Guys, I have been modeling since I was a kid, but I have been on a very long absence since the birth of my two boys. I will be honest , I have always been a Tamiya guy. You can't beat their ease of build and clear instructions. However, I want to try some other manufacturers. I tried a couple of Dragon smart kits about four years ago, but their instructions were abysmal. Missing instructions, inaccurate instructions, wrong placement of parts, etc. Have they improved at all? If so, any recommendations? I don't have the time to pour over books or the internet to make sure the instructions are not wrong. I have a seven year old and a one year old, so I hope you can understand. One thing I cannot tolerate is a company not taking the time to make sure their instructions are precise. Please provide me any good kits you can think of. Sorry if I sound bias towards Tamiya. Thanks for your time everyone.

Most of the other kit companies have high part counts. Dragon has not improved their instructions and continue to mix and match kits that result in parts not fitting properly, etc. I would suggest AFV Club as an option - they can be a bit more involved than a Tamiya kit bit their instrucctions are quite good. They do some really nic modern AFVs as well as WWII. I am currently working on the SdKfz 11 late kit, it's quite nice..and I have my eye on their new Bilstein crane truck.

I've recently just got back into modeling period and this has been my first foray into AFV so I don't have a lot to add here but I read and read and learned that all manufacturers have their quirks but Dragon and sometimes Bronco seem to rank higher in dismal instructions but they do have other good qualities just like the rest of the vender's out their.

So I was reading about a fairly new company called Meng models and following the written reviews and opinions which for the most part were above average in customer satisfaction, so thats where I decided to start my foray into AFV with the Meng T-90A Russian MBT and so far I am very pleased with it! It is not perfect and the directions can leave you scratching your head from time to time but I've found if I just take my time,do some dry fit up, things become clearer and you can figure it out.

All in all the directions are good the molding and details are fantastic!

I'm glad I started with Meng and I'm going to do 3 or 4 more of them and bring my skill sets up and then venture out into some of the other vender's like Dragon, Bronco,Trumpeter,Talkom,Rye,and a host of other as they all have many models that I would like to eventually build!!

Hopefully other modelers will post and give you their opinion also to help you make some choices,thats what they did for me and so far it's worked out great! This site and it's members are a huge asset to have in helping us modelers along our way and I'm grateful for it!!

Thanks Guy's

Craig..

If you are partial to Tamiya, I would break them down in this order:
Academy - They follow Tamiya in ease of build
Trumpeter/HB -- The parts count is higher, but the instructions are easy to follow; multimedia kits(Russian/Soviet vehicles and IDF)
Meng -- High parts count; may require some putty; multimedia kits(IDF)
AFV Club -- About the same as Trumpeter, but a little more expensive(US modern and Cold War)

Look up Meng, a relatively new arrival on the scene. Top quality kits with good instructions and some novel subjects - meng-model.com
AFV Club kits are a good starting point too, look up their Norwegian Chaffee. Avoid the Dragon kits until you have mastered The Force. Bronco kits are the ultimate in parts count and Eye Excercise for small parts, but their instructions are almost blueprint like in quality. Good luck in whatever choice you make but most of all, have fun.

I would consider looking at recenet offerings from ICM as they are all plastic builds. If you fancy a challenging build rather than challenging instructions take a Bronco Model for a spin Bronco as a rule release corrections for errors in their instructions where needed so it does happen but they do try.

Yes,Dragon does have some clunkers,as do all companies,but their Panthers,Tigers,and Panzer III'S are superb and build into well engineered,deatailed and beautiful builds so don't just write Dragon off,research the particular kit number and see what folks say about it.

Yes, I would say most of their kts are nice. The instructions are usually an issue, and checking online reviews for any innaccuracies is a good idea though. They have a tendency to make new kits from previously released ones which sometimes results in artistic license - for instance Michael Wittman's Stug was released with an incorrect 'Ausf' tub from a Panzer III kit. That being said they build up into very nice kits. Meng which was kindly mentioned is a good starter too, I forgot about them! ICM are not too bad, especially new releases - their Horch looks like it is pretty nice.

Like Tojo72 says do your research before choosing a kit as you always should before deciding how to turn your project into reality. I'm hoping to get into AFV Club more, just got my first from them an M2A1 105mm howitzer and holy cow that thing is a marvel of a kit.

Is there something specific you would like to build, or a time period or theme? That could help give you some more specific suggestions. All of the above brands offer a very broad selection of nationality and time period subjects.

Look for build reviews of kits you are interested in to see how well they go together, and what the instructions were like.

All good advice above.

Personally, I tend to mix brands ... haven't met a kit I didn't like. Although there have been some issues but I don't let them interfere with my enjoyment. I'm just happy that there are so many choices available today.

Suggestion ... don't overthink it. Just roll the dice and try a kit that looks good to you. Ultimately, you can post your experience and let us know what you think.

Happy modeling!

—mike

Thank you everyone for the feedback and advice. I apologize for taking so long to respond. I am researching kits now on the internet, and reading reviews online first is great advice. I'll let you know what I decide to purchase.

In case you haven't checked this one out, it's worth a look: PMMS, Perth Military Modeling Site

Unless they don't make a subject you want to build there is nothing wrong with building exclusive Tamiya. The quick, drama free nature of their kits match perfectly with the demands of family life. When my kids were young I build mostly Tamiya because I knew it would be a kit I could finish in a reasonable time frame and have look great on the shelf!

Stay away from most East European kits. While there are a few out there that are passable, most are true tests of a modeler's patience and skills. Personally, I have found AFV Club kits (that a number of people here recommend) to be a bit too over engineered, with sometimes problematic instructions.

And if you are into cold war german "exotics" like M48A2GA2, Marder 1A3 or the tank hunters or post cold war "german only" stuff like the Marder 1A5 or the Wiesel based AA system - take a look at Revell. Their instructions and ease of build are on par with Tamiya.

What I build so far from Trumpeter and HB had decend to good instructions (say 90-95 percent Tamiya/Revell quality) and fit.

AFV Club has good instructions but sometimes a very high parts count and very tight fits.