I remember Revell kits being prominent during my childhood and I have bought quite a few kits by them since re entering this wonderful hobby. I think they generally are great value too. My B-17F in 1/72 scale was coming along fairly well until I came to realize that I was missing quite a few of the clear parts and the fuselage right in front of the cockpit was a horrible non fit. I called Revell customer service and they’re sending me another. Feels good to be treated right. Only thing is I have to start all over again but I guess its better than a seriously flawed model.
While were at it what do you fellow modelers consider the best B-17 kit?
I’ve never had to deal with their customer service, but I’ve read posts here and elsewhere from people who’ve had a similar, pleasant experience.
I did write to Monogram, when I was a kid, to ask them to add a set of 1/35 scale German soldiers to their armor kit line, and got a nice response.
As to B-17 kits, I will still say that the Monogram B-17G is the best one. Even if there are 1/72 kits with fine details, for me, the larger size puts that kit out in front of everything else, right out of the starting gate. I remember the first time I saw the kit, and the first time I built one, how impressive a four-engined bomber looks in that scale. So, I give them points just for the ambition of producing that kit. And, it builds into a nice model.
By comparison, 30 years later, I’ve purchased 2 copies of the Revell 1/48th B-17F, and it’s not as good a kit. I think it can still be made into a decent kit-I’m going to back-date mine to -E’s, as Flying Forts at Midway-but it does not have as much detail out of the box as its contemporary from Monogram. The Monogram -G is a nice kit, out of the box.
I’ve always received good service from Revell. I like the 1/48 scale kit. I have several of them. During my early days of modeling I enjoyed building the Lindberg kit because it had so many figures with it.
Here’s one from left field. I started modelling about 3 years ago after building a couple of models as a kid that were Revell. The quality of those (as I recall it) was not good. So when I started back into modelling, I avoided Revell/Monogram. I joined the PBY GB just for the heck of it, and I must say that the quality of the 1/48 Revell kit is excellent. Just generally comparing it to the Tamiya, Hasegawa and Trumpeter kits I’ve worked on, it is very good indeed. I guess it depends on exactly which kit you get. Anyway, I will no longer avoid Revell kits, the price is generally less than the others as well.
Baron, I would like a 1/48th B-17 but space is a concern. Howver since I did just apprehend a B-24 in 1/48th I most likely will get one and do my best to make room. Wish I could get a 1/48th Lancaster.
In my opinion the best B-17 kit is the monogram pro modeler kit…in 48th scale. It came with crew figures and PE parts and had the cheyenne tail turret. After that, the B-17G by monogram, now revell, then the B-17F memphis belle kit, which is gonna be available again soon, revell just repopped it. I build only in 48th scale so I cant say too much about the 72nd scale forts other than I’ve alot of good about the academy kits. I built the 1/72 fort years ago and didnt care for it.
Also…the tamiya 1/48 lancaster is being repopped as well.
The Academy fort is by far the best out there. It needs wing dihedral correction, but that’s easy. It goes together quite nicely, and is well detailed.
As for Revell, some of my favorite kits were made by Revell/Monogram in the '60’s, '70s, and '80’s like the A-26 Invader, the B-25J Mitchell, the P-61 Black Widow, the B-26 Marauder, the SB2C Helldiver, and the TBD Devastator! I’d love to see them bring on some new kits of that caliber! Alas, with Bill Koster doing his own thing, we probably shouldn’t hold our breath. Revell Germany, however is another story. Bring on those Mosquitos! And, while you’re at it, give us some new variants from the Fw 200, Ju 290, and Bv 222!
Isnt he the guy that did vac form B-17C/D conversion? Do you know how to get ahold of him? I tried to email him with an address I got here, but I never heard back, dont know if the address was any good or not.
And what does he have to do with revell, I dont know?
Yep. wkoster2(at)comcast(dot)net - Replace (at) with @ and (dot) with . Bill was a pattern maker for Monogram and helped make a lot of great kits that are still some of the best kits you can find.
It is kinda funny that this thread just popped up…I just bought the R-M -G kit, the one with the “tips on building dioramas” from the Shep Paine book…My wife is gonna kill me!
I also just picked up a P-47D Tbolt from ebay…and not to mention the 72nd scale Sopwith camel and Fokker triplane I am building for my christmas train platform…and the Revell F-16 I also got from ebay…sssshhhhh!
But I REALLLLLLLYYYYY can’t wait to start on my 'Fort!
I want to clarify that there are two distinct types of Revell model. Revell/Monogram (Revellogram) is the United States version. Revell (RoG / of Germany) is the European market brand. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. Most of Revellogram is Monogram kits. These are the super-cheap kits you find at Michaels and Hobby Lobby, and you will probably not be impressed with what you get. Revell (Germany) is a different matter entirely, being a typically value-priced company with EXCELLENT kits.
When purchasing at a store that mixes the two (e.g. HobbyTown), you can look for two identifying features:
Revell/Monogram typically have white background lid boxes, brown undersides. Later releases are labelled as Revell, having eliminated the Monogram from the logo. Revell/Monogram product numbers are six digit with a dash: xx-xxxx
Revell of Germany are usually in dark blue boxes with end flaps, printed on all sides. Revell of Germany uses a five digit product number: xxxxx
Glad to see that at least Revell USA is keeping up good customer service. I built that B-17F as a kid, and I still remember it was a bear to build! Given the choice, I’d go with Monogram’s 1/48 masterpiece every time.
I love the old Monogram kits that Revell is constantly rereleasing. Unfortunately, though, its sad to see that rereleases are apparently all that Revell USA does these days, at least on the aircraft side. I don’t see much future for Revell USA, to be honest, and it pains me to say that I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t last the decade. Airfix tried the same policy, releasing old, outdated kits over and over until right before it drove them to bankruptcy. Now that they belong Hornsby, though, they have new life, bringing out some really nice, new tool kits to compliment their old ones, and are doing quite well apparently. Wish Revell USA would learn from Airfix’s mistake!
Revell Germany, as has been stated, is a giant step ahead of the US side, releasing several new and interesting kits of very high quality each year. Here in Germany, their kits are quite cheap considering the high quality standard they hold to. They do release some old kits (they own the old Matchbox line), but they are usually models worth releasing of subjects not found elsewhere.
Big differences between Revell and Monogram. While I agree that Revell has always had great customer service, glad they retained it. Unfortunately I have always felt that Monogram had a better quality kit, especially as it related to things like cockpit detail, wheel wells, etc… On Revell it seemed more like an after thought where it always seemed like it was job 1 at Monogram. About the only negative I still have on Monogram kits is the use of the dark plastics. When ever they produced a kit with the Navy Blue or Black plastic, the plastic becomes very brittle. Thinking about it that might have carried over to the Olive Drab they used as well. The main issue there is cracking or splintering.
The newer Revell kits are very nice, great detail, good soft grey plastics and most important a reasonable price…
I saw similar comments awhile back in the ship forum. Revell (USA) seems to be focusing on their car kits. They have retooled some of their older kits to include new parts and have released several new kits (2006 Mustang, 1969 Chevy Nova, Camaro concept car just to name a few). Not great news for aircraft and ship builders but it is good news for car builders and means the company will likely be around for quite sometime to keep bringing the aircraft guys the old 1/48 Monogram kits.
Unfortunatly the only one time I tried ordering replacements parts from Revell I was unsuccessful . I think it was around 1999 or early 2000 that I bought a Revell 1/72 scale CH-54 Skycrane Helicopter kit. All the clear parts were missing from the kit . To me this seemed like a production packaging error from Revell’s end . The kit box was sealed when I bought the kit , I always check each time . Anyway I wrote a polite letter to Revell asking for a replacement sprue with all the clear parts , however they wrote back to me saying the kit was no longer in production and parts weren’t available . A couple of years latter the CH-54 was back on the shelves again in quite a few hobby stores around Sydney , so I wrote again to Revell asking about replacement parts but I did not get a second reply .
This really upset me and for a long time I refused to buy Revell aircraft kits . It’s only been in the last couple of years I’ve started to buy Revell kits again .
I’ve never had any trouble getting replacement parts from Italeri . Probably why I have over 100 Italeri kits in my stash , or though I must admit , Italeri produce the most Helicopter kits but some in the stash are Aircraft kits too .
Did you ever get clear parts for your Skycrane? I picked up an old Mattel vacuform machine off ebay last summer, I’d be happy to give vac-forming the canopy from one of my kits a shot. Worst case I’m out $0.05 for a sheet of clear plastic.
