Good verses bad quality. My boss wants me to build these kits for him the difference is so big

[Guest]

OK so the 911 is a 1/25 Revell kit the 956 is a 1/24 Tamiya kit

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Admittedly my boss wants the 911 as a GTS so the body will need a fair bit of modification (good job as I wouldn't want to butcher the amazing fit of the 956 body.

This is the Revell body

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Note the big blob on the front wing and the huge seam lines on the wing, not to mention the flash (and when this was bought that was new tooling)

As a contrast look at the Tamiya body, the fit of the cowl to the front of the body is as near perfect as you could get.

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Im not saying that the tamiya one is more accurate than the revell (although I will bet it is) but there is no denying the quality difference.

Look at the tamiya gearbox.

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And this thing revell call a 911 engine

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I know a lot of the modern Revell, and for that matter Airfix kits could give Tamiya a run for their money but I've got to wonder why we as modellers put up with such poor quality back in the day (I know Revell and Airfix were cheaper back then, but were they so cheap)

[JR]

Going to be an interesting build , I'm in .

[KarlW]

I built that Tamiya Porsch many moons ago, quite enjoyed it.
That Revell looks a pig though, but then if it was alleasy we might as well do JigSaw puzzles........

[Tim Marlow]

The variation in quality is very clearly demonstrated Ken. Mind you, the 911 moulds are about fifty years old........they were probably good in the day.

[Guest]

Note the big blob on the front wing and the huge seam lines on the wing, not to mention the flash (and when this was bought that was new tooling)

It dates to 1971, and the kit it derives from is a year older — has your boss owned it since then?

If he did, then I’m not surprised at the flash. Judging solely by the box, it comes across as an American Revell kit, and those are not usually of all that high quality, IMHO.

If he bought it later, then I’m not surprised at the flash The moulds must have worn in the intervening decades.

I've got to wonder why we as modellers put up with such poor quality back in the day

Judging the past by the standards of today is bound to give you a very skewed idea of what it was like. A major factor is simply not knowing any better: if all kits you buy have mould lines, flash and less-than-stellar fit, you don’t complain because that’s just how model kits are.

In any case, in 1970, the moulds would have been made by hand from drawings, for example, not with an accurate CAD drawing controlling a CNC machine, spark erosion or some other modern, high-precision manufacturing method. Another major factor would be the manufacturer’s mindset, and if this is a Revell USA kit, then just think of the difference in quality between, say, American and Japanese cars in the 1970s — something similar was probably at play in model kits too.