Quality of 1/72nd Scale Models

[Joe]

Gentlemen,

I've been back to modeling for over a year know. I have built 4 models (and have attempted others) in this time and all are 1/72 scale. I picked this scale for the advantages of cost and size/space savings. I must say that I am greatly disappointed with the quality of the models; 3 of the 4 models were very junky. I have attempted others and gave up because of poor quality. I am trying to build an ICM model and I swear that it wasn't even designed to be put together it is so bad. The brands I have built so far are Tamiya, 2 Academys, and an Airfix. I have heard great things about Tamiya but was disappointed when the fuselage halves didn't fit and needed A LOT of work. Maybe I'm just having bad luck so far but I'm starting to wonder if the 1/72 scale models are very poor in general compared to their 1/48 scale counterparts. Any truth in that?

Any thoughts on 1/72nd scale quality?

Thanks!

[PrivateMansoor]

Hi Joe

I have just started modelling 8 months ago and have built quite a few kits in 1/72 scale - Have a look here for a range of 1/72 kits I have recently built:

http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 50&t=16076
http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 45&t=16060

Here are my thoughts:

The quality of any scale kit will vary. I advise that you review the kits on the internet before you buy them. Many times they are actually old kits re-packaged in new boxing. For example Tamiya does an F-15 1/72 which is a rebox of the italeri 1/72 f-15, they are the exact same kit.
You can find this out by using a website called http://www.scalemates.com
If you search a kit on this website you will see what the kit was originally based on (in most cases) and then you can see if you can get some reviews.

I have had similar problems to yourself. I recently bought a Hasegawa Corsair in 1/72 ( as I thought Hasegawa was a great brand) but the kit came with raised panel lines and I found out that it was actually a really old kit that had been reboxed

Do not go on brand name alone, as many times you can be disappointed. However in saying that the best kits I have found in 1/72 are usually from Dragon or CyberHobby - these seem to be of the highest calibre with almost as much detail as their larger counterparts. They are usually expensive though.

Also the new airfix kits (key word being new) are also very well put together. The only way to know if the kit is new is if you search it on scalemates and it tells you that it was a new tool made in say 2013, this would signify it is of their new styling. Once again I made a mistake with Airfix when I bought their 1/72 Dinah kit and found out it was actually a very old kit in new boxing. However if you look at their 1/72 Mustang kits, they are quite good.

Now in regards to your experience with ICM, I will agree with you there, these are very badly molded kits, as I have build quite a few, most recently this one:

http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 46&t=16119

But I knew it was a bad kit, I just really had to build it.

Now if I were to suggest brands in 1/72 in terms of quality I would suggest them like this

Best Quality:
Dragon (most ktis)
CyberHobby (most kits)
Meng (all 1/72 kits are amazing - they only have a few)

Usually good quality
Trumpeter (usually very good in 1/72)
HobbyBoss (have some great 1/72 Helicopters and some very decent aircraft - some might disagree with me here)

Review before you buy:
Tamiya (be careful to review as often they are very old kits that have been re boxed - especially all their 1/72 helicopters - most have raised panel lines)
Airfix (their new kits - when I say this I mean their kits which are actually new toolings - are all very good)
Italeri (always review)
Hasegawa (always review - old kits arent very good - new ones however are very good)
Revell (always review)
Academy(always review)

There are many brands I have not listed but I would always review these- such as ICM, Zvezda, S-Model, even Miniart etc.

In summary I think usually the more recent a kit the better its quality (Usually)

Hope my post helped.

[Joe]

Thanks Private Mansoor! I appreciate all the info! I did look at reviews of this ICM MiG-25 model and, at the time, all I could find were out-of-box reviews, which were good. Later, after I bought the model of coarse, I read two reviews that mentioned really bad fitting! I will post one of my own!

Thanks again!

Joe

[timtamtung]

Hey mate, i did specialize in 1/72 armor and planes (mostly armour).

Here's: my choice in order

I can tell you from experience that the best 1/72 so far come from Dragon.
Heller also make awesome 1/72 scale vehicles eg. shermans.
Zvezda have some nice 1/72 kits. My fave is the isu152.
Italeri (suprisingly, BUT has to be their new tooling/ mould kits). Usually 2 kits in 1 for cheap price as they were for table top.
Trumpeter & revell... are the next to go to.

[d6mst0]

I feel your pain about the ICM model. I had a ICM ship in 350 scale that the parts were so poorly formed that it took several weeks just to get the main and secondary decks to align and fit. But the superstructure was the killer, it took months to assemble. I will never buy another ICM product again.

[digger303]

I feel your pain about the ICM model. I had a ICM ship in 350 scale that the parts were so poorly formed that it took several weeks just to get the main and secondary decks to align and fit. But the superstructure was the killer, it took months to assemble. I will never buy another ICM product again.

the newer 1/35 vehicle kits are great kits, plastic can be a little fragile, but great quality and value.