Just wondering what the best aircraft brand out there is? Is it like Tamaya,Revell,and what about 21st century toys? I’m new so I really don’t know.
This is an impossible question.
What qualities do you particulalry look for in a kit? Ease of build? Scale accuracy? A wide range of build options? Good detail? Good fit? Good decals? Low price? Value for money? Wide availability (so you can get it in your LHS, rather than have to send away for it)? Accurate and easy-to-understand instructions (and accurate colour call-outs)?
And what scale, and period, are you most interested in?
More information, please. [:)]
Cheers,
Chris.
WW11 German,American. 1/32,1/48 also. Price doesn’t matter if its not to high. Also I like good detail.
In my experience, they all vary from bad to excellent depending on which model you are building. Before purchasing a model, I always like to read the kit reviews at Modeling Madness or Swanny’s web site.
Each company has some bad and some good kits. It primarily depends on what you want in a model.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
This question produces a great deal of debate (sometimes heated), but Darwin’s answer is a good one. Often times a subject is only available from one source; other times, everyone has a kit, ranging from very basic to ultra-detailed. As was said, you need to set your own parameters before you select a manufacturer. In general terms, I personally love Trumpeter, Hasegawa, Tamiya and Monogram kits, but I have just about every maker in my stash…
Brian [C):-)]
Another way to approach this is decide what aircraft it is you wish to build and what scale you wish to build it in. Then find out who makes it, and who then has a good kit of what you have decided to build. Other wise you will just drown in all the possiblities.
ok, one rough suggestion good for a newbie (worked for me!)
WW2 one-engine, 1:48 scale - Tamiya - Ease of build, good/ok detail, several choices. Stick to USA planes for ease of painting scheme (no camo). Avoid natural metal finish at first. Also, the Revell P-51D is a good choice, has enough “problems and shotcomings” to teach you valuable modelling skills.
Cheers!
Quick and dirty answer, then. 1/48: Tamiya. 1/32: Hasegawa. But that said, there are, as the other guys have poiinted out, good’uns in other ranges, and dogs in these ranges. It pays to read reviews, and/or to ask opinions here. And sometimes there’s no right answer.
But for WW2 single-seaters, you won’t go far wrong with Tamiya in 1/48 and Hasegawa in 1/32.
Cheers,
Chris.
Thanks for the tips guys.[:)]
Try some of the Monogram 1/48th kits. Fairly wide range, reasonable detail, comparatively cheap. Do a few, hone your skills, and move up the ladder.
[:)]
Eduard makes some nice kits that assemble nicley out of the box; you will pay a good price for these kits.
Unlike others,I’m not a fan of the Monogram kits although there pro-modeler series is good. Tamiya kits are O.K, I find ARII to be quite similar. Hasegawa is very popular,Academy makes a few good kits (I like there P-47 D Thunderbolt) Very nice kit.
Theres a wide variety. As stated earlier “It depends on what your looking for.”
I put together a P-40B Flying Tiger from Revell. I might as well have just started from scratch. The kit was a nightmare. If you need practice scratch building, this is a good kit to hone you skills with (plus it’s cheap)
I agree with this answer, because I was thinking about your original question, and:
In general what you like in armor will be good in aircraft as a baseline, both in price and quality.
Tamiya- costs a bit but pretty much shake the box. etc. Italeri, great detail but a little more finiky. And so forth.
But the Monogram tag has a long and really glorious history of aircraft models, and are still the standard for more than a few types like the F-80.
Just like you have all the armor specialty companies, the same exist in a/c.
But to get into it, I’d go with a manufacturer you are familiar with. And Tamiya is a great one. And I’ve never ever been unhappy with a Monogram kit.