Which kits are.....

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Revell has some good stuff. Sure, it's lacking in detail, but any chimp with a knife and some plastic can fix the shortcomings therein.

I'm kinda scarred from the AMT Fruitwagon's multipiece cab and a lot of flash, but their older kits were good. Back around 2004-ish, I built a handful of AMT/Ertls, and never had any complaints. Maybe I'll try their new Ranchero out.

Moebius has nothing that is too interesting to me, although it'd be cool to make the Fabulous Hudson Hornet.

Tamiya is wonderful. I've only built two of theirs, and they were both Minis. Great parts fit, no flash at all. Some little mold pins, but that's about it. Everything fits nicely and has crisp detail. The decals are great. Great little "no-worries" kit. Their replacement policy is great, too. I had a malformed brake drum on one of the parts trees, and they replaced it and the roof at no cost!

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Then why are you reading it?

To have something to complain about, I surmise.

[johnbuzzed]

Best is such a nebulous term and in this case hard to define because this hobby is so subjective. By subjective I mean the each of us has a very distinct category of models that we like to build whether it be 'merican iron, F 1, NASCAR, sports cars, ect. No company produces models in all of these categories. Even the largest can't manage that. This preference is going to shade our perception of who is the best! On top of this, there are categories that have nothing to do with the type of model itself. Who does the best research, produces the most technically sophisticated models, the easiest to assemble, the highest level of detail. In short, this is like trying to pick the best sports team. Not the best football team, or soccer, or hockey, or rugby team, but the single best team in all of sport. Can't be done.

Now, I am going to go out on a limb and nominate my favorite. Tamiya. I have a host of personal reasons for this but hear are the pros and cons of them. They are always at the leading edge of technology with the kits they produce. They were the first to make their molds with the aid of computer machining in many ways. There engineers produce kits have parts that require the use of very complex sliding mold technology such as the single piece chassis for the Enzo, the space frame on the new 300SL, and the chassis on the LFA. They are always experimenting with new ways to create a more interesting model. Look at the use of very small rare earth magnets to mount removable part to represent diverse features of their models. They were first to include metal transfers for the badging of almost all there autos. There kits are the standard that others are measured against.

Down side of Tamiya is a big one. They have just a plane weird selection process for deciding what they will spend the time to develop and produce. A new subject can be a real head scratcher. They developed a 1:12 scale Chaterham(modern Lotus Super 7) but never produced a Porsche 917. They have produced few American subjects and when they do, again real head scratchers. A Jeep and a ho hum Mustang?? No explanation. They even have the aircraft and armor guys scratching their heads.

The "best company"? No, you really can't define it. You can have a favorite but best just doesn't exist!

Re: Tamiya military stuff: With their selection of aircraft and armor from just about all nations that participated in WWII, and some more current stuff, I don't think there's too much head scratching. Except, to decide which Corsair or Zero or Mustang, etc, to build.

If every manufacturer produced nothing but the same old, same old, we would be airing the same old, same old complaints about not enough variety. Is there really a need for Tamiya to produce another Deuce or '55 Chevy or 'Vette or contemporary Camaro or Challenger? They might be the best examples of those cars available in kit form, but other kits of those are already on the shelves, and the research and marketing people at Tamiya seem to be doing a good job keeping the company in business with what they continue to produce.

There is no way to actually answer the original question for this thread as there are too many variables. One kit by a given manufacturer can be a gem; the next kit by the same could be a rock. Perhaps, some manufacturers might be more reliable when it comes to consistency in quality, parts fit, contours and dimensions, but not having built kits by every manufacturer, I wouldn't be able to make that determination. Reading reviews can yield a wealth of information, but hands-on experience is the best guide.

Edited March 9, 2015 by johnbuzzed

[Jeff Johnston]

I think one way to ask this would be... who consistently has the best kits from a fit perspective? I think there is no doubt that this woudl be Tamiya.