Does any company make the best kit?

[Shardik]

Tim,

If you build as thoughtfully, subtley and artfully as you have moderated this thread, I sincerely look forward to seeing the results.

As for the answer to your original post: Yes.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Shardik

[ERIK88]

I do not like tamiyas subject matter as well, all imports quote name="checkmate" post="1162057" timestamp="1397790569"]There's only one real issue with Tamiya, their subject matter is garbage. And remember this is only my opinion but German and British touring cars, F1, Japanese cars and European supercars have zero interest to me.

[mnwildpunk]

See that is just it. The matter of kits with the best quality will all come down to a persons own opinion.

[Chillyb1]

See that is just it. The matter of kits with the best quality will all come down to a persons own opinion.

This isn't really the case, nor is it the conclusion to draw from the above responses. While it has already been pointed out that some respondents misconstrue the question at hand, most responses have focused on trying to answer the original question in a fairly objective manner. This matter of kit quality is not a subjective one. We modelers, either individually or collectively, could probably come up with a list of desirable qualities that would allow for the evaluation of kit quality by any given modeler. There are also plenty of things that I think we'd all agree are not particularly relevant when determining kit quality; for example, the size and shape of the box that a model is packed in would probably not rank high on anyone's list. I happen to like the boxes that Tamiya uses across its model range, but I'd never try to claim that they are in some way objectively superior to some other company's boxes. Nor would anyone suggest that one single model from a particular company, no matter how excellent or awful in and of itself, would qualify that company as best or worst. We all know what makes a kit an excellent one; and these qualities can be evaluated by each individual modeler to determine whether or not it is a kit to buy and build.

[Matt Bacon]

And in that spirit...

I don't believe that the choice of subject matter is relevant to the original question.

What do I think objectively makes a good kit?

1) Accuracy of shapes and parts relative to the 1:1

2) Fit of parts.

3) Quality of engineering of the kit -- thoughtful parts breakdown, intelligent choice of how to represent components in scale form (i.e. not reproducing every individual part of the 1:1 but creating accurate assemblies), sensible compromises between detail, accuracy, visibility and ease of build. Sensible breakdown of parts to aid painting. Robust engineering of "working" parts.

4) Finesse of detail

5) Ease of assembly (should come with 2 and 3, but...)

6) Sharpness and alignment of mouldings (should be straightforward quality control, but...)

7) Quality, accuracy and understandability of instructions.

8) Accuracy and usability of decals/metal foil transfers etc (i.e. dial decals don't have thick, out of register borders of "carrier film" which mean they don't fit into recesses in the dash...)

That's my starter for 10...

bestest,

M.

[maltsr]

That's my starter for 10...

bestest,

M.

And I'll add:

9) Thin, clear, distortion-free glass that fits well with good bonding surfaces (or even better, a snap fit)

10) Minimal mould lines. I recently built a newly issued kit and spent a lot of time removing mould lines from virtually every part.

[D. Battista]

It varies. There's no way to say any one company makes the best kits. Individual model companies have made great kits and lousy ones. And it also depends on your definition of "best." Most accurate? Most detailed? Easiest to build? Most optional parts? And on and on. This question has no answer.

However, if your question is who makes (or made) the worst kits, I think Palmer would be the choice of most.

Very well said..! I agree 100%

[Chillyb1]

And in that spirit...

I don't believe that the choice of subject matter is relevant to the original question.

What do I think objectively makes a good kit?

1) Accuracy of shapes and parts relative to the 1:1

2) Fit of parts.

3) Quality of engineering of the kit -- thoughtful parts breakdown, intelligent choice of how to represent components in scale form (i.e. not reproducing every individual part of the 1:1 but creating accurate assemblies), sensible compromises between detail, accuracy, visibility and ease of build. Sensible breakdown of parts to aid painting. Robust engineering of "working" parts.

4) Finesse of detail

5) Ease of assembly (should come with 2 and 3, but...)

6) Sharpness and alignment of mouldings (should be straightforward quality control, but...)

7) Quality, accuracy and understandability of instructions.

8) Accuracy and usability of decals/metal foil transfers etc (i.e. dial decals don't have thick, out of register borders of "carrier film" which mean they don't fit into recesses in the dash...)

That's my starter for 10...

bestest,

M.

That's a pretty good list and I think a lot of modelers would come up with something very similar. Well, as long as said modelers understand the difference between "best" and "favorite" as the determining goal of the set of criteria to be used.

[mnwildpunk]

Believe me I understand where you are coming from and I agree with what you guys say 100% as far as what makes a good kit but like someone else said we all can name bad kits AMT 57 corvette gasser comes to mind. But personal opinion will always play a roll in things and some folks will say tamyia are the most accurate and best fitting etc. Etc. Etc. and other would say because revells parts fit better and da da da de da it makes up for accuracy issues and so on and so forth I'm not trying to start an argument and like I said I agree with you on the criteria of a good kit but personal opinion plays a role in it nobody can be 100% subjective? Objective? (not sure what word fits there) and not have some emotional attachment to one model Co. or another

Edited May 4, 2014 by mnwildpunk