discussion Skill levels for model kits

[Olivetti20]

Ive just received my Tamiya 1/48 Focke Wulf kit,and as im returning to this hobby since my childhood i an quite surprised that this model has less than 50 components,whereas an airfix spitfire kit 1/72 scale seemed to have a simular number of components,i notice Revell have a skill level rating for their kits and i was wondering if other manufacturer's had skill levels and if so how are they rated.
What i'm saying in short is,i'm paying more money for bigger scale kits yet the components haven't increased.Should i be looking at Revell or simular to have more bits for my buck!
Thanks all.

 

[AlanG]

To be honest i pay no attention to the skill level. Some kits have more, some less parts. As long as i enjoy building it then it's skill level means totally nada to me.

 

[Olivetti20]

To be honest i pay no attention to the skill level. Some kits have more, some less parts. As long as i enjoy building it then it's skill level means totally nada to me.

As ive never modelled since childhood,i wrongly assumed the larger the kit,the greater the pieces inside,Thats the downside of online shopping of course,you can't open the box and see whats inside.

 

[AlanG]

Thats the downside of online shopping of course,you can't open the box and see whats inside.

That's where YT in-box reviews come in

 

[Jon Heptonstall]

There are plenty of kit reviews on line which will give an idea of kit accuracy,ease of build,part numbers etc.
Jon.

 

[Gern]

It's not usually hard to find box reviews of kits online Gary. There's a site called Scalemates which lists hundreds of them but it's not the only site. Type in the model manufacturer, scale and subject in your Google search bar - I think you'll be surprised how many reviewers there are out therer.

As far as I know, Revell's skill levels are mainly based on the number of parts - but I may be wrong.

Just a thought though. The number of parts in a kit doesn't necessarily reflect the quality. Look at some of the tank kits around with individual track links - even in 1/72! Adding 300 identical parts to the parts count doesn't always add to the enjoyment of the build!

 

[Guest]

i was wondering if other manufacturer's had skill levels and if so how are they rated.

All these rating systems that manufacturers use are, if you ask me, simply numbers they stuck on. Some seem to be based solely on parts count, others on some arbitrary estimation of difficulty. On the whole I don’t think (m)any of them are meaningful.

What i'm saying in short is,i'm paying more money for bigger scale kits yet the components haven't increased.Should i be looking at Revell or simular to have more bits for my buck!

If you want the most bits for your money then you should buy tank kits, as Dave also mentioned: some of them come with a ridiculous number of parts for the tracks, which — I have to agree with him — don’t exactly add to the build enjoyment but certainly to the difficulty, even if it’s only through sheer repetitiveness.

Getting value for money depends, really, on what you consider to be “value”. A Tamiya kit can be good value for money to some because, even though it’s expensive and may not have that many parts, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be easy to build — the value here is ease of construction. On the other hand, if you like tinkering with parts until they fit and adding detail that isn’t there, then an old Skif kit can be good value for money because of all the work you have to do, which you don’t with a Tamiya kit.

 

[PaulTRose]

Getting value for money depends, really, on what you consider to be “value”.

couldnt agree more

ive done kits that have had 30 parts or cost less than a tenner that have given immense satisfaction......done kits that have cost a fortune or 150+ parts and felt disappointed

for me value for money is the size of the smile it gives you or the sense of accomplishment at the end of it all

 

[stillp]

To add to that, some kits have a lot of parts, that fit together really well, so are 'easy' in the sense that you don't have to spend ages making the parts fit together. Others don't have many parts but the fit is so poor you need a lot of skill to get them together.
Pete

 

[Olivetti20]

To add to that, some kits have a lot of parts, that fit together really well, so are 'easy' in the sense that you don't have to spend ages making the parts fit together. Others don't have many parts but the fit is so poor you need a lot of skill to get them together.
Pete

I feel i must swallow my pride and admit that since watching a few youtube clips tonight on model making,ive realised that there is so much you can do with each single part especially paint wise,that the kit ive just received should keep me going for a very long time.Its a shame though that i didn't order the paints,brushes,knives,masking tape etc etc.
Can't wait until this war is over!

 

[Gern]

I feel i must swallow my pride and admit that since watching a few youtube clips tonight on model making,ive realised that there is so much you can do with each single part especially paint wise,that the kit ive just received should keep me going for a very long time.Its a shame though that i didn't order the paints,brushes,knives,masking tape etc etc.
Can't wait until this war is over!

You can get all the bits you need from John right here in the forum shop. Click on where it says 'Scale Model Shop' at the top of the page. His prices are good and his service is second to none.

 

[Olivetti20]

You can get all the bits you need from John right here in the forum shop. Click on where it says 'Scale Model Shop' at the top of the page. His prices are good and his service is second to none.

Thanks for that although i'll have to be patient as delivery services are already over stretched so i'd hate to put more pressure on folk.

 

[Guest]

After 50 years I am just getting back into modelling, so called a hobby shop for ideas and he asked me my "skill level", I said what's a skill level, he said it relates to the complexity of the kit you are working on. I said "have you got anything with four pieces", he gave me the link to Mattel..........
But seriously after 30 of those 50 years due to the panda maniac I pulled a kit down from the rafters in the garage. Revell Cutty Sark says right on it skill lever 3, everything I see that related to that same kit on this site says skill level 5, what now I am scared I probably can't build this............
I actually built this kit back in the 70's they didn't even know what a skill level was back then

It's an ambiguous number between one and five, just go for it,
remember there is no mechanical problem so difficult that it can not be solved by brute force and ignorance
But one thing I have found since I stumbled on this site is that there is a major lack of ignorance. Dig a hole as deep as you want, these guys can pull you out of it, run into a brick wall, no problem one of them has a masonry saw in his back pocket. Just ask a question, the answer appears.

 

[PaulTRose]

You can get all the bits you need from John right here in the forum shop. Click on where it says 'Scale Model Shop' at the top of the page. His prices are good and his service is second to none.

johns service is second to none......its royal mail thats the weakest link.......3 weeks now ive been waiting for a delivery of paint!

 

[Dave Ward]

Bob,
well, what was 'Level 3' is now 'Level 5', due to the general decline in motor skills - if it doesn't come ready assembled - ( batteries included ), then a lot of kids are stumped! A product of our got to have it, and use it immediately culture.
I was brought up playing with my Fathers' Meccano set - no plans - just what your imagination led you to make - all those nuts, bolts, screws, pieces of holey metal & spanners..................... Power was from a gurt big clockwork motor - and when it (!?!) was finished you could disassemble it & start again. Kept me amused for hours/days ( I wasn't allowed near any alarm clocks - due to minor re-assembly errors! )
Oddly enough I was still playing with mechanical bit & pieces when I took up a career - just a bit bigger! - 18000 hp 6-Cylinder diesels!
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

Give ‘em a break Paul, they probably have two thirds of the staff and three times the workload at the moment!

 

[PaulTRose]

Give ‘em a break Paul, they probably have two thirds of the staff and three times the workload at the moment!

actually its worse than that....have a friend whos a postie so i know what state they are in....especially my local sorting office which had to close for a deep clean cos a muppet of a manager wouldnt go home even though he felt unwell, then tested positive for it!!.......and its not the posties fault, its managements fault

but considering DHL delivered a 10kg box within 20 hours of ordering only 3 days ago..............

im just a little stuck.....got a stack of kits i want to build but no paint

 

[Guest]

my Fathers' Meccano set - no plans - just what your imagination led you to make

Dave,
I am going to take a chance that the "Meccano set" you refer to is what we called an Erector Set over here. No self respecting kid grew up without one. And like you say all you got was a bunch of pieces of metal with lots of holes in them and a bag of nuts and bolts.
Just looked it up, can still get it but now you get just enough pieces and extra parts to build a specific toy, what kind of fun is that
Had mine back around 48 through about 50-51

 

[Tim Marlow]

Interesting Paul, I’ve never had a good experience with anything shipped using DHL....I think we’re on the end of the route and they run out of driver hours before they get to us....

 

[Dave Ward]

Bob,
yes, I think Erector Set was the US name mine was a hand-me-down from my father - he was given it in about 1930 from his father ( my grandfather )- it was a super deluxe version, in a wooden box, with clockwork motors, pulleys, gears
the nearest I can find of a similar box is this..............


Where it went - I have no idea - but I would say that my father & myself certainly had maximum use & pleasure out of it!
Dave