As a builder, do you prefer the simplicity of a Tamiya kit, or the complexity of a Miniart kit? Why?
Or do you mix them up, easy \ hard?
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I think it would come down to the subject.
If it was something both did, like say the Stuart tank, I’d go with the new Tamiya to maintain my sanity!
But other stuff, like some of Miniarts WW1 subjects, I’d have to just suck it up.
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Depends on the subject. However, after building a complex kit I usually follow it up with a no hassle build like a Tamiya or Takom kit. Your mileage may vary.
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I’ve never tried a Miniart kit, but I know they’re tough, although very high quality. I think that, at the end of the day, I’d rather choose something of good quality any chance I have, no matter the difficulty. Then, how much time and motivation i have, the originality of the model, and my purse will drive my choice.
That said, simple and old models, even though lower quality, also offer a nice little challenge for a lot of originality. The Arii/MicroAce kits are a lot of fun to build, and the topics can’t be found anywhere else for 99% of those. With the busy life I have right now, they come in very handy!
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I like to alternate between complex kits and simpler kits. The problem I have been having lately is even with my simple kits the aftermarket seems to mysteriously show up increasing the complexity of the build. I think as my complex builds have gotten more complex my simple builds have followed.
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For me it depends on the subject too (is it offered by both ends of the spectrum?) and the specific issues/errors/compromises on detail. I’ve done this hobby long enough where MiniArt and its ilk hold no terror for me, so it’s really just down to whether I’m happy with the finished result. If I don’t need interior detail then the likes of Tamiya have an advantage as they are quick easy builds. But if the exterior detail is poor then simplicity becomes a false saving…
On WWI tanks I’ll take Tamiya’s MkIV over the Takom kit any day because I’ve built both and there’s not enough difference to be a problem. But with say the M3 Lee the issues with Tamiya’s ancient kit make the Takom and MiniArt offerings a no-brainer!
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I will take the kit nearest to the subject in mind. And try to advance it to the real thing.
And new kits normaly are the better kits.
I.e Project 1204M there is only one player… And it is not Tamiya.
Rabbit
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How complex can a build be? More parts doesn’t necessarily mean more complex. When someone says “complex” I think of trying to solve a puzzle. If that sounds odd, try the Hobby Boss Defender kits. You have to weave the exhaust through the frame in a sequence, or it won’t go in without bending or breaking. And you have to know when to cement certain parts even after they’ve been installed - or things won’t line up correctly afterward.
But if the question is whether I prefer more or less parts, the answer is easy - I don’t care. Given two kits of the same subject, I prefer the more accurate one. And “accurate” needs defining as well. If it’s a matter of shaving off Tamiya’s solid hatch handles and replacing them with wire, as opposed to the kit that has plastic handles but is off in shape or dimensionally, I’ll choose to put in the works and replace the Tamiya handles. Others do not, or they choose the separate handles. Those two choices work for a lot of folks, and that’s fine too.
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I agree that more parts does NOT equate to “difficult”. My one exception was Takom’s first pressing of the MkIV tank, where each track link was 5 parts with no positive locations - there’s a difference between tedious and unbuildable!
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Between those two Tamiya,but I have also built Meng,RFM,and I love Dragon.
I guess I don’t like more parts just for the sake of more parts
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Most of what Tony said. The high parts count tend to make me lose interest at some point. Keep the modeling mojo flowing!
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Miniart over Tamiya because of the level of detail. Miniart is fiddlier and can be a PITA at times but in the end I feel Tamiya sacrifices a bit of detail for the “shake and bake” ease of assembly.
And Tamiya doesn’t cover all the subjects I want.
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For me it depends on subject, accuracy and availability, I’m not into building interiors so I cross those off my list of available subjects although a nice half way house would be turret interiors but no hull interior.
I also like to mix a nice easy build and a more complex one but in both cases will look at AM upgrades if the kit warrants it. However sometimes what’s in the box looks like an easy build turns more complex as I build I start to lose focus and then interest, where as if I get into a build knowing it’s a complex build I’m fine.
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How about the Emhar kit?
Asking for a friend …
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I prefer Tamiya, because I love it when parts fit together perfectly. I have only tried 2 Miniart kits, and did not finish either one. Their 1/35 Harley Davidson is not easy. However, I have built plenty of other brands. Meng, Takom, Rye Field Models, Dragon etc. I do wish Tamiya would produce some of the subjects that some of the Chinese model makers do. I also will build a Tamiya kit after a difficult more complex build.
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Skif of course!!
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btw guys, What was your worst kit or maker in your hobby life?
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Good question! A long time ago, the model that pushed me away from modeling was the ERC90 Sagaie from Azimut Production. Admittedly, the model was perhaps too advanced for my level, but many resin parts were warped, the resin was brittle, the suspensions were too weak for the weight of the hull (a solid resin block), the turret could only be glued onto the hull if you wanted it not to fall, and instructions were @#%$&!
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Built a few in my time. Tracks are terrible and replacements too expensive to be worthwhile. But thanks for thinking of it!
(I knew the guy who cut the moulds for the Emhar MkIV - he still had the masters in his workshop at the time!)
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Then you may be able to answer a question I’ve been wondering about (admittedly not all the time) for about thirty years: were the designers at Emhar, ex-Matchbox? Because the whole way the sprues of their kits look, has always felt very Matchbox-y to me.
Anyway, for me the choice of kit manufacturer is pretty much down to what I want to build a model of. I will generally go for whoever makes the most accurate kit of it, and I don’t particularly care if it’s considered easy or hard to assemble. If multiple manufacturers have kits of about the same accuracy, I might buy the simpler-to-build one but I might just as easily get the harder one for a variety of reasons — like it having some options I like better, or not have things I don’t like. For example, for M3 medium tanks (Lee/Grant), it’s pretty much a toss-up between MiniArt and Takom for me, but I have a slight preference for MiniArt because I would need to buy MiniArt tracks to put on the Takom one anyway since I dislike link-and-length tracks (which are in the Takom kits). What I particularly don’t like, though, is fiddly assemblies that could have been designed better to be easier to build. As others have said, many parts does not automatically make a better (or more accurate) kit.
But I do realise that part of this is because, trying to look at it objectively, I’m a modeller with above-average construction skills. I can well imagine that many modellers would not feel up to finishing, say, an AFV Club or MiniArt kit. But the great thing about modelling here is that there’s plenty more choice 
I honestly don’t recall. I must have built some pretty poor ones, but nothing stands out in my mind as the absolute worst. From recent years, though, I would say the Verlinden M576 ARV conversion kit. The parts for the support blade art the rear (for using the crane over the back of the vehicle) cannot fit the way the instructions tell you to put them, and I couldn’t find out how they sit on the real thing. Even if I did, I doubt I could make the kit parts work. It’s one of the few kits I gave up on because I didn’t want to built it anymore (as opposed to having something more interesting to build).
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