(scale modelers) Best huey DIY 1/48 scale models?

[WildBillKelsoe]

Hi, I am interested in fully assembling and painting 1/48 model of huey. However those of you more experienced, which brand is the best in terms of parts fitting together? Hasegawa, Revell, Academy (aka italeri)?

 

I'm looking for UH-1H 1/48 scale not pre-built but sprued to advanced level.

[Cibit]

Hasgawa where always good, Tamiya where the best but they seem to produce less military stuff these days and IIRC never bothered with aircraft. Revel In my experience are most likely to have ill fitting parts, like gaps in the fuselage etc

 

I made a 1/48th scale hog about 30 years ago or more, it was freakin huge :)

 

In fact it was 1/24th like this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Revell-04905-UH-1B-Model-Aircraft/dp/B00MCI7Y0W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464437207&sr=8-1&keywords=huey

Edited May 28, 2016 by Cibit

[Mainstay]

I do alot of modeling and theres a few things you need to know about the brands.

 

I will begin with a list that sells kits for not much dollar, euro or whatever currency and is good for beginners but generaly poor when it comes to details, fit, extra's, precision and plastic/molding quality.

 

Not so good (mediocre) brands :

 

Revell, Italeri, Academy, Airfix

 

Now the better brands wich are more pricey most of the time aswell. Note that the older kits from Trumpeter were pretty poor quality aswell but their later work is really nice. Eduard makes aftermarket stuff and brings kits with aftermarket stuff together wich is nice. Tamiya is known for their excellent fit but is really expensive.

 

Good brands :

 

Hasegawa, Tamiya, Hobby Boss, Eduard, Trumpeter

 

A newcomer on the market and an interesting brand to keep an eye on is AMK. They have released a MiG-31 Foxhound last year. The quality on the sprues and plastic seem to be topnotch. Detail quality is really high aswell.

They have plans for a MiG-25 Foxbat in the near future aswell.

Website they show drawings and spruemold presses wich is nice to see.

 

http://amkhobby.com/model-developments/

 

Heres a video how they make missiles for the MiG-31. Kinda makes you understand why some of the kits are so expensive when you see the machine needed to make missiles alone.

 

[Mainstay]

Not many UH-1H kits out there. From what i read on the different model sites the Italeri kit seems to be the best on the market right now.

 

But you might wanna consider building this badboy

 

The UH-1Y Venom from Kittyhawk. Looks really nice and got released last year.

 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234982252-uh-1y-venom-148-kitty-hawk/

 

They have a AH-1Z Viper aswell.

 

[Dudikoff]

I do alot of modeling and theres a few things you need to know about the brands.

 

Not so good (mediocre) brands :

 

Revell, Italeri, Academy, Airfix

 

Good brands :

 

Hasegawa, Tamiya, Hobby Boss, Eduard, Trumpeter

 

Sorry, but this generalization can be very wrong as Revell, Academy and Airfix have some very good or even excellent kits and some recent Italeri ones (e.g. 1/32 Mirage IIIC) are pretty good as well. It all depends on the kit in question.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Dudikoff

[Mainstay]

Sorry, but this generalization can be very wrong as Revell, Academy and Airfix have some very good or even excellent kits and some recent Italeri ones (e.g. 1/32 Mirage IIIC) are pretty decent as well. It all depends on the kit in question.

 

Sure some kits are better then other. But like i said this is my opinion as i have worked with alot of different kits.

 

The tooling simply isnt as good like the other brands i mentioned.

For example Revell/Monogram sometimes revive a kit that was released in the 80's and bring it back on the market with only different boxart...

 

But i have to admit Revell customer support is top Notch ! I have the B-1 Lancer and one of the Windshields was broken out of the box. I contacted them and they send me 2 windshields even though the B-1 wasent even in production anymore (now it is again).

 

Academy has some of the most horrible kits (F-111, MiG-29) on the market even though they are not cheap at all for what you get.

 

I gave up on the F-111 and use it as a paintpalet to check my mixtures before brshing.

Check this picture and see what i mean

 

So yeah in the end it all comes down to personal experience. Just keep in mind that when you wanna buy a kit you might wanna check some reviews before buying because it could save you alot of money.

[Dudikoff]

Sure some kits are better then other. But like i said this is my opinion as i have worked with alot of different kits.

 

The tooling simply isnt as good like the other brands i mentioned.

For example Revell/Monogram sometimes revive a kit that was released in the 80's and bring it back on the market with only different boxart...

 

Your examples are all pretty old kits from 80's or early 90's (so like 20+ years old). I don't suppose you worked with any newer Revell (e.g. Tornado kits in 1/48 or 1/32) or Academy stuff (e.g. their F/A-18C in 1/32) then? Airfix also pretty much reinvented themselves and are releasing new kits which are pretty good and a far cry from their old stuff.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Dudikoff

[Cibit]

I withdraw my statement on Tamiya not making planes

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/48plane/kit61001.htm

 

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/32plane/kit60301.htm

 

:smilewink:

[WildBillKelsoe]

Thanks for all your replies fellas

[Cibit]

Make sure you photograph the stages, I am sure it will be useful:thumbup:

[WildBillKelsoe]

Sure thing man. I have macro lens so I shall post stages. I am currently trying to finish my first model; Ka-50 by italeri but it will be in acrylic because its what is available here in Egypt.

 

 

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