Reviews

The 4 Key Attributes of Kits – and the 2 Reviews Usually Miss

Butthurt Prevention Note: This hobby is highly dependent upon preferences and perspectives. What follows is my own. Yours may differ. And that’s totally fine.

When I first came back to modeling, I figured I’d start with something simple and cheap. So I picked up a Revell SBD Dauntless. Maybe, once upon a time, it was an innovative kit. But by today’s standards – or even by the standards I was accustomed to as a kid – it was a piece of trash. I quickly christened it the Fail Dauntless and consigned it to paint mule duty.

I think it's vaguely criminal that Revell still charges money for this
I think it’s vaguely criminal that Revell still charges money for this

I moved on to Tamiya’s P-51B Mustang, and the experience of building a good kit was downright revelatory.

MUCH better...
MUCH better…

Since that time, I’ve completed 46 kits (I had to go count!). And I’ve learned a few things.

I’ll be talking about some of those learnings over a handful of posts. Let’s start off with this:

My definition of a “good kit” is hardly ever touched on in reviews.

Kit reviews generally look at two things – detail and accuracy. To me, those are only about half of what makes a good kit good. In fact, I’m willing to give up some of both if other aspects hold up.

To me, the quality of a kit rests on four attributes: (more…)

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