Hello,
Newbie here. I want to start building 1/72 WW2 planes and would like to know what are the best model kit companies out there? After doing some research the names Hasegawa,Fujimi,Tamiya,Italeri,Revell,ect...kept popping up and i know this is a very opinionated question but what is the cream of the crop out there? Also, i keep reading how certain companies rebox other companies models and its all very confusing to me. Please help a newbie out!!! Thank you so much!

Tamiya and Hasegawa 1/72 kits are really good the detail is good and their build up isn't to complicated and OOB they're good representations of the aircraft but still leaves the door open for superdetailing if you want. though Hasegawa aren't cheap. Academy's 1/72 aircraft are good as are Revell, though some revell kits are reboxing's of matchbox kits and older tooloings Italeri do some nice kits but avoid their 1/72 spitfires their horrible to build detail is ok, but cockpit wall detail is nonexistant the only good thing is all the canopy sections are seperate. so i'd say Tamiya, Academy, then Hasegawa Ant.

It would be best to ask this question on an aircraft site, like Aeroscale (the air side of Armorama, click on the link above left).

Basically though, all manufacturers have great models and dogs. It is best to ask about a specific aircraft and we can point you to the best kit of that aircraft.

I would have to agree, as 1/72 aircraft is my bread and butter. I really like the Hasegawa kits, but beware of the older kits, as they often have raised lines. Tamiya has some good 1/72 kits, but not nearly as many as Hasegawa. Tamiya's are good therapy kits to quote other members on here. I have also dappled with a couple Italeri kits, but usually those are reboxings. I can't say a whole lot for revell 1/72, as I have only ever worked on one: the Lancaster. It made me angry and is sitting in my storage room. If you are ever looking for a really good challange on a kit, look into some of the Eduard weekend editions. They are comparatively priced near what the Hasegawa kits are.

I have a couple of Academy offerings in 1/72 that I really liked and agree with the recommendation on those. There are several reviews posted on Aeroscale of the 1/72 scale kits. You can also look at Hyperscale or Cybermodeler to find aircraft kit reviews. If you find something particular that you like, you can ask a question at Aeroscale and get a prompt response. Someone will have built the kit, someone else will be working on it, and someone will provide an option.

Thank you for the replies!!!!