Kit Preferences

[TECHMAN]

On 10/6/2022 at 11:20 AM, espo said:

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.  

Well put!!!!   Having started building models 12/26/59  (Guess what I got for Christmas???!!!!!) ,  The AMT were a more precise fit than some of the "multi-piece" body kits, but as was said,  the IMPROVEMENT in Revell kits over the years (and Moebius quality) make them a wonderful choice too.

DJ

[restoman]

On 10/6/2022 at 12:57 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

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

Ditto.

Lately, I find that I actually prefer the ones that need more work. 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

5 hours ago, restoman said:

Ditto.

Lately, I find that I actually prefer the ones that need more work. 

 

I'm with you.

I have a great deal of fun re-engineering these old kits and trying to bring them up to the level of detail of a modern kit.

It's a lot of fun to test your skills, and when finished, you have something truly unique.

 

 

 

Steve

[espo]

20 hours ago, TECHMAN said:

Well put!!!!   Having started building models 12/26/59  (Guess what I got for Christmas???!!!!!) ,  The AMT were a more precise fit than some of the "multi-piece" body kits, but as was said,  the IMPROVEMENT in Revell kits over the years (and Moebius quality) make them a wonderful choice too.

DJ

Some of the first car kits that I recall were basically Promos with the screw bottoms and wire axels. The first Revells I tried were I think 1/32nd scale. Revell offered a '55 or '56 Chrysler hardtop, a '56 Ford Fairland Convertible, and two different '56 Ford trucks. They had an F100 short step side and a Stake Bed version as well. When the '57 Ford Country Squire in 1/25 came out the body was made up of several parts without very well-defined fit and with my lack of experience I never did get that one together. AMT started marketing both GM and Ford Promo style kits for the 1958-year models and they even had interiors, and decal options along with continental kits.  That was when I started spending all my money on the AMT kits.  

[Horrorshow]

On 10/5/2022 at 8:06 PM, Bill Eh? said:

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?

Ontario 

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

I prefer kits that have "cool" parts I can pirate for my next (mostly hot rod) build. Some may wonder why I'd buy such a "weird" kit, but you'd be very surprised (well, maybe you wouldn't) the parts you can find in some kits that are very useful. To me, a kit is a box of parts.... -RRR 

[1972coronet]

Subject matter is my primary deciding factor, regardless of manufacturer. Second to that is the quality of the kit: many of the Round2 kits are reissues -modified or direct- of AMT, MPC, Polar Lights, and Lindberg offerings; anywhere from 60 years old to 15 years ago. As a result, many of them require different levels of massaging and reworking to achieve decent results.
For this reason, I avoid some of their kits. 
This isn't me stating "Their kits are unbuildable trash" or anything similar. It speaks only to my skill level.
Conversely, I enjoy the simplicity of those old AMT & MPC kits: "Does it look good on the shelf?" builds.

Moebius kits are interesting subjects for sure. Having only two of their kits - 1969 F-100 (Model King) and 1965 Nova Gasser - and having not built either, I can't attest to personal building experiences. Truthfully, I'd buy more of their kits - especially the Bump-Side F-Series Trucks - but the Q.C. issues turn me off.

Revell... the best thing to happen with them was their partnering with Monogram back in the 1980s. Their kits - vehicle kits - sucked in the 1970s and early 1980s! I'd avoid them like the plague back then - well, at least by 1981. Yes, I was suckered into the 1957 Chevy (who wasn't?) a few times, but never completed one. Same with their 1956 F-100 - never could get that rascal together!
Again, that's speaking to my skill level (or lack thereof).

[Daryl Romain]

I'm a MoPar builder. My preference is JoHan (Plymouth), and Mpc (Dodge), in that order. Then Revell, Mobius, Amt and Lindberg. Monogram kits are the wrong scale. I use them for parts donors. I have a couple of Polar Lights kits. Tamiya makes good kits, but I don't build foreign cars.

[Brudda]

I Like all kits, and I like all cars. Just about every car company has or had a cool car. And like the car companies, the model companies have something cool in their stash of cars. My most favorite thing is to build a cool car that is really tough to build that cost $5 at a swap meet and take a 1st place at a IPMS event. Mark Adams from DeAgostini saw this and gave me a 1/10 Toyota 2000 GT kit to see what I could do with a expensive kit and it worked out well. You never know who’s watching, and I have been blessed. I love all of the kits and all cars. 

[LL3 Model Worx]

I've got kits in the stash from nearly every manufacturer like alot of yall...for me it is subject matter and more importantly what kits I find for a good price... I hunt cheap kits constantly.

I will say that every manufacturer I've dealt with has there idiosyncrasies... but thats part of the fun for me. Looking at a box full of plastic and trying to figure out how to make it better. If it's already top notch, that's great but I find myself less motivated by it.

 

Fujimi does seem to consistently produce extremely well engineered kits as far as the crispness of the details and such. And the wheels and tires they usually come with are pretty phenomenal mostly.

While I still have plenty of MPC stuff, I'll say that it more times than not requires more work than it's usually worth as far as producing something accurate. I mean more power to those who do it... but I typically use their kits for "what if" builds and other custom stuff that doesn't need to live up to scrutiny so much.

But...they are ALL fun! Even the stinkers!

[Deathgoblin]

Whatever I can get my meat hooks on.    I might park one, once in a while, but I'll come back to it eventually.  Especially once my skills can deal with it.  Working on the 1/1400 Galaxy Class Enterprise (NCC-1701 D) right now, and also knocking the ugly off the Californian kit.