $35-45ish but again, the quality was there.
Now these kits are looked at as old/ancient and you could easily pick one up for $25.
Lately Iāve seen the same exact kit(new boxing/decals) , say an F-18C go for $60 and up.
At the end of the day, we are modelers and the modeler has to be in their comfort zone when building.
Yes, there is always room for advancing your skills/kit selection so always do your research when it comes to the various manufacturers.
This is such a great topic but I have a feeling weāll keep seeing such a thread from time to time.
Happy Modeling,
Mike
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Like Joe, I too agree with your statement. My target scale is 1/48th aircraft with a few 1/32nds in the stash.
The best way to put it is, I am a scatter brain when it comes to building.
I add the detail where I see fit and most of the aftermarket items are centered around the cockpit and wheels.
I get the kit that I want or from the stash, then I go from there. Then again, Iāll do a build simply right out of the box with the exception of an Aftermarket decal set.
Needless to say, I have enough aftermarket goodies to last me a while.
Happy Modeling,
Mike
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So,is that your local hobby shop,looks like they are well stocked
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Hey Anthony,
My local mom n pop shop was well stocked but this is my dungeon aka my basement. 
Happy Modeling,
Mike
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Your better set up then a lot of so called shops,enjoy
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Eduard takes the three level approach in many of their kits. Usually they will initially release a kit in a āWeekend Editionā which has just the plastic parts and minimal decal options, a āProfi Packā which includes multiple add ons such as Photo Etch, Resin and/or 3D printed parts, and multiple decal marking options, and a āRoyal Classā & āLimited Editionā which includes all of the aftermarket goodies, plus often a second kit of the subject with associated goodies, or some related form of memorabilia. Each type is priced accordingly.
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Holy guacamole, I thought that was your hobby shop!
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Happy Modeling,
Mike
I remember all my acquired Dragon models coming steeped to the rim with parts in their boxes and if you werenāt careful enough on how they had been originally placed in it, replacing them in a different order caused them to add a visible bulge on the lid. But In my view, despite the numerous parts contained in those boxes, they were still fun to build and not particularly difficult to assemble. The only thing that always worried me was when they included single tracks to be assembled into a full length. They probably thought that by giving you this option you might simulate a natural sagging of the tracks. The problem was that they were extremely complicated and tiresome to fix together since they had to be glued and had no possibility to just have a loose connection among them.
Only some years later did they finally come out with a sort of Friulimodel solution despite being in styrene and not in metal.
Other brands, like AFV produced many such solutions as well and some were indeed better than the Dragon offerings but also did cost extra.
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I want to share a secret with you. One that should I meet the Grim Reaper no one will ever really solve. Call me mad, call me NVTS, but I always hated big boxes filled with too much air and just a few parts as was often the case with Italeri and other brands. The more recent ones are MiniArt and MasterBox which offer great figures, tools and models but once opened are just 2/3 empty space.
So, what is my secret? In order to diminish the emptiness of those boxes and the actual presence of them, I chose the largest of them (usually reserved for a tank or a vehicle) and according to the type of vehicle contained and where I would use it I included all the figures, tools and aftermarket items with it. If not these, I just included yet another smaller tank or vehicle for the same scenario I have planned to build.
All the building instructions and decals were removed to keep them clean and safe in ring binders and in plastic sheets, also ordered as the contents of the main box. If some instructions were printed on the back of one of the smaller boxes I just cut them and kept them in the main carton as a reminder.
I then made an inventory of them all in Excel in order to know what was where and why.
I did the same with all the paints I own, keeping an eye on those that are almost empty in order to reacquire them or substitute them with similar newer acrylic ones in case of older enamel ones.
Further, I also filled an entire exterior Hard Drive with all the depictions of vehicles, tanks, soldier figures and aircraft, as well as various spacecraft and Star Trek models, whether in model form or included in historic pictures.
Again, I did the same for all the material needed to build my dioramas.
I then added a specific folder divided by theme and locations of those said models, so that when I start I have them all very clearly showing up.
This is why I already knew beforehand what I would have needed for my current first one, although things managed to be added in time when occasionally an interesting item would show up on the market.
I know, a very complicated procedure and indeed not one for everyone, but it helps me finding the things that I need more easily.
As said, should I croak someday - mind you, I count on living forever 
- but should I, I can only wish good luck to whomever discovers those huge boxes in my cellar with the name of the localities I had planned to honor with a diorama on top and discover this mash up of models, not to speak how they will finally connect these to my stored instructions, decals and PE parts.
Unless I share this knowledge with some trusted person, no one will ever know or understand my personal method, but the reason was to compact everything into something that will absolutely be built and fit into a very specific historic diorama.
Had I not done so my apartment, although spacious, would have been crammed from floor to ceiling with model boxes all over the place.
I hope you will understand the reason why. Space, space and again space.
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I assemble the complete run with Tamiya Extra thin,allow 25 min to partially dry,then flex them around the wheels,sprockets,and idlers,wait overnite,take them off,paint,weather,reinstall.The idlers and sprockets are installed temporarily.
I still love Dragon German armor,I have at least one planned this year
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Speaking of box pet peevesā¦ I canāt stand the end opening boxes - Revell Germany does that a lot.
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I think about this a lot, like there is no way a guy built this and said itās good for production 
very very frustrating .
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