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Must have Aircraft Model Kits


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hello there, i am new for the jet modelling hobby, i just started couple of months ago. i like know what are the best kits to collect for starts. i love ww2 warbirds and 4th generation aircrafts.

currently i have completed;

1.p-51d mustang (Tuskegee Airmen) 1/72 airfix

2.A6m2b zero 1/72 airfix

3.bf109E 1/72 airfix

4.Focke wulf FW190A 1/72 airfix

i am planning to buy ;

B-17 Flying Fortress 1/72 revell ( i wanna display it next to p-51d )

f4u-corsair 1/48 hasegawa ( i dont like the detail on 1/72 ww2 planes, too small)

su-35 1/72 hasegawa

MiG-29 1/72 tamiya

f/a -18 1/72 tamiya

supermarine spitfire 1/48 revell

f-14A 1/72 revell ( i refer decays just like in Top Gun, revell has atlantic fleet squadron"

please suggest on my choice of kit and please add on , i love to have the details on kit.

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Are you talking about 1/72 or general?

The Tamiya F-16C is the best in all three major scales. Beware of Italeri Reboxes by Tamiya.

1/48 RoG F-15E w/ bombs

1/48 RoG Tornado, but your milage my vary with experience.

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The MiG-29 and F/A-18 from Tamiya are actually reboxes of Italeri kits which aren't that great. The Revell F-14 is an ok option but there are better ones out there. For a MiG-29, check out the new kits from Zvezda and Trumpeter. For an F/A-18 the Academy kit is really good. For the F-14, I would really recommend one of the Fujimi kits for an "A" model. KA Models is also reboxing the Fujimi F-14A plastic with some really nice decals as well as photo etch and canopy masks. I recently picked up a couple of the KA Models F-14's from Free Time Hobbies for a really good price. Pretty much any 1/48 Tamiya WWII kit is going to be a fantastic build for you.

I would also direct you to check out the build forums on here as well as the Modeling Madness website for kit reviews.

Hope this helps and welcome to the forums!

-Dave

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As above really, the F-14 in 1/72 I would certainly go for Hasegawa (1st) or Fujimi. Just make sure you avoid the 'old' K series of Hasegawa as they have less detail and raised panel lines. For F/A-18A/C, Academy is the best and not much more than it's less detailed rivals. For Su-35, check out the Zvezda kits, very good from all the reviews I've read.

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I think the best models out there are Kinetic 1/48 Su-33 and Great Wall Hobby F-15 and Mig-29 variants. They are the models from a new era. Nothing else in the market comes close in my opinion. Some of the parts on Su-33 do not even require glue, it has that good of fit. One piece missiles, cockpit details are easily comparable with resin after market offerings and from some aspects, arguably, better.

If I had a friend asking me to buy only a single model, it would be probably Su-33. It is just great. These models changed my take on modeling so much that I think I cannot build anything older without frustration.

Also, AMK Mig-31 deserves a mention, too. It is great but I find Su-33, F-15s and Mig-29s better due to surface detail/finish. BUY them :D

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Eduard MiG-21 series in 1/48. even the weekend editions will give you an great model in the end.

nevermind (i've juste re-read OP and sees 4th gen...)sorry

Edited by mingwin
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The MiG-29 and F/A-18 from Tamiya are actually reboxes of Italeri kits which aren't that great.

To be fair, the Italeri MiG-29 was once considered the best Fulcrum on the market for a while...but yeah, it's now outclassed by the Trumpeter 9-12, and the Zvezda 9-13 outclasses them both.

I also recommend Zvezda's 1/72 Su-27SM. Goes together like a charm. Same with ICM's MiG-31 Foxhound if you want a rather intimidating-looking model.

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Are you talking about 1/72 or general?

The Tamiya F-16C is the best in all three major scales. Beware of Italeri Reboxes by Tamiya.

1/48 RoG F-15E w/ bombs

1/48 RoG Tornado, but your milage my vary with experience.

in general. what else models from tamiya? all the models in the warbirds series are italeri rebox? italeri is not good model huh?

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The MiG-29 and F/A-18 from Tamiya are actually reboxes of Italeri kits which aren't that great. The Revell F-14 is an ok option but there are better ones out there. For a MiG-29, check out the new kits from Zvezda and Trumpeter. For an F/A-18 the Academy kit is really good. For the F-14, I would really recommend one of the Fujimi kits for an "A" model. KA Models is also reboxing the Fujimi F-14A plastic with some really nice decals as well as photo etch and canopy masks. I recently picked up a couple of the KA Models F-14's from Free Time Hobbies for a really good price. Pretty much any 1/48 Tamiya WWII kit is going to be a fantastic build for you.

I would also direct you to check out the build forums on here as well as the Modeling Madness website for kit reviews.

Hope this helps and welcome to the forums!

-Dave

Thanks Dave. i will looking into your suggestions.

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Just make sure you avoid the 'old' K series of Hasegawa as they have less detail and raised panel lines.

Not completely true - release K12 (and K12X) was the old mold but K37 K38 K39 and many others were the new mold with engraved lines and more detail..

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in general. what else models from tamiya? all the models in the warbirds series are italeri rebox? italeri is not good model huh?

Generally, Italeri kits are somewhat lacking in detail, deep/wide panel lines, some fit issues and they're definitely not the 'best' option for most planes. Fujimi has some excellent F-14's and A-6's and the only British 1/72 Phantoms.

Habu 2 is correct with regards to the K series Hasegawa F-14's, the K12 and K12 X kits are the one's I was on about. You can see the evolution of the Hasegawa Tomcat kits here on the timeline, which really clears up the 'which one is good' conundrum. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/158926-hasegawa-04112-f-14a-tomcat

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If you have access to Tamiya reboxes of Italeri stuff, I assume you live in Japan or the far east? Those tend not to be readily available outside the far east market. Knowing where your kit source is could have a bearing on how much you want to spend as some kits tend to be a bit overpriced in some markets.

Concerning Spitfires, I would probably switch away from a Revell 1/48 Spitfire (unless we are talking about a Hasegawa rebox of the Mk IX/XVI series) and probably instead go with one of the new tool Airfix Mk I/II, Mk Vb or Mk XII options as those build up very nice for not a lot of money. If it has to be a Mk IX though, see if you can get ahold of one of the Eduard ones. The Revell rebox of the Hasegawa Mk IX isn't bad, but it is a bit older and had some minor issues. That being said, it looks like a Spitfire when done.

Now as for general information

Academy... 1/72 kits of 4th gen jets tend to be good, provided they aren't reboxes of early stuff. So the F-16 and F-18 series are pretty good and so is the F-35 if you branch out into fifth gen (although Hasegawa's is better there). They have some nice 1/48 kits of unique subjects, such as the T-50 Golden Eagle (if you like a trainer with a little F-16 DNA sprinkled in).

Trumpeter... tends to do the eastern block aircraft better while western fighters might have some accuracy issues. The same tends to go for Hobby Boss stuff since the two companies are joined at the hip.

Zvezda... probably the best source for pure Russian stuff in 1/72 of the subjects they have done. There are some other Russian companies that do great kits as well, but they may not be as easy to build, so it might be best to avoid the off brands until your skill set gets better. Revell has reboxed some Zvezda stuff along with ICM and typically have done them with better decal sheets.

Hasegawa... a good company but they haven't done too many new tool jets in the past decade and as others have said, you have to be careful as some of their current offerings are reboxes of relatively old kits for some pretty crazy high prices.

Tamiya... Their own stuff is great, regardless of the scale. The Italeri stuff can be hit or miss, but Italeri has done some subjects that are still unique and good.

Revell... There are two Revell companies, Revell USA and Revell of Germany. Revell of Germany's catalog has a nice selection of kits of relatively recent vintage. But there are some older reboxings. It is probably best to research according to subject to know if it is a recent tool or something older or a rebox. One thing I love about Revell of Germany offerings though are their decals as they print some high quality stuff. Price-wise, Revell kits won't break the bank either.

Airfix... If it is new tool, you get great value for the price and excellent accuracy. There are some older tools that they still offer, but not too many. As I said, their new tool Spitfires are great and they are also doing a new tool 1/72 B-17 that might make you rethink the idea of getting a Revell one. Plus they are coming out with a P-40B in 1/48 that should be light years ahead of anything else.

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Any of the 1:48 P-51 Mustang kits by Tamiya.

Any of the 1:48 F-16 Viper kits by Tamiya.

1:48 F4U Corsair by Tamiya.

The SkunkModels Reaper was a great kit as well, that just seemed to fall together for me. I don't know if SkunkModels is still around or who got those molds, but it is still available (I think? I hope?).

Just my opinion smile.gif

Edited by TomcatFanatic123
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i am planning to by the 1/72 p-47 and f-86 sabre from acamedy. they come together in a box. are they good?

I've never built nor owned the Academy 1/72 P-47 so I can't comment with any authority on it. The Academy Sabre is the same plastic as the Hobbycraft Sabres, and generally have good reviews. I built one many years ago and recall it being worthwhile.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not much into WWII, but I do have 3 or 4 P-51's and a B-17. I love jets. As far as 4th generation, my favorite is the F-16. I'd also include the F-15, F-14, and F-18. I know that these are no 4th generation, but how can one not have an F-4 Phantom. I also like the A-7 and A-4. I'm gonna stop right there. Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

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As above really, the F-14 in 1/72 I would certainly go for Hasegawa (1st) or Fujimi. Just make sure you avoid the 'old' K series of Hasegawa as they have less detail and raised panel lines. For F/A-18A/C, Academy is the best and not much more than it's less detailed rivals. For Su-35, check out the Zvezda kits, very good from all the reviews I've read.

I'd avoid the Hasegawa F14 at all cost. A nightmare build (if you can get thru it). I'd go with the Hobby Boss before the Hasegawa kit. At least you can put it together with having a nervous breakdown. The best 1/72 F14 has always been the Fujimi, but are not easy to come by. Can also recommend the Fujimi A6 series, and their A4 series (very hard to come by).

For WWII kits, I like Hasegawa, but with a couple exceptions here and there. The Zvezda BF109 is about as accurate as it gets. Plus they can be had for less than $25. The Fujimi 109's are very accurate, and just as nice as the Hasegawa. Most I ever paid for one is $13, and most were six dollars. Down side is the lack of an interior. The Tamiya P47 and P51 are probably the best (I like the old Accurate Miniatures P51). Plus speaking of A.M., look around for their Avenger. About as good as it gets in 1/48th. If it's just gotta be 1/72, the Eduard kits are very nice. I really like the Dragon / Cyber Hobby kits in that scale. Their Hell Diver is fantastic. The Revell Ju88's makes the Hasegawa look like toys. But be prepared for a lot of work as they come with a full interior.

gary

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...

The SkunkModels Reaper was a great kit as well, that just seemed to fall together for me. I don't know if SkunkModels is still around or who got those molds, but it is still available (I think? I hope?).

...

Available from RoG.

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