Model Aircraft Kits

I'd also cast a vote for Hasegawa and Tamiya as best overall, however, they are expensive. Hobbycraft has its critics but their kits are cheap so they make good practice models. I didn't have much or any problems with their 1/48 Emil and Hurricanes. Just my $0.02.

Sparky,

I asked about 1/48 Corsairs a couple of weeks ago, and the general concensus seemed to be go for Tamiya. Hope that helps

I'm afraid I can't help you much with the Corsair. I have only built an 1/48 F-4U-4 (I believe Hasegawa but it's so long ago it might also have been Tamiya...), which has been superseded by entirely new models of different versions of the F-4U. If you run into one of the old ones, it is a nice kit but has little cockpit detail and raised panel lines all over. Well it is an old kit...

Tamiya makes 3 versions of the Corsair from WWII vintage in 1/48. They are great kits, not exactly beginner kits, but most builders can handle them. For a later, Korean War vintage, the Hasegawa 1/48 F4U-5 & AU-1 are excellent kits.

Well Sparky, I'm just starting the Tamiya F4U-1/2 Corsair in 1/48. I'm very pleased with the molds, but I haven't gone far enough into it to tell you how the fit is. There are a few Tamiya F4U kits out there, and many of the other members will have better info on 'em than myself.

hey sparky4155;
first off welcome to the forum, and it depends on the scale and the item of intrest you are going to do, in some scales there is only one manufacture that make the item in the scale you want to do IE... 1/48 scale B-17, well only Revell/Monogram makes them the B-17F & B-17G so your not going to get a better kit but now like a P-51 there are about a dozen manufactures in 1/48 scale now it's the cost & how much detail & accurate size you want to do and which version and whose plane,
sorry to give you this heavy load right up front but if you are an experianced modeler then the better ones are Hasegawa, Tamiya but a good kit that is inexpensive but has good detail and you don't really have the experiance then I'd recommend the Revell/Monograms kits then work up to the more expensive kits, my idea is save the money first and gain the experiance to spend the cash later and build them for a living

I would have to say without a doubt the kits with the least tweeking are Tamiya and Hasegawa. But there are other kits from other companies that are just as good, you just have to find them. Oh and to the forums sparky4155.

Thanks for the advise. I think I would like to try a F4U Corsair. I also have been building 1/48 scale.

Tim

Hi there Sparky, welcome to the forum. Like the others said, Tamiya and Hasegawa would normally provide you with the best fitting kits, but this doesn't help you if you want to build a plane they don't make. So tell us what planes you like and to what scale, and we'll point out the best models out there. Would be nice to know what your favorites are anyway, so you might want to go to the Welcome forum and tell us a bit about yourself? I did and got plenty of very nice responses. Highly recommended!

sparky4155 hi and welcome to the forums!

you'll find evryone really helpful here but even more so if you ask a specific question.
now i appreciate that if you're new then you don't know what you're after, and hence it can be a little frustrating when you get responses like some of the above (no disrespect guys).
i will assume that you'll be making 1/48 kits (i build those), and in that case given your "good fit" criteria, then i'd stick with tamiya and hasegawa. they all have great fit and detail, and will be just right if you want something that almost sticks itself together! perversely, some guys want stuff that fits bad for the challenge...me i want an easy life!! on the down side, they are the most expensive out there (so maybe try a 1/72 kit first?), and are not good in covering subjects which are outside the mainstream.
try a tamiya/hasagawa p-51 maybe, as one of the guuys on thses forums is doing a step-by-step build (will find the link for you if you are interested).
hope this helps.
remember, there is a vast wealth of info on here, you just gotta tap it!!
regards,
nick

Generally speaking...I prefer Tamiya. But like the others said, it depends on the manufacturer.

Welcome to the Forum Sparky. First, decide what scale you are interested in building, then which aircraft. Post a query on the forum as to who makes the best TBD kit in TBD scale and you'll get plenty of opinions.

I'd suggest that you decide what aircraft types you want to build, and then seek the best example for that type. One manufacturer may make the ultimate Spitfire for example, but their ME 109 may not be as good as that of a different make. It also depends on the amount of detail you want to incorporate into your models, and how much you are prepared to spend. Answer those questions, and then you will be better prepared to search for a kit that fulfills your needs