Best built-right-from-the-box kits?

[peteski]

35 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I'll buy and build one as soon as they offer some classic American '60s-'70s muscle. And there's plenty of unkitted subject matter on the table for them. 

Yes,  there are plenty unkitted muscle cars from that era, but I wouldn't hold my breath for any of them. It is not Tamiya's "thing".  They are Japanese company after all, so Japanese and European prototypes (many sprots cars) are their "thing".  They are also mostly into modern vehicles.

If you would like to compare Tamiya's quality to any of the typical American prototype cars from other manufacturers, I recommend going out of your comfort zone and building one of their models.

[oldscool]

Don't forget the Revell 69 Camaro in its various boxings.

[afx]

Never built one (or even own one) but from what I've seen it's very hard to improve on what MFH kits give you in the box.

[Pete J.]

On 3/6/2020 at 6:59 AM, Matt Bacon said:

Tamiya Lexus LFA and new NSX, Moebius 55 Chrysler 300, Hasegawa Miura and Lancia Delta Integrale...

best,

M.

Don't forget the kit that was the grandfather to the LFA and NSX kit, the Tamiya Enzo,

[Pete J.]

Ok, this is probably the Goliath of all out of the box automotive builds.  Just add paint, glue and a ton of time!  Best ever although I have never seen on completed.  

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Pete J.

[Snake45]

5 hours ago, oldscool said:

Don't forget the Revell 69 Camaro in its various boxings.

It's very nice out of the box, agreed, but I found final assembly difficult in the two I built. Doesn't mean I won't build more (I have on one the bench right now, in fact), but it does somewhat sour the OOB experience. 

[Snake45]

12 hours ago, peteski said:

If you would like to compare Tamiya's quality to any of the typical American prototype cars from other manufacturers, I recommend going out of your comfort zone and building one of their models.

If Tamiya has a kit of something I'm marginally interested in, at a price competitive with Round 2/Revell US, I'll be happy to give one a try. 

I'm not interested in laying out Big Cubic Dollars for a model of something I'm not interested in, just for the building experience, sorry. Not my idea of "fun." I have FAR too many projects that I AM interested in backed up. And already paid for, too. 

I DO have a couple Tamiya model airplanes in the stash, though (F-51D and F4U-2 Corsair), that I'm looking forward to building sometime. They both have excellent reputations. I've built plenty of other Mustang and Corsair models so I'll easily be able to compare them. 

[Pete J.]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

If Tamiya has a kit of something I'm marginally interested in, at a price competitive with Round 2/Revell US, I'll be happy to give one a try. 

I'm not interested in laying out Big Cubic Dollars for a model of something I'm not interested in, just for the building experience, sorry. Not my idea of "fun." I have FAR too many projects that I AM interested in backed up. And already paid for, too. 

I DO have a couple Tamiya model airplanes in the stash, though (F-51D and F4U-2 Corsair), that I'm looking forward to building sometime. They both have excellent reputations. I've built plenty of other Mustang and Corsair models so I'll easily be able to compare them. 

Pretty much the argument for any builder.  You build what you are interested in, but this thread is about the "out of the box" experience and the ease and quality of the build.  In ease and quality it is hard to find anyone who does it better than Tamiya.  From following your builds, it seems you are focused on 'merican iron.?  Tamiya really doesn't have much other than the new Ford GT some old Fox bodied Mustangs and some jeeps.  However is you are into american motorcycles, they have a plethora of Harley Davidson bikes. If you have any interest in motorcycles, they are really fun builds and not stupid expensive for a Tamiya model.  Just something to consider.?

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, Pete J. said:

...this thread is about the "out of the box" experience and the ease and quality of the build.  

Very true, but I was responding to a post personally challenging me to build a Tamiya kit just because it's a Tamiya.  I declined the challenge. 

I have no quarrel with you or anyone else who says Tamiya kits are great builds. I have no doubt they are. They're just not for me (at this time). 

[Roadrunner]

4 hours ago, Snake45 said:

I DO have a couple Tamiya model airplanes in the stash, though (F-51D and F4U-2 Corsair), that I'm looking forward to building sometime. They both have excellent reputations. I've built plenty of other Mustang and Corsair models so I'll easily be able to compare them. 

The Tamiya 1:48 and 1:32 aircraft models are the benchmark for all other aircraft models. I have several here, in both scales, and their attention to fit, finish and engineering detail, is second to none. The only other manufacturer that really comes close, are the WNW 1:32 WWI aviation models.

[peteski]

11 hours ago, Pete J. said:

Pretty much the argument for any builder.  You build what you are interested in, but this thread is about the "out of the box" experience and the ease and quality of the build.  In ease and quality it is hard to find anyone who does it better than Tamiya.  From following your builds, it seems you are focused on 'merican iron.?  Tamiya really doesn't have much other than the new Ford GT some old Fox bodied Mustangs and some jeeps.  However is you are into american motorcycles, they have a plethora of Harley Davidson bikes. If you have any interest in motorcycles, they are really fun builds and not stupid expensive for a Tamiya model.  Just something to consider.?

I think that to Snake the price of those kits is even bigger obstacle than the subject matter.  I do see his point (and as it has been mentioned here many times, automotive modelers generally have very tight wallets), but as the proverbial saying goes, "you get what you paid for". Yes, Tamiya kits are more expensive than domestic kits, but you are also paying for the quality of molding and engineering.  And that is the answer to the initial question of this thread:  Those pricier Tamiya kits are IMO best built-right-from-the-box.

[StevenGuthmiller]

19 minutes ago, peteski said:

I think that to Snake the price of those kits is even bigger obstacle than the subject matter.  I do see his point (and as it has been mentioned here many times, automotive modelers generally have very tight wallets), but as the proverbial saying goes, "you get what you paid for". Yes, Tamiya kits are more expensive than domestic kits, but you are also paying for the quality of molding and engineering.  And that is the answer to the initial question of this thread:  Those pricier Tamiya kits are IMO best built-right-from-the-box.

If Snake is anything like me, price is completely irrelevant.

It's all about subject matter.

As with Snake, I have no interest in exotic and foreign automobiles.

When the day comes that Tamiya produces a 50s or 60s American car, I'm all in!

 

 

Steve

[peteski]

11 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

When the day comes that Tamiya produces a 50s or 60s American car, I'm all in!

I doubt that will ever come true.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 minute ago, peteski said:

I doubt that will ever come true.

I have to agree, which is why I'll likely never own a Tamiya kit.

 

It's a pity actually.

They could expand their customer base a great deal by just tossing us old dinosaurs a bone once in a while.

 

 

Steve

[slusher]

AMt  57 300C. AMT 71 Duster  AMT 62 Pontiac And 70 71 Monte Carlo SS 454

[RichCostello]

27 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

If Snake is anything like me, price is completely irrelevant.

It's all about subject matter.

As with Snake, I have no interest in exotic and foreign automobiles.

When the day comes that Tamiya produces a 50s or 60s American car, I'm all in!

 

 

Steve

I'm with you and Snake on this one. Although price is not irrelevant to me(I'm CHEAP), that doesn't really matter if the subject isn't something you're interested in. They could sell Tamiya kits for $2.00 a piece and I doubt I'd buy any. I'd rather have one cool 50s, 60s, or muscle car kit than a dozen European sport cars.

[1972coronet]

I've built a handful of Tamiya's excellent kits over the years , and enjoyed every one of them . 

I shot an email to them a few years ago regarding a proposal that they should expand their line of paint colours ( i.e. , engine colours and body colours ) to include American vehicles . I also proposed that they give a couple of popular classic / iconic American car kits a try ( e.g. , 1965 Mustang , 1967 Camaro , etc. ) .

I don't recall if I received a reply... I'll have to try again .

I'd really like it if they were to produce a stock Renault R5 Turbo ! 

[peteski]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I have to agree, which is why I'll likely never own a Tamiya kit.

It's a pity actually.

They could expand their customer base a great deal by just tossing us old dinosaurs a bone once in a while.

Steve

You have to remember that they are a Japanese company.  The customer base they cater to is quite large there, and Japanese modelers have different automobile taste than Americans.

Edited March 8, 2020 by peteski

[Michael jones]

Tamiya are releasing the Ford Mustang GT4 to keep you guys happy however. Maybe that is the opportunity some of you need to build and enjoy a Tamiya kit.

[Matt Bacon]

Whilst the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing is indeed a European sports car, it’d fit right In with a collection of 50s/60s American classics... there were a lot sold in the US, after all. And that Tamiya kit has a stellar reputation (I haven’t built mine yet, which is why I didn’t put it in my own OOB list...)

best,

M.

[tbill]

To me, other than maybe a tire change out, these are great oob kits to build,

revell 

69 Camaro 

68 charger

69 charger

70 charger

69 nova

70 cuda

62 impala

the lindberg 66 chevelle kit.

 

i list these cause I’ve built them in the last couple of years and they all have what I feel is a good level of detail, and you can build a great looking model out of the box if you spend time detail painting. As mentioned, tires might be the only change needed. Just my opinion.

[Snake45]

6 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

If Snake is anything like me, price is completely irrelevant.

It's all about subject matter.

As with Snake, I have no interest in exotic and foreign automobiles.

When the day comes that Tamiya produces a 50s or 60s American car, I'm all in!

Steve

I just realized, I don't have much trouble dropping Tamiya-like bucks on a rare, long OOP AMT or JoHan model on eBay, so I guess price isn't really a complete deal-killer for me. 

As you say, it's all about subject matter. 

[gtx6970]

9 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

If Snake is anything like me, price is completely irrelevant.

It's all about subject matter.

As with Snake, I have no interest in exotic and foreign automobiles.

When the day comes that Tamiya produces a 50s or 60s American car, I'm all in!

 

 

Steve

Agreed.

1000% 

 

For me....price is irrelevant.  As an example....I paid over $100 for a mint in box 1959 Edsel kit. Then built it. 

 

Tamiya...makes nothing that interests me. And doubt they ever will.

[StevenGuthmiller]

8 hours ago, peteski said:

You have to remember that they are a Japanese company.  The customer base they cater to is quite large there, and Japanese modelers have different automobile taste than Americans.

Of course.

But how many Tamiya kits do they sell in the US?

A lot I'll bet!

Why wouldn't any company want to expand their customer base?

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

7 hours ago, Michael jones said:

Tamiya are releasing the Ford Mustang GT4 to keep you guys happy however. Maybe that is the opportunity some of you need to build and enjoy a Tamiya kit.

Doesn't do a thing for me.

I have no more interest in a modern Mustang kit than I do anything else Tamiya produces.

 

 

Steve