The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Hi all I was just thinking of the quality of the new Airfix and Revell kits and I was thinking the new stuff is as good and with ref to the Revell 1/24 HLF20 Varus 4x4 better than Tamiya IMHO at 25 to 40% cheaper I get the feeling they're doing what the British bike industries did when the Japanese bikes came on the market and dismissed them as no competition, I think it's getting to the point where the lines between who make the best kits are starting to blur Airfix and Revell are making amazing strides it fit, accuracy and detail.

What are your feelings on the subject.

I'm glad to see Airfix and Revell making great strides in the quality of their offerings, but having recently acquired Tamiya's new 1/24 AMG GT3, and being in the process of building their FXX-K, there's really no room for Tamiya to go "up". Engineering, fit and detail are just fabulous. It's a bit like saying (for the same Airfix/Revell reasons) "Should Wingnut Wings be upping their game. Where Airfix and Revell score -- especially Revell with their new 1/32 Mustang -- is now being almost as good as Tamiya for 1/3 of the price. That said, at Hannants, the Airfix new tool 1/48 Mustang is £1 MORE than any of the three Tamiya boxings, and the Tamiya kit is fantastic...

best,
M.

I think it's great how they are both producing some amazing new kits and are investing huge amounts of money to do so without at the same time making huge price hikes and long may it continue.

Tamiya have been at the top of the modelling game or thereabouts for probably as long as I've been a modeller (since 1973) and IMHO remain up there with the very best the industry has to offer. IIRC production of a number, if not all, Tamiya kits was switched to the Philippines a number of years ago, presumably to take advantage of cheaper production costs than could be found in Japan. When it comes to building older or classic kits, if I'm honest, there is no other manufacturer I would rank over Tamiya, especially when it comes to military vehicle kits, as they were so far ahead of the game back then and those kits played just as important a part of my modelling youth as did Airfix and Matchbox (albeit built in much fewer numbers as back then, like today, they were comparatively expensive). But, all of that said, IMHO modern Tamiya kits are not twice or three times as good as those from the modern ranges of Airfix or Revell and I would agree the latter two companies are producing some great kits - particularly Revell who I think offer excellent value for money and that is where they really score. Can Tamiya up their game? I think Matt is correct in saying probably not by much if at all - there's only so far the game can be "upped"

My view on this is that Bandai are the ones to beat; their Star Wars kits (of all scales) are exceptional, and the quality of their tooling, design and fit are without equal. But (there is always a 'but') this I suspect only applies in their seemingly self-imposed specialism in Science Fiction subjects; it would be interesting indeed to see a 1/72 Bandai Spitfire Mk.1A side by side with the equivalent from Airfix, Revell and (if they do one?) Tamiya. I suspect the differences would not be great other than in price!

For me, Airfix are great at 1/72 (and 1/48 although I don't usually build in that scale) and represent value for money still. Revell however have cornered the 1/32 aircraft market with both great quality and sometimes unbelievable value for money! Ok, I accept that to some (with greater attention to detail than I) both manufacturer's output have accuracy issues, and that panel lines and rivets are sometimes overdone, but for the vast majority of us they are close enough!

I very rarely built Tamiya kits. They don't offer many subjects I'm interested in, in the scales I build, so they don't get my dosh

I´d rather they upt their game and gave us some better paints that don´t need mixing to achieve the right shade.

Stamford wrote:I´d rather they upt their game and gave us some better paints that don´t need mixing to achieve the right shade.

Excellent point. I agree!!!!!

David

It's like any other manufacturing industry. It can be compared to the car industry. When Japanese cars first arrived in large quantities they were more reliable than European cars and better screwed together than American built cars. Hence a lot of people thought they were the best and would be forever more.

But, over time, the European manufacturers upped their game and the Americans tightened up on quality control and now (most) are on par with the Japanese cars in terms of build quality and reliability.

And now it's the Japanese manufacturers who are suffering reliably issues (think of all the Toyota re-calls and the well documented brake failures etc. etc.).

Essentially, what goes around comes around. A lot of modellers have put Tamiya on a pedestal as the state of the art kit manufacturer but other manufacturers are really upping their game and many people have said that the new toolings from the likes of Airfix and others are on par with Tamiya. Therefore it's only a matter of time before they exceed Tamiya and Tamiya will no longer be considered the best.

All those who put Tamiya on a pedestal will have egg on their face in a few years time when they are not only no longer the best but perhaps even further down the list thanks to the improvements from other manufacturers.

What goes around come around.......

As you can probably tell, I am certainly not a Tamigawa worshiper! Sorry about that.

Zee28

I think choice of subject as well as quality has to be considered; some of the new armour (predominantly) kit manufacturers are turning out some really left field subjects as well as the main-stream stuff; I'm thinking of Modellcollect and their E-100 series in 1/72, and Takom with their Krupp Raumer S in 1/35. The moulding in both cases is easily on a par with Tamiya, but mean that modellers are not restricted to building the same stuff over and over.

Good news I'd say, although I'm not sure the same thing is or could happen with aviation subjects....

No manufacturer makes perfect kits but Tamiya has produced world class kits for many years now that I believe are rightly held up as a benchmarks against which the products of others are judged and don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly a "brand loyalty" type consumer whatever the product. I would agree that other manufacturers are catching or indeed have caught Tamiya now - there are some really excellent kits from Europe and China and certainly Airfix has upped its game considerably in recent years. IMHO we've never had it so good - the golden age of modelling is right now, we have so much diversity of product and take quality almost for granted.

There's a video somewhere on YouTube of a chap building a large scale Tamiya kit (1/32 IIRC) and he said something quite interesting and thought provoking, something along the lines of:

"There's no real modelling to do, it's just 'Assembly'......"

It's almost as if he was a bit bored with the perfection of it!

That was my impression when the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire came out - snapped one up, started right in, and then just went Blah and set it aside. Kit was impressive - detail, molding, instructions, everything - but Blah!

Don't get me wrong, Tamiya does good stuff - their Swordfish is still a favorite kit, no Blahs there ! The Dragon Wagon. Interesting subjects done to great detail and done well.

Others have come along, caught up, but Tamiya is still OK in my book - they just don't doo stuff these days that I care about and other manufacturers are doing stuff I care about in Tamiya quality..

I totally agree John. I know what you mean.

Zee28

As much as I love CBKs, I still think the Tamiya P-51 and P-47 are by far the nicest and most enjoyable kits I've built.

Tamiya's the yardstick - Yes other manufacturers are upping their game and some may even surpass as far as detail goes, BUT as far as engineering, fit and pure quality go - I've yet to build anything that comes close (especially Airfix).