Which kits are.....

[snacktruck67]

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day, and we starting to discuss who made the best model kits. This is all types, cars, truck, planes, ships and etc... I personally think that Moebius, he said Airfix. I am curious what everyone thinks are the best of all the manufactures.

[Pim]

aoshima I reckon are the best I have built 4 of their kits and everything has dropped together really well

[Atmobil]

Very difficult to say as I have no experience with anything else than cars and trucks. I'm partial to saying Heller but I guess there is a reason that Tamiya has gotten the reputation they have. Moebius looks to be doing some great car and truck kits today but that is also the same with manufacturers like Fujimi, Ebbro, ICM and Emhar and let's not forget Hasegawa and Revell AG. I also have a 1:35 kit of a Mercedes 170 from Miniart and that looks fantastic. I also like many of the new kits from Revell US.

[Snake45]

All manufacturers have turned out gems and turds. Hard to give any one a "best" rating though I must say I prolly see fewest complaints and most compliments about Tamiya kits.

[disabled modeler]

I have always liked the older AMT,SMP,MPC,Johan and Hubley stuff myself...curbside or not.

[DumpyDan]

I have been building for the last 40 years or so and have been lucky enough to have built models from many different companies, I personally feel Tamiya is the best fitting.

[TheRX7Project]

I've never built a bad Tamiya kit. Which is probably why I usually buy AMT or Revell

[gtx6970]

Doubtfull any single one person is gonna be abla to answer this one . Far to many manufactures covering a wide array of subjects to pin this one down.

For me I think it has to be Mobieus ,,although the current revell stuff is right behind them in quality,,,just not accuracy.

But then again, I dont build anything subject wise that either Tamiya , Aoshima or any of the other pacific rim companies produce.

And I only build cars,,so my opinion is limited as such .

Edited March 4, 2015 by gtx6970

[unclescott58]

Doubtfull any single one person is gonna be abla to answer this one . Far to many manufactures covering a wide array of subjects to pin this one down.

For me I think it has to be Mobieus ,,although the current revell stuff is right behind them in quality,,,just not accuracy.

But then again, I dont build anything subject wise that either Tamiya , Aoshima or any of the other pacific rim companies produce.

And I only build cars,,so my opinion is limited as such .

I can basically repeat what Bill and Richard "the Snake" above have said. Picking a best model company is near impossable.

Scott

[Atmobil]

It is probably easier to say what company is NOT the best (note: I did not say worst).

[Eshaver]

I've been in this hobby since 1960 . Sorry , but there are no winners in this game . Closest you will find are kits that go together in a reasonable fashion . For that , ALL the manufactures have a few that stand proud .

[khier]

The question itself is too general to have a conclusive answer. We have first to better define how the "best" is evaluated.

Is it about accuracy? Interesting subjects? Number of released models/year? Kit details? Level of exclusiveness?

For example, Japanese kits have probably the best quality when it comes to injection quality and fit accuracy. But they are usually simplified and rarly have under hood details. Trumpeter's 1960 Pontiacs are probabaly the most detailed kits ever made (except for Fujimi EM Porsche 356 series). They are also the biggest joke in the history of model car kits when it comes to accuracy and proportions.

[Mikevango]

Palmer

[Daddyfink]

Oh cool! Another "Who makes the best models" thread! Yay!

[vairnut]

Wingnut Wings

These guys raised the bar for all other manufacturers - and no others have reached it yet. SWS and HK are close.

Moebius for automotive kits.

Edited March 5, 2015 by vairnut

[Ron Hamilton]

Personally, I like the Fujimi Enthusiast Series kits. I haven't come across a bad one yet.

[W-409]

American Cars is my biggest interest and I build very rarely something else (European or Japanese cars) and I basically never build anything else than cars.

It's tricky to say who makes the best kits, but I would say that it's Moebius Models. Their subjects are the most interesting and kits are very high quality with lots of parts and very little fit issues. Revell kits are the second best in my opinion. Their subjects are interesting as well and kits are high quality overall too. The third is either AMT or Jo-Han... Both of them are not as high quality as Revell and Moebius, but especially the old kits are very interesting.

Many people seem to say that Tamiya, Aoshima etc Japanese kits are the best. I've built a couple of them and I wasn't too crazy over them. Usually the fitment was good and they were good kits otherwise, but many times engines and chassis details are very simple or they don't have an engine at all. That's a big turn off for me as engine is my favorite part in model building. Plus that the subjects are not very interesting to me.

[southpier]

if nothing else, it's a positive thread.

[Atmobil]

Wingnut Wings

These guys raised the bar for all other manufacturers - and no others have reached it yet. SWS and HK are close.

Moebius for automotive kits.

Is it true that Wingnut WIngs are backed financially by Peter Jackson? I think someone in my modellingclub said that and he is apperently a fan of WW1 and airplanes. I have never built (or owned for that matter) any of the WW kits but I have seen some of them built by fellow clubmembers and they seem to be good.

[snacktruck67]

there seems to be several who favor Moebius. I just wonder why Moebius produce a very small amount of automobiles. They do mostly do TV and Movie items as well as Sc-fi. On the other hand Revell puts out a good variety of kits. AMT is not far behind.

[Tom Geiger]

there seems to be several who favor Moebius. I just wonder why Moebius produce a very small amount of automobiles. They do mostly do TV and Movie items as well as Sc-fi. On the other hand Revell puts out a good variety of kits. AMT is not far behind.

Because Moebius is a relatively new company and is very small. Dave Metzner is the project manager for ALL their new kits. I'm amazed at how much they have accomplished and the car / truck products coming in their pipeline. And from this thread, you can see the reputation and following they have already. More good things to come.

Companies like AMT and Revell, although they've gone through a long succession of owners, have been around since the late 1950s and have produced a lot of model tooling over those years, much of it during the heyday of modeling when there was a much larger market and money to be made.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Tom Geiger

[Art Anderson]

there seems to be several who favor Moebius. I just wonder why Moebius produce a very small amount of automobiles. They do mostly do TV and Movie items as well as Sc-fi. On the other hand Revell puts out a good variety of kits. AMT is not far behind.

Quite simple: Moebius Models is a small, fairly young entrant into the business of model car kits--their first model car kit, the '53 Hudson Hornet just hit the shelves 3 years ago. It takes a lot more lead time than most would figure to do a truly comprehensive model car kit, believe me!

Art

[1930fordpickup]

We all have our favorites, for one reason or another. Nothing wrong with what you like or dislike. It is hard to put many on a level field because of the amount of parts and other options that make one kit better than the other.

How do you compare a curbside kit to a full detail kit that cost the same or a kit made in the 50's or 60's to a modern kit?

[my80malibu]

All manufacturers have turned out gems and turds. Hard to give any one a "best" rating though I must say I prolly see fewest complaints and most compliments about Tamiya kits.

This sound's like a very fair statement, and yet I dont buy a lot of Tamiya kits.

[Pete J.]

Best is such a nebulous term and in this case hard to define because this hobby is so subjective. By subjective I mean the each of us has a very distinct category of models that we like to build whether it be 'merican iron, F 1, NASCAR, sports cars, ect. No company produces models in all of these categories. Even the largest can't manage that. This preference is going to shade our perception of who is the best! On top of this, there are categories that have nothing to do with the type of model itself. Who does the best research, produces the most technically sophisticated models, the easiest to assemble, the highest level of detail. In short, this is like trying to pick the best sports team. Not the best football team, or soccer, or hockey, or rugby team, but the single best team in all of sport. Can't be done.

Now, I am going to go out on a limb and nominate my favorite. Tamiya. I have a host of personal reasons for this but hear are the pros and cons of them. They are always at the leading edge of technology with the kits they produce. They were the first to make their molds with the aid of computer machining in many ways. There engineers produce kits have parts that require the use of very complex sliding mold technology such as the single piece chassis for the Enzo, the space frame on the new 300SL, and the chassis on the LFA. They are always experimenting with new ways to create a more interesting model. Look at the use of very small rare earth magnets to mount removable part to represent diverse features of their models. They were first to include metal transfers for the badging of almost all there autos. There kits are the standard that others are measured against.

Down side of Tamiya is a big one. They have just a plane weird selection process for deciding what they will spend the time to develop and produce. A new subject can be a real head scratcher. They developed a 1:12 scale Chaterham(modern Lotus Super 7) but never produced a Porsche 917. They have produced few American subjects and when they do, again real head scratchers. A Jeep and a ho hum Mustang?? No explanation. They even have the aircraft and armor guys scratching their heads.

The "best company"? No, you really can't define it. You can have a favorite but best just doesn't exist!