Please do forgive my lack of political correctness in using the term “Eastern Block model kits”, but I do not know the correct term. Thanks to the Internet many of these former Soviet block model kits (Alan, AER, Mirage, Eastern Express etc.) are now available to all at a very reasonable price.

My question is this; According to the Armorama users who have built / seen / inspected these model kits. Yes, your 2 cents worth is required, what is the quality of these model kits?

I recently started a Mirage T-26 and found it quite good, Alan’s SU76 was reissued by DML, their PzKpfw II (+variants) are being hailed by all and I think all model builders are thankful for Maquette’s T-34 engine set as an affordable option to the more expensive resin sets.

Well, it depends...
Some companys are doing a great job. The czech have certainly taken the lead : Eduard, Gavia, Roden... make great models.
I built a plane model recently released by Mirage (Pzl 11) and it was a pleasure.
European Express (EEC) does interesting subjects, of honnest quality. I'm building the BA6 right now. It's not perfect, but it's a good model.
About Alan... I've never tried their models but I hear that some are completely inaccurate and others need a lot of work (the SU76 included).
SKIF models also need a lot of work. The molding is a bit thick... you have ejector marks here and there... some models have accuracy issues... but you can have fun with the models (I built the T64BV, it was fun, but I was glad to have the Eduard set for it).
AER models are not worth the 5 bucks you'll pay for them.

If you build plane kits, try the newly released eduard kits. For me, they are now No 1 !!!

y opinion: kits are not so great, technically speaking.

But the low prices and the originality of most of the models maked them worth it.

Usually I stick to main line kits. However, many of the Eastern Block kits have come out with such interesting items that I really can not pass them up. Yes, they also require a bit more work than mainline stuff. BUT, I do not mind doing the work if the kit is a one-of-a-kind item. Anybody that thinks these Eastern Europeon kits are the only bad ones has not tried to save some of the old Lindberg kits.
capnjock

Hi Savage

Well, I've only got experience of aircraft stuff, but I'd agree with penpen about the Czech companies. Eduard has made huge strides over the years and can now really be considered in "the big league" in terms of quality (Gavia is an off-shoot of the same company).

Some of the others, such as Classic Airframes, Sword, MPM etc. etc. aren't quite "up there" yet. Their kits still take a bit more building, because they employ shorter-run moulding and supply a lot of the detail parts as resin or etched metal items.

Pesonally, I love them! :-) They tackle subjects that the "Majors" could never afford to produce (not a big enough market), and I enjoy the challenge of building them.

All the best

Rowan

I'll agree with Major on this one. I find the selection in terms of subject to be far superior to the "mainstreamers". With them, it's another ME-109, FW-190, ME-262, spitfire, P-47, P-51. I think that covers the vast majority of subjects. Go with MPM family (MPM, Special Hobby, Azur) in my preferred scale of 1/72, and you get everything from the early American trainers, British bombers, fighters, German gear, Japanese stuff, Dutch, Italian, etc.

Sure, you need to sand the parts to get them to fit, but its worth it for the variety.
Mika

The only East European Kit I've made is the Gavia/Eduard PROFI-PACK Lysander. Apart from having to sand the sides of the cockpit down to get the fuselage halves to mate and a few arkwardnesses with the separate cylinders on the engine, it was an absolute joy to build (pity I stuffed up the cockpit glazing, but that's not the fault of the kit). And at £25 from the Model Centre in Nottingham, it was a bargain

Well I took the plunge, bought a few ‘Eastern Block’ model kits. After my positive results with Mirage’s T-26, Maquette’s T-34 engine set, and reading in the ‘worst model ever built’ thread about Zvezda’s T-60 it seemed the buying ‘Eastern Block’ models is not much different from other companies.

ESCI, Tamiya, Revell, Italeri, Academy and even Dragon have had their share of ‘mishaps’. Few of us can forget ESCI’s terrible M1A1Abrams (Yes, I have one) or their brilliant M60 (I have Italeri’s reissue), or how about Tamiya’s first release of their T-34/85 ouch (my very first 1/35 scale kit and it cost me two months pocket money). To this day, even though their kits nowadays are very good, I buy Tamiya as a last option.

Well, to end off a long story, I bought three kits:

Start’s BM-8-24 (I was after the T-40)
AeroPLAST’s T-60 (It will now become a BM-8-24)
Alan’s Wespe

All three kits have link and length or single link tracks, are cheap and are on par with other kits in their field. Alan’s Wespe just arrived; it took 1 week from Russia to the UK at a total cost of $17.50. That’s cheaper and quicker than many online UK stores.

The only problem I foresee is putting all those tracks together (single link), and the Barrel mould is definitely too thin, (the barrel's dimensions seem fine, just the moulded plastic is too thin). Wander if Barrel Depot produces one?

Quality varies as much in "eastern block" models as it does with the rest. It's pretty unfair to lump them all into a "good," "bad" or "ugly" category.

I have built the Alan SU-76M and it is a dog ... check other threads for details. On the other hand, I love just about every CMK kit I've had the pleasure to build, Zvezda has some hits and some misses (some say the Zvezda T-34 is the most accurate), Start's BA-20 was a nice little kit, and I'm becoming a fan of Eastern Express.

I recently won an Eastern Express KV-8S and compared it to Tamiya's old KV-1 and KV-2 kits. The EE kit has much better details, seemed more to scale and -- compared to reference photos of actual vehicles -- is much more detailed and accurate. Plus, no stinking mototization holes to fill. The EE kit has lots of flash and can use some aftermarket tracks and a new gun barrel, but that is an easy fix.

In short, I'd say these companies are all heading in the right direction.

Howdy All,

I think the crowd has already hit most of the salient point's for ya Savage. Good luck with your choice's.
Ya know, whenever I read a thread like this my mind always immediately goes to the thought "would it be better/easier to scratch-build it?" As has already ben said, most of the companies mentioned sell kits that are NOT in the mainstream offerings. And being the big VARIANT'afficionado' that I am, this is one of the most appealing factors I consider. Personally, I don't mind attending to a little putty here, or a little PE there, or even a little Evergreen here and there, as long as it is fairly close to being accurate and not some kind of AEF nightmare!!

Tread.