Good and Bad kits

I don't know of any ONE site that has all of the kits reviewed but, here is what I have.

ARC, HyperScale, Large Scale Planes, Modeling Madness, SMAKR, and CyberModeler.

And, you can always post here about a particular kit before you buy.  There are many knowledgeable modelers that will help you out. 

Glencoe may have been a new name, but all of their kits were reissues of ancient models from the 1950s and 1960s.

Accurate Miniatures is a superb manufacturer of 1/48 scale aircraft. Hobbycraft has the nickname "Hobbycrap".

One thing to remember is that most companies have their old dog kits out there. Just because Company XYZ has the best F2000 jet fighter doesn't mean that their F1000 kit is any good.

Oh, it's a loaded question all right!

What constitutes a "good" kit? Some will claim it's the ability to chuck a tube of glue in the box and shake like some of the Tamiya kits (P-47 or F4U Corsair), some might claim it's an old Revell-Monogram kit due to the low price and the ability to use their skills to coax the best out of the styrene.

Heck some of the guys here will take any old kit and make it shine, some won't buy Tamiya saying there is no challenge, there's even a few that can take a block of wood and make a very nice model with it. 

The kit is only part of the equation, the rest is in your eye and hands.

But no, there isn't a one stop clearinghouse of reviews. You'll need to research the sites Randie posted above, and then ask questions here about particulars.

Wow!

Thanks for the links, Randie - looks like I'm in for some interesting reading this weekend!

Rob Gronovius wrote:

Hobbycraft has the nickname "Hobbycrap".

But, as you also stated.  Don't judge ALL of their kits from one, OR MORE, bad kits.

"Hobbycraps" F8F series, P-59 series and P-26 have all gotten very good reviews.

I am not trying to start a flame war, Rob.  I have way too much respect for you to do that.  Just want Alumni72 to be sure and abide by the last part of your post.

You wrote:

One thing to remember is that most companies have their old dog kits out there. Just because Company XYZ has the best F2000 jet fighter doesn't mean that their F1000 kit is any good.

chopperfan wrote:

Rob Gronovius wrote: Hobbycraft has the nickname "Hobbycrap". But, as you also stated.  Don't judge ALL of their kits from one, OR MORE, bad kits. "Hobbycraps" F8F series, P-59 series and P-26 have all gotten very good reviews. I am not trying to start a flame war, Rob.  I have way too much respect for you to do that.  Just want Alumni72 to be sure and abide by the last part of your post.  You wrote: One thing to remember is that most companies have their old dog kits out there. Just because Company XYZ has the best F2000 jet fighter doesn't mean that their F1000 kit is any good.   Great advice.

Please feel free to point out the F2000 and F1000 errors as well.

I understood what you were getting at, Rob.  As I stated, no flame war here.  I agree with everything you said.

Please accept my apology, as I intended no foul.  I, too, call them "Hobbycrap".

And, by the way, Alumni72?  You're welcome.

Bgrigg wrote:

Oh, it's a loaded question all right! What constitutes a "good" kit? Some will claim it's the ability to chuck a tube of glue in the box and shake like some of the Tamiya kits (P-47 or F4U Corsair), some might claim it's an old Revell-Monogram kit due to the low price and the ability to use their skills to coax the best out of the styrene. The kit is only part of the equation, the rest is in your eye and hands.

Bill, You hit the nail right on the head! I buy Revell-Monogram kits mainly for price but also because I really do enjoy working on a kit that challenges my skills and gives me room to improve on my modeling skills. You guys have seen my work and know I can take a dog Revell-Monogram kit and make a nice looking model with very little AM enhancements. I really prefer to adding my own enhancemets. I have a Tamiya 1/32 F-15E and I am in no hurry to build it because it already has that fine detail. The Revell kits don't and I love going that extra mile on them to get a degree of fine detail on them they sorely lack. So I agree 100%, " the kit is only part of the equation, the rest is in your eye and hands." Well said Bill!

Air Master

Well, to be honest I just used AM and Hobbycraft as examples - I was sure there was a company with a name almost identical to Accurate Miniatures, but couldn't think of it when I started the thread.  I was thinking Classic Miniatures or something like that.  But it's good to know that Hobbycraft has somewhat of a reputation.

I see they make - or made - 1/48 scale German bombers - can anybody attest to the quality, or lack thereof, of those kits?

 And since I'm asking, who makes good (1/48) kits of "Golden Age" US Army and Navy aircraft besides Accurate Miniatures?  They appear to like concentrating on a few aircraft with kits for several different versions of each.  I have just about all the Hasegawa/Minicraft 1/32 kits in my ancient stash, but not a lot of display room available.

Thanks again, gang!

Don't completely discount Hobbycraft, they sure do have some dogs, but they also have some gems. They rebox a lot of their stuff, and they're the only source for some kits. You just have to do your research. They have an Avro Arrow kit which I keep picking up at the LHS, then I think about spraying white paint and the few Hobbycraft kits I've bought and it ends up back on the shelf. One day, though...

Price is "usually" a good way to judge the value, i.e. a $12 Tamiya kit isn't much better than a $12 Revell-Monogram.

Thanks Rand for the kind words!

chopperfan wrote:

My apologies, sir.

Chopper, You and I share a common name but I go by Rand. I dropped the "y" off my name years ago.

And Bill, Your quite welcome!

Air Master aka Rand