Manufacturer question

Welcome to FSM, Kjtnc!
While I fully understand the motive behind your question concerning which is the best overall manufacturer, I would suggest deciding on the particular subject you are interested in building and then searching for the best kit of that subject. As has been mentioned, there can be a fairly broad discrepancy in quality amongst the kits from any one manufacturer, as can readily be seen in the Tamiya or Hasegawa catalogues. For example, Tamiya may be considered by some to produce the finest armor kits, but their old Jagdtiger kit cannot compare to the more recent Jagdtigers from Dragon. Same thing if you compare Tamiya's old M3 Stuart kit to Academy's excellent new releases. To be honest, most modern kits from any of the major manufacturers are pretty good, but again, I would recommend choosing your subject and then doing a bit of homework to find the best kit.

As for aftermarket parts, they certainly can add a lot to a model, but are by no means essential for happy modelling. I like to use AM items such as photo-etched parts, resin parts, metal barrels. and indy link tracks, but only when I think they'd be a major improvement over the kit parts (or when detail is missing in the kit, or it's a conversion of some kind).

Just my two yen!

Hi. to the FSM forum.
As for your questions:
I won't speak for aircraft, but for armor, I'm sure you'll find the general consensus goes to Tamiya being the best. And generally, their parts fit is the best. But let this not pry you away from other kit manufacturers, as they all have their ups and downs. For armor, at least in the most common subjects, such as the Bradley, Trumpeter quality is crappy according to most, but I find their price to be the best, and I've built quite a few of their kits. True, they need a little more work, but the end result is just as good.
Aftermarket parts are a good way to enhance the look of the model, but be prepared to pay the price. Also, there are aftermarket conversion sets for existing models to make vehicles not otherwise made by kit manufacturers.
Many will attest to the greatness of AM (after market) but I'm not much of a fan. They can raise the overall price of a kit substantially, and usually don't offer enough in the way of super details. I think you'll find that a kit built out of the box, if done well and with care, can look just as good, if not better, than one fully laden with AM parts. Plus, many offer details that you can make yourself out of styrene sheet, wire, putty, and aluminum foil for much less.
As for Group Builds, they are exactly as they sound. It's a bunch of people getting together to build one certain subject, be it a particular vehicle, or a particular group of vehicles, such as the British and Commonwealth GB now in progress.
It's a great way to share your experiences, learn as you go along, and see others do the same, in a friendly comaraderia. Highly suggested

One other question. What's a group build? It sounds like everyone builds the same type of subject such as a Sherman tank. AM I correct in my assumption.

Thanks everyone. I did look at some of the reviews which is what prompted my questions.

I recently purchased a Tamiya Bradley kit and then saw the review in the mag. The one I have is obviously an older kit but still looks pretty good. I saw how add on details such as packs, MRE's and aluminum gun barrels really add a touch of realism which again is what prompted my questions.

I think I'll stick to assembling it straight from the box for now until I get a little more experience.

Again thanks and I look forward to asking more questions as you're a very helpful group.

Let me add my welcome to the forum! As you might be able to tell from all the other comments. some manufacturers are more "quality-consistent" than others. Another good resource on a particular kit are the reviews in Finescale (and other modeling magazines), Finescale.com archived reviews, IPMS' website (www.ipmsusa.org), and other modelling websites. Most reviews will tell you not only how the kit fit together, are the decals any good (and so on!) but most will give you some kind of idea on the skill set needed. If only I had seen a review of the Airfix P-38 beforeI purchased it!

First, Welcome to the FSM Forums . Speaking for aircraft kits, Tamiya, Hasegawa, Accurate Miniatures & a few others are generally considered to be the top manufacturers. Testors are considered the lower rung of model kits. But it really depends on which prototype you wish to model. Tamiya , Hasegawa, etal, have a few that don't meet the higher standards & some of your lower end manufacturers may have a few that are great. Once you decide what you want to build a model of, post a question as to who makes the best kit for it & you'll get lots of good advice.

Regards, Rick

Another thing to consider of course is, where does the kit and/or Am part come from.

Imports will always be more pricey even if the quality is the same as a local manufacturer.
At the moment the chinese and koreans seem to be producing the cheapest import kits(for how much longer we do not know yet).

One other thing I found is that most makers are NOT consistent in their quality between scales and even between subjects.

Add to that that many companies still got kits on the market that were made a few decades ago or by another maker.

The old saying "You get what you pay for" is quite often true. Tamiya and Hasawega are generally considered the best around. However Trumpeter and Dragon are getting very impressive lately. Revell/Monogram once considered the standard by which everyone was judged, is now basicly just the most afforable line (at least here in the states).

Photo-etched (PE) and resin parts are wonderful for improving detail, but seriously increase the cost of a model. Usually doubling (or more) your total cost.

The best advice is to put into your kits only what you can afford. It's real easy to spend a fortune on kits, detail, and tools/supplies.