I buy them because they are the best engineered (IMO) kits on the market. I don’t have the headaches while assembling Tamiya kits like I do with Dragon, AFV Club, Academy, Skif (the horror!) etc. The other reason I buy Tamiya? How about three, the T-55, LeClerc and the Leopard 2A5/A6. Probably the finest and best detailed kits I have built.
[#ditto]
[#ditto] What James said
One reason I would consider a Tamiya kit is that the parts are usually crisply molded and fit together so nicely. Even their much maligned Panther A of which I’ve recently completed major assembly, fit together really well. Of all Tamiya kits I’ve ever bought the only one that had any significant fit problems was a 1/72 Spitfire. Although the flash and parts cleanup on their Panther A is the worst that I’ve encountered from Tamiya in that area, objectively speaking it was still fairly decent.
Well, as a father and a modeler of over 30 something years, I know that a kit I buy for one of my kids will have all the necessary parts, build easily, fit well and will be able to withstand the rigors of a 10 year old handling it. Right now, they have the best and only true entry level models for budding armor builders.
My daughter won several awards with Tamiya kits at her first model show when she was 11. She entered a Tamiya M151A2 and one of their German motorcycles (from the 2 kit pack).
Your opinions are certainly valid as well, but your initial post sure did come across as a wholly anti-Tamiya rant. It definitely sounded like you thought Tamiya kits were terrible. Which is fine, if that’s your honest opinion.
Take your time when posting so that the point you are trying to convey actually makes it into the post.
Sorry to hear about your decal difficulties. I recently built the Tamiya M4A3 Frontline Breakthrough Sherman and found no problems with the decals at all. I suspect yours were a “one-off” situation due to the storage, heat, or batch problems noted in other members’ replies.
As for your points on Tamiya in general, I’ll also both agree and disagree with you. When Tamiya is the only producer of a subject, the case is closed…buy it or do without. When there are other manufacturers, the situation is more difficult to resolve.
I have essentially bought my last Tamiya kit unless (or until) they once again produce new 1/35 scale WWII armor subjects that I don’t have in my stash. There are a couple subjects that Tamiya produced which are currently OOP that I will buy if they go back into production, but other than those, I’m pretty much done.
When building my stash of 1/35 armor (now at approximately 250 kits), if a subject was produced by both Tamiya and DML, I took the DML everytime. This was for two main reasons…cost and individual track links. If there was a choice between Tamiya and another manufacturer, I would completely research all available online information and then make the best choice for me. In some cases this meant buying Tamiya. In others, it meant buying Italeri, Zvezda, Academy, etc.
My model buying dollars are spent based on the following criteria, in order:
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Subject - If it’s something I want, I’ll buy it from whomever manufacturers it.
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Price - I will normally buy the cheapest kit from multiple manufacturers unless quality is terribly bad.
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Quality - If the price difference is not much, I’ll choose the higher quality - least expensive kit.
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Aftermarket “Goodies” - I prefer stand-alone AM parts, so this is last on my list of factors.
The choice is really up to each modeler to decide which kit fits their own individual needs. However, in some cases, Tamiya is actually the best choice for certain subjects.
Tamiya has some great kits and some bad ones ,( mostly the older ones ) I was sorry to hear that they were going to concentrate on 1/48 as I am not a modeler of that scale , but I still feel they have some good stuff out there to offer ,Panther G , marder III , FAMO , Dragon wagon , etc
Decals can sometimes go to hell , I have had many DML ones that have do just that , I don’t fret too much on decals , there is always replacement stuff somewhere around here .
Now I have the opposite opinion of this WHY would you consider Dragon over Tamiya? I prefer Tamiya well over Dragon but at the same time I do buy both. My biggest problem with Dragon is that I dont like their indie track links AT ALL and I wish they would include both as I know some do like them. I have quite a few awaiting the tracks to be put on (10plus). I think Tamiya is better quality than all the others but that is my opinion and I will gladly pay more for any Tamiya than a dragon or Dml
As others have said it mostly comes down to subject matter/price and engineering averaged together I build mostly build WWII german AFV’s (as my handle suggests) sometimes it just boils down to my above formula I just LOVE the DML Tiger 1 kits where i perfer the tamiya SdKfz 251 over the DML offering just buy what you will enjoy modeling and HAPPY BUILDING ALL [8D]
And don’t forget that many of Tamiya kits are well aged and been around a lot longer than its competitors’ products. If you are comparing 1975 model BMW to 2006 Cadillac, then of course 2006 Cadillac will have more bells and whistles.
Also, just like many people have pointed out, Tamiya may be the only manufacturer producing specific models that we want. I don’t know whether any other manufacturers are producing U.S. M3 half track in 1/35 scale. Is it the best kit available? No, but is the only kit available (to my knowledge anyway).
If Dragon or Academy offered same products as Tamiya, then I would definitely consider them as well, but simply they don’t offer the same models as Tamiya at this time.
The fit is great when building also the decals are good you just need patinces.Tamiya makes great kits now and in the past.They make them so that anybody can get a good build out of them and they raised the standards for all model makers to follow.If it was not for Tamiya,companys like Dragon would not be here.We would all still be building Revell and the stuff they would force down on us.Tamiya is also a kit that can be easily modified even when you make a mistake,they are a very forgiving product.If you miss up on a Dragon oh well time to make a new part or order one.Digger
i think to me the bottom line is get informed b-4 you buy
that is what all of us here do for each other we try to help we ask for help
get feedback on a kit or both kits if 2 companies make it then decide
That is exceptionally good advice, DURR! Well said.
… I have to echo DURR, and Brian… Personally, unless it’s from Tamiya, I wait for a reputable review before buying a new release. I might add that bells and whistles( extra goodies) don’t always suggest a superior kit…; a hard leason learned with my first DML purchase; their Sd.Kfs.251.
I think Tamiya kits are probably the most pleasurable to put together.
That said, I am decidedly not happy with the Leclerc. To build it right, it’s about $55 for the kit, and another $20 or so for the photoetched addons.
I think Dragon’s recent ones are better value for the money.
NTM
1.) Unique subject
2.) Dependable quality
3.) Limited skill needed on the part of the modeler
4.) You want a challenge
5.) You don’t care about extra details
6.) Simple preference