New mold/casting technology

I'm seeing a mixed bag out of some of these newer kit manufacturers. I can echo Doogs' comments above about some of the recent Tamiya, GWH, Eduard, HobbyBoss and even Revell offerings of late.  After-market level detail, interesting subjects and superb quality........Then you look to Kinetic which offers newly tooled subjects of some wanted kits, for example their A-6E,  and the kit is a dog.....A $50+ dog at that.  It does seem to be a golden age for the builder, but there still seem to be a few lumps of coal in the mix.

Bissyboat

Yes the kits are getting better. The moulds are more detailed. You might disagree, but a few kits haven't moved further in terms of looking more detailed and having more parts. I find that many of kits from Tamiya waterline series and a handful of the Airfix boat kits are the same and a bit sparse. Trumpeter and Dragon boat kits are generous on parts as well on details.

Yeah, I've noticed a few companies still manage to be pretty hit or miss. I just reviewed a few of Hobby Boss' recent 1/48 releases, and man, I don't get that company. They release some outright amazing stuff - their M26 Pershing is great, so is their 1/32 F-84 and heck, even their 1/48 Ta 152. 

Then they turn around and release a total mixed bag like the new Bearcats (which yes, inherit a lot of that mixedness from the 1/32 Trumpy kits), and an abomination like their new "Easy Assembly" P-47. The 1/48 P-47 is probably one of the most popular scale/subject combos that's not a Bf 109, so you'd think any new kit would have to bring it's A game, right? Well...this isn't A-game material.

And this REALLY ISN'T.

So yeah...the good kits are better than they've ever been, and getting better. But there are still ones to be wary of.

One of the reasons I'm a fan of Tamiya (for aircraft, at least). They have their share of dogs, but they're pretty much all either older kits, or reissues from other manufacturers like Italeri.

Yes the kits are getting better. The moulds are more detailed. You might disagree, but a few kits haven't moved further in terms of looking more detailed and having more parts. I find that many of kits from Tamiya waterline series and a handful of the Airfix boat kits are the same and a bit sparse. Trumpeter and Dragon boat kits are generous on parts as well on details.

Agreed wholeheartedly. I've got that Zvezda Dreadnaught and it's a stunner.  Their recent 1/48 aircraft are the same. The 109F-2 packs in more detail, in my opinion better done, than most 1/32 renditions. And some of the cowl detail on the La-5 series is as good as anything I've ever seen (the mostly wood construction makes judging the rest kind of silly since it's all smooth).

Tamiya's latest, too, is just phenomenal. The kits they've released since I got back into the hobby two years ago have been staggeringly good in terms of molding technology. The ultra-thin cowl panels on the Spits and Mustang, the engineering and detail in the Il-2. And honestly, the clear-and-solid plastic on a single part of the Storch still blows my mind. 

I also think resin casting is getting better. If you've checked out some of the stuff Barracudacals is doing, or Eduard's Brassin line, it's just amazing these days. I recently had the pleasure of reviewing the Eduard P-38, and the resin on display in that kit is probably the nicest I've ever seen.

Yes Don,There truly are some amazing kits out there now.

I agree whole heartedly. I didn't realize how good the new kits were until I opend up an older kit (won't say which one to avoid flames) but the sprues were covered in flash and the detail was so soft I am afraid the paint will cover it.