Improvements you'd like to see from manufacturers

Gigatron wrote:

Put the connection point where it gets glued on the kit.  -Fred

I'd rather have it where it is the easiest to remove and clean up. I find that when the sprue attachment is on the mating surfaces it makes assembly much more difficult. Trumpeter loves to duct the sprue onto fuselage and wing halves where the two halves meet.  

As far as why they put so many attachment points on a small fragile part...well so it can be completely molded and survive until you remove and attach it.

Remember the sprues are the means to move the plastic from the injector through the mold to the parts and out through the release point. The point where the air escapes the mold so the plastic can replace it to complete fill in the space to be molded.

Think of the forces which act upon a kit from the time it leaves the factory to the time you add to your neatly stack of kits in your stash.  Model kits are rather robust, they have to be.

This will just be one of those things where we agree to disagree.  I'd prefer attachment points where I don't have to be heavily concerned about their cosmetic outcome. 

Like an attachment point right in the middle of a strut or other rounded part.  Now, not only do I have to make sure it's cut absolutley flush, but I also have to make sure I don't accidentally sand the thing out of round.  I know that comes out sounding lazy or careless, but I'd rather just one less thing to be concerend with.  But, if the attachment point were on the little Tab A that gets inserted into the Slot B, I'd just have to make sure that the two fit together without having to worry about how perfect it looked.

And while I see your point about rigidity and stability, some of those attachment are so thick, that you break the tiny pieces just trying to get them off the sprue.  Yeah, ok, you can spend a half hour cutting the sprue with a JLC razor saw, but I just want to cut it off with my trusty sprue nipper, sand the little nub and move on.

-Fred

 

1) costs... some kits are just too expensive

2) overengineering, a kit does not have to contain a myriad of tiny parts

3) for Hasegawa in particular-a)  the short runs of a kit with one set of markings then reissued with another set and called a new release is ridiculous, issue a laarger run of the kit with several marking options and b) include ordinance, spending the cost of another kit just for a weapons load that other makers include is ridiculous as well.

4) I dont mind the multi attachment points on small pieces, but they do need to lay out the sprue so that there is adequete clearance to get sprue cutters in to remove the part.

You just need the right sprue cutter for the job.

 

Xuron 2175ET Professional Sprue Cutter

As a new modeller the things I notice are.

Mould lines and ejection pin marks. Some kits these are very well hidden and others seam to put them on display. One of my least favourite jobs is removing mould lines. I wish manufactures would design kits to reduce these things.

Poor fitting parts. I guess this is an obvious one. Of the few kits I have built Tamiya seam to me to be the best. Others take a lot of work to get parts to fit nicely. I realise Tamiya cost more and others are built to a price but I personally think its worth the extra cost.

Photo etch parts. I wish these were more common in kits. Especially the more expensive ones. (tamiya I'm talking about you).

Options and spare parts. I have a few kits that give options to build different variants of the same kit. I really like this as it give's me spare parts for my parts box.

Oh and could someone please make some more civil aircraft.

 

Ditto on the spare parts and optional parts.  It's nice to have extra canopy parts, just in case...  And I really appreciate the manufacturers who put the option of weighted tires on their parts trees.  It has been discussed before, but I'll throw in pilot figures, ground crew (deck hands) and ground equipment are always nice additions to kits and fun little diversions while the paint dries on other parts.  Rick

As far as aeroplanes go, I would like to see the following:
Weighted tires. They wouldn't be any other way so why even bother with unweighted.
Standing and seated pilot figures at the very least.
Canopy masks.
Wheels separate parts from tires. (Or mask if molded as one piece).
All radial engines like Accurate Miniatures. (Pushrods and wiring harness as separate part)
Instrument panel like Monogram Kingfisher "High tech" kit. (Best OOB panel EVER) Photoetch panel with decal glued in behind it. Simple and effective.
Small photoetch fret with aforementioned panel front, seat belts, and gun sights (if applicable).
All instruction sheets like Monogram "Pro Modeller" series. Well written with reference photos.
As far as armor/vehicles go:
More realistic instrument clusters.
Would it kill them to include some data plates?

I would have to ask for better engineering for better fit. I know the whole idea of a kit is working it to make it look the best you can, but those seems that either don't align with one side higher than the other, peaked or sunken so you have either a ridge or a valley down the center of the fuselage, wing halves that line up perfect in the back but is offset by a millimeter or two in the front so have you to reshape the entire leading edge, and even engraved or raised panel lines that are offset when two parts join up. Some kits get to the point where it becomes a job instead of an enjoyable pastime with all the filling, scraping, sanding, scribing needed.

 My #1 peeve is cost. example; Hasigawa's F-104 is now around $40 at the LHS, Revell boxed the exact same kit for $22 at the LHS....what gives????

 Revell has some excellent kits that rival some of Tamiyas for a fraction of the $$$

 #2 peeve; rubber tires....ridiculous!!!!! I'm for weighted tires as well.

 

 Figures and weapons for every kit!!!

I am mainly a ship guy, 1/700, no real gripes there due to the explosion in offerings and aftermarket accessories ...

However - in 1/72 aircraft, when did it become fashionable to stop including a pilot figure, ground crewman or any human at all in the kit? I may not always want to include it in the finished model, but I'd like the option. Some of the aftermarket 1/72 resin offerings cost more than the kit!

 

 

I would like a sheet of transfers instead of decals. I hate doing decals, but love the Archer transfers. Just a small sheet is needed and I can't believe it would inflate the cost by that much. Would save on ordering them seperate too.

On the subject of weighted tires, 60% of them are flat tires that would need air/nitrogen before the ramp rats would even think of towing the aircraft, let alone trying to taxi or land. I'd like weight, not flats.

Seam lines that run through extremely difficult to sand areas and injection marks that do the same are my biggest gripe.

tigerman wrote:

I would like a sheet of transfers instead of decals. I hate doing decals, but love the Archer transfers. Just a small sheet is needed and I can't believe it would inflate the cost by that much. Would save on ordering them seperate too.

Remember who purchases model kits...modelers with varying skill levels. I too love dry transfers but they are not as durable as decals, especially kit decals. Dry transfers like decals also degrade over time and they aren't easily repaired like you can with a waterslide decal. 

I'd like to see more dry transfer offerings of same subjects as the decals now available. 

In the armor modeling world, some companies have a gimmick where the rubber portion of the road wheel is molded in vinyl. They just don't look as good as a solid styrene road wheel. Additionally, the vinyl often reacts with the styrene and melts the plastic. Car model manufacturers have figured this out decades ago, but for some reason, armor model manufacturers can't use a type of vinyl tire that won't melt the wheel off of the vehicle.

Seatbelts. If you are going to make kits without pilots why not give us moulded on or photoetched seat belts. I know some give decals but I just don't care for them. They never look right to me...even when applied to foil. I would also like to see photoetched instrument panels. I have really grown to like Eduard's photoetched panels and would love to see them or something like them included in kits. I would also like to see data pates as well for dressing up the cockpits and engines areas better. Instructions with reference photos in them like someone else mentioned. Like the old Pro-Modeler instructions but maybe in color.

Better, consistent fit - there is no excuse for a popular kit to have built in issues.

Better decals - some of the OOB ones are chronic.

Clarity of instructions - some of the descriptive pics are minimal, or on the misleading side & dont help anyone, bit like Tamiya Flat Base.

I dont think it would be too much to ask that all kits have decent engraved panel lines and figures incuded.

This is the modern age - engraved panel lines are standard now. They have been around for 30 years or so. If you have an old mold, then rework it and add them. 

Also what is the point of an aircraft, nay, any machine, without people? These things exist for us, and because of us. Is it too much to ask that a few of us be included in the box?

And like others have said - COST is out there. Its a plastic kit - don't charge for what the AM people come behind and do a better job of than you. If its in there, great!

If it aint, keep the cost on the ground.

 

Tamiya could save a lot of modellers grief (and probably a lot of "almost finished" models from the scrap heap) by simply supplying some usage instructions on their "Flat Base" product. Possibly also some Flat Base mixing ratio suggestions for Flat and Satin results with their paints.

Such a simple thing would be a great improvement and quite easy to do.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Snowy

I'd like to see sprue gates smaller. If they have to have ten of them on a tiny part, fine. At least make them small.

I think all companies should offer their larger kits in a weekend edition form, ala Eduard. Some folks like the oodles of decals and enough spare parts to build a second kit but I'd much rather see a kit with single options for half the price of the full monty version. In todays world of rising prices it's a good idea.

I know this is a problem due to my lack of knowledge but I'd like to know what I'm modeling!  What's that think there? Oh! that's an oil tank... or a fuel tank... or a radio... etc.

It would easier for me to apply a convincing finish if I knew what the piece is instead of just mixing the paints according to the instruccion sheet. Really, all they would have to do is print a few more words. How much can that cost?