Most accurate and best-fitting brands for 1/48 aircraft?

It's hard to be general here, as it depends on a particular model. I heard the few Tamiyas are great, Hasegawa usually fits well but sometimes has problems with accuracy. New Revells are supposed to be great value for money, the problem is telling them apart from the old ones, so look for online reviews. Which actually should be the general approach. The new Chinese, Trumpeter and Hobby Boss are supposed to be very good too.

Hope it helps, have a nice day

Pawel

All Brands have their winners & losers.  Acadmy,Tamiya, Hasegawa, Revell , Trumpeter, Fujimi, Fine molds, etc. all make some very nice kits in 1/72, but they also have some not so nice in their catalogs.  Best to pick the aircraft you want to model & then ask who makes the best kit of that aircraft.

Regards,  Rick

You are best off reading kit reviews, or just asking for suggestions here. 

Tamiya and Hasegawa generally are pretty safe, but they have been around quite a while and still rebox kits from the 1970s. These older kits are not neccessarily bad, but they are not always the same quality as the current batch. I've also found Hasegawa decals to be kind of funky, nothing you can't get to work but disappointing when compared to the quality of the plastic. These two are not without their dogs either though, they have botched their fair share of subjects.

I'm a big fan of Airfix, Revell / Monogram, Italeri, Revell of Germany, and Matchbox (now reboxed as Revell of Germany), but these are even more hit and miss, some really nice kits and some that need a lot of attention. These companies have been around for decades and they are still occasionally reboxing kits from the 50s and 60s. Again not a bad thing, some of these old kits are quite nice, but made to a different standard.

There are a ton of small manufacturers, the quality of these is all over the place but they offer far more variety.

Mach 2 has a lot of interesting subjects but they are expensive and generally take a lot of work to turn out a good model.

Eastern Europe has a bunch of smaller companies ranging from crude to extrememly good. Toko, Eastern Express, Amodel, ICM, Eduard, Roden, Pavla, Sword, Zvesda and many others. These are particularly tricky because they frequently share models between themselves. Occasionally they also share with Italeri and Revell of Germany.

vaw it's perhaps too broad a question, but I am very fond of a neat little series of kits sold by Tamiya under the "Warbirds" series. I have no idea how many there are, but I've built about five, and one of them was no. 46 IIRC.

You get one or two sprues of really first rate parts, a nice set of decals and good clear parts, all for $ 10- $ 20 depending on the subject. Highly recommended. A rare instance of high Tamiya quality and low prices.

I model exclusively in 1/72 scale. To be honest with you I try and get Academy kits when available. Everyone says that the Hasegawa's and Tamiya's are the best. But to me they all have  issues as far as fit and scale, but when I look at Academy kits for $12 and Hasegawa and Tamiya kits are $22 and up, to me that's a no brainer. The Hasegawa and Tamiya aren't THAT much better to be twice as much money.

Just my 2cents

Thanks. I remember also liking the Academy kits years back. Seemed to be good value. Regarding scale, 1/72 is so much more economical and saves space but I would be concerned with putting a primer, and color coats, decals as well as a seal cote all on a little 4 inch-long model of say a 109 or a Spitfire as I would imagine it starts too look a little thick for the scale...... I therefore sort of consider 1/48, also for the additional realism and detail that are possible but it can take up a lot of space and cost a lot more.

No paint thickness issues really if you go light. Mottled camo and that sort of thing is much more difficult, but it's something that if you get good at you'll be proud of.

There's the law of cubes in effect- a kit at twice the scale is eight times as big.

Ok, thanks for the advice. I would like to start with a couple kits (already have the 1/48 Texan from Revell), but want to get two more 1/48's. Can we perhaps see a vote for the best:

1) P51D 1/48

2) P47 1/48

3) Bf 109 E or G 1/48

I have a suspicion this could get interesting.

Vivian

Vivian- these are questions that do not have a right or wrong answer. There simply are no universal criteria.

Hey bondoman, that I realize but given that I've been out of the hobby for 20 years or so, I have no idea which kits are the "dogs", which kits to avoid. Surely there must be some stand-outs as kits of these three aircraft that have good fit, are accurate and have good detail, decals etc.?

The answer for 1/48, really is the same as for 1/72....some good, some bad. Generaly speaking though, the most seam to swear by Tamiya and Hasegawa, some say Trumpeter has accuracy issues, to me though, they all look like what they supposed to represent. Revell has a few great ones too (F-86d, ME110, ME 410, JU-52, JU-87also released under Monograms, Pro-modeler series) Revell  has also released an F-104, P-38 and the JU-87 that were Hasegawa molds, for less $$$. Academy has some really good ones too.

 Those would be my top 4

Revell, Monogram, Pro-Modeller......good stuff at a GREAT price

Academy.......generaly pretty good.....decent price

Hasegawa......again, really good stuff...getting pricey

Tamiya......great stuff.....pricey(usually)

 Eduard has some pretty good stuff too! Oh, and don't forget about Dragon. Look for the orange box!!!!

For a 1/48 P-47, Tamiyas Razorback is easily the best P-47 out there, but does have a $45 price tag.  For a P-51D it would be between Hasegawa and Tamiya....I wouldnt know about the Bf-109

  I'll add my two cents by saying Tamiya is my favorite with regard to fit, finish and realism. They have always been my favorite. I also found Revell to be a great buy as they're pretty consistent quality without the big price tag. The few Haegawas i've done in my opinion should have fit better considering their premium cost. Just one guy's opinion....hope it helps. 

Tamiya's Mustangs are the business. The cockpits could use a bit of work, and some people hate the -51D's two-piece canopy, but the overall fit is staggering. I didn't even have to cement the wing/fuselage joins.

As for P-47s, everything I've ever read points straight to the Tamiya twins as well. 

My thoughts would be your asking a subjective question expecting to get an objective answer. So I will offer you a objective reply.

Often for business reasons kit molds are swapped, sold and leased. The only change in the kit is box and its brand name. The only reason for any difference in 2 kits from the same mold would be quality control. For example: not fully cooling the mold before the molding is ejected which warps the larger parts.

Let me add that premium manufacturers do not let loose of their molds and do not use the kit molds of another company. Vivian these premium kits have a premium price tag. I think the best answer is you have to trust in the get what you pay for rule. ~ Danny

Hey fermis, do you mean the Revell-Monogram JU-87D in 1/48?

Hogzilla

Vivian these premium kits have a premium price tag. I think the best answer is you have to trust in the get what you pay for rule. ~ Danny

IMO the "premium kits = premium $" is oversimplifying things. It varies kit by kit, and of course it's all relative based on your definition of expensive. Personally, for me, in a world where cable costs $80-100/month, a video game costs $60 and a night at the movies can easily crest $40 for two people, a $30 kit that delivers 5-7 weeks of building entertainment is totally worth it (and I have yet to buy one that costs even that much), but your mileage may vary.

I've got a stack of these "premium" kits on the bench and in my stash. A few Tamiyas. A few Eduards. And the most expensive of them all? The two Hobbyboss Wildcats I'm working on right now. At around $26-27 each. Everything else - from Eduard's Profi-pack Hellcat to Zvezda's new BF-109F-2 to Tamiya's Mustangs, cost less. 

Again, it comes down to your definition of expensive, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to call out, say, Tamiya's Mustangs as these lap of luxury products when they can be found routinely selling for $20-23.

Now Tamiya's Swordfish is another matter entirely. But that just goes to show that it varies by kit.

Going of of what Doogs was saying, the high quality will most of the time correlate with a high price, but sometimes you can find a gem with Revell/Monogram kits.  I remember buying a 1/48 He-111 a few years ago for $6 at shopko.  This kit is definitely one of monograms better kits- decent fit, recessed panel lines, good detail, etc.  You just have to looka round a little bit.....the deals are out there.

P51D 1/48....Tamiya

P47D 1/48....Tamiya (Both BT & RB)

Bf-109E 1/48...Tamiya for fit/Hasegawa for accuracy

Bf-109G 1/48...Hasegawa

Regards,  Rick

rjkplasticmod

P51D 1/48....Tamiya

P47D 1/48....Tamiya (Both BT & RB)

Bf-109E 1/48...Tamiya for fit/Hasegawa for accuracy

Bf-109G 1/48...Hasegawa

Regards,  Rick

I'll second this opinion.

Tamiya, without a doubt to me makes the best fitting models. I would buy nothing else if they made everything. i also like Academy, Hasegawa, Eduard, some Revell, and Italeri has some good stuff.

I nearly forgot about Accurate Miniatures....they're the way to go for 1/48 early B-25's and any of the US Navy bombers of WWII

vaw1975

Hey everyone,

I like models to be accurate in scale and also to fit well (who doesn't?). Those of you with lots of experience, which brands of kits are best in these to departments? ( a) fit and b)accuracy in scale e.g. wing length, nose shape etc.)

Vivian

 

I'm gonna surprise everyone here that knows me and c kit choices..

No, just kidding...

Look... As several members have pointed out, all brands have their "dogs" (a term I hate to apply since EVERY kit is a dog in one place or another... Even if it's 100% "everything", then the price shoots it outta the saddle for me)

Another thing to consider is that every once in a while, you'll get a "Monday kit"... You'll spend 60.00 bucks on the top-shelf kit of a particular subject, get it home, openit to the expectation of just throwing the glue tube into it and a completed model pops out after you shake the box a few times..

BUT... In reality, it's got a bad decal sheet, missing parts, a sprue that's a "short-shot" (meaning not enough plastic went into the mold to form all the parts completely) , or the clear parts are all scratched and/ot crazed...

But anyway, it's a subjective question and there's no ONE answer... Generally speaking, I buy Monogram/Revell almost exclusively, but I HAVE bought from Tamiya, Hasegawa, Hobbyboss, Hobbycraft, Testor's, HAWK, etc, so I'm fairly well-rounded in other brands as well...

They (Monogram) are the BEST when it comes to the combination of quality, accuracy, and price of a particular subject, IMNSHO...  Their B-17s (Promedeler, Revel re-release and original Monogram), B-29s, B-24s (D & J), He-111, A/B-26s, B-26s, B-25s (H&J), P-61, AC-47/C-47/DC-3s (screw Trumped-upeter), are above reproach (except for fit issues in some places, which is just part of the game, IMHO)...  Even the kits from the 50s and early60s are quite accurate in overall shape and dimensions, you just gotta get past the lack of cockpits, engines, and those cockamamee "working" features and mummy pilots...  There are also some scale issues with pilot figures, notably the P-51B, P-47D Razorback, TBF-1, and a few others...

One case in point I recently did publish here was a side-by-side build of Eduard's P-39 and Monogram's Airacobra.  Both are grat kits, but the Monogram beat the Eduard kit in fit, engine and gunbays, cockpits (although the Monogram kit needed more scratchbuilt detail, the Eduard kit included P/E parts), and Eduard was superior in landing gear wells and interior well details.  At less than half the price of the Eduard version, the Monogram 'Cobra was superior IMNSHO... 

There was an 1/8th-inch gap between the left wing root and fuselage on the Eduard kit whereas the Monogram kit fit tighter 'n a tick without glue, and the canopy and doors were better as well, especially since Eduard chose to mold the doors in clear plastic, rather than doing the door in colored stryene and having to add the window (The reason I say this's better is that the window could be rolled down in the P-39, and Eduard's design precludes this option without cutting clear stryene, something I like to avoid at all costs because of its brittleness) Eduard also had both doors as poseable open or closed, something you rarely saw in a photo of a real '39, since the left door could only be opened from the inside.

Another thing is panel lines...  A lot of guys think that because a kit has a plethora of recessed panel lines, it's the better, more accurate kit... Well, in some cases, it is... But more often than not, it's innacurate... The actual panels (especially on Pre-WW2 designs) overlapped and were not butt-jointed, and many time the lines themselves are a scale inch wide... Pretty "breezy" if scale it up to 1/1scale , no? 

As I see it, the raised lines represent ( NOT duplicate) the overlapping panels better.  With a bit of pastel dust, they can be "popped out" quite nicely...

All-in-all though, it comes down to what you want to build, what you want to spend, and how good you are overall as a modeler...  Doesn't matter how "good" a kit is in the box if your modeling skills are sub-par or even just average...  If you smudge paint, miss joints, leave fingerprints on the inside of a canopy, silver decals, or leave joint-steps, you're SOL no matter what kit you buy...  You CAN, with time, love, and patience (and a well-stocked scrap box and some imagineering) turn any sow's ear of a kit into a proverbial Silk Purse... (Except for Aurora's P-61... THAT bird is a firecracker/BB-gun target..)

Bottom line is to try a few of the same subject from different manufacturers and you be the judge... I'd love to build a few more of Hobbycraft's P-51A/A-36/P-51B/C and grab another Monogram P-51B at the same time... I'd also like the Staff Car that comes with Tamya's P-51D, but put it with Monogram's D-Pony, or Hobbycraft's Bf 109F alongside Revell's (1970) Bf 109G, or...

Sorry about the long-winded post fellers, but my meds are kicking in and I'm feeling "Chatty" right now, lol...

Great thanks Hans and all the others. I will now just start to buy . Hans when you speak about Monogram, would that be the same kits as the Revell's currently available in places like Michaels?

vaw1975

Hans when you speak about Monogram, would that be the same kits as the Revell's currently available in places like Michaels?

Many of the Revells are re-issued Monogram kits. Just saw the P-61 at Hobby Lobby not half an hour ago.

IMO, some of Monogram's better kits - though this may be nostalgia speaking - are out of production and only available via eBay and such. Their P-47, for example. I wouldn't call it best in scale, not next to Tamiya's Jugs, and it's got a few accuracy issues (gun tubes parallel with wing rather than ground, etc), but it's extremely solid, and the early '90s release even includes a PE fret. And once you look past the ugly metallic silver molding, cockpit detail is extremely good.

My one Michaels store (at least 4 around here) has the following Revell kits:

Spitfire Mk II 1/48

P-61 1/48

P-51D 1/48

Ju-87D 1/48

AT6/SNJ Texan 1/48

F4U Corsair 1/48

B-25J 1/48

Anything really good there? (I already own the Texan)

  I have built over 200 1/48 models.  The most accurate and best fitting of the batch is Tamiya-Revell=monogram is okay also. 

vaw1975

Great thanks Hans and all the others. I will now just start to buy . Hans when you speak about Monogram, would that be the same kits as the Revell's currently available in places like Michaels?

 

Yeah, as Doogs pointed out, most of the Revell releases in 1/48th are former Monogram kits...   One esception is the one that Yaw pointed out, being the 1/48th Spit Mk II.  That's a mid 1970s kit from Revell.... It's a better kit than the 1960s Monogram offering of the Spitfire Mk IX.  It's got a full cockpit and detailed wheelwells vs. the Monogram Spit's "glue pilot to armor palate, insert decal" pit... However, if you use the Spit Mk II's cockpit parts for patterns, the Revell cockpit will look nice in the Mongram Mk IX.. You'll alos need to vac-form a canopy for it, as the Monogram Spit is an incredibly thick, one-piece affair... However, the Mk IX DOES have retractable gear that's not TOO toy-like...

Their P-47, got a few accuracy issues (gun tubes parallel with wing rather than ground, etc),...

Mmm, not quite, Doogs.. Without getting all technical and boring hell outta everyone, the P-47's guns were angled down a bit ( something like 3 degrees for 800 yards convergeance IIRC from the Pilot's Handbook) in units where ground attack was the primary mission.. This allowed the pilots more time to line up and aquire a target on the ground, and the guns were also covereged to "hit the box" at 800 yards vs. the standard 300 yards of one set up for air-to-air...   Of course, some Jug pilots also "tuned" their guns in pairs to converge at different ranges as well, with for instance, the outer two at 800 and inner two at 300... 

If the main missions were Ramrods and Rodeos (Escorts and Fighter Sweeps), the guns were zeroed parallel along the aircraft centerline for elevation/depression. So it really depends on what unit "your" Jug is from and what the unit was doing at the time of the reference photo used...  The guns could be angled down on this mission, parallell the next one... 

According to one source I have, this's one of the reasons that Gabby Gabreski's prop chewed into the ground on his last mission, he wasn't flying "HV*A" and the guns were set for air-to-air... Sad, that one, as he wasn't even supposed to fly that day as he was supposed be going home that very afternoon...

vaw1975

My one Michaels store (at least 4 around here) has the following Revell kits:

Spitfire Mk II 1/48

P-61 1/48

P-51D 1/48

Ju-87D 1/48

AT6/SNJ Texan 1/48

F4U Corsair 1/48

B-25J 1/48

Anything really good there? (I already own the Texan)

 

The B-25J would probly be the best of the bunch.  The P-61 has great detail, but does have some gaps to fill all around