Friday's Diatribe #27 - Manufacturers

[Tomcat64]

So I'm guest hosting this week's diatribe to give 2KNS a breather, and have some model kit manufacturer based questions for you (hopefully we didn't do this one already and apologies for the rerun if we did!)

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?

Feel free to expand on any of the questions - rambling is always welcomed here

[Stokesy44]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?

Its 1970s England so it had to be Airfix and Matchbox. Revell was out there too and Tamiya was far too exotic and foreign!

2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?

I love Tamiya becuase the quality is guaranteed and the prices are not bad. RFM are pretty tasty as is Takom, Meng, Eduard, new tool Airfix too.

3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?

Tamiya's 1/32 aircraft series has me weeping on the floor in gratitiude to the modelling Gods, such is their quality. RFM - beautiful detail but instructions can be a bit 'off'. Very well priced though and the stash is well stocked with RFM beasts. I'm not a fan of Dragon, quality is good but the prices are just mental. £70 for a Stug III? Someone needs shooting.

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?

I will not touch Kittyhawk with a 10 foot pole. I've heard some horrendous stuff about them to the point where its almost trendy to say how awful their kits are. Now here's a contentious one, I dont like Bandai. I'm still waiting for them to release some grown up Star Wars kits. With the exception of the perfect grade Falcon (which is too far the other way), their kits are not much more than toys to me. I would love to build a biker scout and speeder kit but the figure they released is fully articulated and looks like a toy from a mile away.

5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?

Thankfully no. I know those traps are out there (Naughty Airfix) but thankfully I have avoided them by researching my purchases.

[DRUMS01]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modeling - however long ago that was?

Revell, MPC, Airfix, AMT, JoHan, Monogram, Hubley, and Gullows

2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?

Tamiya, TAKOM, and Trumpeter, unless building classic kits.

3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?

The evolution and dedication to better tooling technologies have had many veteran manufacturers really raise thier game on "new" tooling. I would still have to call out Tamiya, Jasmine for the PE aircraft skeleton kits, TAKOM, some trumpeter, and Model Factory Hiro all for their superb kits. Also a high five to both Quinta Studios for the aircraft cockpit 3D details and Eduard for years of PE pioneering. Then we could talk about all the resin and 3d technologies out there too....

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?

While I am open to most, I still research ALL kit purchases, regardless of manufacturer, through reviews, photos, forum builds, etc.

5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?

Actually, this is a good time to give a good plug for "Scalemates" web site. It is a wonderful resource to check on the age and re-boxing of kits as well as after-market items. While it may not have 100% of everything, it is still very, very good. As for "gotchas"?, I have to say my issue is quite there opposite. Since I normally wait for the reviews, kit builds, etc, I have at time procrastinated to a point that the initial cost when introduced would've since increased, or the availability of the kit is harder to get once I'm ready for the purchase. There have also been times when the after-market had almost dried up on the kit once I got the model. I guess you would say that I am on the back of the curve, not so much an impulse buyer. I suppose a big part of that is my rather large stash. I will not live long enough to build all the models I currently have, so why buy more unless they are "special to me"?

Ben / DRUMS01

[aur0ra145]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?

Revell F4U-1 Corsair in 1/72 about 24 years ago. I got two of the kits and I'd fly them around my room dogfighting each other as a kid. I literally spent my tooth fairy money on buying model kits back then.

I also remember building a 1/48 F/A-18C from some manufacturer. It was fun. Also a 1/72 B-17 that I put the landing gear on backwards. My parents saved the kits and I laughed pretty hard seeing what I did as a kid compared to now.

2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?

Tamiya and Eduard. Bandai is good too. Games Workshop is good; but, expensive... really expensive.

3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?

I did like the 1/72 U-Boat I did from Das Werks. It was quality. Other than that, I don't branch out much. I don't want to get burned.

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?

Revell and AFV Club. See the Tornado and Chaparral builds. I now tend to check Scalemates for kit lineage before buying to verify it is a modern mold. Even then, it doesn't mean it is quality. If I didn't have such a big backlog, I would be more willing to try new kits.

5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?

Revell Tornado and AFV Club Chaparral. New boxing, looked cool. Kits were terrible. I don't want to turn everyone off from Revell and AFV Club, they probably have nice kits. I just had two specific bad experiences that were somewhat do to my lack of research.

[digger303]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
I restarted modeling with a Academy kit about 10yrs ago. What I turned into a glue bomb when I was 10 I have no idea, I don't remember and at the time I just wanted to rip that packet open and get started.

2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
More a case of those I tend to avoid, but I go for, Bronco,AFV, Dragon,Trumpeter, Meng,Takom,Riich, Rfm,Border,Icm,Miniart,Asuka as the most representative of my stash.

3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
Most if not all have generally surprized me to the up side. Lz models have disappointed me in that they have decided not to release any more kits and are doing work for other modeling companies in resin. Not sure exactly what they are doing , but the change of direction and more the decision not to reply to any communications.

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Yes a few, Heller, Italeri,eastern express, Msd, Revell,Tamiya,Academy,Icm and a few others that escape atm.
edit.....add Airfix to the list....except for the newer stuff, thats why they have to be checked first.

5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?
Not so much as I use scalemates and reviews to check first. I have ended up with 3 or 4 kits that I bought 2 of because I didn't check my scalemates stash.

[Stokesy44]

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Yes a few, Heller, Italeri,eastern express, Msd, Revell,Tamiya,Academy,Icm and a few others that escape atm.

Mate, I have to ask, why is Tamiya on the naughty list? I'm not having a go, just genuinely interested

[digger303]

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Yes a few, Heller, Italeri,eastern express, Msd, Revell,Tamiya,Academy,Icm and a few others that escape atm.

Mate, I have to ask, why is Tamiya on the naughty list? I'm not having a go, just genuinely interested

I thought that might raise a eyebrow.
I am skeptical of the older Tamiya kits and the re-boxing of other manufacturers kits. It's mainly cause Tamiya do tend to manufacture kits to cater for the ease of the build and if a little fudging of details is necessary to make that happen then they do. I do buy Tamiya , but not a lot and it's mainly because of the availability of a subject. Case in point the new m18 hellcat...it's on my wish list. Also not a fan of vinyl tracks or wheels and the number of Tamiya kits I've built a high percentage have had the track very tight or too short.
My stash has 11 Tamiya kits and of them I have 2 1/32 scale aircraft that I am very pleased with. I am just careful and research which Tamiya kits I buy.
I'm actually a bit shy of buying a lot of kits from before 2005 not just Tamiya.

[aur0ra145]

I'm actually a bit shy of buying a lot of kits from before 2005 not just Tamiya.

Totally agree on that!

[Panzón]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
My first three kits when I started building plastic models as an adult (2019) were pickup trucks, 2 from Revell, and one from AMT. As a kid (1960s), I remember building mostly Revell and Aurora kits, but I also remember Monogram, AMT, Lindberg, and Hawk.

2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
Most of my recently purchased kits have been from Hasegawa (Maschinen Kreiger and construction equipment) and MiniArt (civilian trucks and diorama accessories)

3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
I've only been building plastic models for 3 years (as an adult, that is), so I don't really know who would be considered a "new" manufacturer, but I have a couple of Trumpeter kits, and the Nautilus kit from Pegasus, all of which impressed me with the quality of the molding and the detail.

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Due to the poor quality of the kits I've built from AMT (mostly Round2 reissues) and Italeri, I no longer buy their kits. I know Italeri produces new kits, but when I've researched Italeri kits of subjects that interest me, I've always found them to be reissues of older kits.

5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?
I'm not certain, but I believe some of the Hasegawa Maschinen Kreiger kits are reboxes of Nitto or Wave kits, but I have kits from all three manufactuerers, and they are all of good quality. Most of the older (pre-1980s) American car kits are made from molds that were sold from one manufacturer to another several times to the point where it's difficult to know who the original manufacturer was. Sometimes, the molds were cleaned up and repaired, and sometimes they were used as is, and the model was simply reissued with new box art and a new decal sheet, and maybe a new sprue of accessory parts. If you want to build those subjects, though, you pretty much have to go with a reissue, since no new molds are being produced as with most military subjects.

[RangerNeil]

My go:
1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
Airfix, Frog, Matchbox, Revell, Tamiya, Hasegaw, Monogram, AMT, Heller are names I can remember. I am sure there were otheres

2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
Probaby Zvezda and Trumpeter in the main - because I like doing Russian helicopters. (Can I say that these days??)

3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
Can't say any have taken me either way in all honesty

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
AModel - because the parts fit can be diabolical

5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?
Yes - the Zvezda new issue of the ZSU-23/4 turned out to be a reissue of, I think, the Dragon kit albeit cleaned up now & reworked.

[johnv]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
Revell, Monogram, AMT, Lindberg, Hawk
2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
Hobbyboss, Trumpeter, Minicraft, Zvezda
3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
Trumpeter, impressed, surprised and diasapointed, mostly because they are on a very long learning curve.
4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Starfix
5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?
Revell 1/72 F9F4/5 Panther

[Pacman9a]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
Being a kid in the 70s in the Uk the choices were Airfix and Matchbox. I remember they were sold in our local DIY shop for some reason. I spent a lot of my pocket money in there! I only bought aircraft kits in those days and hung the results on bits of cotton thread from my bedroom ceiling. I doubt they were any good but I loved it.
2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
Tamiya, although I’m getting to the point when I have built most of the available armour/WW2 kits that I like so I’m trying to expand my horizons to other manufacturers. I might have to start using Scale-mates by the sound of it. I like Miniart figures and their diorama accessories too.
3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
Not really with kits but some good diorama manufacturers seem to have appeared or at least I’ve only found them recently.
4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Dragon! Too many parts and terrible instructions, I just don’t have the patience or skill to deal with them! I have bought a few Italeri kits over the years and I’m always slightly disappointed by them.
5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas
I bought what I thought was a new armour kit from Airfix then read that they were repackaging some old kits they had acquired.

[Tomcat64]

Thanks for all the answers so far chaps - it's been an interesting read through

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
Similar to others growing up in the UK in the 60s & 70s Airfix really ruled the roost for me until Matchbox came along and although dubious of their multi-coloured kits (no painting required my a**e) they soon became a favourite, and as a bonus our village newsagent stocked them so it didn't need a trip to town to pick one up. I also had the occasional Revell kit, and also remember Frog & Heller although I remember not being overly taken with the latter two. Discovering Tamiya in my early teens was a revelation.
2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
Not really, although if there's a subject that I'm interesting in finding a kit for then Tamiya is generally checked first to see if they have it covered.
3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
I've built kits by both Meng & Takom in the last couple of years and have been impressed by both in terms of detail & fit. I was also impressed by the one kit each that I've built from Zvezda & Finemolds.
4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Revell, Italeri, Miniart - I've had poor experiences from all of them in terms of fit & quality. Dragon are just too expensive but the detail on the kits that I've built has been great - although the instructions appear to have been "written" by releasing a mad spider onto the page.
5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?
Yep. Two things that I've learnt since joining the forum are Scalemates & reboxing other manufacturer's moulds - I didn't know about either prior to learning from the folk on here. So my Tamiya Chaffee was really an Italeri kit and my Das Werk Kettenkrad was from Dragon's castoffs (and actually I didn't check scalemates on that one, and just believed the "new release" blurb). There are probably others in the stash that fall into the same category. And likewise manufacturers rereleasing ancient kits in new boxes as "anniversary editions" - the worst I've encountered was Revell's Moon Landing kit although in my defence that was bought for me.

[DRUMS01]

Tomcat64, This Revell Moon Landing Kit?

[Tomcat64]

Tomcat64, This Revell Moon Landing Kit?

Possibly Ben, mine was the 1/48 set. Although I can see extra details on yours that mine didn't have such as the "deflectors" below the RCS clusters.

I thought mine was going to end up as 90% filler & sanding dust at one point

This is how it turned out in the end

[chops1sc]

1. Which kit manufacturers did you build when you first started modelling - however long ago that was & if you can remember?
I can remember building Revell, Monogram, AMT/ERTL, Testors, Lindberg. I built mostly cars and aircraft

2. Is there a kit manufacturer that you tend to gravitate towards these days?
Tamiya is always a great choice.

3. There's been a raft of new manufacturers turning up in the last decade or so - are there any that have impressed or surprised you, or disappointed & why?
Rye Field Models, Tiger Models, and Takom are making good kits.

4. Are there any manufacturers you tend to avoid, or at least research more fully before committing to buying?
Dragon, Zevezda, HobbyBoss, Italeri

5. Have you ever been caught out by a manufacturer releasing a "new" kit which is actually a re-box of another manufacturer's moulds from the dawn of time? Or similar "gotchas"?
I have never really given this much thought. I do find it interesting. I guess if I want to build the kit bad enough it wont matter who made it.