kits con't

Can't speak about linberg, but I do like Academy kits. There decals are said to not be the best, but so far all of their kits I have done I have used AM decals.

But as with most companies, its really best to take them on a kit by kit basis, they all have good and bad.

Lindberg reminds me of Limburger cheese, it is an acquired taste

I think that Academy offers good value for the money. They might not be as detailed and well engineered as the big Japanese names, but they are certainly a good choice, particularly if you want to build something out of the box and get a good looking kit. I've had good results with their most current releases.

Rattlehead

ok folks- what aboput Academy & lindberg? good kits?

Truthfully, asking about specific brands is a waste of time. Most companies have good and bad kits in their line. Ask about specific subjects like "who makes the best F-4, etc.?"

A company that makes excellent jet fighters may make lousy tank kits. Lindberg does not have a decent armor model in their entire line throughout their entire history (even if their T-55 was one of Squadron's kit of the year).

But, if you are looking for a good kit from the original Jurassic Park movie or ID4 movie, their stuff is the only game in town.

Academy began by copying Tamiya kits, but have risen above this to make decent kits. Many of their armor kits are well engineered and finely detailed, but have head scratching accuracy errors that were correct on kits made 40 years ago but made inaccurate when they made a new tool of the kit.

Lindberg kits are hit or miss.  Even within one genre some or fine, some junk.

Two that have been recently re-issued that are gems, though expensive, are the 1:16 stagecoach and the civil war cannon and limber.

AHA !

Someone finally hit the nail on the head . I have found over the years that Lindberg , Once owned partially it's CEO and President ,  ERNIE PETTIT Has been , yes , hit or miss .

  What you do have to do is take it in stride if they have in their inventory the only kit of what you want .They were going to put out a very large model of the I-400 Japanese submarine .Then ERNIE got ripped even before it hit the market and AFTER he had sent folks to Japan to check blueprints and the sub ,which still exists , well , it broke the man's heart . He wanted to bring LINDBERG into the present with new and exciting stuff that was correct as it sits in JAPAN .The modelers and " Experts " didn't even give the thing a chance ! Now that said .I start my students on Lindberg kits , Because compared to the others ,they are a bargain !

  This also helps them build simple detailing and painting skills on a cheaper model .Now , remember , on some things LINDBERG is the only game in town . Academy , well , I've bought their kits because REVELL took their sweet time and sometimes NEVER re-released a subject . The ORIANA/CANBERRA kit  is a good example ( that's a cruise liner by the way ) Academy's offering is thicker in the moldings and also a larger scale .Just thinning things to scale has taken me some weeks to do .I would Rather have had the REVELL release .

    You must bear in mind that yourself and I have experience many do not have .We take it in stride . I still would , for certain things recommend Lindberg .And Academy , but it is rare . Model On - DON      Tanker- builder

I'm a little confused by the question. By 'good kits' are we talking historical accuracy? Easy to build? Challenge to build? Quality plastic/minimal flash? Value for the money?

I'm working on a Alan armor kit that was reported to be absolute crap, but it's building up nicely with a little care. It's not historically very accurate (although it can be with aftermarket items), but it was half the price of the the asian kits. For what I was looking for - practicing putty and paint work - it is certainly a good kit.

Re: Academy - my 1/400 Titanic has some scale and accuracy problems, but overall is head and shoulders above the Minicraft kit in terms of moulding quality and engineering. Pick your poison; no kit is perfect. (Or have I just missed the really good ones?)

I have a bit of experience with both Academy and Lindberg kits

As has been said above, they can be hit or miss, depending on subject

Academy has hit a Home Run with hobbiest twice in my main modeling interest area,,,,the 1/48 Phantom kits that so many modelers have been enjoying,,,,,,and the 1/72 Crusader in my scale that are so good, that in my collection, they are the basis for a side by side collection of Each version of Crusader from F-8A to RF-8G SLEP

on the flipside of the Academy coin,,,,,,a bunch of the 1/72 WW II USN stuff is just old Frog molds cleaned up, and/or MRC molds from when they produced their own kits

Lindberg had THE B-58 model to get for decades,,,,granted it wasn't 1/72, it was 1/64 (1/8 inch scale), but, it was the only good model close to 1/72,,,,,,,,,they also did a very good LSD, the Tortuga

on the flipside of that, they did an HE-100 and FW-190D that I built back then, and would pass by in a hurry these days

but, keep in mind,,,,,Hasegawa had/has clunkers, also,,,,,most companies have at least one dud in their catalong

Rex

To me a good kit has all the qualities mentioned in a previous post- good fit, accuracy, good instructions, etc.  If it has one or two failings, it is just a kit. If it has several problems, maybe fit and accuracy, then it is a bad kit.

Hey Don :

 You are so right .Do you remember the first run of the " SHELL WELDER  "? The thing was released , I believe by IMAI the first time . Not bad , but not a winner either . Flash forward some years . I wanted that specific ship back in my collection .One of our fine modeling folks sent me one .Now I still am having fits finding what he would like , Just to say thanks .This release seems dead on better than the first one And it has P.E. Which I didn't know anyone had done for it . As I build this one My mind flashes back to the fit issues I had with the first one .Oh my , is this one ever better .Sadly , still not a winner , But minor compared to the first one .iIwas able to really get it accurate because ,  since I built the first one ,I actually succeeded in getting pictures of the ship's type in Liverpool .

   That said , fit , finish and accuracy are things I do look for . If it looks like the box picture or better then It's lived up the the bucks spent on it . I really do get frustrated when I have to fight a kit to get stuff to fit , especially if I just want to do an O.O.B model . I will not , for instance spend what's being asked for REVELL"s model of the U.S.S. MISSOURI . Why ? it didn't look good the first time I passed it up and it has NOT changed ! I still can't find that TAMIYA one in 1954 fit though . For the money they ask , REVELL has had over forty years to improve the product .Thay haven't So I go to the foriegn flags to satisfy my model appetite .         T.B.

Hey Rattlehead, well, you got the answers I would have given too.  My experience with Academy is limited, but I have done a few Lindberg kits.  Like everyone said, hit or miss.  I did a LIndberg PT-17 (?) and loved it!  Great kit.  I recently did a Cutlass that left me scratching my head!  

Eagle90

I was lucky, I got a later run of the Welder.  I can't find the result. I have so many built models around the house that I don't have display room for.  What I do remember is that I figured that subject would be great for extreme weathering. I had seen some pics of north sea ships that were real rust buckets, so I really went to work on weathering.