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What's the worst kit you ever built? (60s-today)


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I haven't met one that was worse than I expected. Here's the list of "challenging" kits I've actually built:

 

Airfix 1/76 Panther

Revell 1/110 P-3 Orion

Academy 1/72 Sopwith Camel

and for the 21st Century:

ACE 1/72 PRP-3 (BMP derivative)

 

All crummy kits, but I was aware of that before I started.

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On 10/3/2017 at 1:58 PM, Joel_W said:

 Over the last few years my horror stories can be summed up with one Manufacture: Kitty Hawk. I bought their F-94-C with Lizzard skin and tossed it a few days later. Next up was their 4 piece to each fuselage half Cougar. Boxed up eventually was sent to the recycling center. I'm actually planning on buying the kit again. Then there was their AV-10 Bronco. Fit issues galore on my kit with major wing issues. Just wore me down to the point of boxing it up.  I still have their Kingfisher, and I'm determined to get this one across the finish line some day. Just not sure when that day will be.

 

Joel

Sir,

There's got to be something more QA/QC or whatever with Kitty Hawk. My experience with the Cougar and F-94 were perfectly ok. Minor fit issues, and I'm not big on the pe stuff for panels in the cockpit, but I'm told it's easier and cheaper and, all told, looks just fine.

 

The only one from then that had any issues was a short-shot middle-left fuselage on the Voodoo, which was simple enough, though I'm not sure how that type of issue makes it off the line. I'm actually working on a second cougar at the moment, I really did enjoy it. 

 

tl;dr: the issues you've had I haven't. I've seen plenty of wip pictures where dudes had serious issues and others that fit with mine. Kind of like the Kinetic lawn darts. I've got three: the D has given me no trouble at all, the A MLU is an archery target for my son, yeah?

 

I only say this because you're one of the guys on this board I almost always take at their word, your in progress threads I normally print out if I'm working on something you've done in the past. If there is anything you'd like to know about the Cougar if you're intent on having another go, PM me and I'll be more than happy to discuss the way I went about things on the off chance I might could help.

 

VR

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On 5/17/2017 at 10:48 AM, Crash Test Dummy said:

1:48 Premiere BAe Hawk T.MK 1A. Came out in the early 90s, but very crude. Barcalounger ejection seat and decals for a cockpit, seven part fuselage decades before Kittyhawk, virtually no surface detail, and what was there was obliterated under generous application of bondo and hours of sanding.

 

Another vote for the Premier Hawk! What a nightmare! I threw mine out, too. 

 

Ben

 

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9 hours ago, Wolfgun33 said:

I would have to say the recent Revell 1/48 F/A-18C.

 

Recent?  Those molds are over 35 years old, the original Monogram kit being released in 1980, with the only changes being new tails for the C model.

 

Besides, it's a better Hornet model than the original Revell molds or the equally bad Testors (Italeri) kit....

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11 hours ago, habu2 said:

Besides, it's a better Hornet model than the original Revell molds or the equally bad Testors (Italeri) kit....

 

To be fair, the Italeri kit came out before the actual Hornet did. Italeri was (is) known for squeezing out a kit based on partial, incorrect or guessed information.

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12 hours ago, habu2 said:

 

Recent?  Those molds are over 35 years old, the original Monogram kit being released in 1980, with the only changes being new tails for the C model.

 

Besides, it's a better Hornet model than the original Revell molds or the equally bad Testors (Italeri) kit....

 

Ahh ok. Well I didn't know that, but it explains a lot.

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2 hours ago, Grey Ghost 531 said:

 

To be fair, the Italeri kit came out before the actual Hornet did. Italeri was (is) known for squeezing out a kit based on partial, incorrect or guessed information.

 

To be factual, the first flight for the F/A-18A was on 18 November 1978.  

 

The Italeri kit was released in 1980, the same year as the Monogram kit.

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And the company probably had to drop some $$$$ to get rights to produce the kit. Then they turn out an F/A-18A that's still lacking, to be nice. But I'm applying logic thinking to an illogical situation. Doesn't work.

Rick in Maine

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On ‎10‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 3:07 AM, daviepancakes said:

Sir,

There's got to be something more QA/QC or whatever with Kitty Hawk. My experience with the Cougar and F-94 were perfectly ok. Minor fit issues, and I'm not big on the pe stuff for panels in the cockpit, but I'm told it's easier and cheaper and, all told, looks just fine.

 

The only one from then that had any issues was a short-shot middle-left fuselage on the Voodoo, which was simple enough, though I'm not sure how that type of issue makes it off the line. I'm actually working on a second cougar at the moment, I really did enjoy it. 

 

tl;dr: the issues you've had I haven't. I've seen plenty of wip pictures where dudes had serious issues and others that fit with mine. Kind of like the Kinetic lawn darts. I've got three: the D has given me no trouble at all, the A MLU is an archery target for my son, yeah?

 

I only say this because you're one of the guys on this board I almost always take at their word, your in progress threads I normally print out if I'm working on something you've done in the past. If there is anything you'd like to know about the Cougar if you're intent on having another go, PM me and I'll be more than happy to discuss the way I went about things on the off chance I might could help.

 

VR

David,

    Congrats on getting the Cougar & F-94-C across the finish line.  The Cougar is certainly finishable, and I do regret not sticking with it, so i'm planning on another one to build for my Grumman collection (which is way to small).

 

   And thank you for those most kind words, I really don't know what to say. Nothing I do is anything close to cutting edge, rather I just try to nail the basics, and add a little bit of detailing here and there with bits & pieces. 

 

   The OV-10 just wore me down, and proved to be way to frustrating to be classed as an enjoyable build.  There are a few other great builders I know who had no issues with the kit, two builds which were before the official release, so I'm guessing that there is more then one set of molds, and as usual with my luck, my kit came from the set that had  tolerance issues. 

 

Joel

 

Joel

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20 hours ago, habu2 said:

 

To be factual, the first flight for the F/A-18A was on 18 November 1978.  

 

The Italeri kit was released in 1980, the same year as the Monogram kit.

Well, fine. It doesn't change what I meant. Italeri has often prioritized "getting there with the firstest" over "getting there with an accurate representation" to paraphrase NBF.

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Monogram F-15 kit 1:48 from 1979 initial release, nose cone had a very pronounced 'step' under it, where it joined fuselage-tossed the kit.

Monogram A-10A kit 1:48 1991 boxing, fuselage halves & pylons all suffered from sink marks & ripples.

Monogram sent me replacement parts, but they too had the same defects, tossed all, except the ordnance.

 

So technically never finished building those two!

Definitely a fan of their Century Series kits & Phantom II's.

 

Current kit, that is extremely poor, but hope to finish (haven't tossed it yet! ), is Kitty Hawk Gripen  1:48.

Bad engineering, poor representation of some pylons, main gear doors, exhaust cone, and ailerons, flap actuators...

 

Most aftermarket correction sets are required for this kit, haven't bought any of them, as I didn't feel like spending almost the same cost of the kit to correct it.

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On 10/2/2017 at 4:11 AM, cag_200 said:

Airfix kits

 

Really? A lot of their newer stuff is REALLY nice. 


the new 1/48 spitfires, hurricane, defiant, P-40, in 1/72 the Whitley, F4F, B5N, Gladiator, Swordwish, He-111 and beaufighter series all spring to mind. 

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1 hour ago, RKic said:

 

Really? A lot of their newer stuff is REALLY nice. 


the new 1/48 spitfires, hurricane, defiant, P-40, in 1/72 the Whitley, F4F, B5N, Gladiator, Swordwish, He-111 and beaufighter series all spring to mind. 

 Rkic,

   I gotta agree. The new generation of Airfix kits are right up there with the leaders in 1/48 scale.  And for the price they retail for, you just can't beat them.

Joel

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On 10/2/2017 at 5:27 AM, viking73 said:

Oh no, I have this kit in the stash! :crying:

 

Looks nice in the box but don't be fooled, eh?

 

-Derek

 

I wouldn't chuck it just yet..... I've built two of them, and don't recall them being a tough build. The main problem with that kit is the shape of the area in front of the windscreen. If memory serves me correctly, its right for an F-5B, but not for a T-38. Fred K.

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I must say that you guys are not filling me with hope regarding Kittyhawk kits! They've announced a new tool 32nd scale F-5E/F, which I have been dying for for the last 20 years.... now I'm a little scared heh heh! 

 

As for bad fitting kits...... my Premier Hawk met the same fate as most others, and is now part of the local landfill. I'm a bit surprised that only one other modeler has mentioned Monogram's 48th scale line of jets from the 70's and 80's. Most looked good in the box, and some weren't bad builds. The F-102 in particular was very nicely done, and an enjoyable build.  But I remember a few being total pigs. Their F-106A kit comes to mind. I remember having to take a bastard file to that thing! I finished it, and it looked good, but it was quite the fist fight. Many of the other kits making this list like the Testors B-2 that Darren mentioned, I have specifically avoided based on their reputation alone ;0) Fred.

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I'm going with the old Aurora Seaview. I built one when I was ten and was very disappointed with the way the front glass fit, though that didn't prevent exciting adventures in the bath tub. Forty years later, Polar Lights repop is the very same but I'm not. First go-round, I had only tube glue and dikes I would borrow from my dad. This time, I had lots of tools and chemicals. Future and super glue allowed the front glass to look like it was molded correctly. And super glue, lots of it, will prevent the fins from falling off. In fact, the hull seam will split before the fins budge.

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3 hours ago, f5guy said:

I must say that you guys are not filling me with hope regarding Kittyhawk kits! They've announced a new tool 32nd scale F-5E/F, which I have been dying for for the last 20 years.... now I'm a little scared heh heh! 

 

As for bad fitting kits...... my Premier Hawk met the same fate as most others, and is now part of the local landfill. I'm a bit surprised that only one other modeler has mentioned Monogram's 48th scale line of jets from the 70's and 80's. Most looked good in the box, and some weren't bad builds. The F-102 in particular was very nicely done, and an enjoyable build.  But I remember a few being total pigs. Their F-106A kit comes to mind. I remember having to take a bastard file to that thing! I finished it, and it looked good, but it was quite the fist fight. Many of the other kits making this list like the Testors B-2 that Darren mentioned, I have specifically avoided based on their reputation alone ;0) Fred.

 

f5guy,

  The new KH 1/32 scale T-28C is actually a well engineered, thought out kit that goes together quite well. So they seem to be getting better with each release. It's jus that I've have next to no luck with their kits, and while I could have finished each of them, the fun factor was at best 0.

Joel

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3 hours ago, Joel_W said:

 

f5guy,

  The new KH 1/32 scale T-28C is actually a well engineered, thought out kit that goes together quite well. So they seem to be getting better with each release. It's jus that I've have next to no luck with their kits, and while I could have finished each of them, the fun factor was at best 0.

Joel

 

That's what I've been hearing..... that they're getting better. I hope so, as they've announced some pretty interesting subjects. We'll see! Thanks, Fred.

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I'm currently building the KH T-28, and I must say it's been a real pleasure to build. The fit has been phenomenal, no issues. The only struggle I've had was with the engine cowling, and it was undoubtedly due to me.  I just hope the team that did this kit is doing the F-5E.

 

Mike 

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