Military plastic model kits

[pajama 0]

Hello,

Any one of you guys/gals here on the forum build plastic model kits?    If so I would like to know your opinion of which is the best brand for Military plastic model kits?  Right now I have my eyes on 3 companies...Tamiya, Revell, and Academy.  From the each individual websites it seems as Tamiya is the best of em...aahhh memories of closed track crazy car kits  was pretty fricken populer in Asia...not sure if it still is

Any ways if you know any good ones pleas tell  

Thanks, -PJ

::EDIT::

Links to each companies site

Tamiya

Revell

Academy HMK

[da_ofp_man 0]

those companies are good but seen better! Try those: SKIF,ZVIEZDA,ACE all of this is on this site or ITALERI

[ran 0]

Tamiya is the top of the top in plastic , it is the best for 1/35th military vehicle models and figureswith for exemple an Iraqi Freedom edition of their excellent M1A2 , and on the topic of OFP actuality a T55Athis summer (the ones dating from before the 90's are worthless though), its 1/32 planes are awesome and 1/72 are some of the finest around , their line of 1/16th products is awesome too with for exemple the 1/16th RC WWII military products line and WWII figures

Revell is the best for 1/72 military vehicles and there figures aren't bad either (thought the plastic is not the best when it comes to figures) and Revell offers a nice diversity of subjects

Its 1/35 models aren't bad and offer nice subjects (varsaw pact vehicles)

Italeri is the best when it comes to price , most of their models are allright , but beware some are just reboxed eastern models of lesser quality , but to make it short they offer a good compromise price/quality , 1/72 armor models are basically all ESCI reboxs

Dragon offers nice WW2 subjects , some dragon products have been reboxed by Italeri or vice-versa ("modern"90's era SF in particular)

Academy is nice , but they're often difficult to get in Europe (in France there's only one firm which imports the whole lot of Academy products for France and BeNeLux , there models aren't that bad eventhough the engraving and modelling isn't that sharp

Revell main page

Italeri main page

Dragon main page

there are dozen of worthy model brands around , especially eastern ones (russians in particular , but also south east asian)

and don't forget Resin and metal models and amelioration sets for your models

[ran 0]

those companies are good but seen better! Try those: SKIF,ZVIEZDA,ACE all of this is on this site or ITALERI

well those russian/eastern brands are pretty random , you can have excellent models and well ........ scraps of plastic , but sure they're good if you're interested in Varsaw pact products , but they sometime need a lot of ameliorations and reworks

*edit :

when i said that i hadn't seen the 1/72th line this sounds good on the other hand .... 1/72th models are a lot more easy to rework

[Placebo 29]

I seem to recall a thread from a lil while ago about this topic? If someone can find it I'll merge the two

[da_ofp_man 0]

those companies are good but seen better! Try those: SKIF,ZVIEZDA,ACE all of this is on this site or ITALERI

well those russian/eastern brands are pretty random , you can have excellent models and well ........ scraps of plastic , but sure they're good if you're interested in Varsaw pact products , but they sometime need a lot of ameliorations and reworks

*edit :

when i said that i hadn't seen the 1/72th line this sounds good on the other hand .... 1/72th models are a lot more easy to rework

I know all the models I'd made from east block always bought them from ZVIEZDA and its the best from all Russian companies all models are very good quality.But when i wanted to get some west stuff only ITALERY its the beast for me!!!

[ran 0]

those companies are good but seen better! Try those: SKIF,ZVIEZDA,ACE all of this is on this site or ITALERI

well those russian/eastern brands are pretty random , you can have excellent models and well ........ scraps of plastic , but sure they're good if you're interested in Varsaw pact products , but they sometime need a lot of ameliorations and reworks

*edit :

when i said that i hadn't seen the 1/72th line this sounds good on the other hand .... 1/72th models are a lot more easy to rework

I know all the models I'd made from east block always bought them from ZVIEZDA and its the best from all Russian companies all models are very good quality.But when i wanted to get some west stuff only ITALERY its the beast for me!!!

Tamiya is the best of all, no more to say

i remember of an ISU152 model I made , it was an Italeri rebox of Zvezda and believe me , i've had to put some hard work ........

[da_ofp_man 0]

those companies are good but seen better! Try those: SKIF,ZVIEZDA,ACE all of this is on this site or ITALERI

well those russian/eastern brands are pretty random , you can have excellent models and well ........ scraps of plastic , but sure they're good if you're interested in Varsaw pact products , but they sometime need a lot of ameliorations and reworks

*edit :

when i said that i hadn't seen the 1/72th line this sounds good on the other hand .... 1/72th models are a lot more easy to rework

I know all the models I'd made from east block always bought them from ZVIEZDA and its the best from all Russian companies all models are very good quality.But when i wanted to get some west stuff only ITALERY its the beast for me!!!  

Tamiya is the best of all, no more to say

i remember of an ISU152 model I made , it was an Italeri rebox of Zvezda and believe me , i've had to put some hard work ........

what???all the models I had from ZVIEZDA were top quality maeby italeri scrued the work but not zviezda with your model no offens but ZVIEZD is the best fuck the rest!!

[Tigershark_BAS 0]

Tamiya models simply fall together....with very little sanding or putty.....they make some very nice quality models...I have to agree with Ran on this one.

[ran 0]

no no no , you're biased in my opinion .....

ever built a Tamiya model ??

i've done a german Leopard A5 a few years ago , and it's a pure gem , no flaws in the assembly , superb details , i recommend it to anybody btw

[ran 0]

Tamiya Leo 2A5 page

[da_ofp_man 0]

OK everybody has his right!!!for you its tamiya ok i didyn't built this company any model i'm usedt to zviezda and thats my opinion only

[FSPilot 0]

I do a lot of plastic model airplanes, revell is the name that stands out most to me, but I don't usually buy a model just because of it's brand name.

[pajama 0]

The reason I ask on the base of brand names is because of consistency  

Quiality in good consistency is what really matters to me...I mean you just got to be a fanboy eh?

Thanks for the replies every one...I think i'll go with Tamiya considering i've known the company since I was a kid playing with there mini 4WD cars back in Asia ...going into the mall and watching people compeating in races on those huge tracks.  Yes they were stupid, but hey it was all fun  

-PJ

[Consigliere 0]

Tamiya model kits are of good quality, but are simply too expensive IMO. Hasegawa have a good range of Japanese WW2 aircraft, Italeri kits are the best all round IMO, Academy are cheap and of generally good quality and Revell is OK I suppose, but their range is rather limited. Whatever you do, steer well clear of Airfix lol. For figures, best choice is Verlinden. They have very well detailed and built models, and they have a good range of accessories and decor kits

[m21man 0]

I'd recommend Tamiya .

[pajama 0]

Btw...any of you know a good online plastic model store? I think i'm just too lazy to drive to a Hobby Town USA store also there site is just awkward...

Thanks, -PJ

[blackdog~ 0]

I wouldn't risk it either. The closest one to me was in El Cajon and I was still into the model train groove... and a two hour drive there unveiled that they had absolutely no model trains left just race cars and models :o

[Tigershark_BAS 0]

Btw...any of you know a good online plastic model store? I think i'm just too lazy to drive to a Hobby Town USA store also there site is just awkward...

Thanks, -PJ

www.squadron.com for the US. Excellent range and excellent service.

[SKULLS_Viper 0]

I'm really into building military model kits.I've posted a lot of pictures of my models on this forum, so I'll help you find it mods. ;) My most recent one was a M1A2 Abrams MBT, by Italeri.It costed me $30.But its pretty dang nice lookin!But also hard to put togethor.I'll upload the pictures here in a min.

(I'm on vacation right now, and wont be to normal posting status till about the 19th of Jan.    

But luckily I brang my CD-RW full of all the pictures I took with my digital camera, with me on my trip.So I can get these pictures uploaded in about 10 min.)

Mods, found the link.

http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....+models

[ozanzac 0]

I wish I had the patience to model. I find it too fiddly, but I've got a few models up. Namely a Tornado, a Huey and a few cars that I put togeather, they came out quite well with the right paint.

I find the best models are those that are premade (Call me lazy. I know I am). At the moment I'm collecting Air Combat Collection which comes with some kind of warbird everyweek on a stick. Not overly detailed, or of excellent quality, but they look fantastic in my study, and usually I customise them to my own tastes if they look a little bland.

[SKULLS_Viper 0]

Ok, I got 7 pictures uploaded.But I must warn you!These pictures are above 500,000 Bytes in size!I don't have my paint shop pro program with me, so I can't make the pictures smaller.

Sort of top view of my M1A2 model.

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100006.jpg

Lower view

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100008.jpg

Back of the turret view.Note the little windows.I had to cut out the windows for the commanders cupula, drivers hatch, gunners sight, and the little box in front of the loaders hatch from a piece of plastic!It was really difficult.I wonder why Italeri didn't include it already precut???

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100010.jpg

Model on top of my monitor.Doh, Americas Army!

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100011.jpg

Trying to make it look like its out on a battle field.

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100012.jpg

Another battle field. ;)

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8110011.jpg

And a deserty battlefield.

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8120006.jpg

Hope you like my tank model!(It was my first tank model to!I mostly work on airplane models.)

And at the time I took these pictures, I wasn't really complete with my model.I later sanded the outside smooth of the glue globs.I wanted to paint it Forest camo, but hey, painting it desert camo was a lot easyier!

Plus did some touch ups.This was the hardest model I have ever worked on.I think there were like some 300 parts or something like that.I had to call up my dad and ask for tips on what the tank should look like, and where to put some of the items, like the spare road wheel, and the spare track etc...(He did 4 years in the M1 Abrams back in the 1980's.)Plus I dedicated this model to him, and gave it to him as a gift(and I plan on following in his footsteps.).

Later bros.

[pajama 0]

Nice work on the F4 Corsair Tigershark (Like the black scheme better then the blue) and it was very nice of you Viper giving your dad the tank, think he loves it...but too bad he can't take it out for a spin though

Dang, I check out the prices on Tamiya 1/32 scale planes on Squadron.com and many were $100 and over!!!  Thats insane ...any of you recomend an easy aircraft model for beginers?  Dose not matter if its prop or jet as long as its around $20 or under Though painting the thing won't be much of a problem since i'm pretty skilled with airbrushing

Any ways thanks againe...

[Tigershark_BAS 0]

Nice work on the F4 Corsair Tigershark (Like the black scheme better then the blue) and it was very nice of you Viper giving your dad the tank, think he loves it...but too bad he can't take it out for a spin though

Dang, I check out the prices on Tamiya 1/32 scale planes on Squadron.com and many were $100 and over!!!  Thats insane ...any of you recomend an easy aircraft model for beginers?  Dose not matter if its prop or jet as long as its around $20 or under Though painting the thing won't be much of a problem since i'm pretty skilled with airbrushing

Any ways thanks againe...

Thanks dude...Corsair was 1/48 scale....if you wanna go 1/32 they are all pretty expensive...but Revell and Hasegawa probably give best prices.

The F-4 is actually Dark Sea Blue...not black :-) Guess it looks black in the photos.

[Tigershark_BAS 0]

Ok, I got 7 pictures uploaded.But I must warn you!These pictures are above 500,000 Bytes in size!I don't have my paint shop pro program with me, so I can't make the pictures smaller.

Sort of top view of my M1A2 model.

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100006.jpg

Lower view

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100008.jpg

Back of the turret view.Note the little windows.I had to cut out the windows for the commanders cupula, drivers hatch, gunners sight, and the little box in front of the loaders hatch from a piece of plastic!It was really difficult.I wonder why Italeri didn't include it already precut???

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100010.jpg

Model on top of my monitor.Doh, Americas Army!

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100011.jpg

Trying to make it look like its out on a battle field.

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8100012.jpg

Another battle field. ;)

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8110011.jpg

And a deserty battlefield.

http://home.comcast.net/~dennyshunk/P8120006.jpg

Hope you like my tank model!(It was my first tank model to!I mostly work on airplane models.)

And at the time I took these pictures, I wasn't really complete with my model.I later sanded the outside smooth of the glue globs.I wanted to paint it Forest camo, but hey, painting it desert camo was a lot easyier!

Plus did some touch ups.This was the hardest model I have ever worked on.I think there were like some 300 parts or something like that.I had to call up my dad and ask for tips on what the tank should look like, and where to put some of the items, like the spare road wheel, and the spare track etc...(He did 4 years in the M1 Abrams back in the 1980's.)Plus I dedicated this model to him, and gave it to him as a gift(and I plan on following in his footsteps.).

Later bros.

Got some nice drybrushing on that baby...but it really needs a wash to weather it a little ;-)

Nice construction :-)