1/48 ICM Heinkel 111H-3 (48261) & 1/48 Tamiya FW190 A8/A8R2 (61095-Series 95 kit)

[topgazza]

Got both these lined and looking forward the the Heinkel which is a sunstantial kit with plenty of sprues and lots of very high quality parts. Looks a beast and I believe had a retooling not long ago. But ICM have clearly upped their game.

The FW190 is a disappointment with only three spures and very few parts. Bit of a kiddies kit at first glance but I will use it to practice my first mottling. Very high quality as you would expect but Tamiya don't seem to indicate the complexity of the build on the box or sale details. One typical Tamiya thing is the attention to detail in the ancillaries. It has swasticas for the tail which surprised me but oddly not on the box picture or instructions. Just blank squares on the latter. We all know why but it's good they are included. Also the handy canopy masks, pre-drawn, are there as usual. Shame about the difficulty, or lack of same, of the kit. How do you tell is a kit is a good challenge with Tamiya. Airfix and Revell have ratings of course

[Guest]

I don’t see the point in the manufacturer rating “difficulty” or “skill level” on a kit. Most base it simply on number of parts, I think, but that doesn’t make much sense — it only really indicates that more effort is probably required, because you have to remove, clean up and fit more bits to the model. IMHO, a difficult model is one that requires a lot of work to get parts to fit and/or look correct, and I doubt a manufacturer is going to indicate that on the box top

[topgazza]

True but I disagree it’s not worth it but I want a kit that takes some because you need to assemble engines or cockpit equipment and not just a kids kit. If I’m spending £20 plus I want it to take some skill. It’s a hobby for many so simply indicating how complex a kit is should be a basic requirement. Others do it and they are pretty accurate. A guide is all that’s required. It works well with Airfix and Revell.
I have contacted Tamiya and they agree and are actively looking at it

[Jack L]

Tamiya are generally always going to be 'easy' kits. They are so well engineered that parts just click together. Some will just take longer because they have many more parts than others, but won't be 'more difficult' to build. It also depends how much time you want to put into it....I have spent probably 6 hours on these this week, and they only have 6 parts per item, but glueing, filling, sanding, priming, re-sanding, priming again, painting, masking, painting, varnishing and 16 decals (each) later...they still aren't finished.

[topgazza]

Both you and Jakko make good points and I think you have hit the nail on the head. Because I want to spend time building and enjoy the fiddly bits and sub assemblies I would judge difficulty as being mainly number of components as that takes more time and I would argue more skill. Not always the case as you point out but as a general guide I would find it useful. Interestingly the Tamiya guy suggested looking at the instructions online to see how many parts and perhaps make a judgement based on that. Good idea and I will do that.
The FW190 looks a nice plane regardless but I do enjoy the build and as Jakko says the filling, sanding and fitting. All in all I want to spend hours and hours smelling glue and looking for tiny pieces on the floor :flushed:

[Guest]

In that case, you probably shouldn’t buy Tamiya kits but instead get ones from brands with a reputation for unnecessary complexity, poor fit and inaccuracies For example, buy a Kitty Hawk OV-10 Bronco, or any American Revell kit (not a German one, except if it’s an American kit in a German box), or a 1:72 scale AFV kit by UM. These should keep you occupied for a lot longer than your average Tamiya kit

[topgazza]

The engines on the Bristol Beaufighter I just built, Revel, were way too complicated and kept falling apart so I get what you mean. However I do enjoy the build phase more than painting so like kits that have a fair number of parts. Having said that the Tamiya Spitfire I built was a joy. I guess I'll just do a tiny bit of due dilligence but I am a huge fan of Tamiya kits because of the quality. But I will enjoy the 190 and was just surprised by how few sprues there were. Mind you I was looking at the Heinkell at the same time and thats got sooooo many parts.

The Heinkell 111 is ICM and that is impressive in all aspects. But I will of course post in the under construction when I start on both.