Are Tamiya and Minicraft models worth it?

When I was building armour in my youth (early 90's) Tamiya was pretty much it.  Now that I'm building aircraft, I find Tamiya kits fit together like a dream and have considerable detail.  I can't say anything about Minicraft.

Yes and no. You have to check out each kit individually. Not difficult to do with the internet at our fingertips via a cell phone. Some kits are new tooled and (subjectively to the individual) worth the higher price. Others may be re issues of a much older kit, and not worth the steeper price. Or even a  rebox of another company's kit. Do a little research before you buy.

It really depends on the kits you are comparing.

I have quite a few of the "shake n bake" kits here,,,,but, that is because if you put the Tamiya Skyray next to the Airfix/MPC Skyray, you are going to want the Tamiya. The same thing happens with Tamiya and Airfix/MPC or Revell Corsairs, The Tamiya is head and shoulders above the others. This is the pattern as long as the Tamiya kit is an original Tamiya, it only sometimes applies to the Italeri kits in Tamiya boxes. An example there is that the Tamiya/Italeri Intruder far surpasses all except for the Fujimi kits, Revell and Hasegawa kits aren't even close. But, the Fujimi, Esci and even the new tool Airfix Skyhawks are better than the Tamiya/Italeri Skyhawks. (if someone claims that Esci and Italeri Skyhawks are the same mold, they have never seen both of them)

So, as we always end up saying "it depends"

Rex

It's a pretty subjective topic.  I see on other chat forums where people just fawn and gush over the Tamiya 1/32 Corsair and they state how they have three of them in their stash.  I just purchased the quite old Revell Corsair in 1/32 and probably paid 1/6th of what the others paid.  

When all is said and done and if you put both completed kits next to each other and stand 3 feet away to look at them, you're probably not going to be able to tell the difference.  I, however, will sleep much easier knowing that I only shelled out $25 for mine.  But again, this goes back to being subjective.  The feelings I have are mine alone and are clearly far different that those who shell out $150 (give or take) for the same airplane but with "Tamiya" stamped on the box.

It's up to you to decide what's "worth" it to you.

Eric

In my opinion, the Minicraft 1/350 RMS Titanic is the most detailed and finest model of that particular ship available anywhere (at least in plastic), but then again that is just my opinion. As for Tamiya, I researched building a 1/350 model of the Bismarck and after looking through reviews and scouring photos I decided against Tamiyas version of the boat and instead went with Revell of Germany's version. RoG's was far more detailed in my opinion and overall looked more accurate in scale to me than Tamiya's.

So, I'd say in regards to Minicraft, YES. In regards to Tamiya, NO. Although I do prefer Tamiya's building supplies over many other brands (i.e. putty, glue, etc.).

I got into modeling in late 40s (before plastic), so non-flying scale models were wood- either balsa or basswood (during war, pine was a substitute, cheaper wood).  Fortunately, I have some model mags from that period, confirming my view of prices.  Kits ranged from 10c to almost 10 bucks- a one hundred to one price range!  Of course, there was a difference between the low priced and high priced kits. The ten cent kits did not include landing gear for retract ships, nor propellers.  Each step up in price included fancier detail parts.  Most expensive kits had die cast metal detail parts, and maybe even a plastic canopy (cheap kits had canopy carved into fuselage and painted gloss black- of course the detailed carving was by the modeler).

Today I don't think there is that wide a price range, but if you expect PE and resin parts you will be looking at the higher priced kits.  For a good feel of difference in kits, build one of the Testors racing planes- these kits were among the first plastic models I built.  They are simple repops of fifties kits.  Then build a Tamiya.  There will be an order of magnitude increase in the parts count and detail.

Dear All,

I love this forum not only for the lack of trolls, but for the excellent variety of well thought out responses.

Armed with all of your cogent input, I did, indeed, purchase the Minicraft PBM Mariner today (it did have new tooling and good Internet reviews), despite the heftier price tag. This way, I will be able to see for myself if these kinds of kits are worth it.

Again, I want to thank everyone who took the time to wade in on this topic.

Jeff

A useful site in situations like this is scalemates.

www.scalemates.com/products

You can search the history of a kit and see if it's new, reboxed, repopped or whatever.

I don't know about planes, ships and armor, but Japanese automotive kits are generally better than their USA counterparts. often they are far, far superior.

both Tamiya and AMT do a 1/25 toyota supra, and the tamiya is leaps and bounds ahead of AMT, despite being an older tool.

I also grew up in the Monogram/Revell era, I am comfortable and used to those old kits.  But the modern Tamiya kits are true engineering marvels.  Just beautiful kits.  It's hard to be absolute, and always check reviews on a specific kit, but in general I find Tamiya kits worth every penny.

i have been waiting for a SALADIN 6x6 armored car forever. i built a TAMIYA one back in the 70s (motorized) and fondly remember it. found one at a club meeting for $10. probably could have knocked that down more but .... granted it won't be as detailed as the new DRAGON one but with good basic skills, a cool camo pattern and some creative weathering it will hold it's own. plus i can use the savings toward the 1/72 (aka OTS = One True Scale) SCUD 8x8 or the new 1/35 Ukrainian tank transporter. (because having just a modern US, Bundeswehr, Russian, PLA tank transporter and a PLA DF-21 just isn't enough)

I got to say after a hiatus myself I discovered Revell of Germany has cranked out kits in 1/32 that I dreamed about for years AND they are awesome in detail and the price is very affordable

NOW if only they would produce a 1/32 ME-410 and a DO-335

I will echo what CN Sports said about www.scalemates.com.  I've used the site quite a bit recently when looking at different manufacturers of kits as well as finding after-market upgrades for kits.  It is a very informative site.

I too grew up mainly with Revell and Monogram kits with a few AMT and Lindberg kits thrown in there.  I have expanded my selection now to several other manufacturers to see the differences.  Zvezda does a great job with their airliner kits.  Hasegawa is know for their selection of F-4 Phantoms.  I've only tried one Tamiya kit, the K1A1 tank and I thought it was horrible; however, I've heard that their aircraft kits are really nice.  I've also got a couple Italeri kits and a Skunkworks Models kit which I believe is actually a Kinetic kit reboxed.

Use scalemates with a grain of salt; I've noticed sometimes one kit is listed as a rebox of an older kit when it in fact has no relationship to the earlier kit except for being of the same subject.

CaptainJack

...As for Tamiya, I researched building a 1/350 model of the Bismarck and after looking through reviews and scouring photos I decided against Tamiyas version of the boat and instead went with Revell of Germany's version. RoG's was far more detailed in my opinion and overall looked more accurate in scale to me than Tamiya's.

These kinds of questions are what the www is for.

Tamiya kits are worth it depending on what you like and they are on the pricey side.  Instructions can be found on their site with the kit to view.

I'd love to get my hands on the 1/48 scale Fairey Swordfish (both torpedo and floatplane versions) but the price is on the high side for me. Would it be worth it for me? Definitely, but not now. :))

Hi JEFF :

   I have found that with MINICRAFT you do have to be selective . In other words Know the origin of the product . They've done many reboxing efforts over the years .

  Now Tamiya , on the other hand is making their own product and there-in lies the quality factor .To my knowledge I don't think MINICRAFT Ever made a kit of their own .

     Now I could be totally wrong here , but I remember MINICRAFT kits in the seventies were re-boxing of kits from behind the Iron Curtain !

Minicraft has been all over the map. For many years they partnered up with companies such as Hasegawa and Academy as the importer of those lines.  And releasing some boxings of those kit lines under their own label, boxed in the USA for a lower price and with Scalemaster decals. Then they parted ways and seem to have gone off on their own in recent years. At first their kits seemed to be modified knock offs that were affordably priced. Now, not so much. And some of their modified "clones" are priced way higher than they were when introduced just a few short years ago.

But Tamiya has been over the past 10 years or so partnering up with other model companies such as Italeri, ICM, Fine Molds, and Masterbox, and combining their sprues with those companies kits and releasing them in Tamiya boxes. Not all that Tamiya glitters is gold...

I thought that when Tamiya released their newly tooled 1/32 Spitfire a few years ago, it was obscenely priced.  Saw some examples in Australian hobby shops between $130-$150 retail.  For a 1/32 prop driven WW2 fighter ?  No way.  Put me off Tamiya for a while.  I do have some Tamiya kits (Where else are you gonna go for a 1/48 Lancaster ?)  But I mostly head for Revell these days for half of the price.

I've not ever done a Minicraft so I can't speak to them, but I wholeheartedly think a Tamiya is worth the money. I've never been disappointed with them. The quality of the kit has always been first rate, they are well detailed, and they go together like a dream. They also seem to have a good feel for their clientele, shown by their new releases in 1:32 scale. They accurately see the aging demographic that is their customer base and are catering their offerings to appeal to them (us).

Kit prices don't bother me, I have the disposable income and am more than willing to pay out for a top level product. Given the expense of my primary hobby, motorcycling, models are but a mere drop in the bucket.

Well, it all boils down to personal taste as the last two posts above point out. One calls Tamiya's new 1/32 single seat aircraft "obscenely priced", while the other calls them "a drop in the bucket". While I will gladly debate the fit and quality of their older kits with anyone here, I will agree that their new tooled kits over the past 25 years are great stuff. Especially in armor kits. Their stuff in that subject field is a refreshing break, usually competitively priced and far better engineered for trouble free assembly with clear directions when compared to their competition out of China. While I often find their kits priced too high for my wallet, I have no or few complaints about any of their new kits that I have gotten ahold of.

PWB, What are you riding ATM ?  I have a Honda VFR800 Interceptor, and a BMW K1200LT.  The Honda costs me next to nothing, do my own servicing, and very economical.  The BMW has been a money pit for me, in the past 5 years, $1500 to recondition the rear shock and stiffen up the spring, $3000 to replace the burnt out starter.  Now I'm looking at $1000 as the ABS unit has failed.  Come to think of it, if I sell the Beemer, I'll have more money for models .....

Current bike is 1985 Honda VF500C (V30 Magna). I got it in 2010 with only 7,200 miles on it, now at 38,000. It sat for a while after I bought a 2002 Kawasaki Concours in October 2012 but alas, I crashed that one in May of 2014 so the Magna was pressed back into service. I am seriously considering getting that Honda NT700V, I miss having the shaft drive and lockable carrying capacity, as well as wind/weather blocking body work.

It depends on what kind of detail you're looking for.  Minicraft are good, however lacking very much in detail for the most part.

Let's not forget about Airfix. They're banging out great quality kits as of late.

I'll add my  here

Over the few years that I've been into modeling , I found out that I get enough stress from work that I really don't need that into my favorite hobby.

So instead of struggling trying to build a very cheap kit I much prefer to pay a little more and get a nice, well engineered kit, like those genuine Tamiya ones.

I fully understand the difference between a challenge (fun) and an exercise of frustration (not fun), even to the point that my wife will almost encourage me to pay more and get a Tamiya kit, because they are so much fun to build and paint. She's saying that when I'm doing a Tamiya kit, either an aircraft or a tank, I don't spend half my time swearing, and I'm all showing her my progress, with a big grin on my face.

And I found out that when I'm building a cheap kit, I'm less inclined to be extra cautious, careful and attentive as the fit and the accuracy is really bad.

Dear All,

First, as a former newspaper columnist and current political blogger, I almost forgot what life was like before trolls. Not only am I gratified by the longevity of this discussion, but I love the variety and timbre of all the responses.

As far as my decision on which kits to buy, ironically, a few weeks ago, my local (St. Charles, IL) Hobbytown received several pallets of scratch and dent models. They were mostly Revell, but I did manage to grab some Tamiya too. In the end, I ended up picking up about $1,000 in kits for just $250!

So when you add those to the ones I already had, I could probably open my own hobby store. In other words, I better get building!

Again, thank you to everyone who waded int here!

Jeff

Hi Jeff !

     I forgot to mention earlier a subject for which I will probably get stomped . You've seen LINDBERG , Correct ? Well I bought their close to 1/350 and larger Bismarks to see what the fuss was all about concerning TAMIYA'S and TRUMPETERS versions .

    I got a familiar surprise ! They were still poorly molded and full of supposed weld lines . BUT , They made a great start for building the ship to a specific time period .This way I didn't have to carve up a couple of hundred Bucks of TAMIYA or TRUMPETER plastic !

    As to planes , Well , Lindberg , for a while , here where I live , was the only one with a F-100 - F and an F-104 - J in 1/48 scale . Not great but a good base to do what I wanted which was to build two glass smooth versions of my favorite planes for the office ,  Minimal detail and they look sharp anyway ,In my typical  Home-Made Foil Chrome . !