kits quality and details

It all depends on which Revell kits you have. Sounds like they are either their old kits, or re boxing's of other brands. Their new 1/72nd Ju 88's for example are a match for the Hase kits but at a fraction of the price.

Every company has good and bad kits, and many re box older kits from other brands, Tamiya for example re box some Italeri kit's.

You should really take it on a kit by kit basis. People often ask which is the best brand to go for, but that's not easy to answer. It all depends on so many factors that need to be taken into account. I am a big fan of Hase kits and will happily pay the extra they charge. But I will always do a search to see which other options are out there and if I can get a kit which is almost as good detail wise for much less, I will do that.

I was wondering the same thing when I started in the hobby and after few bad purchases I learned that impulse purchases are usually bad!

Decide on a subject and scale, then do some research, read few reviews and decide on the kit and manufacturer. Modern Revel or Airfix kits are damn good, but those companies are on the market from decades and their ancient kits are ...well ancient and pretty bad.

The new companies on the other hand have another problem - the kits from the first years are bad as they don't have the money and/or experience to make cutting edge kits at the time (Eduard, Trumpeter, Zvezda for example). The new kits are again excellent.

Of course tehre are some exceptions of the rules, but the best bet is to do some research and buy then.

There is one company with their all kits being cutting edge and second to none thou - Wingnut Wings, but they are specialized in 1/32 WW1 kits only!

This is the best advice and comment I can give you

best regards,

Sasho

Revell's PV-1 is a dream to build. Also when people say Revell is "bad" all they need is some extra loving, if you find yourself building one and its giving you trouble, check out the thread here in the aircraft forum entitle "show your revell l/monogram builds here" or something along those lines....its a thread full of wonderful models built from "bad" kits

Several mfgs have gone to new molding technology that makes for much better detail. Revell and Airfix are two.  Their recent kits are top notch. Zvezda has improved a lot too.  Trouble is identifying re-releases from new tooling.  For that, read the reviews in the modeling magazines.

Tamiya has long been top notch, as has Trumpeter.

Revell of Germany has long been very good.

There are Eastern European kits that have fine detail, but not that great a fit. If you don't mind cleaning up bad fit they are are okay but be careful of those.

Depends on the individual kit, not the manufacturer. Some kits date back to the 70's or earlier. Revell, Hasegawa, Tamiya and others all have them and still pump them out alongside their latest and greatest.

Sometimes they will whack on new decals and colour scheme and market the kit as a new release.

The solution? Don't impulse-buy. Do some research or ask about the kit here. Someone will know.

And the other factor in this equation is that sometimes there are only one or two kits of a given subject in a particular scale. So you have to go with what is available. Not everything is kitted by all the different companies in various scales.

many thanks to all of you, very useful comments.

actually i am building dornier 1:72 revell/ monogram kit and i built B&V 1:72 and f-18 f/a (the red one) 1:48 too. i dont see any rivets on 1:72 scales and panel lines are not deep at all. i dont have any experience with other kits. but from what i see i think they have more details and deeper panel lines maybe. this may not be the subject but i have a problem with revell aqua colors as well too. they kinda look dirty and not crisp once they dry and they cant be mixed with revell "aqua color mix".  any way if you have any suggestions for 1:48 BF-109 and spitfire ? this community is wonderful thanks to you guys.

    Welcome to the community Matt.  I will say this: I just got back into modeling about two months ago after a twenty-five to thirty year break.  One of the first things I did upon picking up a Revell P-51D @ 1/48, was to start looking for a forum of like minded individuals to help me grow as a modeler.  I have got to say that I found a great group of guys here, and that's no joke.  These guys have gone out of there way to give help and advice, and when asked, constructive criticism.  Honestly, I don't know that I've ever seen anyone speak harshly about anyone else's work other than to give some pointers here and there.

    With that said, once you decide on a subject, your BF-109 for example, do a little research on it that compares various kits.  Then, don't be afraid to ask these guys.  Several have been modeling for decades, and odds are that someone on here has built a particular kit your looking at.  They can tell you if the kit is good or not so good, and what to watch out for, ect...  

    Another thing to consider is the world of after market (AM) products available.  Say you pick up a Revell F-4B, but you hate the interior.  No problem, you can get on-line and pick up a new cockpit that has the detailing you like, or wheels, or flaps, or pilots, or mechanics, or, or, or, or, or...  You get the idea.  And most AM isn't very expensive either, though it does add up quick.  A good place to look is Sprue Brothers:  store.spruebrothers.com/default.asp

    There are people on here that know much more about paints than I do.  However, I picked up a set of Tamiya acrylic and haven't looked back.  I broke down and got an airbrush, and that Tamiya, mixed 1 to 1 with 91% rubbing alcohol goes on like silk, is very forgiving, and looks great to boot.  Hopefully, some others will chime in on this one as well.  I'd like to hear a bit more on the subject too.    

    By the way, Revell's, P-51D at 1/48 designed after Bud Anderson's "Big Beautiful Doll" was a decent build, especially considering it was my first build back.  The cockpit isn't the greatest and you really need to do a test fit of the seat and canopy before you glue the seat in.  Otherwise, the canopy will not fully close.  Luckily for me it wasn't a big deals, just something to watch out for.  I ended up putting the decals in the parts garage and making Lt. Robert William's "Duchess Arlene"...  Here's the link to it, if you want to see it.  Like I said, it was my first build after a very long time.  

cs.finescale.com/.../157342.aspx

    Also, and take it for what it's worth, go 1/48 or larger...  My last model was a 1/72 (a P-51C) and I'll do it's mate for my wife, but that'll be it for 1/72 scale for me.  It's either that, or buy an electron microscope :-)

    Well, this was much longer than I had wanted...  Especially for just wanting to say that there are a good bunch of people on here and to utilize them.  Good luck!!!  I can't wait to see your builds, Raymond

Matt12

many thanks to all of you, very useful comments.

actually i am building dornier 1:72 revell/ monogram kit and i built B&V 1:72 and f-18 f/a (the red one) 1:48 too. i dont see any rivets on 1:72 scales and panel lines are not deep at all. i dont have any experience with other kits. but from what i see i think they have more details and deeper panel lines maybe. this may not be the subject but i have a problem with revell aqua colors as well too. they kinda look dirty and not crisp once they dry and they cant be mixed with revell "aqua color mix".  any way if you have any suggestions for 1:48 BF-109 and spitfire ? this community is wonderful thanks to you guys.

Is the Dornier the 17Z kit. If so, that one dates from 1969, its just been re boxed and new decals. That is one of the problems, you don't always know if a kit is a new one or an old mold that been re boxed over and over. Is the BV the 138 or the 222.

many people seem to be afraid of 72nd scale kits, but once you are used to them, there really is no problem, if the eyes are straining, you can always get an optivisor.

I recently built a Trumpeter,Great Wall Hobby,and a Eduard and the detailing was good,not quite shake and bake,but enjoyable to build.

hello Raymond

thanks for your advice, first of all i should say that i am totally new to this hobby and this Do-17 1:72 is my 4 th model ever. i think 1:72 models are a bit too tricky for rookies like me. cheers mate.

I think sometimes Revell don't put rivets on their kits is because if you think about the scale, the size of the model would mean that even 1/32nd kits would be at a distance where in real life you would barely see panel lines let alone rivets, however if you do like every single detail I would suggest Hobbyboss as they literally have everything covered.

I had one of those "bad" kits from Revell, it is the F/A-18E Super Hornet.  When I started this project I was pretty disappointed with the fit of some of the pieces (maybe I should say the "lack" of fit of the pieces).  After some sanding, filling, sanding, and filling, it turned out to be a fairly decent aircraft.  I actually put it away for awhile and worked on a couple other aircraft from Revell, the A-10A and the F-14D, both of those kits actually were pretty nice builds.  I would totally agree that you can find good and bad kits for any manufacturer out there.

I'm currently getting ready to start the Hasegawa F-4G and so far it looks like its going to a very nicely detail model.  There are some obvious things that need to be changed on the kit to make it a true representation of the "G" model aircraft, you can find building hints to correct these problems on the forums here or by searching online for the specific aircraft.

Regarding the Spitfire and 109...  The first Tamiya aircraft I built was a bf109e and after years of Monagram/Revell and Airfix (old ones), this thing was an eye opener. No flash, nice detail, everything fit perfectly and was a joy to build. I am the world's worst at filling seams so when this thing went together without so much as a human hairs gap between panels, I was sold. I've got their Spitfire Mk1 sitting on my desk now and at first glance, it looks to be as well made as the 109.  Both kits are a little old now and everybody makes at least one variant of these birds so you have lots of options. My vote is still for Tamiya on these two.  I think they're still around $20.

Try doing a google search for the scale/manufacturer/plane/review for any new kit you're interested in. ie: "1/48 Tamiya Spitfire Mk1 review"

Not surprisingly, you'll probably wind up back here ; )

Here's a link to a wip of  the same Mk1 I am referring to being built  by lawdog114...

cs.finescale.com/.../150652.aspx

Cheers,

Daryl

Hey, no problem Matt...  Again, I'm by far no expert...  I dunno, the definition of an expert is a drip under pressure, so maybe I am one at that ;-)  And I'd have to have an electron microscope to do another 1/72...  Raymond

thanks a million everybody, i am finally  done with Revell 1:72 DO-17z. please check and help me improve my work.

Raymond G

Hey, no problem Matt...  Again, I'm by far no expert...  I dunno, the definition of an expert is a drip under pressure, so maybe I am one at that ;-)  And I'd have to have an electron microscope to do another 1/72...  Raymond

O you don't need one of those, just a decent optivisor when your eyes start to fel the strain. Its really not as bad as people seem to think. I know that's easy for me to say, I have been building 72nd aircraft for 30 years and to me its just perfectly normal, but once you get used to it, its a breze.

matt, that's look really nice, good job on the panel line. One suggestion, and that for the pics. Try and get them without the rest of the things in the pic. The only thing missing is the antenna, maybe try some easy line or very fine fishing line, or failing that stretched sprue.

Nice job on that plane!  Uh, what scale are the hair brushes?  They look good too.

Gary

ok no more brushes from now on, promise :D

i have a couple of questions: 1- how do you use pigments on WWII aircrafts? 2- when i mask and remove the masking tape from clear parts, they dont look as shiny as they used to be. whats the solution?

You just started and this is what you made? Dude, it looks great from here. You could have fooled me. One thing you can do is google the particular model number and read up on any reviews and wips. I think this way you know what's ahead.

As to the Revell Monogram quality, it's hit and miss on some of them. The 1/48 P47s are really nice and build just fine OOB. The 1/48 FA18 and F15 E  are IMO very well detailed and at a fraction of the cost of Hasegawa. The Revell Monogram 1/48 Tomcat needs some TLC with some of the seams but builds into a nice model.  Revell of Germany is cranking out some really impressive models in 1/32 like their Arado 196, Bf109 and Uhu, all priced at under or around $40.

OK Matt, I 've been building since the mid-60's and I'm not sure I could make one look that good! That is outstanding work!.  I don't think you could go wrong with Revell/Monogram kits-I got about every Mono 1/48 kit in my stash-and I agree with the other guys on hit and miss, but the ones that miss will definitely improve your skills when you clean up seams, fill gaps, add a little detail here and there, etc. The whole key is mastering the basics. An out of box build well done beats one done with all the resin and PE available stuck on it.  My creed is to satisfy myself first.

Matt, what did you use to mask the canopy.

Monogram's quality improved, from the first generation of airplane kits, up to the great multi-engined kits from the Seventies.  The early kits had operating features, and shapes that were generally accurate, but more often than not, had some details that were more or less made up.  The F4F, SBD, SB2C, TBF, F6F, Zero and Bf-109 all fall into that category.  By the mid-Sixties, they improved, dropping operating features and adding more detail.  The P-39 is an example of this improvement, along with the P-47D razorback, the P-51B and P-40B.  Then the big kits came out-the B-17G, the B-24J, the B-29, the B-36, the C-47.  And other single-engined aircraft, like the TBD, and the first jet kits.  They might not seem that great, compared to today's kits, but to guys like me, who were kids in the Seventies, they were great.  They represented a new set of challenges, moving from building models in colored plastic with idiot marks for the decals, to learning and applying more mature techniques.  Shep Paine's "Tips On Building Dioramas" were part of that mix, too.  I still build those kits today, though I know that there are more finely-engineered kits on the market.  For some subjects, though, those old kits are still the only game in town.

the Baron

Monogram's quality improved, from the first generation of airplane kits, up to the great multi-engined kits from the Seventies.  The early kits had operating features, and shapes that were generally accurate, but more often than not, had some details that were more or less made up.  The F4F, SBD, SB2C, TBF, F6F, Zero and Bf-109 all fall into that category.  By the mid-Sixties, they improved, dropping operating features and adding more detail.  The P-39 is an example of this improvement, along with the P-47D razorback, the P-51B and P-40B.  Then the big kits came out-the B-17G, the B-24J, the B-29, the B-36, the C-47.  And other single-engined aircraft, like the TBD, and the first jet kits.  They might not seem that great, compared to today's kits, but to guys like me, who were kids in the Seventies, they were great.  They represented a new set of challenges, moving from building models in colored plastic with idiot marks for the decals, to learning and applying more mature techniques.  Shep Paine's "Tips On Building Dioramas" were part of that mix, too.  I still build those kits today, though I know that there are more finely-engineered kits on the market.  For some subjects, though, those old kits are still the only game in town.

+1

Listen to the Baron!  I might add that many modelers believe that the Monogram 1/48 P-40B is the still the most accurately shaped kit of this aircraft.

Gary

Take the old Monogram 1/48 F-100, 101, 102, 105 and 106. They are older molds but still will deliver an excellent build.

What is plastic compared to the hand that wields it?

Contemplate this on the bench of woe...

Thanks freem, plastic and everybody, I have only tried Revell Kits and mostly 1/72s. I want to make kits look extra realistic but i  know only a few techniques, i have seen some super detailed models by brett green and some other folks and fell in love with this art.

Bish, I used regular masking tape for masking the canopy but not Tamiya, do you think it will look more shiny if i use Tamiya? what about liquid masking solutions? i dont know how to use them and what will the results look like?

all in all i think after building these few cheap 172 kits i am ready to give myself some more room and move to 1/48 era so i will have more freedom to detail the model to my desires.

one thing i really appreciate if you guide me through is paint, i am using italeri and revell acrylic paints. revell is nice and its fidelity to the original color is awesome, but  it looks a bit dim, not bright or maybe i should say too matt, i am not sure.

Italeri is also good but it is too thick, i think there are too many pigments in the bottle. no matter how thin you make it, kills the whole preshading easily. so would it be helpful if i switch to Vallejo air models? has anybody tried them all so can tell what is what and which is which?

Thanks again mates, i really learned plenty of things from you and i am grateful to the community :)

The masking tape could be your problem. Tamiya tape is less tacky than regular masking tape, I am guessing the one you used has left residue behind. I have some masking liquid but am not that ken on it. I normally use Eduard masks for more complicated canopies and Tamiya for simpler ones.

Quite a few people use Vallejo, I only have the 4 for German armour as I mainly use Xtracolour enamels and Tamiya enamels. But when I have used the Vallejo is it rather nice paint.

I actually use cheap masking tape that is extra sticky for masking canopies. I cut thin strips to frame up the canopy then use larger ones on the more open areas. Sticks great and no bleed under it. Then remove with a wood toothpick and tweezers. Eduard's masks are a life saver and come in extra handy on intricate designs.

Can't help you with the acrylics since I use enamels for most of my airbrushing. I have tried Tamiya acrylics thinned with their own  thinner and they seem to spray ok. I've heard Vallejo Air has a lighter pigmentation count to make it able to spray thru an AB. Vallejo Model Color is very thick and heavily pigmented which is ideal for brush painting smaller things. I bought some of these and I was impressed at how well they brush, making them ideal for figures.