What would you like to see on models box?

Buy 1 get 6 FREE Tag????????????? LOL

I know what you are talking about Yann Solo. They should add more detailed Photos and maybe something to read on the model you got, I could go on and on and on. "BUT" I think the Model Co.'s Should start making NEW models that are not out there, Want something different. you know

Bud

i personally loves box arts, especially when they are so well done on the Tamiya kits.  the trumpeter ones are ack... and the dragon ones are nice most of the time.  yes i do also prefer to see finished builds on the side panels.  that's one reason i hesitate when i look at italeri, revell of germany, n icm kits at the local hobbyshop and still unable to find good built images on the web easily either. 

edited:

n the reason i will still buy a tamiya is one, their catalogue is consisted of finished products, two, their website has finished builds, n three, i like others just trust Tamiya's consistency.

Yeah!  What I meant is I think the box art doesn't make justice to the model.  There are a lot of models that I saw the box at my LHS and never thought of buying it.  But when I saw what some of us can do with it, I changed my mind.  The complete built kit was awesome and the level of detail was astonishing.  Nothing of that was showing on the box art.  I'm talking about the german  wheeled armored cars that biffa made.  I was not interested in that kit at all, and now I want to build it.  So if there was images of biffa's models on boxes, I would buy them all.

I want to see the kit. The artwork and paintings are nice- but how about the finished model? For me, that's really the main thing. Shots of the office, the gear wells- heck, show the sprues! Basically, let me see what I'm buying!

I liked the old Monogram boxes- you could see.... gasp!..... the model!

Maybe they should use more of their reference material.If they do their homework right, they should have loads of that stuff.

Cheers,

 

Hooker_JL

Yes, Dragon are simply putting their 3D drawings under the box and I like it.  You can see the level of details of the plastic and PE parts.  And like you said jwb, just the sprues under the box could be nice.

I'm a big fan of boxart.  I know guys that frame or display some of the better stuff just as a peice of art.  Buy a kit, get a free print!

With the amount of internet reviews and magazines and such, I know what I'm getting into when I buy a kit.  Why not get a little pizzaze on the box?

I think Tamiya and Hasegawa have the best box-art, but I like Volstad's Dragon boxes too. I like the completed model on the side also. The only thing that sells is the kit itself. Box-art is a bonus. Special mention should go to AFV Club.

Box art on the front and detail photos of the finished model on the side.  It would be nice too if there were photos of the finished model on the back of the box.

 

I like the new Dragon kits with all the details on the bottom of the box and I wish they would include more of the finished kit on the side panels

I like the box art on some Tamiya, Academy and most of Dragon kits.  It kind of sucks when LHSs do not allow you to inspect kits before you decide to buy.  When I was visiting Asia, I was able to open up boxes to see and inspect what was inside and because I was able to inspect before I purchased, I didn't have to rely on photos. 

I agre with you all i f you ca understand that, but what i would really on the box would the list of colors needed to build suck kit with FS# and of manufactuers paints couse not everyone has the color at home nor do some of use live close to a LHS it would be nice to get all the paint need all at once. Yes i know this has nothing to do with whats on the front of the box but it would be nice to have.

 

I've thought short and soft about this and have come up with a six point system that should cover everything required by both the consumer and manufacturer.  I'm curious if anyone agrees.

1.  The top cover should consist of a 3/4 reference photograph of the subject with a section indicating the contents of the box.  Of course, there must also be a large print of the name of the kit, scale, and so on.

2.  Wide side one should have six photographs of the kit built OOB without weathering.  These should be front, left, right, rear, top, and 3/4 views.  If there is potential for different markings, there should also be a 3/4 image of the option.

3.  Wide side two should have the required materials, such as paints and the like, as well as the necessary legal crap that has to be there somewhere.

4.  Narrow side one, or right side, should have a smaller image matching the box top, the name of the kit, and the like.

5. Narrow side two, or left side, should have suggested aftermarket items, such as workable tracks, accessories, and figures.

6.  The bottom of the box is a nice place to stick the advertising for other kits made by the manufacturer.  Let's face it, we all turn the box over and look under there for some reason.

I like your idea Brian, makes good sense and would keep the majority of folks happy (I think....)


I have to be honest though I do like the box art on some of the boxes as it is very good. I would be happy with a picture on the side of the box of the actual built model, that way I can see what I'm getting without having to open the box. The new Italeri boxes are starting to have this and I think its a good idea.

what about something like a real dio at the top instead of the drawn scene? it would be nice, too.

I don't mind box art on the top at all. In fact, I think it's kinda nice. What is most important (for me and everyone else it looks like) are overall and detailed pictures of the completed model. Those have got to be on there for me to buy a kit. If there aren't real pics on the box, i won't even buy the model.

Joshua

I think all illustrations on the outer box should be of the actual model and the top/main image should be the actual model built and painted, but not just slapped together for the 'shoot', as some are.  Get them made by an experienced modeller who knows his stuff and can show the full potential of the kit out of the box.  The bottom of the box is a good place for three-views of the various versions included.

Some of the box-top paintings are beautiful but the artist commissioned to paint it probably hasn't even seen the kit.  Remember also, the artist has to be paid and he's going to charge a lot more than a kit builder, money which will be recouped from you, the consumer.

MJH wrote:

Some of the box-top paintings are beautiful but the artist commissioned to paint it probably hasn't even seen the kit.  Remember also, the artist has to be paid and he's going to charge a lot more than a kit builder, money which will be recouped from you, the consumer.

That only adds up to pennies per kit.

How about beautiful ladies posing on model boxes? 

There certainly are valid arguments in favor of both the painting and the photo of the finished model. To my notion, the ideal box features both:  a painting on top, and at least one photo of the finished model on the side. 

I'd be happy if the manufacturers would constistently provide two pieces of information:  the scale of the model and the date when it was originally released.  My primary interest is ships.  A big percentage of the currently-available plastic ship kits are old ones that date from the "fit the box" days, and I think customers ought to know that.  Revell/Monogram, for example, just released a "new" U.S.S. Arizona.  I wonder how many potential purchasers are aware that it's a reissue of a Revell kit that was originally released in 1958, and that the scale is the oddball 1/426.  Or that the Missouri currently in the Revell/Monogram is the same1/535, nearly fossilized version Revell originally released (as its very first ship kit) in 1953 - while the underwater hull lines of the ship were still classified.

My wishes, of course, are unrealistic; no model manufacturer is going to spill the beans about such stunts voluntarily. 

When I was in Poland, there was none of these problems. The guys at the shops wouldn't let you buy the kit unless you had a look inside!!!! Unfortuneatley, that's not happening here in Canada.

wow, i would like to see inside the boxes before buy the model. some time ago, i bought a "plastyk" b-26. the model itself was a good one, but when i reach to the clear parts assembly, i realised that the clear parts werent there i could be a good model if the clear parts were there. maybe next year i'll give the polish models a secnd chance, because i were searching the sprue for a week, the "great lost clear parts quest". that was really frustrating.

 

now, back to the topic, someone said that its cheaper to pay a modeler to make a dio with the modeler than pay an artist to do a drawing

thats true

Remember price codes on the end panels?  (Like revell H235-98, the 98 meaning .98cents) I want the highest price for the biggest model no more the $10.00 dollars!!!!!!!!!!!! Really though I do like the "classic" artwork  from the 50s and 60s then finished model pics on the side. My 2cents,  Good Hunting, G.W.

jtilley wrote:

There certainly are valid arguments in favor of both the painting and the photo of the finished model. To my notion, the ideal box features both:  a painting on top, and at least one photo of the finished model on the side.  I'd be happy if the manufacturers would constistently provide two pieces of information:  the scale of the model and the date when it was originally released.  My primary interest is ships.  A big percentage of the currently-available plastic ship kits are old ones that date from the "fit the box" days, and I think customers ought to know that.  Revell/Monogram, for example, just released a "new" U.S.S. Arizona.  I wonder how many potential purchasers are aware that it's a reissue of a Revell kit that was originally released in 1958, and that the scale is the oddball 1/426.  Or that the Missouri currently in the Revell/Monogram is the same1/535, nearly fossilized version Revell originally released (as its very first ship kit) in 1953 - while the underwater hull lines of the ship were still classified. My wishes, of course, are unrealistic; no model manufacturer is going to spill the beans about such stunts voluntarily.

If you bought a 'new' car and it turned out to be a re-badged 1956 version there'd be hell to pay!  Why do we put up with this misrepresentation?

In truth, they don't really mislead anyone.  We assume that a new release automatically means the that kit itself is new.  The packaging, instructions, and decals can be updated, but at no point is it indicated that the kit is on it's first release.  New, has various meaning beyond the assumed meaning of:  Having been made or come into being only a short time ago.  You'll also note that the manufacturers usually refer to them as new releases, not new kits.

Ideally, I'd like the box top to contain the name and scale, and a good picture of a completed and weathered model within a diorama setting.

 

Sides should contain completed model pics, contents of box, and an absolute must should be  a list of paints and materials required for the model. 

 

IMO box-top art is just really bad art.

zokissima wrote:

Ideally, I'd like the box top to contain the name and scale, and a good picture of a completed and weathered model within a diorama setting.   Sides should contain completed model pics, contents of box, and an absolute must should be  a list of paints and materials required for the model.    IMO box-top art is just really bad art.

I agree about paint and material required.

I don't think box-top art is bad art, these artists have talent but we cannot refer to these images to build the model.  There are a lot of innaccuracies and mistakes in these paintings.  So that's why it is crap!

I actually enjoy box art very much, and collect it from every kit I build. I like the Lindberg boxes, where the show a completed model with all it pros and cons. That way, the modeller knows what he's getting into.