Recently, I decided to model an Operation Telic Challenger II desert version before any kits had come on the market. I used an update kit from Accurate Armor to achieve this. The instructions which came from Accurate Armour also had an accusatory comment from the update kit’s maker that his update kit had been plagiarized by Trumpeter. This was quite a surprise to me. Then I noted the plethora of kits coming out fom Trumpeter and noted that the Challenger II kit which I had purchased was a little lacking in detail. The reviews I have read have been pretty complimentary of Trumpeter kits and I’m curiuous as to what other modelers have to say about their armor kits. Also, the extreme number of kits recently introduced by Trumpeter seems a bit odd. This vaguely reminds me of the CD dumping perpetrated by Chinese CD pirates some years ago. What’s up with this?
the Trumpeter Challenger 2 kit was the only non resin game in town before Tamiya came out with theres
Trumpeter is said to have copied alot of Accurate armours kits, like the FAUN tank transporter and the Challenger and AS 90
i look at it this way Trumpeter are getting better and better with there releases and the prices are cheaper than the resin companys
The newer Trumpeter kits are great. Some of their original T-55 based kits can be pretty poor. As to the latest windfall, most are models not made by others, as far as I can tell. I welcome them. Don’t know anything about copying others works. I like all the veriety Trump is coming out with and can’t wait for some of their future kits.
Welcome to the forum.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but what prompted the parallel of Trumpeter releasing many kits between CD piracy? What about Dragon, they’ve released half a dozen kits in the last couple of months?
To answer some thing; I know that some of Trumpeter’s older kits, (IS tank, amongst some others) were ‘influenced’ by Tamiya kits. However, I would not think that this extends to any of their newer releases. I’ve built quite a few of their tanks, and they are decent kits. Definitely not the greates of fit and detail, but you get what you pay for. There is another spectrum to their kits. The megasized kits, such as the Faun panzertransporter, the SA-2 missle on transporter, and the Karl Morser heavy mortar to name a few, have been absolutely outstanding kits, and have been offered at fair prices, to boot.
On another note, I find it offensive that an instruction sheet from one manufacturer would contain accusatory remarks towards another. Maybe they were just irritated that Trumpeter cut into their market, and did it in a way that would probably be more reachable to many modelers. For example, I was at my LHS a couple of days ago, and saw a set of jerry cans from AA retailing for close to $50 CAD. I find this ludicrous. For nearly half that price, I can get the whole Chally II kit from Trumpeter.
I think you should let your opinions and wallet decide your mind over Trumpeter kits, rather than the ramblings of a guy looking to make another buck or two. Give them a try, don’t expect Tamiya quality of fit, but at half the price, I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed.