Kit Preferences

[Horrorshow]

Just curious what others preferred kits are and why? I pretty well only buy AMT. I like the solid metal rear axle, it works well with the Plastic Performance wheels and tires that I usually use. 
 

[Bill Eh?]

Your own reply clarifies the meaning of your thread. "Kit Preferences" could refer to manufacturer, scale, a time period, or even a genre within the broad category of cars/trucks. My preference tends to lie with Japanese kit manufacturers such as Tamiya, Fujimi, Hasegawa, Aoshima, NuNu and others. Oh, and an occasional, kit by Revell, Moebius or Atlantis  for good measure. I'm just curious. There are, no doubt, many cities/towns named Hamilton in North America alone. Which Hamilton do you reside in?

Edited October 6, 2022 by Bill Eh?

[Ace-Garageguy]

I pretty much like everything.

[Dpate]

I prefer tamiya, hasagawa, aoshima, trumperter, and mobius because of quality and fitment.  But i do like amt, revell, revell germany and others because of subject. MPC is trash that is all.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Dpate

[CabDriver]

I don’t think there’s a single manufacturer out there who doesn’t make SOMETHING that I have in my collection, or want to add to it.  

Every manufacturer has their outstanding classic kits, or their overall USP that makes them great - be it accuracy, ease of assembly, cool subject matter or whatever.  

There is no garbage/trash/junk manufacturers - just kits that require a higher skill level than others.  There’s some kits that a lot of people would pass by, sure, but there’s only a tiny percentage of kits where you really wouldn’t be able to do SOMETHING breathtaking with them if properly skilled and motivated.  Same way I don’t think a Boeing 757 is a garbage aircraft just because it would be very hard for me to build one 🤪

My current favorite manufacturer is Atlantis - they’re just putting out SO MUCH cool stuff that I want, and quickly too…but AMT, Revell, Tamiya, MPC - SO MUCH amazing stuff to build!  It’s probably easier to pick a subject matter, research which kit is going to be the best starting point and go from there a lot of times honestly…lots of choice, lots of chances to do beautiful work (or complain on the internet, it’s your dime 🤷‍♂️)

[Oldcarfan27]

3 hours ago, CabDriver said:

There is no garbage/trash/junk manufacturers - just kits that require a higher skill level than others.  There’s some kits that a lot of people would pass by, sure, but there’s only a tiny percentage of kits where you really wouldn’t be able to do SOMETHING breathtaking with them if properly skilled and motivated.

You must NOT be talking about Palmer!

[BeakDoc]

For me, it boils down to subject matter. My stash probably has at least one kit by every manufacturer. Every kit manufacturer has it’s own quirks that I know I’m going to have to deal with. MPC: The bench will probably be covered in flash and styrene dust before it’s all said and done. AMT: I’m more than likely going to fill a hole thru the engine block and rework the front suspension. Moebius: Installing the glass will require a dexterous, surgical touch. Etc, etc.

i have a few curbside kits that I plan to cut open for customization (Atlantis ‘57 Caddy, AMT ‘59 Imperial and ‘64 Merc) but I tend to stay away from curbsides.

Some of my favorite building experiences and (I say this humbly) best looking models have been MPC “trash” kits or other kits deemed challenging enough for some to avoid like the plague like the Revell ‘59 Skyliner.

The parts count on a particular kit has no influence on whether or not I’ll purchase it. That said, sometimes I’m in the mood to deal with a bazillion parts and sometimes I’m not (looking at you, Testors Porsche 356.)

[slusher]

I like a wide variety of subject matter. I have not bought many kits this year, economy is the reason. I have AMT, Polar lights, Revell,Moebius and Lindberg. I don’t have a lot but I am very happyy.  Maybe In the future I can get a Volkswagen van and truck…

[Daddyfink]

I prefer them unbuilt

[Lunajammer]

Like most, it pretty much comes down to who makes the subject I want to build. That said, I prefer AMT and MPC. Love the old subjects. 

Generally, I don't like high parts count kits. I mostly model for style, custom, body and paint. I lose interest in fiddly mechanical details, so the early kits are more favored than tweezing a hundred micro parts that go unseen.

[Fat Brian]

I really don't care who makes a kit. My main criteria after subject matter is level of detail and fit. The older I get the less I'm inclined to fix bad kits, I'll put that effort into two good kits instead.

[iamsuperdan]

Subject matter comes first for me. 

If it's something I want, I really don't care who the kit manufacturer is.

Nor do I care if it's a curbside or a full detail.

 

Having said that, I do like Tamiya and Fujimi kits more than the others, just because I like the subject matter, and I find the quality of their kits sets the benchmark for others to follow. Details, mold quality, fitment. No one does it better.

Not to say the other brands aren't good, but some of them definitely aren't trying very hard to produce a good kit.  

*looks at MPC*

 

 

 

 

[Mike C.]

2 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

Subject matter comes first for me. 

If it's something I want, I really don't care who the kit manufacturer is.

Nor do I care if it's a curbside or a full detail.

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty much a ditto for me. If I'm passionate enough about the subject matter, I will find a way for the whole thing to work.

[espo]

grew up on AMT kits and Round 2 is reissuing them along with the MPC kits. Revell has advanced the design of kits to the point that I would build a subject offered by Revell before I would buy the AMT. While more expensive, I like the design and the assembly as well as the quality of the Moebius kits. I feel that they are worth the extra expense.  

[StevenGuthmiller]

Couldn't care less about the manufacturer.

If I'm building it, it's probably not getting built OOB anyway.

 

Subject matter is all that matters to me.

The kit could cost fifty cents, assemble itself and look like it belongs in a museum somewhere, but if it's not a subject that I'm interested in, I'm not buying it.

On the other hand, if It's a $150.00, vintage, "garbage", MPC kit that grabs me, I'm all over it!!

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[BlackSheep214]

Monogram, Revell, MPC ... especially if they’re vintage. I’ve encountered some pretty awful fit issues with some AMT kits. I absolutely HATE the metal axles in AMT kits... even more so the chassis with rear axle and exhaust systems molded in. Why??????

I’m not much into imports by Tamiya. 

 

[stitchdup]

As long as the exterior and dash are reasonably accurate, then I'm happy with kits as everything else is easy to fine or scratch up. I dont mind curbside kits. I usually avoid multi piece bodies and i detest molded in one part driveshaft,springs, exhaust and rear axles. Why anybody thought that a good idea I dont know

[StevenGuthmiller]

22 minutes ago, BlackSheep214 said:

even more so the chassis with rear axle and exhaust systems molded in. Why??????

 

Might have a lot to do with the fact that most of the kits are from tooling that’s 50 years old or more.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[stitchdup]

13 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Might have a lot to do with the fact that most of the kits are from tooling that’s 50 years old or more.

 

 

 

 

Steve

i guess, its hard to think a 78 pontiac is near that age, i still think of them as modern cars.

[Brudda]

15 hours ago, slusher said:

I like a wide variety of subject matter. I have not bought many kits this year, economy is the reason. I have AMT, Polar lights, Revell,Moebius and Lindberg. I don’t have a lot but I am very happyy.  Maybe In the future I can get a Volkswagen van and truck…

I know you have a jo- Han Cadillac. LOL

[slusher]

17 minutes ago, Brudda said:

I know you have a jo- Han Cadillac. LOL

Yes I do, thank you"..

[Oldcarfan27]

3 hours ago, BlackSheep214 said:

I absolutely HATE the metal axles in AMT kits... even more so the chassis with rear axle and exhaust systems molded in. Why??????

When AMT, MPC and Johan had promotional contracts with the car manufacturers - metal axles and molded in chassis details made assembling the parts quick and easy for mass production. As kits later became integrated into the design of the promos, separate seats, hoods and exhaust/rear drivelines were added, but kept simple so as to be a bridge between quick assembly and better detailed.

You can't allow the fast production of promos to be bogged down by having to glue several small parts into subassemblies and then glue those into major assemblies. Costs and production time of thousands of promos would have been prohibitively expensive and incredibly tedious. 

For the time, compromises had to be made. Nowadays there are no more promos, so details can go through the roof and we as builders can take as long as we want to finish it. Just don't expect to make a living on mass producing them.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Oldcarfan27

[Ulf]

Yes, I have preferences.

I'm an AMT fanboy and I like metal axles, the kit must be old or rather preferably so old that it is Made in the USA. I studied the year the kit is made lika a wine connoisseur. Actually, it's probably a pressure because I would prefer to build Jo-han, but supply and cost make it impossible. I stick strictly to 1/25 scale, by the way and one of the few issues I've managed to be at least almost consistent throughout my life..

So, AMT made in USA 1/25 with the wheels in the right place kit bash fun parts.

[Bills72sj]

Subject matter, Subject matter Subject matter. As long as the body is one piece. If the chassis is too simple, I will kitbash something in its place. I rarely build stock anyway. Diehard streetmachine fan here.

 

[papajohn97]

I really like recent vintage Revell 1/25 kits. I’m building their ‘62 Impala side-by-side with the AMT ‘62 Bel Air (which I also love) but the Revell kit is just so much better engineered and debugged. Other standout Revell kits that were a joy for me to assemble include the ‘40 Ford coupe, ‘50 Olds and ‘57 Chevy 150. Some of recent AMT kits such as the ‘60 Starliner and the ‘62 Pontiac come close to Revell and a few of the older AMT kits such as the ‘49 Ford and Merc are amazingly good for their age. Moebius kits are also very good although a few have some challenging flaws that test one’s modeling skills (‘61 Ventura/Catalina).

Edited October 8, 2022 by papajohn97
Grammar