Just to chuck my 2 pence worth into the mix. I did an inbox review of the Modelcollect E100 Flak 40. It was my first and to date only review I have ever done for a group of my peers here, some of who have a far greater knowledge than I do.
Now, I only did it as I had the kit for a group build, and thought it might be worthwhile fo others to see what the box and kit offered. ( I also hoped someone might see the review and say they had some kits from manufacturers that they could give out for box reviews or build reviews ā¦ Guess I failed that interview lol ) anyway; I had no real knowledge of the kits or what they offered, I just basically wrote what I saw and any issues if I came across them as I looked at the sprues. I just tried to be genuine and give an unbiased perspective of what the box contents offered, which hopefully I did in part and allow others to at least know what to expect if they bought one. I then went on to to build it, and give a more detailed break down of the kit as I built it and doing that, revealed some issues with the kit that you wouldnāt know unless it was actually built up ā¦
Oh Boy! If you do not suck up to the fan boys (you know who) who also have taken up residence under a certain corporationās banner. It will vary as to the brand name. Track Link is of course hung up on Dragon / Tamiya, but with a couple exceptions to the group. Hyperscale / Missing Links is nothing but a Tamiya advertisement. Missing Links is purely a Lizard board with a lot of fan boys. ARC even goes so far as to have a Tamiya rep on board (heās actually a good guy), but donāt even think about another brand over there. LSP is a good board as long as you bow down to the fan boys or have to listen to one guy shill for his latest brand.
Everybody makes good kits and also makes a few turds. Myself; I like Tristar, Bronco, HKM, and ZM the most. Yet I still buy Dragon and Tamiya if that shoe fits. Aircraft starts with Revell and HKM closely followed by ZM. The rest are distant. Used to really like Kittyhawk, but of course they seem to be gone.
Minniart just announced a new P47d, and the fan boys too great offense! Yet virtually none have ever built one of their kits (simply amazing!!). As much as I like the Tamiya kit, Iām betting it will be better. Just wish theyād done it in 32nd scale!
gary
I donāt buy much from Dragon anymore as they have priced themselves out of business, and are really not as good as the new comers. Iāll take a RFM, Takom, or Meng kits seven days a week over them. AFV is better in my book than the Lizard, and the subject matter is over the top.
I kinda go by era when I select a brand. For WWII, Dragon and the new guys are the best, but like Tristar even better. Cold war stuff is Takom all the way with AFV right behind them. The new Academy kits are at least as good as the Lizard, and about two thirds the price (that doesnāt do well with the fan boys). Donāt do a lot of modern stuff, and honestly have no real preference (well maybe Trumpeter or Tiger). Aircraft almost always starts with Revell and Hasegawa.
By the way I always found the Dragon zimmerit horrible!! Looks good till you see the real thing up front and personal. I thought Meng got it closer, but also not good enough.
gary
Robin;
without a doubt David is the max source for Tiger I info. You can take his data to the bank, but heās also connected with a major player. With that I know where to stop and when to listen. The same goes on with other in a much worse area. I have always felt Brett Greene to be pretty fair, but donāt trust the others any further than I can kick an anvil barefooted. Yet I take little stock in an open box review.
glt
An open box review gives me a peak into the box, even if it only tells me what type of tracks it contains.
āSoft detailsā can also be stated without subject expertise.
I can live with the odd bolt being a fraction of an inch off to one side.
I can build a prototype knowing that it doesnāt represent the production version, sometimes it is even interesting to show the development from prototype to āin-serviceā version.
Since I know that the perfect review is an extremely rare beast I will just have to adapt and overcome
I built the Italeri Elefant specifically because I knew they measured the APG beast and moulded in all the neglect and missing parts! (Did it in APGās āghostā grey paint and put it on a base with concrete strips under the tracks, just like the real displayā¦) Sometimes it can be fun NOT to get the most correct in-service kit.
While heavy on wings, ARC does have forums for armor, figures and auto, they are just not used as much. I think LSP has bleed over too. Just like here.
I will say I like to check out other genres as their techniques are useful, future on glass prevents super glue/other glue fogging.
I bought HB Indy tracks for a Cromwell I was building. I could not get the styrene to glue together. The fell apart in multiple places with only light handling. How were the tracks you used Tom? I have a set for the Sturer Emil I bought at the same time, which I have been hesitant to rely on.
I used good old Humbrol Liquid Poly, and it seemed to do the trick. They were a bit fragile when wet, so maybe the plastic took a little time to soften?
the one reason I think LSP ranks above most others (aircraft) is the build in progress threads. Just about the best Iāve ever seen. Track Links has a very good build log area once you get past some of the politics. Another excellent forum is Britmodeler. They seem to cover most everything well, and are really open to questions about a subject.
ARC has all the armor genres in place, but few participants for some odd reason. Missing Links has become a click. May check in a couple times a month but find nothing much interesting. Hyperscale had a shake up a couple years (maybe three) back, and some folks left with their tails between their legs. I think itās a much better venue since Brett put his foot down. Still has J.H. with his acid comments that have zero basis (like he does on LSP), but 98% are good people.
Honestly Armorama is an almost perfect blend. Good people and plenty of interesting subjects to pick thru. I see little if any brand bashing, and the only others are Britmodeler and Hyperscale.
gary
These are ridiculous statements, without merit and contradicted by evidence.
I have never seen any evidence of the owners of TL or ML influencing the user content on either site. In my experience, Paul Owen of TL produces very little content except for new kit announcements, and while Brett Green of ML writes an occasional headline article on Tamiya subjects (he is openly affiliated with them) those items are but a small percentage of the content on the site.
If one actually reads the posts and build logs you will find no favoritism or unwarranted praise. In fact, I think you could say that the most prolific users on both sites hold Tamiya armor in a lower regard than other manufacturers and have no hesitation to write as much. The users on both sites do prefer Dragonās German kits, because, for the most part, they have the best detailed and researched of those subjects on the market, even today. They are being challenged by some of the newer companies but until they produce more and better products people will choose Dragon.
One must acknowledge that certain brands appeal to certain types of modelers and for specific reasons. There are brands that appeal to detailers and there are brands that appeal to mainstream modellers. There are brands that cover certain subjects heavily and brands that have a reputation for complexity. The people posting are modelers, first and foremost. They write about their projects. Usually the sites are begging for content so they take what they can get, and that reflects what those modelers who are willing to write and photograph send them.
Anybody remember the magazine Military Model Preview? They would build kits straight from the box with no paint or aftermarket and put the decals on the bare plastic. They pointed out the build flaws as well as accuracy issues. Military Miniatures in Review was also a good source for detailed builds and reviews. Sadly, both are long gone now.
I remember them, good concept, maybe not exciting enough for the average reader? And MMiR also used to spend a fair amount of page space on the build, doing what I thought was a decent job of reviewing both the kit itself (mold quality, amount of flash, included goodies and extras) AND its accuracy as far as they could tell. My rant contribution: Given that I soak up modeling mags for info on the kits themselves, I feel shorted when a ābuild articleā consists of one or two pics of the completed kit, often in primer already, and then about 30 pics of the kit in stages, with advertiserās products next to it.
Didnāt mean to get off on a tangent, sorry.
