What is Value for Money?

[BarryW]

I am a bit spoilt...

All of my last 8 builds were Tamiya 1/32 'Superkits' each being among the very best models of their subjects available. Sheer quality. Even my previous model, the HKM Mossie can also be labelled as a 'high end' kit.

Now I have just started a Revell new tool 1/32 FW190 F-8.

Cheap as chips at around £30 a third to a quarter of the cost of one of the 'high end' kits I am used to.

You can tell that it is brought to us 'at a price'....

The packaging, that flimsy end opening box Revell use with all the sprues just stuffed in. At least the sprues are split among several polythene bags rather than just one. Compare that to the strong boxes high end producers provide, individually wrapped sprues, packed in neatly with vulnerable parts protected perhaps in a seperate box or wrapped in foam, some p.e. and other materials included to add to the detail.

When I opened the Revell box I dutifully labelled the sprues with post-its to help identifting them easier, as I do with high end kits. i need not have bothered. The spue identification is not mentioned in the body of the instructions. There is a 'spue chart' but you have to look through every sprue to find the parts. OK - the pieces for the cockpit may be numbered 53 to 65 but those pieces are spread across several spues. With high end kits you can not only identify which sprue they are on from the body of the instructions but quickly work out where on the sprue they are as numbers are 'grouped' and you will find most 'pit parts are on one sprue for instance. Revell randomly spread them around not only dififerent sprues but around the sprues themselves. In just a 70 minute session I spent more time searching for parts than in my whole last Tammy build!

The instructions look hurried and, well, messy, almost an afterthought. Nothing like the well thought out quality booklet provided by Tamiya or that manual provided by Zukei Mura and even Airfix now have really upped their game with their latest kits.

Then there are the parts themselves.

Its a new tool kit and I find that there is so much flash around the gunsight it was unrecognisable, this is unheard of in a high end kit. OK, that is an exeption and most parts are free from flash but, even so, the mold seam, where two parts of a mold come together are much more prominent than the fine seams of high end kits. Clean up takes a lot longer... The Revel parts are just not as clean and crisp as high end kits, you could not mistake a Revell part for a Tammy one.

Don't get me wrong the new tool Revell has some nice details, but just not as nicely done as at the high end.

The engineering of the Revell kit is very good, but nowhere near as good as a high end kit.

The fit of the Revell parts is not bad at all (so far), but it is just not as precise as a high end kit.

The overall shape of the Revell FW190 kit though looks accurate, which is just what we all need to get a good result. That is something we take for granted with high end new tool kits these days. Revell have been known to drop the ball for accuracy with their new tools - their 1/32 Spitty for instance.

Don't get me wrong, I rather like the Revell kit, it is a good one and will be an enjoyable build and I am sure a good resull will be had.

But - you can tell it is done at a price.

But does cheap equal value?

I like the Revell FW190 but I dont think it represents value however cheap it is.

There is a need for cheap kits of course and I wish Revell well. No doubt I will build Revell again but if there is a kit of the type from a high end manufacturer then I would rather spend £100 or more on the high end kit than £25 on the Revell. But then I can afford to do it...

[Guest]

I don't care what the price is because a wonky kit is a wonky kit no matter how you market it, and they tend to give you more grief than joy and you secretly wish you'd bought an expensive kit instead... (money is no warranty for quality though)

I recently bought a Dragon Stug III in 1/35 scale and it was a kit that I'd wanted for a while - and wasn't exactly cheap. In order to save pennies they'd just shoved the sprues into the box and that was that so when I got the box it sounded like a maracas with all the broken off parts...

Cheap Chinese kits have made scale modelling more affordable for many but it's also pushed manufacturers to cut costs and that's what I think you've just experienced Barry.

Let's not forget the super expensive Haunebu II kit I bought from Squadron that was badly bent out of shape and they refused to replace so money isn't a guarantee for high quality, but the odds are better for sure!

Best value for me is a kit with great detail and options, some PE details and a descent instruction and where all the parts fit - and at a reasonable price!
I use Tamiya as the golden standard, both with detail and price in mind, and that's how I compare kits. Trumpeter, Amusing Hobby, Hobbyboss and Takom are on Tamiya level at the moment and all of them apart from Takom are cheaper than Tamiya - which is nice, but price is not a factor for me when buying a kit because an extra £10 isn't breaking the bank IMHO.

I don't buy kits older than 10 years though unless I really know what it is and this lesson I learned early on after buying the infamous Tamiya Panther Ausf. A. That kit has surely stopped many from continuing with the hobby if it was the first kit.

In the end of the day our hobby is someone's business and they live on making money, and many of them will cut corners if it means making a bigger profit. Check the kit on scalemates.com first to see how old it is and if it's got any reviews? I'd rather pay more money for a detailed and well packed kit than something cheap that'll cause frustration before it's built and done. Poor quality is no excuse, it's just laziness and greed!

[colin m]

A lot of the problems you refer to about the sprues and instructions are very Revell. A right pain, but it gets easier the more parts you use ! But at the end of the day, this kit is around 70 ish pounds cheaper than a high end kit (assuming a rough £100 for a Tamiya kit) and that fact can't be ignored.
You've been driving a Bentley for some time, jump into a Mondeo, a great car, but you are going to notice a difference.

[Guest]

I rate the value of a kit simply by the pleasure it brings me to build it. However, not everyone can afford to spend £100+ for a kit that virtually builds itself. Some modellers enjoy the challenge of building a kit that needs ‘building’. OK, they may not be as accurate but I for one don’t get over bothered about accuracy so long as it is a recognisable facsimile of the real thing.

That is the great thing about this hobby, it can be approached from so many different ways. The fun of it for me is just the build and paint, once it is finished, it will eventually end up in the bin at some point as I have limited storage. This is a fact I have to consider. When I chuck out a kit that cost me <=£40 I don’t feel as bad as if I chuck out one that cost >=£100. It is all horses for courses but I believe a lot of people wanting to come into the hobby can be put off by the cost of a kit. To some £100 for a kit is not a real problem, if you are out of work or cannot earn a good living, it can be a mountain of money.

[spanner570]

I'm much the same frame of mind as Graham. I want to build a kit, not empty the box and it builds itself. That is where my enjoyment lies - no matter how rough the kit is, I like the challenge. So the cheaper the kit the better. Accuracy of the kit is not an issue for me either. I just build whats in the box and have fun.

No offence to anyone, but I just couldn't ever justify spending mega money on a kit - even if I had the spare dosh.

If, when I battle and finish a cheap kit, I sit back and say "I beat you." then I'm sorted.

As Graham writes our game "Can be approached from so many ways."

Cheers.
Ron

[Snowman]

The value is in the eyes of the beholder and what you put into it. The only reason I'd spend big money up front is because I wanted it. Typically its the bits that I add that runs up the bill, if I'm not scratch building the add on details.

[Guest]

I like the Revell FW190 but I dont think it represents value however cheap it is.

'Value' is subjective in this sense.
You have a set of requirements and a specific expectation of how the completed kit must be for your satisfaction.
As a kid for example, if the spitfire I built looked like the pictures of spitfires in comic books and movies and WWII plane books of the time it was good enough.
This applies to anyone who thinks the same way. If it looks good enough AND it's cheaper than the super detailed one it has a higher 'value' if it's unacceptably inaccurate then the costlier kit has better value for you.
Additionally I think there's a satisfaction in making a good looking kit from something that requires extra effort in cleanup and assembly.
Some of my nicest looking kits are Tamiya motorbike kits but I see them as fairly easy in build as they practically fall together whereas something like the Airfix little nellie Wallis autogyro which was an old and terrible quality kit left me feeling very satisfied I'd made a convincing reproduction of the one from the movie to display on the shelf.

[PaulTRose]

wish i could afford to spend money like that!....100 quid would buy me 4 or 5 perfectly buildable kits

like graham i define value as the enjoyment it brings.....ive done kits that have cost me a couple of quid that i have enjoyed enourmously.........ive had kits costing 30 quid that i have hated and couldnt wait to finish

and tackling some really old kit that actually makes you think to overcome any deficencies is something i love to do. a shake n bake kit isnt much of a challenge

but each to their own

[stillp]

I like bargains!
I struggled earlier on in the year with a Tamiya 1/35 Challenger 5, which was so badly moulded I spent more time cleaning up mould seams than building and painting, the figures supplied are unusable. On the other hand, I've nearly finished a Revell 1/72 Luchs A2, which had only minor seam lines, and all the parts fitted. One part was loose in the plastic bag, but it was attached to a bit of sprue that didn't match the sprue it had apparently come from, so I assume it was a replacement part put in at the factory to replace a faulty moulding. I paid £7.99 for the Revell kit, but around £30 for the Tamiya.

Pete