What are the worst kits you've ever built?

[BlackSheep214]

5 hours ago, Sandboarder said:

 

Lol

 

chill, he just didn’t like the 79 1/2 Camaro and it’s mould quality and done design choices

 

We don’t want yet another thread locked because someone has a different opinion to the majority on here. 

Agreed. LOL!!

[iamsuperdan]

At the risk of sounding like an AMT hater, for me it has to be the AMT Superstones Ford truck.

That is the one kit that I got so fed up with, I stuffed it in a box and haven't finished it. Nothing fit right, vague instructions. Just overall...ugh.

I suppose at one point I'll finish it. 

 

Close second is the Airfix BMW M1. When finished, it vaguely resembles an M1. Body proportions just don't look right, the wheels are terrible - both in design and fitment, and the interior is severely lacking in detail.

 

Other than those, I really haven't run into any others I dislike. Many that needed some work to get them looking good, but those were still fun too.

 

[Snake45]

On 1/15/2021 at 1:26 PM, Snake45 said:

Worst one I've tried to build lately was the AMT (ex-MPC) '69 Firebird. Knowing from the jump that it's pretty bad, I thought I'd Snake-slap one together doing only what's absolutely necessary to get it marginally acceptable looking for the shelf. Gave up after two evenings of body work--I just couldn't see any way to make it in any way acceptable to my eye without kitbashing it out of a Revell '69 Camaro body. I don't even like the '69 Firebird enough to go through all that. 

Its cousin, the '69 Camaro, is almost as bad. I've built 5 of them over the decades, but never again. The last two reissues, with the revised, backbirth roof, isn't worth messing with AT ALL. If you absolutely MUST torture yourself with building one of these just to say you did, start with one of the '80s reissues--it will at least build into something that looks kinda sorta somewhat like a '69 Camaro (-ish) from three feet away. The later ones won't even do that. 

[wrenchr]

57 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Its cousin, the '69 Camaro, is almost as bad. I've built 5 of them over the decades, but never again. The last two reissues, with the revised, backbirth roof, isn't worth messing with AT ALL. If you absolutely MUST torture yourself with building one of these just to say you did, start with one of the '80s reissues--it will at least build into something that looks kinda sorta somewhat like a '69 Camaro (-ish) from three feet away. The later ones won't even do that. 

I never even made it past looking at them on the shelf in the stores as a kid. This past year I did get a camaro in a bulk buy and gave it away to a coworker getting into building to practice on.   

[Sledsel]

Wow, I read through this thread and found many kits I would have never expected to see  listed where-as I knew I would see some. Many listed I was able to make something nice out of.

I am going to list my personal worst kits.

#5 Revell 57 Fords. Much loved kit that I cannot stomach. The body on it has so many flaws and inaccuracies, but I am correcting one of each. The Multi piece Ranchero and 1/32 are more accurate.

 

#4 Revell chopped 49 Mercury. The sides are flat, lower body too squared off, the roof looks squashed, has a weird chop, windows are too flat, hood is not correct. Tried to correct one, tossed the body in the trash.

#3 AMT Earnhardt/Baker 83 Thunderbird stock cars (lump in both Petty Pontiac Grand Prix too) Worst Nascar kits ever IMO

#2 Monogram 69 Camaro. Nuff said

#1 Lindberg 71 Mustang. Actually a 70 that has been doctored to look like a 71. I am actually trying to make something out of one tho.

 

Dishonorable mention. Revell Chopped 48 Ford. Windshield shape is way off, rear quarter windows shaped incorrectly, another funky "humped" chop, otherwise, nice kit. 

 

Edited January 20, 2021 by Sledsel

[Sandboarder]

3 hours ago, Sledsel said:

Many listed I was able to make something nice out of.

 

 

Interesting that in your opinion a bad kit is judged by 1:1 comparison inaccuracies and not by the kits quality of plastic, moulding and part fitment. 

 

Obviously you enjoy the prep work that goes into a great build. 

[Sledsel]

13 hours ago, Sandboarder said:

 

Interesting that in your opinion a bad kit is judged by 1:1 comparison inaccuracies and not by the kits quality of plastic, moulding and part fitment. 

 

Obviously you enjoy the prep work that goes into a great build. 

Fitment and quality does have an impact, but those things can be overcome without much trouble. Correcting inaccuracies is much tougher IMO. 

 

[Plowboy]

The worst kit I've built is the Moebius '71 F-100. Too many accuracy issues to mention them all. It's pretty much wrong from the ground up. From that point on, I looked at Moebius builds much closer before buying. I haven't bought another one since. I had hopes for the '65 and '66. But, they're not much better from what I've seen. They bear a striking resemblance to a cheap diecast. 

[BlackSheep214]

Funny how some car addicts can be what I call "rivet counters" in the car modeling world.  Granted some folks can get irked over inaccuracies of a '69 Camaro, '57 Ford, '49 Merc, etc...

Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of kits fighting me from start to finish. Rarely I've any that ended up being tossed out of frustration because it isn't worth putting any more effort or time in it.

I would build the '69 Camaro but who am I to say they're inaccurate? Do i care? No. I could care less or know the difference as long as it looks good built. I personally don't give in to the experts (or dare I say, "model car snobs") that they're not shaped right and whatnot. Who cares. This is a hobby and I'm not one to get stressed over some experts saying it's inaccurate.  I get enough stress at work. I build (and cook) to de-stress from real life problems. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by BlackSheep214

[Snake45]

44 minutes ago, BlackSheep214 said:

I would build the '69 Camaro but who am I to say they're inaccurate? Do i care? No. I could care less or know the difference as long as it looks good built. I personally don't give in to the experts (or dare I say, "model car snobs") that they're not shaped right and whatnot. Who cares. 

Believe it or not, I'm going to agree with you. I don't count rivets or measure things to the scale inch but I DO demand that a model look like what it's supposed to be to my eye, either out of the box or with some reasonable, do-able fixes. If it looks wrong to me, it IS wrong. 

One of the few models I actually regret wasting the time building was the Fujimi "1/48" F6F Hellcat. It went together easy enough and painted well, but I didn't notice till it was finished that it was actually 1/50 scale and had a number of disturbing shape inaccuracies. That model still irritates me. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Snake45

[BlackSheep214]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

One of the few models I actually regret wasting the time building was the Fujimi "1/48" F6F Hellcat. It went together easy enough and painted well, but I didn't notice till it was finished that it was actually 1/50 scale and had a number of disturbing shape inaccuracies. That model still irritates me. 

I'm not surprised.

It's not uncommon for some company take older 1/50 scale kits and rebox them and label them as 1/48 scale.

[Sandboarder]

Most of what I have built. I’ve never seen in real life. So being 1:1 accurate isn’t my top concern. 

 

Looking like the cars cars on the internet is important but here in Australia there’s not many Camaro or Mustang driven daily unless you go to a car show. Now I’m building Japanese cars these even less of them here to see. 

[Deathgoblin]

Just had to "park" one.  Heller Porsche 917K.  There's no positive ways to locate and attach some of the parts, especially the spindly little components of the frame and suspension.  

[Kit Basher]

8 hours ago, Deathgoblin said:

Just had to "park" one.  Heller Porsche 917K.  There's no positive ways to locate and attach some of the parts, especially the spindly little components of the frame and suspension.  

I hear ya, man. I did the same thing with the Heller Ferrari 512s. Same reason, and more.

[Dinky]

Without doubt the Pocher Huracan. Horrible quality for such an expensive kit

[SCRWDRVR]

I think the worst kit I have had recently is the MPC Country Charger which is the repop off the General Lee, I'm currently building it and the body is totally awful for clean up and fit.

I know a lot of people don't like the Monogram 69 Camaro because the proportions are off but I've always kind of liked it because I think it builds well.

[bisc63]

On 11/1/2011 at 9:47 PM, kenb said:

Lindberg 48' Lincoln Convertible without a doubt. Ken

Ha! Absolutely the worst ever. I can't open the box and stir through the parts without hating myself for buying it. I got suckered into buying it by the timing of the release; back in the 90s or early 2000s when Lindberg was enjoying a renaissance of sorts with their newly tooled '61 Impalas, '67 Olds, SnapFit Crown Vic police car, Dodge Dakota, Chrysler Minivan, etc.. These were pretty nice kits of different subject matter, and I got 'em all. Then, one day, I see this Lincoln kit with a beautiful pic of the actual car on the box ( shoulda been a red flag, I know) and I thought OH YEAH, this will be nice. Nope. Oh man, no. Re-release of an old Pyro kit with multi-piece body and all. The chrome grille oddly enough has better looking detail on the backside than the front. I still hurt.

[Daddyfink]

To me, this was the worst kit ever made when I was a kid! So many tiny little parts to make things work, and then nothing worked! 

[Rick L]

ERTL 53 corvette.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Rick L said:

ERTL 53 corvette.

I've heard that. I built the curbside snapper version and had few if any problems with it. It must be a lot better. 

[RichCostello]

15 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Ha! Absolutely the worst ever. I can't open the box and stir through the parts without hating myself for buying it. I got suckered into buying it by the timing of the release; back in the 90s or early 2000s when Lindberg was enjoying a renaissance of sorts with their newly tooled '61 Impalas, '67 Olds, SnapFit Crown Vic police car, Dodge Dakota, Chrysler Minivan, etc.. These were pretty nice kits of different subject matter, and I got 'em all. Then, one day, I see this Lincoln kit with a beautiful pic of the actual car on the box ( shoulda been a red flag, I know) and I thought OH YEAH, this will be nice. Nope. Oh man, no. Re-release of an old Pyro kit with multi-piece body and all. The chrome grille oddly enough has better looking detail on the backside than the front. I still hurt.

Yep, this is the worst kit ever made to my knowledge. My favorite part is the ridiculous wheels, totally flat, round discs with a little bump in the center, and no other detail at all, and dripping with thick chrome plating. I would have to see a worse kit to believe that one existed.

[Jordan White]

18 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Ha! Absolutely the worst ever. I can't open the box and stir through the parts without hating myself for buying it. I got suckered into buying it by the timing of the release; back in the 90s or early 2000s when Lindberg was enjoying a renaissance of sorts with their newly tooled '61 Impalas, '67 Olds, SnapFit Crown Vic police car, Dodge Dakota, Chrysler Minivan, etc.. These were pretty nice kits of different subject matter, and I got 'em all. Then, one day, I see this Lincoln kit with a beautiful pic of the actual car on the box ( shoulda been a red flag, I know) and I thought OH YEAH, this will be nice. Nope. Oh man, no. Re-release of an old Pyro kit with multi-piece body and all. The chrome grille oddly enough has better looking detail on the backside than the front. I still hurt.

To be fair, AMT did that also in the 90's and their kits were very well done (albeit a couple didn't quite match the box, such as the 2WD GMC Sonoma kit with the 4WD Sonoma on the box).

[ChrisBcritter]

9 hours ago, RichCostello said:

Yep, this is the worst kit ever made to my knowledge. My favorite part is the ridiculous wheels, totally flat, round discs with a little bump in the center, and no other detail at all, and dripping with thick chrome plating. I would have to see a worse kit to believe that one existed.

The original issue wheels were more accurate, slightly; you'd still be better off making a mold of the spare (which, defying all odds, they got right) and casting four copies of the center.

[MrObsessive]

This one................

I wanted to build a strictly box stock kit and this was one tough cookie IMO to get together. The Tamiya name notwithstanding, this was no joke to get things to fit correctly and then there were some details I had to leave off altogether just to get it to sit right.

Thank goodness I got this at a pretty cheap price (around $40). It had a broken A pillar which I was able to get fixed and I paid nowhere near what these kits can go for whether it's the original Revell or the reboxed Tamiya you see here.

Here's the finished result and it's pretty much a safe bet I'll probably not build this again (I have another version of this kit), or simply re-engineer it bumper to bumper if I decide to go full detail which would get rid of a lot of the ill fitting issues.

Edited February 11, 2021 by MrObsessive

[RichCostello]

14 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

The original issue wheels were more accurate, slightly; you'd still be better off making a mold of the spare (which, defying all odds, they got right) and casting four copies of the center.

It's not an issue for me. I got rid of the one I had, and never want to see another one.