discussion Cheap Kits vs Expensive Kits

[Guest]

Just wondering about the more experienced model builders; do you sometimes build cheap, quick builds for fun, without paying too much attention to some of the cheap-kit blemishes as opposed to paying much more attention and time to the more expensive kits, without the cheap-kit blemishes.

I've only done three models, just opened a cheap Revell Ju88 1/72 and noticed some surface blemishes that will show after painting. So since I'm still gaining experience in how and what, I've decided to fix what i can, and leave what I'll probably make a bigger mess of, and in that way, I think I'll have more fun in the end. With the same attitude, I just finished a Revell 1/72 Fokker Dr.1, had lots of fun, was worried about the red gloss brush painting, but she came out ok. See attached.

But to the more experienced builders, how do you treat a cheap kit versus a more expensive kit?

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[AlanG]

I build whatever kit i want to. Every kit has it's issues so i deal with them all whatever the price

 

[Guest]

Frikkie I think it depends on your personality.

Try a more expensive type model from say Tamiya & see how it compares. I am on my first Tamiya model 1/48 & so far it is fine going together well.

As Allyne has said many models have issues. In the end if you are a serious model maker & have the time these issues are usually surmountable. i also find that there is a great sense of achievement in getting around & solving problems. But it does take time, patience & some times a lot thinking & ingenuity.

Laurie

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

I build any kit I can get hold of to be fair, the majority of the time the cheaper ones just skimp on some details, just finished a £11 kit compared to the normal £30+ Tamiya kits and I was well pleased with it.

Adrian

 

[Guest]

That's a good question. I've just returned to modelling from a 25 year break and I must say the airfix stuff has changed a lot. Sometimes not always for the best. I feel they ask you to put silly wee things together just to give you something to do (1/72 scale). But the detail is much better from memory.

Is it only the detail thats better on expensive kits?

Theres loads of kits I've never heard off, are there any to avoid?

Sorry for the hyjack.

 

[Guest]

avoid "encore" unless you really want to test yourself haha

I do a lot of cheap kits because A. im skint and B. im tight. I like to try and get these as good as possible with my abilities and i believe its helping me,

I have a tamiya 1/72 dh mosquito in my stash but after reading the instructions i find it a little daunting.

 

[stona]

First that Fokker looks great. That's a very nice finish you've got on there.

Secondly an expensive kit by no means equates to a well fitting or blemish free kit. Many limited run,and therefore relatively expensive,kits need quite a bit of remedial work. Some expensive (overpriced?) main stream kits are no great shakes either. I'm currently building a Tamiya 1/48 Lancaster,retail price around 90 GBP,and it is a shocker!

As to what you fix and what you are prepared to put up with,that's a personal choice. The most important thing is to enjoy what you are doing. As long as you are happy with it then that should be good enough

The hobby needs the detail freaks and rivet counters but in my experience the vast majority of model builders don't take things to that extreme. Many build OOB for a bit of fun and are happy with that. There's room for everyone surely.

I try to treat all kits the same. Whether I'm making a £6 1/72 "easy fit" Hobbyboss Me 262 for a diorama or a £90 1/32 scale Tamiya "uber kit".

Cheers

Steve

 

[flyjoe180]

Hi Frikkie. Your Triplane looks great, a nice clean and shiny finish.

Like most here, it is personal choice for me too. I have built many cheap, older model kits and have had some good results through persevering and problem solving. Another thing to be aware of is that some kits have molds which are shared with other comapnies. An example of this is the callaboration between Tamiya and Italeri. You will always pay more for the Tamiya box, even though the kits are essentially the same inside.

And as others have also said, a top-price brand is not always a guarantee of a top quality clean, easy-to-make kit, nor good quality decals. I've had some really nasty Hasegawa decals, whereas my Academy and Airfix experiences have been pretty good (except for the real old kits which have decayed over time in my wardrobes).

 

[Guest]

Hi All

Sincerely thank you for the compliments and input, which re-enforces what I've been reading up (like the swapping of kits between manufacturers kinda baffles me) and been feeling about this hobby. What I have concluded is that a certain tooling of a kit can be good or not so good, can be re-issued, or totally re-done. I appreciate the kit reviews on web sites, but find it difficult to establish on kits that have not been reviewed, how old the tooling is, where the hope is, the more recent the tooling, the better the kits details and fitting.

Not a fan of multi-layered decals, on the Academy La-7, that got messy, went totally wrong on the tail fin and I ended up painting the stripes rather, and decals is my most nervous part of the build.

Looking into the matter to establish issues along the lines you have mentioned, I have acquired a stock over the last four weeks (am broke now for a couple of months to come). Kinda expensive (Tamiya 1/48 P51-D and 2 Hasegawa 1/48 kits) and kinda cheap kits: Academy Mig-21 and Sopwith 1/32, both look great, and the Junkers 88 mentioned and the older Airfix Mosquito 1/71, both which don't look so great and have started on the Junkers 88. The idea being to do them in order from cheap to expensive. What started this in the beginning, was buying a Revell 1/72 B17 Memphis belle, kinda expensive, but the kit looks amazing. I drool over the kit, but I'm scared of building it and messing it up, so I decided to gain experience in the aforementioned manner.

I taped the wings and fuselage and cockpit panels last night of the Ju 88. Although I gave the impression at the start of the thread that I'm gonna slap the Ju 88 together, the stimulation and satisfaction from the problem solving that has been mentioned, is already forcing my hand to try and do my best where I can, which by the way appears to need quite a bit of filler and sanding. I also enjoy the planning and research before starting the kit and following through with that plan. Was amazed to find out on the web there are only two real scale Ju 88 in existence in museums in the world, that after 16000 were built.

Again, thank you for your input on the thread, greatly appreciate feedback and being able to converse about this hobby, as I don't know anyone else that applies themselves to this hobby. Starting out this hobby feels like standing on a beach and looking for a specific kind of shiny pebble or shell.

Cheers

Frikkie

 

[Guest]

avoid "encore" unless you really want to test yourself haha

Probably right in a number of cases Wayne.

Encore are are subsidiary of one of the model making tools companies etc. cannot remember which one. They do not make the models themselves. From info when doing a search for a model found they buy up stock rebrand & sell on. So it depends on which model you buy from them. One I got was quite good. Also heard they buy up old moulds & re-issue.

If Churchill had been into model making he would have quoted. "Encore is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma".

Laurie

 

[Guest]

I tend to put the models i build into diorama settings and therefore most are weathered to suit the terrain.... in this way, a £5 jeep looks the same as a £20 jeep when it's covered in mud, if there's any extra details needed i tend to scratch build them if i can.

The main thing I see on aircraft builds is that weathering isn't as often applied to the same extent as land vehicles, therefore in my mind a more detailed/expensive kit would be preferable.

 

[Gern]

Hi Frikkie.

Lots of good comments so far. It doesn't matter whether a kit is cheap or not. The question is "What kind of result do you want?" Generally with the cheaper kits you need more modelling skills to produce good results - you've only got to look at some of the builds here to see some amazingly good outcomes from some pretty basic kits.

The cheaper kits sometimes force you to use techniques which quality kits don't need so it's good practise - and of course it's not the end of the world if a cheap kit goes all pear-shaped!

One problem you've already come across is that expensive doesn't necessarily mean good quality. Every manufacturer has their share of poor kits, and there's no guarantee that a Tamigawa box contains a kit made by them. I got hold of a cheap 1/350 Revell kit of the USS Valley Forge the other day. I could have saved a bit of money a couple of months ago when I paid rather more for the Dragon kit of the USS Yorktown. It's the same Revell mould in both boxes. The only difference is the decal sheets.

Reviews can help, but I guess the best thing to do is to buy what you want to build and use whatever skills you need/have to get it to the best standard you can.

Gern

 

[AlanG]

Thing is with the majority of online reviews is that the (expert) person normally doing the review always adds aftermarket items too it. Its quite rare to find an out of box review these days. Having said that this forum is quite good for oob reviews.

 

[stona]

Thing is with the majority of online reviews is that the (expert) person normally doing the review always adds aftermarket items too it. Its quite rare to find an out of box review these days. Having said that this forum is quite good for oob reviews.

Not only that Allyne. Many reviewers seem to be building a different kit to the one you'll buy! They are often far from impartial. This may be for commercial reasons,they need the manufacturers advertising in their magazine or on their web site,or selfish reasons,why deny yourself a supply of free kits.

I do try to seek out honest builds my ordinary people on forums like this. They may not be the best modellers in the world but they bought there own kits and are more likely to give an honest opinion.

I've developed a fairly low opinion of Tamiya's big Lancaster which I am currently building. It's just my opinion,I'm not the best modeller in the world and don't know a whole lot about the Lancaster. I don't expect everyone to agree with me,but I can assure you that I am being honest

Revell's 1/32 Ju 88 would be another case in point, it is just not the kit that the reviews would imply. It does have the redeeming feature of being relatively cheap.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

My first kit after so many years was the pink panther from Tamiya ... even this way I believe that the panzer IV of dragoon was really the first one in constructing keenly(eagerly)!!

Now when I go to the great city and the model shop always I look at the shelf of Dragoon, I like very much all ... his quality, instructions and more important ... the plastic!!!

Buy ICM's truck and only on having opened the box it don't like me. Though I'm not a good reference, very few constructed kits, I believe that always I will go for Dragoon or Tamiya!! Probably it's on what Gern comment ... with 'cheaper' one you need more skills for a good result!!

Cheers

 

[Guest]

It depends as well what your definition of a cheap or expensive kit is. Personally I think £20 or more is expensive, but many others wouldn't. Also certain kits when new may have been £30 - £40 or more, but may be picked up in a sale for around £10 - £15, or even maybe less. Does it then be classed as cheap or expensive??!!! I bought a Tamiya Jeep with TOW missile for a fiver, so was cheap, but probably was the nicest kit to make.

Cheers, Andrew

 

[Guest]

Wow

Thanks for the input again.

Guess the one aspect I didn't think about is that the relatively cheaper would require more skill.

One annoying difference I've noted so far with the current cheapy 1/72 Ju 88 Revell compared to the same price Academy 1/48 Lavochkin La-7 which I finished, is the type of plastic.

The Revell kit's plastic, which has more flash and round mould dents, is kinda softish, almost like candle wax, which makes sanding and filing on small parts like the engine and wheels quite different to the Academy's plastic, which was more crispy in a way and easier to work with. Now I'm over sanding and filing in certain areas because the plastic is so soft and it's much more easier to make accidental marks or slips on the plastic that have to be repaired some how.

But then again, to my untrained clumsy hands, fine parts on the Academy were easier to break, which happened with the pitot tube thingy on the wing.

Do you guys inspect a model kit before buying at a shop, like ask to check the box out first? Cause that would help a bit to know and possibly avoid expectations not being met or getting a re-packing surprise like mentioned above. Or is that like not cool protocol and you roll with the punches when opening the kit at home. I do feel like a little kid buying the kit and opening the box all excited to inspect at home.

Cheers and thanks again.

 

[Guest]

No problem Frikkie with checking anything out it is your perogative.

Not checked any out myself. Problem is most now are neatly packed in a plastic covering so you cannot see much. Even if you could I do not think it would mean much to me. It is only when you cut & fit that you can see how good or bad the parts have been designed, made & go together.

What I find most frustrating is parts which are so stupidly put together & wonder if these designers have ever put together a model. Fuselage with a little aerial stuck on it. I just know it will not last until the end & should have been made with a small hole in or to drill to put on the aerial at the last moment.

Also those manufacturing circle marks seem to be placed so well as to drive a model maker crazy.

Youch that is a bit of a moan is it not.

Laurie

 

[stona]

I buy almost all my kits online so no chance to inspect them.

I do try and find some opinions or builds online to give me some idea what to expect.

I've never yet given up on a kit though I've come mighty close. I've even built a couple I can think of with which I was so unhappy that I never even displayed them.....straight off to the model store in the attic!

Steve

 

[Guest]

I've never yet given up on a kit though I've come mighty close.

Steve

So have I Steve but in my case it was the model maker. Admit to buying two Typoons, my first ever build, as I have messed up. Now I have great pleasure if I have ruined a piece of scavenging from left overs from another model or making up the piece my self. Very satisfying.

Just think you take your chances. I have built a model & had little trouble but then find someone else has & vice versa. With luck it is the low priced ones which cause the problem. Found that the few more expensive models I have built, although not problem free, give a better chance.

Laurie