Aoshima,Fujimi,Hasegawa

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

In general:

Aoshima
Hasegawa
Revell


Fujimi.


Aoshima's body molds are cleaner than Hasegawa's, Hasegawa's recent Miura proved that point (many sink marks in the body)...and it had a number of chrome parts that were of questionable design and had some sink marks, yet the finished model was spectacular, so they're nearly a tie. Hasegawa's army Jeep is jam-packed with detail.

Revell kits are hit or miss...their newer kits are very well executed, and they're usually full detail. The few curbsides they do are all very clean and look right. Some of their kits seem to have parts that don't fit and wheels that are too small.

Fujimi is well below the others, and I also include their enthusiast kits well below Tamiya. Why? I've built a couple, and I've looked at all the parts in the ones I own and some that I don't. Just because it's a box slam full of parts does not a Tamiya competitor make. Each and every one of those parts (compared to Tamiya) has more prominent mold lines, ejector pin marks, and sink marks-it's never going to be as pleasant to build as a Tamiya kit with similar parts count. Fujimi's accuracy is suspect in many cases, yet some of their newer kits are better than others, as if some of their team "gets it", while other's don't. The RX8 was riddled w/problems, most of the body issues have been fixed. The new Mini looks spectacular, it simply blows away the Revell AG version. The Murcielago looks fantastic, but the wheel placement is all wrong and you must fix that for it to look right. And even with some of these questionable traits, many Fujimi kits are fun and quick to put together.

If you're hedging on choosing a kit, ask about it here...after a day or so you'll have enough opinions to guide your decision.

[tonioseven]

Aoshima
Hasegawa (Evo IV=)
Fujimi

I appreciate the fact that Fujimi has as many kits as they do but as most have said, they seem to struggle over the quality versus quantity issue. I'll buy whatever I think I can do a decent job on basically though.

[Porsche Carrera]

For sure Tamiya is number one, but they have a limited selection.

Though IMO...
Aoshima (For their wide selection of models. Fit is good, though for some.)
Hasegawa (I love their rally kits and especially their Honda EG Civic kits! Superd detail, but some kits you need to dry fit them before proceeding.)
Fujimi (Last. Some kits are worth it, but some aren't. Though I rather take Fujimi over Revell any day.)

[DSM-Mark]

IMO:
1) Aoshima
1) Hasegawa
3) Revell
4) Fujimi

The 2 first places is not a typo. If Hasegawa and Aoshima produced the same type of car at the same price point, I'd have to flip a coin (or come here and ask some questions).

[malsheem]

Originally Posted by micaman68

We all know that Tamiya is #1 but of the other three what is your pick for the money? Do any of them come with pe parts? have not seen any reviews on the Aoshima kits.

Each of the manufacturers (Aoshima, Fujimi, Hasegawa) at one point released a series or two of kits that did contain P/E parts (Aoshima's New Trends line, Fujimi's Deluxe Lamborghini's and some of their old race cars, etc.) Not any more though. With the exception of Fujimi's Murcielago Deluxe Edition, I do not believe any newer kits have them. There is a healthy selection of aftermarket P/E stuff, so it shouldn't be an issue when deciding what kit to buy.

[Vric]

Tamiya
Hasegawa (very good rally kit, mainly old one)
Aoshima
Revell
Fujimi

[micaman68]

Thanks guys you all have been very helpful.

[micaman68]

Originally Posted by primera man

Hasegawa
Aoshima
Fujimi

But IMO at the end of the day, if you want the kit bad enough you will get it no matter who builds it.

TRUE TRUE VERY TRUE.

[micaman68]

Thank I will go with aoshima maybe drifter also like the VIP's.

[gasman03]

1. MPC
2. Tamiya
3. AMT
4. Revell/Monogram
5. Fujimi
6. Trumpeter

I've never built a Hasewaga or a Aoshima kit so I can't comment on them.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Well since we're tossin' this about...

Another ranking from Chuckie:

1) Tamiya (no-brainer; we'll just let those '95 Mustangs slide)
2) Hasegawa (only one to come consistently close)
3) Revell/Monogram (best of the US, inspiration to Mr Tamiya)
4) Aoshima (not as good as Fujimi's best, but certainly not as bad as their worst)
5) Fujimi (if only there weren't so much mediocrity leavening the excellence; Rosso offered a glimpse of what might have been)
6) Italeri (bikes are cool; wanna start showing cars that kind of love again?)
7) Trumpeter (brilliant, but a little flawed yet)
8) Polar Lights (to come so far in such a short time and get shot down again)
9) AMT/ERTL (if this company were still as it was in 2000, it would be a different game entirely)


The best of the dead:

1) Pocher D'Italia (not always accurate; certainly not easy - but try to find a more imposing finished piece)
2) Gunze Sangyo (too bad them hi-tech kits were so marginal)
3) MPC (frequently outdid their overrated AMT counterparts)
4) IMC (set the '60's standard for working features)
5) Lindberg (at least they got the '53 Ford off before they croaked; yeah, they're still doing dancing lo-riders - you call that living?)

[Layla's Keeper]

I dunno Chuck, when you look at Tamiya's older kits versus Revell's, I really feel that as a whole product line Revell's is superior.

Especially when you look at the detail of Revell kits from the early 60's to mid 70's like their XKE, Austin-Healey 100-6, the Orange Crate, the Tony Nancy 22jr, and the original Stone, Woods, & Cook Swindler II kit.

When you compare those to the old Tamiya reissues like the Lancia Stratos Turbo or 1/20th scale Fiat Abarth 124, I have a hard time saying Tamiya is flat out the superior company.

[Layla's Keeper]

And, by the way, I'm very glad you've decided to join AF's modeling forum. You, Larry Greenberg, and Drew Hierwater were my favorite columnists from the dearly departed Scale Auto Enthusiast. I loved the year end new releases reviews, particularly your comments on the Accurate Miniatures McLaren M8B.

[tonioseven]

That Orang Crate kit was a moinster to build!!

[exhaust smoke]

As you say, Tamiya is no.1

2nd place is shared between Hasegawa ans Aoshima.

In this respect, hasegawa produce better rally cars and their early Le Mans & race cars were of much higher quality
Aoshima do a much better job of their road/tuning/competition cars, near Tamiya standards in some cases. Now that's praise!

3rd goes to Fujimi. They do try, as they do pump out loads of different kits and wheels sets. Their only failure is that they do not do a thorough enough job and are known to 'steal' sprues from a number of their existing kits and come up with a new re-boxed kit. You therefore do not exactly know what you are getting in the box! However, I cannot argue with their 1/12th Skyline kits and their 'Enthusiast' range.

Overall, I say don't be afraid to experiment!