Was a perfect plastic scale model kit ever made?

For me personally such a kit should:

1. be flawlessly molded - without flash and sink marks, with sparse and well hidden or very easy to remove ejector pin marks,

2. have well engineered molds, with small and well placed sprue gates (easy to remove without damaging parts) and parts arranged on sprues and in a box in a way that they remain in perfect condition after removing sprues from the box (manufacturers sometimes have to twist and rotate parts before putting sprues in the box, often damaging them in the process - radomes of modern jet airplanes are very common example),

3. be accurate in general dimensions, shape and details. "Looks the part to me" is not acceptable approach here. I don't expect accuracy measured in micrometers, but the closer, the better. Any dimensional inaccuracies present should be unnoticeable even to experts of the subject without using measurement tools. For example I don’t mind if big 1/48 modern jet is a couple of millimeters too short, as long as it is proportionally too small in all other dimensions (i.e. is not exactly 1/48.00 scale).

4. lack only those detail parts, which are too small to be made using polystyrene injection molding technology and cannot be simplified without making them look clearly out of scale,

5. have simplified parts only if injection molding technology would make it impossible to mold them accurately, or would make them impossible or very difficult to assemble when molded accurately (without using neurosurgery instruments and microscope that is ). If some part, even very small and/or complex, is the differentiating feature of the particular variant of the subject portrayed by the kit, it has to be reproduced somehow, even if very simplified.

6. have well fitting parts, requiring no or very minimal use of putties and fillers. Parts must not require trimming to make them fit.

7. have easy to follow and comprehensive instructions, which would not contain any errors, mismatched part numbers etc.

Model does not have to include interior parts, unless there are clear parts present (windows, canopies, windshield etc), which would let you see the interior even with all the hatches, doors etc. closed. In such case all visible interior parts should meet all requirements listed above. The only exception would be personnel carrier vehicles and similar with spacious interior compartments and large openable loading hatches and ramps - those must have an interior, otherwise they are just big ugly empty boxes (regardless of the level of detail on them outside).

Inclusion of high quality and accurate decals would also be nice, but I'm more interested in finding the "perfect plastic" rather than full perfect set. I'm personally rarely using kit decals, even if they are high quality.

I realize that price of such kit would probably be very high, but let's say for the purpose of this exercise we assume that price doesn't matter.

Do you know any such kit? Any kind: military vehicle, aircraft, car, ship? I know a few, which are quite close, but still not "there"... Maybe at least you know some kit that is really close to perfection (as defined above)?...

There have been threads on Armorama before about our "favorite kits" or "best kits we know/built". But was any of them really perfect? :-)

Cheers,
Pawel

I'd say .....due to Just the Process of Injection molding that won't happen.......for awhile........

Now if we can take the rapid prototyping approach it's probably do-able.......


just my .02cents

i think the closest thing i have ever seen to the kit described in your critria is the tamiya cromwell.

now i have never had a micrometer to it, but compared to drawings and measurements ive seen it is bang on accurate.

the kit literally falls together, ive built several, and never used any filler or had to modify kit parts

the decals are accurate and pretty good.

and at £23.99 its pretty reasonable too!

cheers

joe

From what I've read, the Tamiya 1/32 zero comes as close as anything. But I've never built it myself, so I can't really say...

I cannot agree - as you can see in my post my definition of "perfection" includes limitations of injection molding process. Tamiya, Hasegawa and even Academy and Trumpeter recently show what is possible today with injection molding. We just seem to lack the complete package - the technology available today used to its full potential, but associated with really thorough research and thoughtfull engineering and design. We have some kits that shows what technology allows for today, but with some accuracy problems. We also have almost perfectly accurate models, but molded using less then perfect tools.

Cheers,
Pawel

Inevetibly.......Flash will occur esp. the the molds get older. Some companies won't replace molds before this happens......

BUT if cost wasn't an issue...... It COULD happen more often!!!!

Yes, that's true. So let's say that we are looking for a kit that is perfect in the first released batch. Obviously its quality will deteriorate as mold get older, but in well designed kit it should be slow process.

Cheers,
Pawel

Pawel - Skybow's series of Dodge WC vehicles fit the bill you describe. It is too bad that Skybow was a small outfit - because they set a standard that is difficult to reach. Their WC vehicles are so far beyond what Peerless/Italeri did long ago that no comparison is really relevant, and there is simply no need for aftermarket & photoetch detail sets other than to goad some more money out of the uninformed modeler.

Anyone can whip out a micrometer and espouse they "found" something inaccurate - but I find these attempts at self-aggrandizement both pathetic and laughable - and damaging to the spirit of the hobby in general.

Their M38 Willys MD is also a wonderful kit - but is a little tricker to assemble for novice and intermediate level modelers. The basic vehicle details are present, with room for a few more details that can be added to represent production runs, for experienced modelers.

I don't think "perfection" is something that will be attained in mass-production - but "damn close" is reasonable. Skybow and Fine Molds measures up to what you listed above...

Gunnie

Just wondering if someone could explain the reason for all those numbers that are around the turret??????????

the turret numbers were only found on a small number (80) of royal marine armoured support group centaurs. they were there to allow an outside observer to act as a fire controller. the function was used on d-day to allow the tanks to fire on strongpoints whilst still on their LCT's. there was a small telephone on the outside of the tank for the observer to use.

cheers

joe

I don't think there will ever be a perfect kit, even in resin. But that's what's great about kits that are off a little. If you have a perfect kit, all you do is just put it together, paint, weather, and that's it. If there are perfect kits, I believe it numbs the creative process. If there is a piece that isn't "right" on a kit, I usually just scratch my own, and as a last resort, I will go PE. Seems like people want more and more accurate product so they don't have to scratchbuild, and it's a shame.

Gunnie,
Isn't AFV Club repopping the Skybow kits?





AMEN, BROTHER!!!

Yes - and so far they've not changed the "original" molds and quality detail(s). This is great news for modelers seeking Skybow's quality. I'm just not sure if they're intending on continuing the WC line themselves in the future.

The only thing I'm a little concerned about is how many kits they're going to produce with these new molds - i.e. how many runs at x$$$ will pay for the acquisition and how much will the product suffer in quality. I got my kits early. I just wonder what the quality might be four or five years from now...

Gunnie

What about adding the Accurate Miniatures Avenger and Dauntless to this list?

Oh Man - you are soooo right! I am completely remiss not to have mentioned Accurate Miniatures. I absolutely cherish my AM Avenger - it is probably the best 1:48th scale aircraft model I've ever encountered - other than perhaps the Hasegawa AH-64 Apache. I don't have the Dauntless in my collection at home (gasp!) but I will soon. I also like their B-25 Mitchell Bombers...

I am an armor modeler dang-it! I know nothing about aircraft modeling - nothing!

Gunnie

LOL I guess you can't be perfect in all areas. #:-)

The AM Dauntless really gives their Avenger a run for it's money.
For figures, I have to vote for the Michael Roberts' line.

The nearest to perfection in plastic armour models - like most of these discussions the answer will be subjective, but I would nominate the AFV Club M3A3 StuartV as one that must come close.

I'd have agreed until I got their 54mm 3rd Arkansas figure. While most of it is really great, the right hand/musket has its resin plug at the business end of the rifle along the seam between the barrel and the stock. To correct this would require carving away the remainder of the plug while retaining the arc of the barrel, then carving the stock section away AND keeping the correct differences between these parts in scale on a piece of resin barely 1.5 mm thick which will be directly opposite the figure's face and in the major focal point.

For my money, the best figure line is Pegaso. Absolute minimal clean up and engineering that allows painting parts before assembly then attaching the parts with no need for filler or additional clean up. This was particularly true of their line of Gladiators released in 2002.

Thanks for the info. All the Michael Roberts' figures I have or have seen have been great but I'll have to stay away from their 54mm 3rd Arkansas figure.
I'll also have to try Pegaso out. They do seem to have some intriguing figures.

dave,

i second that about the AFV CLUB stuart, im working on it at the moment.
superb little kit, most of the parts are so close to scale thickness ive broken them. all the grab handles will have to be scratched from wire because the kit ones are so delicate!

cracking tracks and metal barrles means no aftermarket too

cheers

joe

In my 24 years of modelling i dont thinj that i have met a kit with the described standars, Of course maybe thats due to the fact that i havent build kits from all companies (f.e. an Accurate Miniatures kit ) so i dont think that this question could be fairly answered by anyone cause noone has build kits from all the companies of the world that produce kts.
Further more i have done some kits with no gaps , good fit, no dimensional problems, but this molding lines trimming was always there giving me a boring time. Even in this very fine M155 8 inch Howitzer of AFV that i am building now, fit is perfect all parts want one the other to snap but mold line triming is there....so.. what to say ..One more an old and OOP production 120 mm resin Verlinden;s figure US WWII Tanker that i recently builded gave me not a hard minute. Lil cleaning nice fit and went together perfectly. Not a very interesting subject though but technicaly it was good. So i dont know if the seek for perfection is the wanted part or the escaping for boring timeeatersthing as fixing ejection marks and trimmin molding lines is more important. But a modeller beside an artist is also a builder so i bet that corrections will always be needed to be from us to kits. Even the best ones

IMO, all I can say that is atleast very accurate are kits from Accurate Miiniatures. Their SBD-3 is fine, very detailed interior and has a good fit.

Gotta agree with Gunnie about the Skybow/AFV Club Dodge WC series -- these are beautiful right out of the box. I'd almost bet adding aftermarket would bring them down a notch.

I'll also chime in with the praise for Accurate Miniatures. I don't build many wingy-thingies, but I have done a couple of AM's P-51 series. Very nice builds -- too bad I botched the paint!

I am going to make an argument for the Tamiya Dragon Wagon. The only two problems I can find on it is the lack of hydraulic lines (injection molding limitation) and a small gap at the rear of the cab between the cab and the transmission cover (minimal use of putty). I have taken a mic to it, some, and it scales out with all the drawings I can find.

Sure! the tamiya Panther Ausf.A......