I have not purchased 1/48 aircraft in a while, i’ve been doing mostly armor lately. I picked up a Tamiya A-10 (mfg’d 1991) tonight and when I opened it I was very dissapointed to see RAISED panel lines and rivets!!! The last 1/48 scale aircraft I purchased about 8 years ago was a Hasegawa kit and all detail was recessed. Have things changed? I thought Tamiya had good stuff. I love there armor.
My question is:
I want to build in 1/48 scale and I want recessed detail. Which manufacturer has what I’m looking for? Can you rate my choices below.
Well i know how you feel Usersrdum, I won that kit on E-bay thinking I was getting a good deal.I found out later that the A-10 was an older kit.As it stands now…I don’t think anyone makes a 1/48 scale A-10 with recessed panel lines.But if it makes you feel any better… alot of the models that Tamiya molds now are better by leaps and bounds.It just boils down to doing some research on a particular kit you are interested in.I usually wait till I see a review of a kit either on Hyperscale or just wait till it gets reveiwed by “Finescale Modeler”.I know that the 1/32 scale A-4 skyhawk by Hasegawa also has raised panel lines,and it is an older kit too.I know I’m not helping much but if your really interested in getting a kit ask someone that posts on here what they think about it and then make your choice accordingly.
Later on…
Italeri can be so-so, but they do some interesting kits sometimes, as for Academy, Hasagawa and Tamiya, most newer kits are good. Best to do some research before you buy any kit. Good place is the forum.
John
helicopters don’t fly, they beat the air into submission
The answer is " It all depends on which kit ". Twenty year old toolings from Hasegawa or Tamiya won’t be as detailed as current toolings. The Tamiya A-10 goes back to the days of mostly raised panel lines & minimal interior detail. If you want to do a 1/48 P-47D, the Tamiya kit is absolute state of the art. If you want to do a 1/48 Avenger, Accurate Miniatures kit will amaze you. If you want to do a 1/48 Cessna A-37, then the older Monogram with raised panel lines is the only game in town, and so on. Decide which aircraft you want to model & then post a question of the best kit available for that bird & you’ll get lots of good suggestions. There simply is no " best " single manufacturer for all aircraft kits.
each of those manufacturers have their good kits and their not so good kits… I do know that Tamiya seems to have cleaned up their act a lot… Hasegawa has come a long way but I have heard of a kit here or there that was not up to snuff.
If you are into WWII A/C Accurate Miniatures has some good lines to it… good detail inside too… if you want you can add some PE and such but usually they are just detailed enough for the average builder.
Classic Airframes offers some pretty detailed kits… nice panel lines for the most part, PE and Resin parts right in the box. Again WWII for the most part.
Monogram Pro-modeler has some good kits, nothing lavish but their later releases are adequate… and with a little AM can spruce up right nice…
Even a Revell AV-8B kit I got recently wasn’t bad, with the exception of only offering the day bomber version instrument panel it was a nice looking build (ok I am like 75% done haha)
Just ask around for a specific kit and I am sure someone can tell you some good and not so good kits of it…
Good luck, I know the frustration! I recently bought a Fairey Fulmar and when I got it the top and bottom flap halves on the port wing were about 1/2" from meeting in the right place…
—edit—
something I do is go one www.squadron.com and look up the kit… while never downing a kit you can read between the lines and find out a lot… usually they will say “Finely detailed raised detail” if it is raised panel lines… if the interior is basic they will not even mention it, on the AM and Tamiya stuff that is good they ALWAYS mention about the highly detailed interior and “engraved recessed detail” as far as panel lines… if the description is 3 lines long then it is worth just that… nothing…
the fairey fulmar folled me I didnt see anything but “white metal seating and landgin gear” … didn’t see the part about no interior and recessed (not finely recessed, or finely engraved) panel lines…
Newer Tamiya kits are packed with detail. The P-47’s, Corsairs and alot of their other warbirds are great, with recessed panel lines and good cockpits. Hasegawa is on the same level with the surface detail, but sometimes the cockpits aren’t on Tamiyas level. Same goes for Academy. Accurate miniatures are another manufacturer with great detail levels in their kits (probably better than Tamiya in some cases).
My feeling on this is the exact opposite. Tamiya has always been weak on interiors. The Beaufighter and Do-335 come to mind as having poor cockpits. Hasegawa has a good product, well detailed and crisp. I think Accurate Miniatures are very good. Just not prolific enough. Tamiya is grossly overpriced, at least from a tour of local hobby shops.
This is just my $.02 worth.
I have to say trhe Zengdefu kits are the BEST Ive ever seen. Accurate moldings, perfect detail, beautiful recessed panel lines… [:D]
Believe that one and I got some peach trees growing in antartica I’d like to sell you.
While I still pray for shake n bake kits I have to say that some of the less detailed kits will challenge a builder more and help him/her become a better builder. Ive aslo noticed that the mainstream kits get the most attention (Spitfires, P-47’s, P-51’s…)and thus can be found with better detail. But if your looking for something not quite so common (AC-130, T-38, KC-135 to name a few) Then quit often you have to take what you can find. especially if your looking for a specific scale and end up scratchbuilding…
I cant tell you how many times I tried to make Italerie’s 1/48 RF-4C look presentable, then Hasagawa comes out with a whole line of em… Some one will do the same with the A-10 as soon as you finish building yours [:)]
When it comes to detail. It’s really what you make of it. I’ve seen some pretty basic plastic and resin model kits that didn’t have much detail in them end up being masterpieces with wiring, etc. Ultimately, if you want detail, look for aftermarket stuff like resin cockpit setes, photo-etched parts, and decal or dry-transfer stencils.
I’ll throw my hat into the ring with my praises for Revell of Germany. If you get one of their originals, the fit, detail, and price are all absolutly spectacular. I’ve just spent about three months with a couple of their Ju 290’s, and they’re awsome. Certainly top level detail and accuracy, without the top level price.
Be warned, though. They still package older releases, with older, not-so-great accuracy and fit problems. Ask around before buying one to make sure it’s a new mold. (I’m not sure how much 1/48 stuff they do…)