Kit Manufacturers

[MAGNA]

This is from the 1/72 perspective about different manufacturers and the quality of product they make. Some of these manufacturers actually make 1/76 kits and badge them as 1/72. It doesn't seem to matter too much though as they fit in together reasonably well. If anyone who knows about other manufacturers wants to add to this they are welcome. That includes 1/35 too.

I am looking at this mainly from the point of view of ground vehicles and figures as that is what I do most.

AIRFIX - easy to laugh at and say the kits are too old and the moulds are bad - I do both a lot - but, this manufacturer can't be discounted. A lot of the kits are simple and not overly detailed - the Sherman for instance. Many others very good though, particularly the trucks. Matador, Quad, Scammel transporter. Others are good value too. Again the Matador with 5.5" field gun, the Sdkfz 7 with 88mm Flak.

Most of my wargame kits are Airfix and many have stood up well over decades.

The figures - soft plastic - some good - some not great, but again good value and a great way to build up units for a diorama or wargame.

4/5 for Airfix on value and variety.

2 or 3/5 for varying quality including the fit of some kits and flash on figures.

HASEGAWA - Another company that has been around for a long time. Not a great selection of kits but some are hard to find elsewhere such as the Long Tom 155mm gun or the High speed tractor.

The fit of these kits is very very good and you can always feel confident that your final product is going to come out well. I recently made an M3 half track, usually a fairly bland build but the Hasegawa kit is nothing of the sort. Options for the gun and a really good interior surprised me. The only kit I have trouble with is the 76mm Sherman with HVSS - it's just too big ! The whole thing is just way over size.

4.5/5 for Hasegawa on value and variety.

4 to 4.5/5 for quality and fit. Very good.

Fujimi - This company still badges their kits as 1/76 which they are. Again, these have been around for a long time. It is starting to show with the last few I have bought having quite a lot of flash and very bad fitting leaving big gaps in the seams.

The strange thing is it doesn't seem to matter as the detail on these kits just stands out so well.

Not a huge range here either but a few really good kits, especially the larger German types. The smaller ones - Hetzer and 38t are a bit fudgy but still seem to have 'that' look about them when finished.

3 to 4 for Fujimi on value and variety.

3 to 4 for quality and fit. Maybe +1 for having 'that' look.

Revell - I am not able to say anything about their older stuff but the last few years have seen a lot of kits available. Part of the range is actually the old Matchbox 1/76 kits - still good but some are moulded in dark green plastic and it's hard to see on the instructions where some bits actually go. Good to see them available though as they are handy kits.

The other Revell 1/72 kits are very much like Hasegawa'a offerings. Good instructions with very good parts that fit nicely. Separate plastic track links on many - Stug IV (rare kit in this scale), Elefant, and Cromwell are three that have these type of tracks. A bit fiddly but easy enough if you glue a few at a time.

The figures available are also very well done and mix in well with other makes. Poses and types are good. Their Russians are a big step up from the old Airfix ones.

4 to 4.5 on value and variety

4 to 4.5 for quality and fit.

Italeri - Again been around for a while. Good kits with good variety. Not much wrong at all with anything I have bought. They also have two tanks in one box kits available which are not overly detailed and go together very quickly. Good stuff for gamers. The M8 scout car is a really good piece of work as are many other kits in the range.

Figures - many of the figure boxes available are from Zvezda, another company who make them under their own name as well. The range is excellent and the figures have enough detail to satisfy anyone. Excellent stuff.

4 to 4.5 on value and variety

4 to 4.5 for quality and fit.

DRAGON - What can I say. Excellent kits with a bigger range than before. I have the Panther which has plastic parts to glue onto a diecast hull. A nice kit. Then I got the new JagdPanzer IV L/70. A myriad of parts with PE and all sorts of options. In a word - overkill. It doesn't work in this smaller scale and just isn't necessary. You really can't tell the difference if you leave PE off and cutting 2mm wide plastic bits off to replace them with 2mm wide but thinner PE bits isn't worth the bother. On 1/72 aircraft or larger 1/48 1/35 AFV's it makes sense as they are usually display models and PE helps to keep the overall scale right, but I have to say in 1/72 for vehicles - no.

Apart from the too many parts issue, exceptional kits for display and excellent to make - oops - except perhaps for the instructions. A bit round about on the order of when things go on so you have to check first other wise you can end up with bits that can't be fitted as something else that should have gone on later has been put on first.

4 to 4.5 on value and variety

4 to 4.5 for quality and fit.

[Hagen]

Nice writeup Magna. 1/72 and 1/76 scale kits have come along way over the past few years. Revell and Dragon are two of my favorites in this scale. My last build I used both manufactures to kit-bash a Panzer IVJ Late. I took Dragons Stug IV Late hull, drive sprockets, road wheels, tracks and flame damper exhausts and mated the upper hull and turret of Revells Panzer IVJ. Revells kit has the early lower hull with 4 return rollers while Dragons Stug has the later three return roller hull. It was an easy build because everything fit together very well.

I like the Fujimi Tiger1's (the later molds) with their link and length track they build into beautiful models. I also recently tried UM's Flammpanzer Hetzer, again another fine build, I'll tell you though those indy links are tiny, and wasn't sure my clumsy fingers would be able to manage it, but turned out well. The links are only around the drive sprocket and return rollers the long runs are lengths.

Right now I'm watching the glue dry on a Dragon JagdTiger, a build brought about by a thread we have going here. Dragon uses a rubberband style track but now that they're glueable (and in scale) I find them very easy and convenient to use.

Happy modeling all!

[McCoy]

I've built more than a fair share of Matchbox AFV's in 1:76 in the eighty's n' they were fairly good kits back then but I suspect that the time has run away from 'em.

[Geek44]

A guy at my club recently brought in a bunch of old 1/72 aircraft kits and I was struck by the quality. The parts were clean and crisp...keep in mind that these were old kits from the seventies. The boxes were well faded and dusty. If they'd been 1/48 kits I'd have bought them all! When I compared what I'd seen to my more recently bought Airfix kit the thought occurred that the only problem with Airfix is the age of their moulds. I begin to suspect that the new Airfix (Hornby) kits may not be that bad after all.

[Hagen]

Originally Posted by McCoy

I've built more than a fair share of Matchbox AFV's in 1:76 in the eighty's n' they were fairly good kits back then but I suspect that the time has run away from 'em.

I've always found the tracks on these older kits to be the major letdown, very limited detail and usually thicker then the tracks on the real thing, little pins you put through little holes and apply heat just to have them seperate while trying to get them over the running gear. Then you were left with either sewing them back together or taking the stapler to them. Neither of which had much eye appeal, I preferred the staple method and tried to hide the staple on the bottom underneath the roadwheels.

[Geek44]

There are more than a few old Tamiya 1/35 kits that used the same track method...four pins through holes. I had very few break on me but I had more than the odd wheel bust off tryinf to fit the track.

[McCoy]

Originally Posted by Hagen

I've always found the tracks on these older kits to be the major letdown, very limited detail and usually thicker then the tracks on the real thing, little pins you put through little holes and apply heat just to have them seperate while trying to get them over the running gear. Then you were left with either sewing them back together or taking the stapler to them. Neither of which had much eye appeal, I preferred the staple method and tried to hide the staple on the bottom underneath the roadwheels.

Back then I didn't care 'bout the bad tracks.

[MAGNA]

The Matchbox kits are still highly useful for gaming and dioramas because they are reasonably priced and offer a fair amount of variation. So yes, dated but still good stuff, especially for beginners who want tanks.

PST - A Russian manufacturer - A reasonable range including a Katyusha. The T34/85 is a good kit with plastic track link system. Instructions are reasonable and the decal set is amazing, with enough for all theatres - even some pictures to put on the turret.

These are good for intermediate and up although a patient beginner could easily tackle one.

The best thing though - the price. 40 to 50% less than equivalent kits from other manufacturers.

4.5 to 5 on value and variety (mainly on value)

4 for quality and fit. (4.5 for decals)

HAT - Funny stuff this. A huge range of figures with some really good examples including Italian troops of many kinds through to most other types.

Some however are wierd, and it's not the mould but the master figures themselves. One arm to scale length and the other looking like it belongs on a 1/144th scale figure.
Still good value though.

The kits - Armourfast is a series of kits where you get two tanks in the one box - both the same type. JS2 - Sherman M4A3 - Sherman 105 and so on. Each has only about 7 or 8 parts so great for wargaming. Even the tracks are moulded in plastic with the running gear.

Two kits however are a real cock up. The T34/76 pair and the T34/85 pair are mongrels to put together. The tops of the tracks have to be cut down significantly and the hull needs massive shaving otherwise the running gear just doesn't fit to the hull. As I said - funny stuff.

4 to 4.5 on value and variety

3 to 4 for quality and fit for kits - 4 for figures.

[Geek44]

MAGNA, this is excellent stuff. Very useful and informative...I have this to add for interest's sake.
It appears from what I've read above that manufacturers have strengths and weaknesses. You mention a few who's wares I regularly consume and where you've given mid-range scores, in my area of interest (aircraft) I'd score differently.

HASEGAWA - An excellent manufacturer for aircraft in 1/48 but only 'good' in 1/72. Readily available, huge range and continually growing. If I have a choice, I'll usually pick a Hasegawa kit. They aren't as savvy with their engineering as Tamiya, but they have a much wider range of Aircraft kits from the WW2 period to modern. Parts are usually very well moulded, fit is good and decals are often farmed out to 'Cartograph' which is a highly reputable Italian firm. They have begun to expand their 1/32 range of aircraft kits too and they're excellent.
1/72 - 3/5...very basic kits and some are showing their age.
1/48 - 4 to 4.5/5...good parts, fit, instructions, range, decals...need I go on.
1/32 - 4/5...smaller range but the one I have (Ju 87D 'Night Stuka') looks very good.

Revell - For aircraft it's pot-luck in all scales. Strike a kit made in Germany and you have a top shelf kit in all aspects. Get one made elsewhere and you have an expensive paper weight. To illustrate...I bought two 'Skill 2' Revell kits at K-Mart for under five bucks each years ago. One was a Fokker DVII and the other a Dr. 1 Triplane. On inspection, the Triplane is beautiful...parts are crisp and the entire surface has a subtle fabric texture moulded into it. The machine guns look like machine guns (talking 1/72) and the whole kit has no flash whatsoever. The DVII on the other hand is awful. The visible part of the engine looks like it's made of blu tac, the wing struts vary in length and look to be about a foot thick and one fuselage half is shorter than the other!! I also have their 1/32 F4U Corsair and it's a caricature of the aircraft the proportions are so bad. This one comes with a pilot figure and this is where the overall quality can really show. A good pilot figure can be indicative of the rest of the kit. This one is flat. Despite its 'collector's item' status, it's an awful kit. I don't buy Revell kits anymore...it's not worth the risk considering their 'good' kits are the same price as their 'bad' kits.

Fujimi - An odd crowd to my mind. One of the few to offer late model Messerschmitt 109s, notably the K-4. They have good quality parts and decals but the parts look 'blocky' in a way. If I saw a kit with square wheels I wouldn't be surprised. These kits a well worth it and are excellent shells for detail sets. Some of the parts are very fine and they enjoy the reputation of having the best 109 kits on the market in terms of scale proportion and shape.
I've built the K-4 and I have the P-51 Mustang which is a bit of a modelling cliche given that the decals are for 'Big Beautiful Doll' (again).

DRAGON - Aircraft kits in 1/72 and 1/48 are pretty basic. I'd buy a Hasegawa or Tamiya instead. They've concentrated on their armour range and we all know how well that's going.
2.5/5.

[MAGNA]

Thanks Geek. That's great for me as I don't know about the aircraft in these scales. Cheers.