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List of Model Brands

This page here is to show you various modelling companies and where you can buy kits and equipment. This is by no means a definite guide as there are hundreds of companies from all around the world that make models

Where should I buy my models? #

Use your local hobby shop if you have one. Aside from helping your local economy, you can get good advice or pointers and find people with similar interests. Good hobby shops are rare and unusual and worth supporting.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for locally, or if your local hobby shop isn’t very good, there are plenty of online retailers. The internet has allowed the number of kits and manufacturers to blossom in recent years. Reputable internet dealers include:

/u/DebermanCavalry created a post for “A Reputable List of Online Dealers” in which people recommended their local shops which they trust. The thread was deleted, but we managed to retrieve it

USA:

UK

  • Gwylan Models – Modern ships (resin) – Redditor owned!
  • Hannants – All things scale model
  • Emodels – All things scale model
  • Historex – Resources/Figures/Aftermarket
  • Antics – All things scale model/diecast

Poland – For everyone in Europe!

Germany

Spain

Australia

Japan (but shipping globally)

  • Hobby Link Japan – Specializes in products shipped from Japan to international customers. Maschinen Krieger
  • Jp1999 – All things scale model

Ireland

Hong Kong

  • Lucky Model – All things scale model
  • Hobby Easy – All thing scale model
  • eBay – there are a lot of model kits (especially Trumpeter) for fairly cheap

Croatia

Serbia

Slovenia

Canada

Netherlands

Sweden

  • MAMOCO (A redditor-owned business.)

Check the links on general modelling websites for these and many others.

eBay ( http://www.ebay.com ) is also a useful place to search for more obscure kits or for detail kits, resin, and photoetch for almost any model you can think of. You might end up buying turned aluminium gun barrels from the maker in Poland, but if you’re looking for something weird and can’t find it on mainstream sites, check eBay.

Often asked Questions #

What model should I build? #

What you build is up to you. Buy what you wish to buy and build what you wish to build. There is almost an infinite number of subjects, scales and materials. While many modelers like to decide on a theme for their collections, many just build whatever model kit they find interesting. That being said, the available space you have to display your collection can be a key decider of the scale in which you build.

What company makes the best models? #

This is a very common question, which doesn’t have an answer. Plastic model kits in the form we’d recognize today have been produced for almost since the 50’s, and while the mould-making and detail have improved dramatically since the ’60s, some of the best-known firms are still selling kits which were made in those early days: The Revell Fokker Dr.1 Triplane was originally released in 1957, or the Airfix Panther tank, first released in 1961 or even the Tamiya Pz II from 1971 and all are still sold in an identical form today, with only the box art changed. Because of that, it’s a good idea to check reviews, sprue photos and the date of the tool on scalemates before buying any kit.

That said, the date of creation doesn’t mean the quality is bad.

The previously mentioned Pz II is a great example as both for an old and new modeller, it’s still a very competent kit which allows the modeller to create some real beauties of builds on a tight budget.

All modeling companies have their good and bad kits, and the biggest and longest-serving firms can have a very wide disparity by virtue of the size of their catalogue.

  • For example, In 2011 Revell brought out a new tooled 1/72 scale Ju 88 bomber, a fantastic kit that replaced their almost 40-year-old, ill-fitting, poorly-detailed kit of the same plane with the only visible difference being the box-art.
  • To further complicate matters, some model companies share molds and offer each other’s kits in different markets. This is also known as “reboxing” (e.g. Eduard Liberator which is a rebox of the Minicraft kit which itself is a rebox of Academy’s kit)

In addition, older Tamiya 1/35-scale armour kits were often designed to be motorized. This means that the lower hull might be larger or more squared-off in order to leave room for a motor, gearbox, and a pair of D-cell batteries. They might even have an actual battery door on the bottom of the hull, and opening for switches and wheels(!) – Example. They might be perfectly acceptable models otherwise but beware of accuracy problems.

The best answer – There is no correct answer. It’s best to research the particular kit or subject that you want to model. USE GOOGLE! An internet search will turn up websites that offer kit reviews and the reviewer will most likely mention other (better or worse) kits to compare them. Your local hobby shop can be a wealth of knowledge. The main two issues to consider around kit quality are accuracy and ease of construction. Specialist websites will often put a high premium on accuracy, but especially when starting out it is much more important to have a model that builds up easily.

Then, who makes good kits? #

/u/windupmonkeys made a rather good tongue-in-cheek comment summaring every company

For aircraft, Academy, Airfix, Eduard, Fujimi, Hasegawa, Tamiya, Revell USA, Revell Germany, ICM, Special Hobby, Monogram, Hobby Boss, Trumpeter, Italeri, MENG, Rye field and Zvezda are common brands that can be relied upon

  • Companies in italics have some very old kits that are not up to current standards.
  • Companies that are bolded are generally regarded as having good quality models, but beware some come at a premium price depending on where you live.
    • Azur, MPM, Sword, AZ Model and Aari are some of the smaller companies that offer kits that are sometimes harder to build, but are certainly okay for modellers with a little experience.

Armour modellers are well served by Revell, Tamiya, Italeri and Dragon/DML, with newer companies like Bronco, Tiger Model, Mini Art, Meng, Rye Field and ICM also making excellent kits and spicing the market with their seriously high-quality and cheap kits.

  • Some Tamiya kits are very old and not up to standard for accuracy, but are still more than capable and they are still newer modeller favourites!. Trumpeter kits vary widely, from older kits being rather crap and newer ones being nice.

If cars are your thing, Tamiya, Revell and Fujimi are the big guns for racing cars and Japanese/European cars, while Monogram offers US vehicles. More recently it has become a thing to include engines and interiors, but most models are ‘kerbside’ and are not designed to be opened up.

Ship modellers, often the ‘poor cousins’ of the plastic modelling fraternity in terms of availability and options, may not always find the ship they want in injection moulded plastic. Often times, cottage industry resin kits are the only source for more obscure vessels – these are usually more expensive, but better detailed and can come with a “full” photoetch detail set. In regards to plastic kits, the maxim that “newer is better” usually applies, with some exceptions.

  • FlyHawk, Pit-Road, FineMolds, Fujimi and Aoshima are creating a resurgence in the “Naval market” with newly tooled kits of both WW1, WW2 and newer naval vessels.
  • Trumpeter (and subsidiary Hobby Boss) offers the greatest variety of “solid”, if not stellar, kits. Dragon’s “Smart Kits” are one of the best ones available, at the cost of higher pricing and less variety.
  • The Western companies such as Revell and Airfix have tried to play “catch up” against the Asian companies, with Airfix failing and Revell coming out on top with their excellent range of U-boats and the Bismarck-class in 1/700 and 1/350 scale. Both of which (especially the 1/350) are regarded as best kits available.Generally speaking, the Cold War-era “box scale” kits (~1/4XX to 1/600) do not live up to modern-day detailing standard, though in some cases benefit from greater accuracy due to being made by moldmakers who cared more about their subjects (e.g. Revell’s USS Hornet hull compared to Trumpeter’s sad attempt).

Where can I find reviews of model kits? #

All types can be found at https://www.scalemates.com/ who aggregate reviews (not scores)

Armour and ground vehicles:

Aircraft: Same as armour

Ships:

  • Modelwarships.com (reviews hierarchy not always updated – best to Google kit name along with “modelwarships” in the search term; has a great forum as well)
  • Steelnavy.net

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