GW seems less bad now

[DWest]

As part of a side project I ended up working on a Revell brand scale model car kit, and as a result of the experience I find myself saying "GW doesn't look as bad anymore"- for $22, the kit was very crude, with nasty thick plastic and poor detail, and I had to grind nearly 1mm thickness of plastic down to get the halves of the engine block flush with one another. If this level of price to quality is typical of mainstream models, then I find myself somewhat more willing to pay the GW premium. I know there's Tamiya as an alternative, but I've had bad flash problems with kits purchased from them in the last year.

So my question is, did I get an unusually bad experience, or is this about the norm?

[SonicPara]

Either a bad experience or Revell kits just aren't very good in general. Try spending $22 on a Bandai Gundam model kit and you will be blown away. Only detail painting is required and the mobile suit will have full articulation and a full suite of accessories.

Really makes new offerings like the $85 Riptide look like the overpriced gak it is.

[Mr Mystery]

I've found the Gundam models to be nice, but (not being designed for it) not robust enough for gaming. And there's the rub.

GW kits have various demands on them only other war games models face. They need to fulfil the rule of cool, and being practical enough for gaming. This limits things like joints, as they can't be too thin due to the general bumps and scrapes even the most carefully packed model will face when travelling.

And GW continue to play around with the designs. Seriously, go back even 5 years and you'll see a noticeable change in the level of detail and 'cool'.

Go further back, say 1997 and the release of the first multipart Chaos Warriors, and they've come on leaps and bounds!

[Magpie]

How big is a $22 Gundam model?
Can it be made into other variants?
Am I reading it right that they come pre-painted? That would suck for me.

Like MrMystery says it's horse for courses you can't really comapare the 2.

[Houghten]

I've never had quality problems with a Revell or Tamiya kit before; they've always gone together very nicely.

Airfix, on the other hand... >.>

[Renegade]

I've never had quality problems with a Revell or Tamiya kit before; they've always gone together very nicely.

Airfix, on the other hand... >.>

Airfix was always better than the other two, and Revell had a name as being cheap and nasty. This is going back a few year mind.

For what it is, GW is not badly priced, and those that complain are far to use to stuff made in China.

[PalinMoonstride]

How big is a $22 Gundam model?
Can it be made into other variants?
Am I reading it right that they come pre-painted? That would suck for me.

Like MrMystery says it's horse for courses you can't really comapare the 2.

Gundam models are around titan sized, but skinnier since they are humanoid robots.
Gundam models don't usually have alternate variants, though they do often come with all the equipment seen in the shows.
They come on colored plastic sprues. Amazingly they somehow get different colors all on the same sprue.

Honestly, I was impressed with my first gundam model. (Sword Impulse)

[Necron2.0]

I've collected model kits for years, but then I mostly collect pre-2000 kits that have gone out of production. In my own personal experience, the heyday of plastic models was probably the mid to late 70's, topping out at the very early 80's, and back then even Revell was pretty good quality. Naturally, things have gone down hill since then.

The question I'd ask is "What scale was the model you were building?" The second question I'd ask would be "At that scale, what from GW could you get at a comparable price?" If you were paying a half to two thirds less for a comparable kit with some minor molding defects, I'd say you got a deal.

[Deadlift]

The only comparison I can make model wise is with PP, whilst I do like their war machine models very much and the prices of both GW and PP products don't really bother me, it's the ability to customise and kit bash GW kits that swings it for me in a comparison. I think the detail in GW products takes some beating too. Avatars of War however have some fantastic heroic models that I think are on par with GW fantasy models. But again its come down to how versatile those GW kits are and all those spares that swings it for me as my favourite model company.

I like the plastic GW use too, the resin/plastic PP use is not to my liking.

[Denzark]

I've done 'traditional' scale military modelling and the quality on a lot of kits is disappointing. There did indeed seem to be a 'golden age' as Necron 2.0 referred to, a lot of the kits seem to have really poor and weak plastic.

[Mr Mystery]

The only comparison I can make model wise is with PP, whilst I do like their war machine models very much and the prices of both GW and PP products don't really bother me, it's the ability to customise and kit bash GW kits that swings it for me in a comparison. I think the detail in GW products takes some beating too. Avatars of War however have some fantastic heroic models that I think are on par with GW fantasy models. But again its come down to how versatile those GW kits are and all those spares that swings it for me as my favourite model company.

I like the plastic GW use too, the resin/plastic PP use is not to my liking.

Yup. Though not build a PP model in years, so can't comment on the material. I did recently see one of the colossalls in the window of Darksphere, and whilst impressively sized (Merc one) it just struck me more as a 3Up put into general production. The detail just didn't seem there to give it the right sense of scale. Could have been the paint job though. Compare to the Riptide, which scales nicely in the rest of its range.

[lobster-overlord]

I've always found, for the money, GW, Matchbox/Airfix, Bandai, and Tamyia have always been worth it. Revell, MPC/ERTL/AMT, to be crude/junky. Round-2 has been cleaning up a lot of the MPC/ERTL/AMT stuff by repopping them with better molds and better plastic. Polar Lights, also now Round 2 are fantastic as well (mostly Star Trek Stuff). I tend to steer clear of the car kits because of the issues you cite.

Fine molds from japan, although I have no experience, are apparently amongst the top for quality.

Pegasus are good for models and wargaming, but they are less detailed and require superglue.

I love GW because the quality and subjects are fantastic. The only plastic I've ever had a problem with is the Land Raider. They all have fit problems.

John M>

[Lexington]

I've done 'traditional' scale military modelling and the quality on a lot of kits is disappointing.
I've had pretty good luck with Tamiya 1/32nd scale models. Use 'em for all of my Ork vehicles. Great detail, solid, and half the price if a GW counterpart. What's not to love?

[Denzark]

I've had pretty good luck with Tamiya 1/32nd scale models. Use 'em for all of my Ork vehicles. Great detail, solid, and half the price if a GW counterpart. What's not to love?



Yeah tamiya and dragon good - and some higher end revell with 'etched brass' accessories. But I tend to go for dodgy jap/chinese 1:48 tanks to augment my guard, and whilst you can make them look right, the plastic is shocking.

[Nemesis]

Dwest, I think you've come across an old one, re-issued by Revell. It sounds like an old Monogram or AMT one. There modern stuff, such as F1 racing cars are quite superb.

All the major model companies do this, it can be VERY annoying. I've been in the modelling game for more years than I care to remember and even I get caught out with this.

Revell(Germany), are an excellent model company but they do, now and again, produce an old clunker, just as the rest do as well.