Global Scale Modeller

Apologies if this has been discussed before: but I'd like to know your opinions on quality/price difference between the major AFV kit providers.

Bit of background - I built several Tamiya kits exclusively as a lad and getting back into this hobby, had no idea other kits existed. So I've picked up a couple of Tamiya kits to get back into armor modelling...

I've been very impressed by Academy aircraft in 1/72 and 1/48 scale and note they have a good range and comparable prices - are they any lesser quality?

I'm stunned at the price of the Dragon/Trumpeter kits - very high it seems to me or is the quality difference really there?

Just looking for thoughts, cheers!

Well, in my experience Tamiya kits are very simple and straight forward. Instructions are clear, very little fit problems, and very easy to build. But this comes at a cost, accuracy and detail suffer. Other than that they are very easy kits to build. Be careful buying expensive Tamiya kits, very overpriced for what you get.

Academy, depends what you get. They aren't the best kits but they are still good. Some annoying bits.

Trumpeter and Dragon are definitely worth the price. That being said try to find the kits for as low as you can find. They are awesome kits. May lean more towards the experienced modeler but still good kits.

Tamiya have exquisite models in deed ! I agree ! but sometimes...??? no so much! They are one of the older companies out there these days.... I don't care much for their OLD 1970's Era models.... which they keep re-boxing... year after year...

Tamiya is in bed with Italeri for a selected few kits they share ! so be aware of this !!!
Sometimes you can see an Italeri Logo on the Tamiya boxes... sometimes not ! so.. you may be thinking you are buying a Tamiya Kit but what you get is an OLD Italeri kit in a Tamiya box... with Tamiya Figures....

it is not the case for all Tamiya kits... Do get me wrong ! but there are a few kits out there that match this Description.
The Box art is sometimes a give away... Its not quite the same as per the usual Tamiya standard ! so be inquisitive...!

To help you.... Tamiya Box number system is a dead give away... on HOW OLD The kit in the box might be?... but at times it can play games with you! let me explain...

for example !

Tamiya kit #35017 an Old fav. of mine....
The German Flak 36/37 88mm gun released way back in 1972. yeah... its that OLD...

You have guessed it ! Tamiya's 17th kit ever produced in the 1/35th scale range.... hence the Kit number... 35017 !
an OLDie but Goldie in my book but quite dated... compared to much newer kits of that gun on the market.

Many companies have since released Much better Models of that kit.... and even Tamiya tried to reclaim some parts of the market
and came back 30+years later with a revamped kit (Re-tooled) and re-branded FLAK 36 Numbered 35283.... although a much Higher number.... which should mean ! NEWer Kit ! All they have done is re-released some of the original parts sprues of the old 1972 Flak 37 gun with some Newly tooled ones... and added a set of North African figures and "Took out" The old figures and the transport bogies from the original Flak 37 but left the Motorcycle from the earlier Flak 37 release.

But they marketed it as a much younger kit but is it really ???

so... Tamiya has mastered the art of Re-using their old molds ! and adding fresh figures and new decals and basically plays the same game other companies are playing with us for years... Tamiya isn't bad! as long as you research your models... and know what you are buying...

Tamiya still releases kits from the 1970's Yes..... so! do research on what you might feel an Urge to spend your money on !
There are many channels on You Tube that do In box reviews... like ISM does !

So you can buy in confidence by seeing before spending !

some guys will take the time to Look inside the kits and Point out... Stamped Dates... an indicator of How old the kit is !
others not so much !

Like I said ! Tamiya is a good company to stick with ... for Ease of assembly and Good overall models !

but as mentioned before... at times... very overprices for what you get in matter of speaking..
No Photo Etch, No Turned aluminum barrels, No Link per Link tracks... but the Ubiquitous Vinyl treads...
The kind of stuff you get in Trumpeter kits and the like ! for a fraction of what you pay for a Tamiya Kit !

Other much newer companies also have teething problems.. and their old kits are still available and peoples keep buying them...
I hate when I see peoples being disappointed by what they buy ... so I stress a lot to research the kits numbers and read as much as
possible on what you intend to buy and then.. make an informed decision !

all the best to you my friend and happy modeling !


Norm.

Value for money - unusual subjects - easy/quick build = HobbyBoss

Detail and extra parts such as engines and interiors = Meng

All out detail and quality - individual 'magic' link tracks - extras, extras, extras - WW2 German = Dragon

Simple build - Terrible vinyl tracks - no extras = Tamiya

Subject choice - nice builds - PE = Trumpeter new tools

WW2 Allied - best in the business suspension/ running gear - accuracy detail such as cast texture - great fit = Tasca (now Asuka)

Fiddly but well detailed = Bronco

Soft detail - limited accuracy but improving recently = Academy, always hit and miss

That's my view on AFV model manufacturers.

Great summaries chaps, many thanks for help!

I was wondering, during my often trawling of ebay and online hobby stores (I dont get out much, stuck in front of computer all bloody day) why the Dragons were so much more expensive than Tamiya!

I have a Tamiya Jagdpanther (one of my faves) on the way along with a Flak 20 - will have a go at armour again and see where it goes...cheers

Dans pretty much covered them all well there.

I would also add that tamiya also are sometimes very overpriced for what you actually get in the box.

My first choice in armour is always dragon, trumpeter or hobbyboss, I will not buy a tamiya kit unless I really have to

Wow finding this very interesting. ... What about AFV-Club ,academy or Revell ?

Schoof wrote:Wow finding this very interesting. ... What about AFV-Club ,academy or Revell ?

Afv club are again hit or miss same with academy and I've never built any reveal armour.

Best thing you can do when looking at kits to buy is to google the name product code and you will get all the reviews and builds etc and you can see what you get for your money.

i'm a huge dragon fan! i love this company! a general tip for you: if you want to buy a kit first check it on www.scalemates.com ! there you can find an overview of the product and links to kit reviews! that's always the safest way =)

simply type into the search windows for example "dragon panther 1:35" and you will get an overview of all panthers they produced in this scale! you find a timeline to see how old the kit is and the reviews!

Schoof wrote:Wow finding this very interesting. ... What about AFV-Club ,academy or Revell ?

AFV-Club = very nice detail, comes with a bit of aftermarket stuff like alu barrels or photo etch, quality of the kits sometimes dragon level sometimes slightly below

Academy = Budget kits, only the newest afv kits are up to date like the hetzer series but even these need a little treatment like alu barrel etc!

Revell = hard to tell they often use older kits of other manufacturers like dragon or icm or italeri, overall they are budget kits and you have to invest in aftermarket stuff to get them right. i dont like revell its kind of a beginner manufacturer in my opinion


i think it's always better to get the dragon / bronco / meng kit if you have a choice! there you have everything you need in the kit and at the end you pay the same for the budget kit if you have to buy aftermarket barrels and photo etch etc!

thanks for the good answers chaps - especially about Scalemates (and of course ISM youtube) for reviews - like I said, I picked up a 1/35 Tamiya Jagdpanther to get back into things, I may pick up another Academy or two to get my eye in, then jump up to the 1/25 scale jobbies to go with other vehicles I want to build in that scale...

Mind you, local store has some Dragon 1/35 kits on special for only 10-20% more than Academy stuff, so I might jump into those too...

Schoof wrote:Wow finding this very interesting. ... What about AFV-Club ,academy or Revell ?

revell has some good armor for the time they where released
but they also rebox kits from others like icm and italeri like your sherman wich is a updated italeri kit
i only build 2 afv club kits and they where okay but not like a dragon kit
academy has.some nice kits but bad ones aswell
i have the M-10 duckbill tank destroyer they make and that is a hit for sure
it builds up nice with a full interior but like most allied vehicles a stowage kit makes it shine
so no harm in getting that one for the stash
cheers Mark

Great thread
I'm just getting back into the hobbie. So initially bought tamiya kits not knowning any diffreance. I think in future il be buying anything but tamiya. I got a couple of trumpeter kits that include photoetch parts and they are a reasonable price. I've yet to buy a dragon kit. They look good. Some are expensive but you get a lot for your cash I suppose
My 2 cent

Couldnt help myself - I've picked up a couple, okay 3 Dragon kits off Fleabay (M4A3 flamethrower, Stug III and Panzer III) and will be buying some Panther variants (and an ICM and Cyber Hobby which is just a re-boxed Dragon I believe) in the weeks ahead. Got the armour bug again - this time its a Panther bug...

I'll see how the Tamiya Jagdpanther goes together in comparison to the Dragon Panthers...watch this space.

cib2265 wrote:Couldnt help myself - I've picked up a couple, okay 3 Dragon kits off Fleabay (M4A3 flamethrower, Stug III and Panzer III) and will be buying some Panther variants (and an ICM and Cyber Hobby which is just a re-boxed Dragon I believe) in the weeks ahead. Got the armour bug again - this time its a Panther bug...

I'll see how the Tamiya Jagdpanther goes together in comparison to the Dragon Panthers...watch this space.

the cyber hobby kits are re-boxed dragons indeed
you could save a panther for the dangerous cat sig it's just a few months away
just out of curiousity wich type of stug III and panzer III?