Most preferred model kits for beginners

It all depends on a number of things. There is certainly a big differance between many of the various companies. But cost is not always a reflection of a better kit.

It really boils down to how much detail you want, how accurate you want it, how much effort you want to put in, how much you want to spend, and what subjects you want.

You will find most people don't have one company they stick with. But many do have a preffered one, so if two companies bring out the same kit, they will always go for the one from their favorite.

Like many Brits, i started out on Airfix, about 30 years ago. But in the last 15 years or so i have avoide them for better quality kits. But their new tooled kits are meant to be very good.

Italeri can be good kits, i have a few myself. But the detail on some can be lacking. My advice to someone who is totally new is to stick to companies like Airfix and Itaeri for your first few kits. No point spending lots of money and then decide the hobby isn't for you. And then, if your not sure about a specific kit, you can always ask. The problem is of course that we all have our own opinions.

In my opinion there's a huge variety of kits, all the way from "shake the box" to completely unbuildable.

This even varies within one manufacturer. Here the internet can truly be your friend, as a simple search using the kit subject, manufacturer and scale will keep you busy for hours.

Depending on your subject, some manufacturers are usually pretty dependable. Tamiya immediately comes to mind. With very few exceptions, their kits go smoothly, the instructions are pretty clear and the detail is excellent. However within that line, research is worthwhile because some of their kits have been around for a long time and show their age. But it's hard to find fault with anything they sell, at least short of the experts and their various issues.

Italeri is more problematic. One reason in particular is that over the years they've reissued quite a few kits originally sold by other companies. A good example would be their recent SM.81 aircraft. It's a reissue of the old and at the time only available model of that aircraft, by Supermodel. It was a good enough kit, but the reissue includes new fuselage halves with outstanding rib and fabric detail, and excellent decals. That plus the box art and information included make this kit outstanding.

I don't know why I feel in a position to give you advice, but that's not gonna stop me. Keep it simple. Don't spend too much on a kit at first. Be discriminating and focus on building them, not just buying them. There are advanced modelers on this forum who have probably never spent more the $ 25 on a Monogram kit, and they know who they are, that can turn out excellent results with craft and ingenuity added.

Build a dozen kits in the $ 15- $25 range until you have a feel for what companies you like, and your scale and subject.

Depends somewhat on genre.  Are you talking airplanes, ships, armor?

GMorrison

Build a dozen kits in the $ 15- $25 range until you have a feel for what companies you like, and your scale and subject.

This is solid advice, and should let you sample kits from a broad variety of manufacturers (though...if you're looking at armor or ships, may not take you very far).

I know a lot of people recommend starting out with some old beater of a kit that can be scored on the cheap and that has molds dating back to the Johnson administration. I would recommend otherwise - you can find plenty of kits in that $15-25 range that will far surpass those old kits in terms of detail and buildability (and buildability, to my mind, is the thing you want to keep in mind the most as you just start out).

Some of my favorites in this regard are Tamiya's 1/48 prop aircraft from the mid-90s - specifically their Bf 109E, Spitfire Vb, P-51B and P-51D Mustang, F4F Wildcat, Dewoitine D.520, Focke Wulf Fw 190 and a few others.

I call them "two-sprue wonders" because that's basically what they are. Just two sprues, manageable parts count, good detail (the tripping points are usually the canopies and gun barrels), excellent buildability, and you can pick up any of these kits south of $25 without too much effort.

Never chose or disregard a kit solely on the manufacturer's name. Many kits are reboxed by other companies, sometimes companies go out of business and another company picks up their molds, etc. Some companies have been around for over half a century with some kits in their lines that are 50 year old dogs and super high tech kits too. So chosing a kit because of the name of the brand is always an unwise way to spend your money.

Google is your friend. Take a minute to use the venerable search engine and type in the kit name, number, manufacturer and review to come up with a few pages worth of hits. You will find a plethora of reviews on the kit from expert modelers to ones that just tell you what's inside the box and if it once had a previous life as another company's kit. Who knows, you also may get a hit that takes you to an online site that is selling it cheaper.

This might be a more budget conscience way to make a purchase than to buy and build a "dozen $15-25 kits." I can think of many things to do before spending $180-300 just to see if I might like a company's kits.

HI :

Are you here stateside  or in the U.K. ? I wouldn't even try to advise you, if you are in the U.K. . I am not aware what is available there . Now here in the STATES ,  I always recommend the kit that will give more "bang for the buck" and a sense of enjoyment .

That means ,as DOOGS said ,a TAMIYA kit .I have found most of them to be pretty "shake and bake". HASEGAWA and even AIRFIX have some good ones ,it is again  , what do you want to build ? Here stateside I used to recommend to car modelers for instance a " MONOGRAM " kit .

    They had low parts count , very good plastic and looked great when done .Because they were molded in color a lot of novices in my class were happy to just polish the finished plastic.

You may want to consult your LHS and see what first-timers buy from them .    good luck . Tanker-builder

I've just checked your other post and see you are on the right side of the pond (In the UK). At the moment there are a few good kits out there in a reasonable price range from Revell etc. Look for the new releases and ask at your local store (shop to us) to see whats new. If your local shop is a chain one (ModelZone) the staff can be a bit hit and miss in knowledge, Manchester has some very good staff

Some of the Italeri kits like the Dauntless are reboxed from Accurate Miniatures which are very good kits but can be a challenge for a newer builder. Have a look at the Sunderland they have just released as I have that and it looks a nice kit to me

Not sure where you are in the UK but please ask if you want more info, there are a few of us on here who would be more than happy to help

Phil