Best value kit?

[flakmonkey]

But you can't define a bargain without a point of reference surely?

[carlos]

Academy BF-109G-6

I built that fairly recently - very nice kit.
Their Spit Mk.XIV at the same price is also very good - cannon bays, good cockpit detail etc...

A couple I've built recently also spring to mind.
Revell's 1/48 Mossie B Mk.IV - £15 - Display-able engines, good cockpit interior, full bomb-bay innards, all control surfaces move, 3 decal choices, choice of props, 2 auxilliary fuel-tank sizes, underwing rockets, even an access ladder for a static display...

And Academy's 1/48 F-86F Sabre, which I did for the recent group build - also £15 - Nice interior, including an engine, gun bays, airbrakes. Can be displayed with the tail removed for engine access, even includes the tail trolley. Choice of seated or standing pilot, and a good few external store possibilities.
http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=15070;

[AndrewR]

But you can't define a bargain without a point of reference surely?

It will depend on your wealth, disposable income and what you are prepared to pay to some extent. Everyone will have their own break point (or bankrupcy point )

[SJPONeill]

Everyone will have their own break point (or bankrupcy point )

...or Significant Other...

[AndrewR]

Everyone will have their own break point (or bankrupcy point )

...or Significant Other...

[Softscience]

Their Spit Mk.XIV at the same price is also very good - cannon bays, good cockpit detail etc...

A couple I've built recently also spring to mind.
Revell's 1/48 Mossie B Mk.IV - £15 - Display-able engines, good cockpit interior, full bomb-bay innards, all control surfaces move, 3 decal choices, choice of props, 2 auxilliary fuel-tank sizes, underwing rockets, even an access ladder for a static display...

And Academy's 1/48 F-86F Sabre, which I did for the recent group build - also £15 - Nice interior, including an engine, gun bays, airbrakes. Can be displayed with the tail removed for engine access, even includes the tail trolley. Choice of seated or standing pilot, and a good few external store possibilities.
http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=15070;

Agree on the Sabre, but the Revell Mossie and Academy late model spits have some accuracy issues. The spitfire is too robust, and its cannons need lengthening, and the mossie has really anemic landing gear and oversized prop spinners.

That said, they can be built into nice models for less than some other manufacturers' offers

[AndrewR]

Agree on the Sabre, but the Revell Mossie and Academy late model spits have some accuracy issues. The spitfire is too robust, and its cannons need lengthening, and the mossie has really anemic landing gear and oversized prop spinners.

Remember that accuracy might not be that important to some people. I really enjoyed building an Academy P40B/C in 1/72; you couldn't describe it as accurate but it only cost $5 retail!

You notice from the replies that it depends where you are on your personal modelling journey; there are those who like a challenging build, and some of us (me ) who want something more straightforward.

It's all good, keep those nominations rolling in...

Cheers

Andrew

[SJPONeill]

Yep...accuracy schmaccuracy...so long as it looks right...

[Beowulf Shaeffer]

Yep...accuracy schmaccuracy...so long as it looks right...

couldnt agree more............im more interested in having some fun not being 100% accurate....i built a Su22 a while ago....wildly inaccurate kit.....had people who did know comment on how inaccurate it was ...dosnt bother me, its mine and i will build how i want to.......friends who have seen my models like them and thats the important thing, even tho they dont know anything about what they represent.....as the saying goes 'if it looks right, it is right'

[Motley]

Plane wise id go for the new Airfix Spitfire M1a, lovely kit goes together lovely with out any really gaps or problems, nice decals and its just an all round lovely model to built.

Vehicle wise i go for the newish Airfix Bedford QLD & QLT trucks, lovely little trucks easy to build, lots of detail, look really good, fun to build, nice decals and paint options, very nice little trucks, must get myself another set soon

But for best vaule for the amount of -plastic you get i would have to got with the Airfix LCVP Higgins Boat, as you open the box the first thing you notice is the sheer amount of plastic in the box, it is just filled to the top with plastic and ends up building into a nice model along with some nice beach defences aswell

[MerlinJones]

The dictionary has definitions for 'value' and, when using basic math to work out actual cost per piece of plastic, subjectivity isn't really an issue.

I was thinking about the value of the Airfix 1/600 ships and these are great value if the only consideration is cost per plastic piece.
I might deduct points for inaccuracy, or add points for detail. Likewise, I might deduct points for poor fit, or add them for good. Whatever I'm using as a measure of 'value', my starting point, my foundation, if you will, begins with the objective cost.
The new Airfix Spitty is a nice kit, but to me, it's not that much better than the older Mk.1, which is available for much less money. I'm not keen on the new Airfix heavy panel lines, so I'd choose the Heller Sabre for the money...or the Academy for even better value.

Much as I love the Sweet 1/144 kits, with their 2-in-a-box and marvellous decals, the Dragon 1/144's seem better value, due to price and lots of extra ordnance.
But the Dragon kits do not fit so well...
Meanwhile, the Revell 1/144's are near-perfect...but you only get one kit per box...

Nurse!
My tablets, please!

Regards,
Bruce

[AndrewR]

The dictionary has definitions for 'value' and, when using basic math to work out actual cost per piece of plastic, subjectivity isn't really an issue.

Only if you believe "The Intrinsic Theory of Economic Value"

Which I don't...

"Value" in this context is a personal judgement based on what you are prepared to pay, what you actually paid, the effort you put in and the satisfaction you got from the end result.

Cheers

Andrew

[BWP]

Anything by Revell Germany is also good value.

Strongly disagree with this as a blanket statement. I'm not saying that they make bad kits; far from it. However:

(i) Their prices vary widely depending on the subject of the kit. Browsing through my LHS, it seems obvious (without peeking into the boxes) that the majority of, say, 1/72 WW2 aircraft kits represent pretty decent value (many are cheaper than their Airfix "equivalent"). However, the majority of their 1/72 AFV kits are quite robustly priced compared to most of their competition. And their Star Wars kits are, frankly, ludicrously over-priced. I'm not trying to blame Revell-DE for this, obviously market forces dictate a lot of this (aircraft are more popular than tanks, Lucasfilm want a cut of the profits, etc.). I'm just saying that the statement above is too general to be true. No matter how good the thing inside the box is, those SW kits do not represent "good value" in terms of generically comparing the prices of some kits to other kits. (Whether they represent good value as SW kits is a different question entirely.)

(ii) The other issue of course is that not every kit made by Revell-DE is actually made by Revell-DE. As we all know, the actual contents vary from the latest and greatest in European model-making technology to kits that ... aren't, and there's no way to tell just by looking at the box what you will actually get when you fork over the cash. You can buy two identically-priced Revell-DE offerings and get two very different "types" of kit.

All of that being said ... I can't say that I agree with Bruce's "objective cost of plastic" as a starting point for determining "value". The problem is that "value" is very, very subjective. Consider these scenarios:

a) I want a kit of a Farley Buckknuckle in 1/72. I have a good disposable income, and I really, really want one to add to my collection. If there is only one kit of that subject on the market, then whether it's good, bad or indifferent, that kit is "best value". If there's two of them, one being an old, tired kit that has many problems (but is really, really cheap) vs. a new release that is just the bee's knees in every respect (but is very, very expensive) then I am probably going to pick the expensive one as the one that is "good value".

b) Same scenario as above, except I have a very limited income. Is the expensive one such good value now?

c) I am an experienced modeller, and I'm looking for a kit -- any kit -- that will satisfy me. OK, so what satisfies me? Lots of parts? Excellent fit? Wide choice of markings and paint schemes? All of the above? Some of the above? What if I don't care about the number of parts, so long as the kit is accurate? What if I don't care about the accuracy, so long as there a million parts to play with? Depending on my subjective criteria, there are $20 kits and $200 kits that are going to be equally "good value". And again, the amount of money I actually have in my pocket goes a long way to determining the "value" of any individual kit.

d) I am the parent of little Timmy, and I want to buy him a kit that I think he will enjoy, but I don't know the first thing about plastic models. Anything that's cheap is probably good value. Whoops, I've just bought him an Airfix Defiant. Now he hates me forever. Or maybe I think he wants something that he'll spend a long time on, so I don't want to get him something small and simple; I'll get him that 1/24 Harrier gift set. Now he's either frightened away from building models, or is over the moon with joy. This is hard!

So all of that being said, I can't say that I think there's such a thing as a "best value kit". Even my personal subjective opinions can vary from one month to the next. My "best value" kit is one that when I opened the box, fondled the contents, and actually got around to building it ... I didn't feel that I spent too much money on it, and wasn't disappointed with the result. So far that means all of the kits I've bought have been best value.

[PaulBradley]

Value is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose and that's really what the thread is about. As we all have different values and definitions of values, there seems to be little point in arguing about it; just accept others' opinions as is - it's their value system at work, not yours!

As someone who rarely buys full-price kits, for me the BEST values are from sale kits that I want. I got the Revell Germany 1/32 Eurofighter Typhoon for a song when Squadron had it on sale a few months ago. Then there are the bargains to be had at model shows, classic Airfix/Frog/Matchbox in particular. Getting those for a couple of bucks is excellent value to me.

Bruce WP - I should have qualified that by mentioning Revell Germany own moulds in particular. You can get the original Matchboxes for next to nothing at shows over here, so the RG re-issues are not the best value in that respect.

[airjim]

You can get the original Matchboxes for next to nothing at shows over here

Interesting you say that. It must be a local thing, because I see almost no Matchbox at shows here. If I did, I'd buy them.

Jim