Hi all, after recently returning to modeling after a 20+ year absence I am bewildered by the amount of kit manufactures there are on the market. I am presently building a Tamiya Tiger 1 which is 1/35 scale. I also have a AFV M113A1 FSV 1/35 scale which I have yet to build, but does look a good kit though a little more complicated than the Tiger. Recently off e-bay have purchased 2 1/72 scale airfix kits which if memory serves are not the best fitting kits, but wil do to help me improve my painting skills ( which really need help)and a 1/72 scale esci A4 M1 Sherman which will be going back on ebay later today as it looks like its made out of pasta.
Should I stick to Tamiya, how good are AFV kits, a lot of people mention dragon as good kits or hasegawa . Please any opinion would help as I unsure which kit to buy next
Cheers SM [%-)]
Hi,
Welcome back to armor! I’ve been at modeling on and off,it mostly on for over forty years and for my money I go for Dragon (aka DML) Their detailing is superb, and they generally give lots of extras for the parts bin. They seem to get better with each new kit.
Check out their new Tiger I early production. pe, options, brass and other stuff too numerous too mention and at about 35 bucks a great buy.
Tamyia in my opinin is a good company but spendy for what you get compared Dragon or AFV,
You may also want to look into ALAN or CMK book good kit makers from Czech Repiblic and Russia.
Italeiari still makes some good kit as well.
So there ya go! just one more opinion.
What ever you pick have fun, that’s what it all about1
Dave
Welcome to the boards! As for the best kits, sometimes it depends on what you want to build. Going by name brand alone isn’t always the best way- sometime a kit is older and not up to the companies current standards. For example Tamiya makes great kits, but if you would pick up their old Panther A you wouldn’t be getting very good kit. Now if you bought their Panther G, you would be getting an excellent kit. Here is a website that offers reviews of various kits and after-market accessories that you may find helpful. You can always ask here about a specific kit if you are unsure. That’s what I do
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/revafv.htm
Thanks for your time and the great link, it even had a review of the AFV M113A1 FSV that I have waiting to build. Have any of you had much experience building 1/48 scale models. I like the fine detail in the 1/35 scale, but they do take a lot of room on display. Do the 1/48 scale have enough detail or is it a compromise between quality and size (as I tell the girlfriend)
SM
The Perth link above has reviews of the new 1/48 scale armor. Since you are just re-entering the hobby, I would suggest those kits. Pretty good detail and a smaller/quicker build.
I cannot say, myself. I have yet to get one of the 1/48th kit, so I concede to those who have experience there (Like Rob’s post above)
i kinda like tamiya, the kits of theirs that i used were pretty good!!! but at my lhs they are all sooo expensive!!! (just my two cents)-DJ
I have have found that Academy makes some great kits as well.
Hello, … Scary Monster?
Like you, I took an extended break from modeling (20+ yrs). When I started up again recently it was from “scratch”. I had no large enventory of kits in a particular scale that forced a continuation of commitment . In my case, Tamiya’s launch of their new quarterscale kits was coincidental with my re-entry into the hobby. I decided to experiment with them and purchased the first 5 releases. I had started an Academy 1/35th Stuart at the time, and used it as a benchmark for the new Tamiya kits coming on the market. ( I am now of the opinion the Chinese companies market superb products; you can’t go wrong with any of the new kits they release these days.)
However, when I learned of the forthcoming SkyBow Tigers, I elected to build in quarterscale. Driving factors for me were fidelity of detail, and accuracy , investment costs, and ease of display.
Tamiya seems to be the number one kit when it comes down to details and easy to follow instructions, so i think I will stick to these until I gain more experience. Is there an online site that is favourite amongst modellers on this forum for purchasing kits as Tamiya are expensive.
Thanks
SM
True, Tamiya kits are expensive. But the details of Tamiya isn’t comparable to some other kits. Pay more and Get more.
Individual’s have different favourites. [:D]
I would check out internet hobbies. www.internethobbies.com they have great deals and a wide variety of everything.Squadron is also good. www.squadron.com
Scary, normally I’d say that Rob’s onto something here with the 48th – but I sense that you are a Briton, perhaps incorrectly, but I’m getting that sense. The 48th kits are apparently hard on the wallet over there – they’re almost as much as 35th, apparently!
I’d stick with Tamiya until you feel you’ve got your feet, and then try out the new King Tiger from Dragon – the very newest one, which saves you the trouble of getting all the track links off the sprue. That one has individual links, and you’re going to have to deal with those if you stick with armour modeling and want to branch out. It’s also got lots of other goodies, and on top of that it’s not that expensive.
Maybe someone can supply the kit number?
In my opinion,the Tristar is the best!
Here’s the kit # for the new King Tiger DR6254. Asking who makes the best kit is a toughy. Tamiya,Dragon, Academy and AFV seem, to me anyway, pretty close in Quality. Each has their ups and downs. I’ve grown to really enjoy DML. I haven’t been burned by any of the ones I named. I did have a part problem with a DML Stug IV but they took care of it Quickly. Now there are a couple of Russian brands I just won’t take a chance with anymore.Italeri’s aren’t too bad, they beg for PE, which I rather enjoy.I think they hit it earlier by saying to start out with a couple of Tamiyas and go on to others as you feel more confident.
I have had good luck with Dragon, Tamiya and even Zvezda.