what brand?

It mostly depends on when a kit was tooled. Some of the best kits on the market today come from Hasegawa and Tamiya and a couple others. However, older kits made by these companies ain't too good. Some kits tooled in the 60's and early 70's aren't too good. Sometimes you have no choice. For example, if you want an F-102 or F-106 in 1/72 scale, the only game in town is Hasegawa, but these date from the late 60's and need some work to make a good model out of them. If you ever want to know what particular kit of a subject to buy, you can ask here. We've probably built about everything and will be happy to share our experiences with you. Good luck in your modeling hobby.

Depends very much what interests you... In general, you can't go wrong, or much wrong with kits manufactured by Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi. However, even those excellent manufacturers have the odd bad kit, and some of their older offerings are not up to today's standards in detailling and engraving.. Revell-Germany's kits are often very good too, but again, their earlier offerings should be left on the model shop shelves! Italeri is a decent company too. Ans so is Academy/Minicraft. Revell, Italeri and Academy have more esoteric subjects than the three big Japanese companies... However, they re-market Matchbox , Zvezda and Hobbycraft kits that are not always of the best quality... If you are into even more esoteric subjects, it is time to consider Eduard, Roden, Trumpeter, BlueMax, KP, or why not, 'garage' companies such as Welsh Models, Aeroclub.

Tell us what you like and I'm sure there are people here who will be able to direct you to the best kits out there!

There are good and bad kits from all the model companies. IMHO,
you tend to get the most "bang for the buck" from Monogram.

yoiu cant go wrong with trumpeter cept for their f4f wildcat. get tamiya. if u want revell of germany, STAY AWAY FROM THE a6m5 ZERO! ITS A 1987 REISSUE! fit is ok tho

Determining the brands you buy depends on the subject matter - but generally Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi, and some of the Monogram stuff can be pretty good, in that they're very easy to put together with a minimum of messing about to get a good result. But the ONE WAY of determining if it's any good - OPEN THE BOX AND HAVE A LOOK. If the hobby shop gets snooty about it, then tell them you'll take your business elsewhere. The place I go NEVER refuses a look, and they make more sales because of it. If a model looks crap in the box (fuzzy detailing, lots of flash, short shots) then it will probably build poorly, no matter what your skill. Have a look at a good quality kit (ask them in the hobby shop) and compare it to a poor kit. Skill and experience will come to you.......just perservere.

try http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/portland/971/reference/manufacturers.htm for kit manufacture reviews

Magor,
Try going to SMAKR.com. It stands for Scale Model Aircraft Kit Review (or something like that). Just as the previous respondents stated, each manufacturer has it's good kits and bad kits. If there's a kit I'm really interested in I'll check it out on the internet first before I sink money into it. I'd rather spend $40 on a good kit rather than waste $20 on a lousy one. Check the net before you head out the door to your hobby shop. It will make things so much easier for you.

Eric

thanks guys for the 'heads up' to which brands to buy. next time i go into a model store i'll know which brands to go straight to :)

Although I'm convinced that Tamiya and Hasegawa are tops, I do like to try the offerings of other manufacturers. I check out how they organize the breakdown of the parts, how well things align and fit, etc. Revell-Monogram is another favorite of mine, because I feel they deliver a lot of bang for the buck.
Head for the hobby store!!

When talking about brand, I'm open. It really depends on the subject, availability and the modeler himself. No doubt Hasegawa and Tamiya are the best, we can have other excellent manufacturers like Accurate Miniature, Dragon, Academy and... the list goes on. The point is I model what I want and from any kit available. Sure Tamiya is excellent when it comes to modeling planes and armor. Then look at the price. For me, when I model armor I'll try to find others like Dragon. Trumpeter, Academy and so on. Then if there is no choice, I'll go for Tamiya. For planes, Revell-Monogram kits are good. Most of my models (built and unbuilt) are Revell-Monogram. Well if you're talking about modeling any kit is ok. It's your skill that determine the outcomes.

Like the others mentioned Tamiya and Hasegawa produce great kits but at a good price. If you're looking for WW2 aircraft I would recommend ARII (formerly Otaki). Although they're a Japanese firm their non Japenese aircraft are made better than the Japanese ones. If you're looking for a low cost and relatively good quality kit I would reccommend ARII. But again I depends on what you're looking for and your budget especially if you're a student like me....haha!

Cheers,
Nandakumar

esci. if you can find a mania kit DONT BUILD IT! sell it on ebay