• Modeling kit recommendations
    14 replies, posted
Hello everyone! Recently I have been buying a lot of Bandai kits for Gundam and Star Wars, the ones that come into little pieces and you have to build yourself. Since I´ve gotten most of the ones that interested me I tought it was time to move on to something different, like cars, ships, tanks or machines; the probles is that I remember having bought kits of that kind years ago and being frustrated at how bad quality they were and the messiness of perma-glue. So the question is: Do you know any brands of model kits that resemble the Bandai ones in terms of assembly? I would also settle for something like the Games Workshop ones, that require some fiddling around with glue but the quality they have gives a good result in the end. Much appreciated.
There is literally no other company in the world that pursues similar purely snap-finish kits that bandai does. Bandai aims their kits for children in order to push sales, most other kit makers dont like that practice or don't have the money to. If you mean similar mold, detail, and plastic quality then you can't go wrong with kotobukiya, hasegawa, or tamiya kits. I would suggest picking up a Kawasaki T4 from Hasegawa as a good kit. Actually there is one other company that doggedly pursues bandai: Dragon Momoko. Its a shame they don't exist.
Yeah snap-together models are generally an asian thing, since they're targeted at the general pop-culture audience while western models are more for hardcore hobbyists. That said, if you get the right type of glue (the low-viscosity ones that come with a brush), you can still get a good result regardless of how good you are at it. I'd recommend Tamiya glue, should come in a clear glass bottle with an orange cap. With regards to actual brands, there's a pretty simple sliding scale of quality versus difficulty. At one end you have Airfix models, which are simple as fuck to make, but quality's pretty low (they used to be better, but recently they've had to cut costs hard). Then you have Academy models, which are mid-tier in all accounts. Then there's Revell, whose models are a little more complicated and a little better in quality. At the far end of the scale you have Tamiya kits, which are generally larger and more complex. And at the very farthest end of the scale you have Hasegawa, which IIRC are generally regarded as the highest quality. If you do want to really get into it though, you should look at some scale-modelling magazines. Most of the time they'll have some good life-hacks-tier advice for how to make [I]really[/I] good models.
Thats another thing: If you've been using scotch weld or some other kind of glue you are doing it wrong. Like pilotguy mentioned, you should use polystyrene melting glue, like the orange cap brush applicator one from Tamiya.
If you're looking for the highest quality, absolutely nobody tops Dragon vehicle models. They're just amazingly detailed, with most coming with etched brass details and some of the highest quality plastic molds I've ever seen. They're definitely not snap-together, but they do fit together absolutely [I]beautifully[/I] compared to almost every other manufacturer, so there's very little fuss.
modern dragon is kinda mediocre tbh, lots of accuracy issues Meng is top tier for armor but they're new-ish so their selection isn't great (but what is there is incredible)
This MegaMan kit and the Protoman and Roll ones are fucking fantastic [url]http://www.amazon.com/Kotobukiya-Mega-Man-Rockman-Plastic/dp/B003NE4J4S[/url]
I want some kits but the painting bit terrifies me
[QUOTE=Novangel;50052371]I want some kits but the painting bit terrifies me[/QUOTE] Most japanese kits require no paint And what paint you can do is touch ups with Gundam Markers. Easy peasy
[QUOTE=Novangel;50052371]I want some kits but the painting bit terrifies me[/QUOTE] yeah but once you get started you can't stop, you'll have so much paint that I find myself buying models just for the sake of using up all the paint lmao [editline]2nd April 2016[/editline] the ww2 tanks that tamiya do with the metal parts are pretty cool, you can find like 3rd-party metal track links and add-ons as well to make it look extra badass.
[QUOTE=Katatonic717;50052376]Most japanese kits require no paint And what paint you can do is touch ups with Gundam Markers. Easy peasy[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10056985"]The one I want most requires paint[/url] Not too interested in Gunpla at the moment, mostly tanks and shit
So I went ahead and bought one of these from amazon: [t]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IsHZXhndSfg/VHyuTFb3R5I/AAAAAAABTbc/bbZ1slGEn5A/s1600/Revell%2B07007_BENTLEY_BLOWER%2B4%2B(7).jpg[/t] Also, what are your opinions on the "Heller" Brand?
[QUOTE=Katatonic717;50052376]Most japanese kits require no paint And what paint you can do is touch ups with Gundam Markers. Easy peasy[/QUOTE] Japanese ROBOT kits (and basically Bandai only, Koto, Volks, Wave, etc def require paint despite being precolored) Tamiya, Hase, Fujimi, Volks planes, etc are all "real" model kits and need the typical model skillset and equipment [editline]2nd April 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Novangel;50052410][URL="http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10056985"]The one I want most requires paint[/url] Not too interested in Gunpla at the moment, mostly tanks and shit[/QUOTE] top tier taste, though regular Aaliyah is OOP and you'll only be able to get the Unsung nowadays I'm working on a Sunshine myself (among like 4 other things)
Painting is very easy and rather cheap. All you need is a polyurethane primer can, 2 brush sizes, a few tamiya acryl bottles and isopropyl alcohol. If you paint primarily the same kinds of things that 20$ will last you months. Do i have permission to make a Model Kit general? I have always wondered why fp lacks one.
[QUOTE=Aircraft;50060253]Painting is very easy and rather cheap. All you need is a polyurethane primer can, 2 brush sizes, a few tamiya acryl bottles and isopropyl alcohol. If you paint primarily the same kinds of things that 20$ will last you months. Do i have permission to make a Model Kit general? I have always wondered why fp lacks one.[/QUOTE] I too think that we should make one. [editline]3rd April 2016[/editline] In fact, I´m going to do one right now. [editline]3rd April 2016[/editline] And it´s up: [url]https://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1513128&p=50060347#post50060347[/url]
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