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Why Tamiya has not addressed the main complaint of their kits?


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Hi all,

 

If you are into modeling, you know Tamiya kits are pretty high end kits with excellent fit and engineering. Their biggest drawback is the quality of the decals. Yes they are nicely printed, good register but so darn thick I cannot use them. For years and years while Tamiya kits are getting better and better leaving the competitors behind, they have not addressed the poor decal issue. What gives??? Dai 

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I would guess that is because Tamiya doesn't see a problem with their decals.  This may be because the majority of their customer base is happy with the decals as they are? 

 

I've used their decals on several kits with no issues, and know several other modelers who have also used them with no issues.  Just my $0.02, but if they don't meet your requirements, I don't think that is a "Tamiya" problem. 

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Their kits fly off the shelves as is, plus there is a robust aftermarket decal industry for those who don't like kit markings in general.

 

I'm not bothered by Tamiya's decals as much as I am by Hasegawa's version of "white" in their decals.....

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13 minutes ago, habu2 said:

Their kits fly off the shelves as is, plus there is a robust aftermarket decal industry for those who don't like kit markings in general.

 

I'm not bothered by Tamiya's decals as much as I am by Hasegawa's version of "white" in their decals.....

The most irritating thing about Hasegawa "white" is that it is a conscious decision on their part to use that weird color - they are perfectly capable of printing proper "white", and there are several sheets of decals in their kits that have both the weird "white" and real "white" on the same sheet.

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Building the F-35A kit at the moment and using the kit decals, and experiencing zero issues....I'm also using Tamiya's decal solutions (Mark Fit, and Mark Fit Strong). I'm guessing that is why they're performing so well. Agree, they're not Cartograf quality but they're doing the job.

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45 minutes ago, habu2 said:

Their kits fly off the shelves as is, plus there is a robust aftermarket decal industry for those who don't like kit markings in general.

 

I'm not bothered by Tamiya's decals as much as I am by Hasegawa's version of "white" in their decals.....

 

 

 

For me, Hasegawa's biggest issue is almost always getting Canadian Maple leafs wrong, either the maple leaf is just the wrong shape, or the wrong maple leaf for the era. Hence again.......aftermarket.

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28 minutes ago, Joe Hegedus said:

The most irritating thing about Hasegawa "white" is that it is a conscious decision on their part to use that weird color - they are perfectly capable of printing proper "white", and there are several sheets of decals in their kits that have both the weird "white" and real "white" on the same sheet.

 

Lol. I like your classification of real white and pure white. 

 

Tamiya decals are sometimes bad. But as someone said, there's a robust presence of aftermarket decals and you can buy good extremely good quality decals. My issue with Tamiya is their decal seat belt. It looks so bad no matter which kit it is. Sometimes, there is no escape from using their decals and you know how thick and unwieldy they are when you apply those small decals on weapons and pylons. 

 

Also I have to say, seeing high quality, slide molded weapons in recent Chinese kits, Tamiya weapons have started to look dated. Despite all things, Tamiya kits are superb. I'm building their F-4 right now and totally enjoying it. 

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Because honestly, Tamiya doesn’t need to.  Tamiya would probably have have to contract out to Cartograf or someone, but why would they spend the money to do that?  People still buy their kits, so it’s unlikely that the extra cost of contracting out decals would garner enough extra sales to make it worthwhile to them.  Plus, a lot of people are fine with their decals.  People complaining on forums are a small subset of Tamiya kit buyers overall.  Use the right decal setting solution, and they work OK.

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Why Tamiya has not addressed the main complaint of their kits?

 

I always thought the main complaint of their kits is that they didn't produce enough variants of their existing kits.  Like F-16Ds, G4M2, Ki-46 II , etc.

 

Edited by JackMan
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First I normally don:t use the stock decals in most military kits.  Second I have a long history of building Tamiya going back to the 1970s.  I suspect in part their decals reflect a focus that we are not interested in.  That is, they don:t care if they are over thick, Tamiya probably values something that is easy to use and opaque.  Tamiya decals are a certain style, I have found them workable if I wanted to use them in most cases.  However I understand why people I among them choose not to sometimes.  I find when I use Tamiya decals they are going to work, they may be on the thick side but they are not going to fall apart or be see through.  I believe that is what Tamiya is after and they will react with solvents to better melt them to the subject.  But yes most the time I am not using their decals on most projects.

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On 2/2/2023 at 4:58 AM, ChesshireCat said:

their kits are pretty good, but not the best. The decals are going to be trash in 30 months, so forget about putting several in your stash

gary

I’ve built and used their decals that were very old without crumbling issues. Like years old.  Might be a storage issue if decals are falling apart after 30 months.  I keep all my kits in a cool, semi-climate controlled area.  I have gotten my hands on decals that were stored in an attic that were subjected to wild temp swings, and they crumbled when wet.   
Just a few months back I built a 44 yo kit (Hasegawa F-16) that had been stored in climate controlled area all its life. 20+ years with me.  Decals slid right off like they were printed yesterday.  Thank goodness, because there were no aftermarket options for the #1 F-16 off the assembly line. 
I will agree though, they are a little on the thick side.  I always have issues getting the national insignia to lay down on the top wing fold on the 1/32 F4-J kits. I should try their decal solutions next time. 

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On 2/2/2023 at 4:58 AM, ChesshireCat said:

their kits are pretty good, but not the best. The decals are going to be trash in 30 months, so forget about putting several in your stash

gary

In building Tamiya kits since the late 1970s, i have had two bad decal sheets, one was a very old kit their Vaillant 1/20 935 and the decals wanted to fall apart but I managed to use them, the kit was at least 10 years old but they did work, I still have the model on my shelf.  I built it in the mid 1990s and it was an early 1980s or late 1970s kit.  I had another problem sheet with their Ferrari F310B, just a bad sheet out right that could not be used.  Otherwise regardless of age if the decals were sealed they were usable.  Now I have a really old issue Ferrari 312T4 on the shelf and the decals in that are shot for sure, but that kit is now about 40 years old.  I have not had the 30 month experience.  But I just don:t see that as a worry with decal aftermarket and in many cases I use aftermarket anyway on Airplanes and Tanks.  

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14 hours ago, Cbk57 said:

In building Tamiya kits since the late 1970s, i have had two bad decal sheets, one was a very old kit their Vaillant 1/20 935 and the decals wanted to fall apart but I managed to use them, the kit was at least 10 years old but they did work, I still have the model on my shelf.  I built it in the mid 1990s and it was an early 1980s or late 1970s kit.  I had another problem sheet with their Ferrari F310B, just a bad sheet out right that could not be used.  Otherwise regardless of age if the decals were sealed they were usable.  Now I have a really old issue Ferrari 312T4 on the shelf and the decals in that are shot for sure, but that kit is now about 40 years old.  I have not had the 30 month experience.  But I just don:t see that as a worry with decal aftermarket and in many cases I use aftermarket anyway on Airplanes and Tanks.  

 can probably show you twenty kits with good old brown decals in the boxes. Now to be fair, I have not looked at their high buck kits, so they may use a better quality decal. I pretty much know that I'm going to have to buy an after market decal set with Hasegawa and Tamiya right from the start

gary

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56 minutes ago, ElectroSoldier said:

Sealed in what and by whom?

Usually Tamiya decals are bagged to some degree, I have not had an issue with their decals if they are closed up in plastic, does not have to be zip locked.  It is better though if you put the decals in a ziploc bag.  I have bought some car models of late from Salvinos Jr who use exceptional decals but just throw them in the box, now that is a formula for decals not lasting.  I have a really old Tamiya Peugeot 205 on the shelf I have had the kit for around 20 years I think the decals though came sealed in it as I recall and I suspect they will still work.  Please understand I am not arguing though that Tamiya decals are better than anyone else’s but I do find even if old and sealed in something they usually can do the job if you need them to.  Unsealed decals from any manufacturer do not age well though.  So if you just leave kits on the shelf for years without sealing up your decals you are asking for issues.  Really if you are going to keep old kits you should have the decals climate controlled and sealed.  I do not do that my shop has no AC although it is heated.  

Edited by Cbk57
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