Most accurate kit(s) ever (1/24-25)?

[sjordan2]

Has anyone ever noticed that there is no way to close the Batmobile's canopies?

I guess Batman and Robin only fought crime on sunny days. If it was raining, the Pengiun, the Joker, the Riddler and Catwoman had free reign to terrorize Gotham...

The original Futura and "It Started With a Kiss " movie car had a retraction mechanism that slid the cockpit glass over the back. Replicas have used a tilt-up hinge. 

[GaryR]

My votes are:

The JoHan 31 Cadillacs

The Revell SWC, Tony Nancy, M/T and Roth kits. VERY accurate and they give us many accurate copies of  stuff like Cad-LaSalle transmissions, steering gear and vintage speed parts. They tried very hard to make these miniatures of the real thing. Too bad they are so under rated!

[unclescott58]

The original Futura and "It Started With a Kiss " movie car had a retraction mechanism that slid the cockpit glass over the back. Replicas have used a tilt-up hinge. 

The canopy glass also tilted up on the original. Including in my copy of "It Started With a Kiss".

[RancheroSteve]

The Revell SWC, Tony Nancy, M/T and Roth kits. VERY accurate and they give us many accurate copies of  stuff like Cad-LaSalle transmissions, steering gear and vintage speed parts. They tried very hard to make these miniatures of the real thing. Too bad they are so under rated!

Not under-rated by me! I've built most of those, and while they can be a challenge, the results are well worth it. I'd also add the Orange Crate to your list.

[Sledsel]

I will only go on kits I have. Johan 60 Desoto, Comet and Maverick, AMT 49 Merc, AMT 64 and 65 Galaxies, Lindberg 53 Fords and 64 Dodges. Revell 40 Ford. 

[Jantrix]

  AMT's 53 Studebaker is a very good kit.  

The body is very faithful. The only downside to the kit is the front suspension. AMT made some changes in order to get posable steering and varied ride height, that makes the front end look a little wonky.

[da Speedinger]

fujimi enthusiast model
i worked with a 911 flatnose from that series when i built my novecentoundici cinquino, best kit i ever had in hands. even better than tamiya in my opinion.

[Ace-Garageguy]

fujimi enthusiast model
i worked with a 911 flatnose from that series when i built my novecentoundici cinquino, best kit i ever had in hands. even better than tamiya in my opinion.

So glad you posted. I missed your "novecentoundici cinquino". That's really slick. 

[da Speedinger]

So glad you posted. I missed your "novecentoundici cinquino". That's really slick. 

thank you, Bill!

[oldcarfan]

Pretty much any of Johan's kits looked accurate to me at least as far as bodies.

Fujimi's Porsche series too. 

Edited July 16, 2016 by oldcarfan

[Ben]

We do a lot of talking here about kit accuracy, which of course is perfectly ok. So I pose the question to you guys: In your opinion, what is the most accurate kit (or kits)? I do NOT necessarily mean most detailed. I mean most accurate... that is, visually the most correct and faithful depiction of the 1:1.

I'll start the debate by citing the JoHan Gold Cup Series.

LOL I was gonna say, the Johan, full detail Chrysler Turbine!

[Ben]

I really like Revell's 82 Camaro and Firebird lits as well! They were state of the art when they came out!

[Can-Con]

I really like Revell's 82 Camaro and Firebird lits as well! They were state of the art when they came out!

Revells or Monograms?

The Revell kit is nice ,, except for the totally incorrect "Pontiac like" engines in them. and there's just something off on the front of the Monogram Firebird kits.

[Ben]

The Revell kits from 82

Other than the 4wd wheels used on the 2wd version of the S10.

[Dann Tier]

Fujimi Enthusiast kits, then Tamiya kits, BUT Aoshimas kits are hot on everyones tails -especially the Countach line up!!

[Harry P.]

This is a long thread, so maybe it was already mentioned, but my votes are for the "Gold Cup" series of classics, and the Monogram '59 Cadillac.

[Ace-Garageguy]

For all the complaining some of us do about kit accuracy (guilty) I think there really are a lot of kits out there that did a remarkably good job of capturing the proportions of the 1:1 not mentioned earlier. Revell's ancient Anglia drag car comes to mind, and the original issue Revell '31 Ford woody and all its derivatives including the little '29 pickups. The Revell Willys drag cars hit all the marks very well, as well as Revell's '48 Ford woody and AMT's '41. I'd have to nominate AMT's '53 Ford pickup and their '49 Mercury too.

Revell's old parts-pack engines are dead-on accurate dimensionally also. I've measured several of them against 1:1s.

And as complex as the old Revell Orange Crate kit is, it's STILL very accurate and looks just like the real one.

Hmmm...I'm seeing a trend here. These are old-old-old-tool kits. Pre CAD, rapid-prototyping, scanner, Chinese production (and engineering / design?) etc.

How very odd. 

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Can-Con]

 

I have the Z and the T/A kits. 

I had a 1/1 S/E and tried to get a hold of that kit for years with no luck, that's OK though as I found out later that it's just the T/A kit with a flat hood. Same body as the T/A with the fender vents and wheel spats. 

Still pretty nice kit if you swap a proper small block Chevy engine in them. and the T/A body looks pretty accurate to the 1/1 '85 I have out in the garage.

[gtx6970]

Hmmm...I'm seeing a trend here. These are old-old-old-tool kits. Pre CAD, rapid-prototyping, scanner, Chinese production (and engineering / design?) etc.

How very odd. 

 

amazing how that is.

 

[Drake69]

Aside from the Jo-han Cadillac Hearse kit I just built, the only other kits I can think of that hasn't been mentioned yet is the AMT '71 Duster 340, which if I remember correctly, was considered one of the best molds to hit the market, and the '68 Dodge Dart Super Stock GTS, a personal favorite of mine.

 

[Mike999]

Accurate Miniatures 1/24 Corvette Grand Sport GS and McLaren M8B - never heard any complaints about their accuracy. Just getting them built!  The REVELL release of the "last remaining Corvette GS warehouse kits" was a great bargain.  About half the price of the original AM release, with the photo-etched parts and other good stuff still included.

ESCI 1/24 Range Rover series - great-looking curbside kit of a first-generation 2-door Range Rover. The best one if you want to build a left-hand drive American vehicle is kit #3039, the British/Dutch Police version. It not only comes with left or right-hand drive dashboards - it also has the correct front suspension parts for either version.  Kit #3036, the Camel Trophy Winner, includes a great roof rack with jerry cans and a spare tire/wheel.

Here's a link to the Scalemates timeline for all releases of the ESCI Range Rover. But I think they goofed on 1 kit, the REVELL #07373 Range Rover. That's a 4-door, not a 2-door, so it's probably the AOSHIMA Range Rover kit (which is also very nice and comes in several different versions).

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/232257-esci-3029-range-rover

[Can-Con]

That AMT '71 Duster kit is a good kit but it has serious proportion issues with the rear of the roof and rear side windows. 

[MrObsessive]

That AMT '71 Duster kit is a good kit but it has serious proportion issues with the rear of the roof and rear side windows. 

Yeah, that's one I've thought about buying and building, but it's what you mentioned that's put me off. Yet something else I'd have to fix if I wanna be happy with it.

[Pete J.]

Accurate Miniatures 1/24 Corvette Grand Sport GS and McLaren M8B - never heard any complaints about their accuracy. Just getting them built!  The REVELL release of the "last remaining Corvette GS warehouse kits" was a great bargain.  About half the price of the original AM release, with the photo-etched parts and other good stuff still included.

ESCI 1/24 Range Rover series - great-looking curbside kit of a first-generation 2-door Range Rover. The best one if you want to build a left-hand drive American vehicle is kit #3039, the British/Dutch Police version. It not only comes with left or right-hand drive dashboards - it also has the correct front suspension parts for either version.  Kit #3036, the Camel Trophy Winner, includes a great roof rack with jerry cans and a spare tire/wheel.

Here's a link to the Scalemates timeline for all releases of the ESCI Range Rover. But I think they goofed on 1 kit, the REVELL #07373 Range Rover. That's a 4-door, not a 2-door, so it's probably the AOSHIMA Range Rover kit (which is also very nice and comes in several different versions).

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/232257-esci-3029-range-rover

If I recall right the M8B had a major problem with the hoses and the body work.  I seem to recall that if you put all the hoses provided in the kit, on the engine, the rear body work didn't fit

[sjordan2]

This is a long thread, so maybe it was already mentioned, but my votes are for the "Gold Cup" series of classics, and the Monogram '59 Cadillac.

Ditto on the Johan Gold Cup classics.