Ok! Enough Griping! What are the best kits ever made!

[trogdor]

Based on my very limited experience, I have to say I've had the least amount of issues with Tamiya kits. I've built several of the aircraft kits and patrol boats as well as F1, Ferrari, Jags, and a few others I can't remember.

[Guest Sickfish]

I'm not aware of any accuracy problems with the Tamiya Wranglers all I can say about them is that the engine detail is very soft and the transfer case is a joke. If there are any problems it may be because they seem to be Euro spec Jeeps rather than US spec, I have noticed the side markers are different. Myself, I son't care how nice or accurate Tamyia kits are there is little subject matter that intrests me. In my collection I have somewhere over 600 kits only 4 of them are Tamyia. I can't say much for the other foreign kit makers, I have 2 Fujimi kits and 2 Italeri kits and thats about it. I'm not much for European cars and have zero intrest in Asian cars.

So what's your point here, other than you having no interest in Tamiya kits, European / Asian cars? I believe the Question posed is, What are the Best kits? So out of your 600 odd stash, I'm assuming mostly US based kits/subjects, you don't have a Best kit in there anywhere?

Opinions are 1 thing, & everyone's got 1, but if you're going to add your 2c here then at least answer the original question...

[slantasaurus]

So what's your point here, other than you having no interest in Tamiya kits, European / Asian cars? I believe the Question posed is, What are the Best kits? So out of your 600 odd stash, I'm assuming mostly US based kits/subjects, you don't have a Best kit in there anywhere? Opinions are 1 thing, & everyone's got 1, but if you're going to add your 2c here then at least answer the original question...

Perhaps I should have quoted Dave's (Double D) post in my reply about the Wrangler.

As far as my favorite kit I think I would say the Monogram Dusenbergs, all 4 of them are great kits that go together with no issues, the subject matter is great and the look good when finished. My only complaint about them would be that they are all supercharged when the majority of Duseys were non-supercharged. It would be nice to have the non-supercharged parts to mix and match different cars. AAM used to make the non-supercharged parts in resin but those are long out of production and very hard to find.

Edited February 13, 2012 by slantasaurus

[Guest Sickfish]

Bar all the different opinions on just exactly, what IS the BEST kit, it seem's, without a doubt, Tamiya are the BEST model making company by far... My gripe with that is... That don't make any Mopars... ( & no I'm not interested in Wranglers) seriously wished they did... :-(

Cliffo

[jbwelda]

i gotta agree with Dave there about tamiya...number one in my book pretty much most of the time. especially when you consider fit and finish right out of the box, usually suprisingly excellent.

now to the subject of the most best perfect kit ever, i can add one that i bet no one else has mentioned: the 60s AMT (and MPC before it i believe) Wilhems Wild Dream, kitted with Tognottis King T roadster.

as unlikely as it might seem, that kit really went together well, the funny little pieces that make up the rear end that you never really see...surprisingly they fit right in place at the last moment! even the weird teardrop shaped taillight lenses fit in the area formed for them. the hood and side panels fit right in place and it was easy to get the exhaust header out the holes located in the side panels. the multipiece interior bucket was similarly well engineered. amazingly so for the time it was produced. really just kind of fell together like it was supposed to despite early on fears about mis-fits.

its a pretty rare kit and brings kinda high money on ebay but you can find cheap ones from time to time. highly recommended.

(dont really know about the King T model in the same (AMT) kit, havent built it yet)

[Scale-Master]

Modern Tamiya kits are in my opinion some of the best out there overall. When it comes to engineering and fit I'd say they usually are the best. But that doesn't mean the Revell/Monogram and new Round 2 stuff isn't in many cases very good too.

Right now I am extremely impressed with the Tamiya Lexus LFA quality of molding, fit and ease of assembly.

[Greg Myers]

i'm partial to Monogram kits and always will be. IMO they are simplified but solid kits that build up much like Tamiya kits do. a good example here is the Monogram '70 Buick GSX kit, hard to get that one wrong, OOB it's just right.

I was thinking the same thing

[Casey]

The Aurora 1/16 Racing Scenes engines are pretty amazing kits, with working parts throughout and a ton of well-done detail. Some parts could've been better, but when completed they can be stunning.

Edited February 16, 2012 by Casey

[Terry Sumner]

Well you didn't say that the best kit HAD to be a car... I think the best kit made is the Tamiya 1/48 scale P-47D Thunderbolt, followed by the Tamiya 1/32 scale Zero. The engineering, the detail and the fit of those 2 kits is the best I have ever seen of all genres of kits!

[jmpsebring]

Newer Model Factory Hiro kits are state of the art car models. They may be $$$ kits, but by the time you buy everything after-market, you end up spending lots anyway. Hundreds of white metal parts, perfect resin, perfect decals, great customer service. East to build because of their engineering, and quality control. They really have set the bar higher than others. The Tamiya Honda RC166 bike with upgrades is also deserving of the crown.

On a slightly different note, With their Photo etched sheets and other details, model ships finished to a high level are often in the running for "best of show" at national events.

[Chuck Most]

I'm going to add the Moebius Hudson Hornet to my personal list. (Big shocker, huh? ) Does it have its faults? Yeah. But what kit doesn't? The important thing to me is it goes together so well, accepts modifications better than just about any kit I've ever hacked to bits, and its just a blast to build, even straight out of the box. Every time I crack one open I still think "Jeez, this was engineered by a company new to car kits"?