Frequently, I have been rather unpleasant about Tamiya's products. The most notable was possibly the (in)famous 'Bread-in-a-can' thread a few weeks ago.

However, in the last few days, after a gap of several years, I have just bought a couple of Tamiya Armor kits - more on this later.... The last Tamiya kits I built were their Skyraiders in 1/48th scale, which, by anyone's standards are absolutely sublime.

At the moment, i've just completed the chassis of the old Horch staff car and, even though it is showing its age a bit, the market isn't exactly overflowing with alternatives. I'm also about to begin their Char B B1 bis, which although they've cut a few corners (lack of PE, metal gun-barrels etc,) is essentially an excellent model.

That, however, is beside the point. What is calling my attention are areas like the fit of parts, the instructions and the simplicity of construction. Yes, there is some cleaning-up due to the age of the moulds - nothing major however. It did make me pause to think though...

So, perhaps, i've been unreasonably nasty and a little re-think is necessary. If it wasn't for Tamiya, there wouldn't be a Famo, no good deuce and a half, no Dragon Wagon or a decent Pershing in 1/35th. A lot of their catalogue I could live without (their Flak 36, 251s and their Shermans) but, the curious thing is that in their day, much of their catalogue must have been absolutely staggering (if only for the variety) and even by today's standards, a lot of it is still damned good.

Essentially, I suppose (in the case of 1/35th) it's a touch frustrating that they haven't continued along the line they established in the '80s it's also a real pleasure to work with nice, simple instructions.

So, finally, I suppose that in the interests of fairness, I should start to eat a reasonable helping of crow....

Its quite funny or sad (depending on if you are a competitor or a customer) that Tamiya don´t use there capability to make great well fitting and detailed kits instead of the sad droplets we get now ...

Everytime I feel a bit tired of modelling, I find myself a splendid kit like the Duece, cromwell, jeep or the splendid schwimmwagen , and "shake" it together in no time ...fabulous fit and instructions.

Without the learningtime on Tammykits I wouldn´t be able to tackle the stuff from AFV and DML !

Cheers

Very interesting, Mr. Rae. . .
Agree with what yer saying, completely!

As I was reading along in your post, I too began to reflect on my much earlier modeling days, when Tamiya was one of the few biggies out there with decent model kits.

Alas, as you have stated, the 80's standards hath passed, but the fun is still there, isn't it?

Tamiya as good plain cooks? Reliable but unadventurous.

About the only real fit problem I had building my B1bis was there was just enough slippage in the fit around the 75mm gun to allow part D7 to get out of place. Meant supergluing the front together to make sure it stayed that way.

And the issue of the solid handles on engine deck hatches turned out not to be one, they aren't there on French tanks (thanks to Chars Francais for that one).

If at any time you feel stress building the Char, watch the track assembly video on Tamiya's site - it's like counting sheep. Link a little way down the page here:

B1bis page

EDIT: plenty of scope for criticising Tamiya figures, with the one in the B1bis being a case in point. I replaced the head and torso and still don't like it....

David

I'm in the middle of a Dragon Wagon at the moment, and as I said when I build one last year, this is Tamiya at it's best (and most expensive... ) The quality, and accuracy, of Tamiya kits is much like that of other manufacturers. Some diamonds, some howlers, and a catalogue of average kits inbetween.
The Horch as mentioned is a kit that even today builts up well, and there are many more. The Pzr IV D is crude by todays standards, but can still be turned into a respectable looking model. Best ot to mention the Hanomag though... :-)

My big gripe with Tamiya-San has always been (and will remain so) the re-isueing of old kits, for inflated prices, or simply calling them 'special editions'. But I don't loose sleep over it (not anymore anyway. :-) ) and just buy what I like, and ignore what I don't. Somebody, somewhere is buying them, otherwise Tamiya would not produce them. So somebody is enjoying them... maybe new, unexperienced modellers, who don't want 800+ parts in a kit....remember those days?

By the way, as much as I have come to like vallejo, guess what paint I'm using more again? No need for primer, nor varnish...

Cheers
Henk


quote- EDIT: plenty of scope for criticising Tamiya figures, with the one in the B1bis being a case in point. I replaced the head and torso and still don't like it.... -quote

Oh god, don't start.... Flak crew anyone?, Or how about the Flak vierling crew in winter gear... or those in the Hanomag..., or ....sorry, I'll have to go and ly down now..

Tamiya is like a 'big brother'.
He's always there, he always has your back. Even so you get anoyed and tease him from time to time. But if you need help he's there for you.

I totally understand where your criticisms of Tamiya come from and I think there is some value in them. If critiques aren't shared improvements can't be made (on either side).
Tamiya is totally reliable and when I need a 'build for fun' or easy OOTB to feel productive - I turn to the infamous two star logo.

I stand under correction on this comment/statistic.... but I think Mr T still has the biggest range of WW2 Allied kits (excluding aircraft) amongst the major plastic manufacturers...

As much as I love to have a go at them, if it wasn't for Tamiya I would never have tried PE or AM products... and I mean this in a nice way

Mr Tamiya once told a business partner of mine that the resin AM producers were parasites! Our kits were all based on the Tamiya line at the time. That was about 10 years ago (how time flies!).

I see what Jim means about the Tamiya M4's. They do need a good amount of "cleaning" compared to the newest DML kits, and are lacking in many bits and peices, but, I still like them. After 13 years in the AM business, I have loads of factory seconds stashed away! Oh, I scored an opened but complete Tamiya M4 off the discount table at the local HS for 20 bucks last week!

I built the "new" Tamiya Kubelwagen not long back and was very impressed with it. Blew the old one away completely. Nice simple kit which was enjoyable to build and comparing it to pics off various online Kubelwagen sites is an accurate representation visibly. Tamiya can produce excellent kits when they put their minds to it. I think they just need to get a grip before the market leaves them behind...I still haven't been able to find anywhere selling their weird bread though

Jim, I have to fully agree with what you say, as I am close to a conclusion with the Wespe that I am building. It is nice to have a set of instructions that are not ambiguous when it comes to assembly, clear concise with some useful hints on assembly and finishing.

The parts have fitted together well and look the part, offering great pleasure at an out of the box build.

The Famo and Dragon Wagon are feats of model engineering and I llok forward to building mine one day, both being safely hidden away.

I just wish that they would bring out some more new kits, or even updates of some of the older ones. The recent price decrease in the UK seems to have brought them back into a reasonable price range with 1/48th kits now mostly under £14.

Tamiya kits are like a nice pair of comfortable old shoes, they feel right and do the job that they are designed for.

John

I'm a big fan of Tamiya and agree with your first two selections, but we did have a decent Pershing, and at least two different variants (T26E3 & M26A1) by Dragon done in the mid-90s along with the later M46 Patton. I believe these three kits are more than acceptable for OOB builds with no major errors or buildability problems.

Also prior to the new Dragon M1A1 AIM, several of Tamiya's tanks were the finest modern main battle tanks on the market. The Leopard 2A5, 2A6, JGSDF Type 90 and the T-55 were among the best modern armor models available. Toss in the new HMMWVs and JGSDF LAV and they have two of the best modern wheeled vehicle kits as well.

Now THAT I didn't know - I had always reckoned that the only (modern) Pershing kit available was the Tamiya one. I never even realized that DML had done them at all...

Makes a refreshing change, to see the positive side of Tamiya highlighted. Now lets all hug...

I also agree with most all the comments here. I think the surest proof of how good Tamiya can be is all the threads here, and on most of the other modeling sites, where people are crying about how Tamiya doesn't do as many kits as they used to, or that they are coming out with more 1/48 kits than 1/35. If Tamiya wasn't any good who'd care?

One other thing I really like about Tamiya. For me the entire experience when opening a new kit blows away all of the competition. When you buy most Tamiya kits you get not just the unit itself, but a pretty decent history of the vehicle, perhaps even an order of battle, a figure or two, even if they aren't the best, a fairly wide range of markings for different vehicles, and VERY good instructions. I've bought other kits where I felt I needed to immediately buy a reference book on the subject to find out more on the vehicle, plus a figure set, plus some AM decals, etc.

I do wish Tamiya would update some of their older kits, such as replacing the terrible tracks on the Stuart series, and fill in the sponson floors on their Shermans, but I can think of things I'd like DML and others change also.

I still enjoy making Tamiya kits, and that's what it is all about, isn't it?

and sing Kum-ba-ya

One of my favorite kits of all time is Tamiya's Steyr Kommandwagen. It is crammed with detail yet literally falls together.

Cheers,
Charles

I just don't understand why they don't pull the old terribly inaccurate and hard to build kits from their catalog (read old Panther kit that is still on the shelf at Hobby Lobby.)

The new stuff is great, Marders, HMMWVs, etc. but at least stop selling the sand bag set and the one handled jerry cans...


Shaun

Without Tamiya there would have been a dearth of subjects to build over the years ........lots have been afore mentioned ..some not so good ...some good and most B*****Y Marvelous...for their time ...

In fact I would personally be a few models short of a "shelf-full "if they had not brought out the Centurion (1972) --(and others)---my
OLLIE's ....BARV's ....BRIDGE-LAYER(in progress)....Ark (in progress)... think I still have 5-6 boxed-(1 MOTORISED)..and ALL the guys who built Centurions (IDF?) using the kit must say .."THANKS"

We forget quite quickly the things we should be grateful to Tamiya for ....yes some kits may be getting "tired " but so have many others and a few companies have gone ...BUT at least they .Tamiya ..are still here ---prices are not so bad when some kits are costing an arm and a leg ...and don't fit

So from me --
THANKS TAMIYA ...KEEP THEM COMMING ..whenever!!
aye
BARV
(GOSMG)

I was in my local Modelzone the other weekend and at the moment there are having a sale on some Tamiya kits.

I have allways wanted to build their M26 recovery vehicle and seeing as there was £10 off I was at the checkout in a flash :-)

On opening the box I must admit I am very impressed with the kit, it includes metal rods for the jib assembly and even includes a small PE fret. The instructions are clear ( please take note Dragon ) and the parts are crisply molded with very little flash or injection pin marks.

So although we all drool over the new Dragon releases it just goes to show that Tamiya can produce little gems now and again.

I just wish they would release a few more 1/35th kits now and again.


Ian

Maybe its their marketing, or choice of kit, or something that goes over my head, but its been a while since Tamiya did anything for me.
None of their latest kits have interested me at all. I was very fond of their 1/16 figures, but just finished building the modern US soldier and am not overly impressed with that either. The earlier figures were much better IMO.
When I got into the hobby, I wanted to build all those kits, but realise now it was the builders, rather than the kits themselves, that inspired me.
When Dragon, Italeri, Trumpeter, Tristar, Miniart (its getting comical) release a kit, I get excited and curious. Tamiya ... nothing. I do agree that their engineering is excellent but "pound for pound" they fall behind the rest. Rehashing all those old kits at expensive prices, no extras,and their latest kits being about 150%, the price of the rest, I feel I deserve more. Releasing the zoom etched sets and items like modern armor stowage instead of including it, rubs it in.
I think your original gut feeling wasn´t too far from the mark, Jim. I also find it strange that it took a 20 year old kit changes your opinion????
Fair play for standing up and stating how you feel .. nought wrong with that. Im afraid Im still going with my gut feeling though.

They came out around 1995-96. I first bought and built the M26A1 when I was stationed in Alabama. I remember they were around $35 which was very expensive at the time. Here is a photo of the box art of the three kits. They are very nice kits, better than the Dragon Shermans (M4A3E8, M4A1, M4A4) issued at the same time.

Funny, but at TamiyaCon a couple years ago one of the trivia questions that the lady in charge of sales put forth was:
"Which Tamiya kit has consistantly sold the most units year after year?"


the answer: you guessed it ........ the sand bag set


Go figure


Cheers,
Charles

Well, mainly the Char B which arrived a few days ago..

I was amazed though at just how easily the Horch fell together (albeit with a fair amount of seam removal as well)... Funny as well, how much you miss, simple, clear instructions . Admittedly, It''s only being built as far as the engine bonnet and subframe - more of that in the coming days..

I do think though, it's only fair to give praise where praise is due - and brickbats when it isn't. Nothing, for example, could convince me that the Tamiya figure sets are anything more than obsolete, There still remains a lot which is VERY good in their range. Strange how Charles mentioned the Steyr Kommandwagen - I just tried to get a couple from LM but they were unfortunately not avilable. One was scheduled to be done as a U.S. Third Army one as well - pity...

I fully agree with you on the figures Jim. From time to time they release som nice ones like the Panzer Crew at rest but the British Infantry... . The heads are all tiny so they went in the bin and had to be replaced with AM heads. There's no scabbards for bayonets as they just have scabbards for the 18" bayonet despite being equipped with Lee Enfield 4's. That is an unforgivable mistake! Basic stuff! Decent figures but spoilt by stupid mistakes. Sometimes I think their research team needs a good slap! I don't like the way that they've gone over to two part arms either. Just seems unneccessary....

Tamiya has done some quality figures (GIs with the M4A3s and the JGSDF soldiers), but it is obvious that they do not put much emphasis into the figure line.

I can echo the sentiment on the Steyr. I got one for about $10 at the infamous Hobby Lobby clearance bin. I am not a German armor expert, but it is a high quality kit, probably the best soft skinned German wheeled vehicle plastic kit on the market.

Built the Cromwell kit this year.

This kit is why Tamiya will always have a place in my stash. Beautiful detail and it went together with such ease.

Just started on the Greyhound and its the same thing.

Jeff