Favorite/Worst Kit

my fave kit is sentimental - tamiya 1/48 P-51D mustand korean war. it was the first real kit i put together without dad's help.

the most hated kit i ALSO have. it was the first kit i put together WITH dad's help. i cant remember the brand, but it was a 1/72 A4E sykhawk. fit ? what fit ? decals ? what are those ? box art ? it was a picture of some OTHER model, built up ( i know this cos i cut the box art out but threw away the bit with the manufacturer's name. the crowning glory ? i gigantic HOLE in the left wing. thats right, the plastic didnt even fill the mold properly.

but its still next to the mustang mentioned above, and its below my pride and joy - my 1/12 '67 vette :D

Without a doubt, the worse kit I've ever purchased was a Zhengdefu brand 1/300th scale Boeing E-3A Sentry. It was on clearance at Hobby Lobby for around $4.00. I had never heard of this brand but the kit was cheap, it was of a subject I had always wanted to build and was of a snall enough scale I knew I would have problem fitting it into my display case. The box art shows an E-3A, in NATO markings, flying in formation with a pair of F-16s.

I open the box and could not believe my eyes. Here were three trees of parts, a simple, one sheet set of instructions, a decal sheet of questionable quality, a small tube of glue and a passable display stand. However, something was not right. Then I figure it out. In the box are the fuselage and wings of a 747-400 series cargo freighter. I kid you not!! The fuselage had the extend upper deck and the wings had the winglets at the tips. At first I assumed there had been a packing error back at the factory until I looked at the instruction sheet. The exploded, one image instruction sheet also shows the image of a Boeing 747-400 freighter being assembled and placing a revolving radome on the rear fuselage. And right there on the instruction sheet are the title words "BOEING E-3A SENTRY".

I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Now I have a somewhat passable 747-400 freighter kit and a set of E-3A Sentry decals in 1/300th scale. Maybe I'll go ahead and build the kit and have an unexpected addition to my collection. By the way, anybody know where I can buy a decal sheet for a 747-400 freighter??

Tough call...

Favorites:

Academy's 1/72 ME-163 Komet
(It practically falls together, has a nice towing tractor included, has respectable detail for the scale and needed no filler putty anywhere.)

Revell Germany 1/72 LeClerc 5 MBT
(This one falls together too, nice clear instructions, a good introductory kit for armor newbies like me)

Losers:

Any pre 1990 Hobbycraft Canada product

Revell 1/72 Blue Angels diamond formation F-4J set.
(Four crappy Phantoms on posts so flexible they couldn't hold formation to save their lives)

Airfix 1/72 solid nose DeHavilland Mosquito.
WAY TOO MANY PROBLEMS TO MENTION!!!

Favorite- The scratchbuild I'm doing now. No messed up instructions and parts from some else to deal with. Favorite OOB kit would have to be Tamiya Dragon Wagon.

Worst- Tamiya KettenKrap. My modeling nemisis.

Best: Tamiya's Tiger I Late, fit like butter

Worst: Esci's Demag, fit just the opposite as the Tiger.

lets see best so far, for fit the hasegawa 1/24 willy's jeep. for emotional reasons though italeri 1/35 usmc. worst kit, revell 1/48 f4f, horrible fit, poor detail, two hours to fit the five pieces of the landing gear together. i will never purchase that kit again.

joe

fav: Trump mig 21. such great fit, i'm suprised it's a model and not 1 piece.

worst: oh there are tons. Revell 1/32 typhoon is among the worse, the mpm expert serie(no s) 109 T is great but the resin is a pain in the @$$, then there's the dragon mistle 3 with the he 162 + e377. loved that kit, but it was missing the 162

best kit: after completing about 25 kits now, I am in love with academy's M10. lots there to keep you busy for a while, very detailed, and awesome fit!!! can't wait to start my next academy kit: the stuart honey.

worst: hmmm, i'd have to say so far it would be airfix's 1/72 sherman.........

I’m not an expert on kit’s or an expert modeler. Most of my kits I built were Revells and Hasegawas.

Favorite kit - Don't have one yet

Worst kit – Toko’s P-63C Kingcobra, Nothing but fit problems. That was my first limited-run kit I ever built. The whole model turned out horrible. I didn’t take to much time in making the parts fit correctly. I’ll probably attempt to build one again in the future when I become more experience. This time I’ll do right.

My favorite kit is the Trimaster Me 262. Such a beautiful, accurate, challenging build. I learn something more about modeling with each one I build. Lots of PE, white metal, tube and wire. A true multi-media kit.

The worst is definately Tamiya's 1/48 Swordfish. Overpriced, oversimplified, overrated. You can build that kit in your sleep. Where's the fun in that? Just too easy a build to keep my interest for long.

Favorite kit - Don't really have one but the one (or more) I'm working or the next one I'm planning to start probably rank right up there.

Worst kit - There are a bunch of them - Airfixs 1/72 Ju87B, Bf110, Revells 1/72 P-51D, Fw190, Matchboxs FW 190 and about 1/2 of Frogs 1/72 line. On most of the above, the mechanical side (fit etc) wasn't that bad for the period but the shapes put them more caricatures than scale models. (Don't get me wrong, if the kit is intended as a caricature I can enjoy them, in fact I have several Hasagawa Egg Planes and they were fun to build. But I don't like to buy a model that is sold as a Scale Model and find it's so far out that it can't even be used as a basis for a scale model)

HEY,
I agree with foster, i plan on being the only person in a retirment home building models when im 90 and still shooting people with my paintball gun.lol

Randy

So far...

Favorite: Tamiya's Tiger I Early - the kit just fell together perfectly.

Worst: Encore Models Polish wz.34 Armored Car - blobs for details and terrible fit, but for under $10.00, I can't complain too much...the build took 3rd place in the OTB Category at last year's competition.

However, with many year's of modeling ahead, I anticipate that these two models will be quickly replaced with new "contenders".

Enjoy your modeling...

I'd have to say the worst kit that I have worked on would be a tie between Airfix's 1:72 Saab Viggen and BAe Lightning. Nothing fit right.

The best kit , so far, would have to be Hobbycraft Canada's 1:48 Avro Arrow. I read a review of the original Hobbycraft Arrow kit and apparently it left a lot to be desired. This re-tooled one is fantastic. Top quality plastic. Only absolute minimal use of putty required.

HEY,
So far i have to say the worst kit ive had is an old AMT Ford 5 window coup, and old hot rod. Not too bad of a kit, just bad fit, bad instructions, and really bad detail. My favorite that ive built would have to be the revell Acura Integra Type R kit. Nice fit, detail, and its very customizable, and easy to lower.

Randy

Favourite = not yet
Worse = 1/48 Hasegawa P-38......for the money & fabricated reputation, their engineering was at best that of amatuers.........the fine recessed panel lines & the box art was the only saving grace......