What did you think of the analysis and end result? How do you think it could be improved in the future, and would you like to see sub-categories like "Best model aircraft company", "Best model car company" and so on? Let me know down below!
Great in-depth research and a broad range of considerations. A small-medium size company will have no choice but to pay taxes to their government and it is beyond the control of that company how those taxes are spent, just as it is beyond the control of almost any taxpayer, anywhere, how their taxes are spent. The company is also highly unlikely to have any influence on the actions of their government and could even disagree with policies/actions. Depending on where on this planet one lives, what influences in life/current-affairs/social-media/geopolitics one is subjected to, then most of the companies involved in this survey (and on a much broader scale) are liable for criticism, as the governments of those countries might also be accused of undesirable policies and actions affecting those in other nations.
@@neilhughes9310 whilst that is true, every company has a choice. Miniart relocated to Poland because of the war, any other company could also choose to relocate - where there's a will there's a way.
Very interesting, I would certainly appreciate a look at aircraft kits, but would you need to specify a scale? One company might produce fantastic 1/32 scale kits but nothing in 1/72 etc. Also did you consider the quality and or quantity, (comprehensive nature or otherwise) of the water slide transfers (I am old school 😂). My understanding is that Tamiya decals (ugh) are difficult to work with, would or should that be a negative factor?
As a teacher with a hobby club in my school, the students that start with Tamiya or Academy kits stay in the hobby. The students that start with Airfix or Heller simply tend to give up. They choose 1/72 aircraft (Tamiya, academy, Airfix), 1/72 & 1/48 military (Airfix, Tamiya, Academy) and 1/600 or 1/700 ships (Airfix, Tamiya, Academy, Aoshima).😊
I find the academy kits to be good, However, I work with disabled kids, My experience is that the airfix starter sets a good fit with my modelers. I start them off with the lego like kits and go from there.
I finally got to watch this final volume of the series and I'd like to thank you for all of the time and effort you put in Alex. Whilst the end result came as no real surprise there's no denying the sheer amount of work you put in to get us there. Fascinating and factual stuff. Thank you.
Tamiya has been "The Gold Standard" for many years and Tend to be my first choice on many subjects. I agree that their instructions are a bit dated, but their clarity stands well above just about any manufacturer. Photo etched parts are also an interesting subject. Mandatory use in some areas is a real pain and on a Dragon T-34 I am currently building some are microscopic and almost impossible to glue on or even holding with fine tweezers. Decals are another matter that can make the build satisfying or just looking like a toy. I know some Tamiya decals have a bad rep for thickness, but there are some that are absolutely horrible. Some brands can't be redeemed even with half a bottle of Micro Set/Sol. Others are so thin that even though they can look painted on when finished, they are almost impossible to apply and position without ripping. It may be a compromise in some areas, I have to agree with your evaluation for Tamiya finishing as best.
Interesting results. Kind of expected, but also, allowing for elements of personal opinion which always are going to come into this sort of thing, not one I have many arguments with. One factor that can;t really be included is the manufacturers choice and range of subjects. I buy fewer Airfix kits and ICM becuase of this. Not a reflection of the kits so much as the modeller! The last few I bought have been recent ICM kits (I-16 and !I-153)both tooled less than 10 years ago, and around £16 for a 1/48 kit and I am impressed with the value and the quality. I remember Airfix from the bad old days, a company squeezing the last life out of tired moulds with no investment. They have come a long way, and it's nice to see a familiar old brand still going on its own merits. Tamiya, oddly, I have very little experience with. Built a few tank kits...but Dragon eclipsed them, as did things like the HobbyBoss T-35 I must finish one day.... In short. Well done on this! I agree more than I disagree, but understand your choice and the process you took to get there was absolutely valid. Brave to even try!!!!
That was a really incredible piece of hard work you delivered here, Alex. Thank you so much for doing this, it was so well researched and presented. I hope the manufacturers take note of your invaluable input!
Just amazing, all that data and research. I cannot imagine how long that took. Superb work! Yes I'd love to see separate videos for like the best aircraft/tank/scifi kit company etc but considering the amount of work that would take, maybe not. Well done indeed!
I have really enjoyed your in-depth research & analytical thoughts on the matter & your conclusion on the 3 overall winners 🏆 very interesting. I will say I did think Airfix would be in there, Tamiya well to be expected & nice to see ICM there. Thanks. 😃
Great analysis. Thanks. I would be very interested in the best model company by kit type (and even scale, for example, with aircraft - does the best 1/72 kit come from the best 1/48 scale kit company?). Also, I would really like a "stinker" list. That is what specific kit to avoid. For example, if someone were looking at an Airfix 1/72 Fw190 and an Academy 1/72 scale Fw190 side by side at the Hobby Shop, it would be nice to know if one was a real disaster in the box, even if it had great artwork and a better price. A list of the top 100 model kits to avoid would be great. Just because Tamiya scored on top, do they have any stinkers out there? This may be best answered with a pole and some research. Thoughts?
A "stinker" list is not a bad idea, but would require a lot of research because there are so many kits out there - even if you limited it to a single manufacturer it'd be quite a task. I think it's also more subjective as to what makes a bad kit than what makes a good one - accuracy may or may not be important to a "fun" builder, for example. I would advise most builders to avoid Mistercraft, for example, yet some experienced modellers like them as a budget build - especially where subjects are out of production from the original manufacturer.
Interesting video so you are focusing on company's that all things to all people. I get your premise but dont most modellers pick on more narrow band. Thus depends on how serious younare about you modelling. I base my short list on: Subject matter Kit quality Price. Thanks for your work.
Well, it's no good looking at subject first, because you immediately narrow appeal....it'd be like saying that Mclaren are the best car company in the world, when they make high-end supercars that only a fraction of the population could ever conceivably afford!
Best....well it's a personal thing really isn't it and influenced by past experience/future goals and your subjects of choice. I like Italeri and Bronco as I like Italian armour and Finemolds and Pit Road for their interesting Japanese Items. FineMolds is very diverse in their catalogue. Aircraft , military, naval, scifi and fantasy, after market products and have worked with Tamiya. In reality I'm all over the place and it's down to who's making what I would like to build and is it an OK kit. Just got Tamiya's Fiat 500 'cause it's fun and makes me smile (Revels 2CV for the same reason). Or Robot B-9 (Lost in Space) and Thunderbird 1 - old TV fun. (NCC1701's there as well). And Mobeus's Plymouth Satellite because of the B-52's song Planet Claire (I'll put her in it). I think I'm very lucky to be able to enjoy the hobby and the diversity of subjects we enjoy is fantastic. Enjoy and thanks for the vid. 🦘🦘🦘 (nice t-shirt - Mitchell and Webb do a great sketch about it!)
An excellent and most comprehensive analysis which was enjoyable to watch. My take on this is if I could find a model kit with the quality and engineering of Tamiya, the instructions and decals provided by Airfix and the fun build factor of Hasagawa then I would be delighted ! Finally, being 63 with weakening eye sight and finger dexterity that is not as good as they used to be, all parts under 5mm should be outlawed !! I like the idea that you suggested of breaking down the analysis into categories such as cars, aircraft, ships etc..perhaps next time but this was a great review. Thank you
There's a lot to be said for 'shake and bake' kits, but they don't add much to the skill of the modeler, overcoming a tricky kit is character building in the scale modeling universe
Dear Alex, honestly, you did such a good job that i can t see anyway to improve. Also to even attempt to say something again your hard woork and dedication would be an insult. You are the best channel for me😊
While i can't speak for all of their motorcycle kits as i haven't built all of them but some of them (the Yamaha RZ-250 and RZ-350 come to mind) come with 2 sets of instructions.....1 in multipile languages but no Japanese and the other in Japanese only
@@MannsModelMoments its an odd practice as i have built some of their orher motorcycle kits that only have 1 set of instructions with multiple laungages including Japanese
Honestly as much as I'd say Tamiya are quite good, their instructions really are the thing that make me think twice before picking up one of their kits. They are a bit of a mess of black and white printing and just having a lot going on at once. Whereas Airfix and even Revell have broken them down into far easier to follow steps with even Revell's better instructions having full color. That's certainly an area that Tamiya needs to improve on because I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of good kits because I don't want to feel like I'm reading a riddle.
I dont think that you should be put off by Tamiya instructions. They are a lot clearer than many, though they could be improved of course. Personally I don’t like their colour call-outs with the need to mix paint but that’s a small distraction from great plastic.
Hi Alex. Firstly box art. In my own experience it was what got me to buy the Airfix Bismark one Christmas (long long ago). As a modeller, I value accuracy more highly than your scoring would allow and the use of colour in the instructions seems unnecessary. Then again I remember the Airfix single exploded view and text instructions style which didn't cause any problems. Any kit that needs filler, either you're not doing it right or its not good enough. Where I feel really unsettled is the apparent focus on a model as a mantle shelf ornament. Look at the boxes and you see "8 +" as the age range. I'm prepared to bet that of all these products at least 80% are bought by or for the 8 to 14 age group. They are the modellers (as you would understand them) of the future. when I was in that age range (and I think typically so) a mantle shelf ornament was the last thing I wanted. So in ignoring the disparagingly called (at least by youtubers) "toy value" you have missed out a lot. When I was young, an openning cockpit or bomb bay, folding wings and retracable landing gear were highly valued (and I got all that in a 1/48 Monogram Grumman Avenger) and most in some of the Revell. In the same vein I feel many of your manufacturers are missing a very important trick in not catering very well for this largest market segment.
HI - I tried to cover everything to some degree in this analysis, and what you call "toy value" was incorporated in terms of the kit options - so one that had opening doors/hatches etc would have scored more than one just designed like a corgi display piece. Of course any analysis will not suit every modeller 100% - but that's what the collective sum of everything tries to even out - which of these companies is offering the most to the broadest audience? I'm actually just going through the initial stages of a more focussed analysis of aircraft model companies, and it's interesting to see the differences even after the first knock-out rounds!
@@MannsModelMoments Thanks Alex, perhaps i missed something there. Oops. It is something, though, that I do find annoying is the way that many youtubers are almost snearing at the "play" aspects that the young may actually find more atractive in kit building and thus get hooked and secure the future for the companies and so for us older players. Personally I like the idea of changing the pose from time to time to refresh it so moving control surfaces, bomb doors cockpits etc can be just the job. When I was young I built an Airfix Me109G6 and made it with an openning cockpit and retractable gear. That gave me great satisfaction and perhaps goes some way to explain 40 years in aerospace!
@@emmabird9745 I agree that it's really not for any of us to "gatekeep" what or how people get their enjoyment from the hobby . We all have our preferences, but that doesn't mean we get to look down on others preferences
Hi Alex - love this data analysis - I do similar stuff in my day job - with a return to modelling as a hobby for my impending retirement - notice your are using Excel for your visualisation (unless I'm mistaken) - have you tried Power BI which grew out of Excel in and around 2012-2015 and left Excel behind ( but that is still a great and widely used tool ). Cannot really fault what you did at all either in Part 1 or Part 2 - other than getting Clarkson to do the voice over 😉
@@MannsModelMoments I know where you are coming from on that - we use Excel as proof of concept and validation for our Power BI - keep up the great work!
@@NeilMicklethwaite1812 We introduced PowerBI for our teams to get daily updates on their sales figures - it really transformed the way they could manage their customers...prior to that they had to delve into the finance system which was a nightmare!
I posted in part 1 but I think modelling genre is a better analysis. Most modellers have their favourite subject matter be it aircraft, tanks, ww1, ww2, postwar etc.
@MannsModelMoments nice that will change the top 5 manufacturers. I would say that video will be easier to collate data for, once you decide which categories you will do.
@@wasrio1403 Oh the data is absolutely not easier to collate! It does change the mix, but the actual data collection and processing is exactly the same
For me it's price then subject, ease of build, then sharpness of details, don't really care to much about accuracy so long as it looks good when completed I use several brands because of subject matter, not big on the two conflict companies atm, Tamiya has always been my go-to company, but because of subject matter the Chinese companies come in a strong second.
really well put-together set of rankings, here...yeah- Tamiya was going to be near the top- their attention to detail is really high, and they're obviously very well beloved by seasoned modelers...the X-15a kits from Special Hobby are pretty amazing, and i was really surprised by how detailed the ICM XB-70 kit was for its smaller scale...competition is a good thing...
Very interesting indeed. I am not surprised as I do build a lot of Tamiya kits. I have to admit that I am generally a car modeller. Cheers & thanks again for the analysis.
Great analysis, it certainly confirms a couple of things for me. Thank you for the time and effort spent here. Sub categories could be great for a future expansion.
Great topic and thank you for the hard work put into this data dive. Breaking the data into subcategories like aircraft, cars, ships, etc. as mentioned would be very helpful.
An excellent piece of work Alex, thank you. An interesting add-on to this might be to look at the trajectory that companies are on, maybe considering just the last 5 years of output. I for one would also like to see a couple of follow on narrower views; definitely aircraft and probably 1/35 armour. My only quibble with this analysis would be the weighting for decals, which I think most builders consider pretty important. Obviously Airfix would score very highly here, whereas Tamiya's consistently thick offering much less so - not that these would be enough to change the final standings.
Tamiya have always been the Gold Standard , the Creme de la Creme , the icing on the cake . the Top Dog and any other description you care to praise them with . Expensive yes but you pay for quality and the best and Tamiya are head and shoulders above the other model companies .
Fascinating analysis Alex thank you. I totally agree that attractive evocative box art will sway a potential purchaser in its favour over some bland looking alternative. Revell's boxing is dreadful, and in fairness Airfix aren't much better. I would like to have seen decal quality as a category simply because in my opinion they make a good kit great. Airfix with their Cartograf decals are leading the way in my opinion. Thinking of Airfix and Revell in particular, and as with any business. It's easy to gain a negative reputation but incredibly difficult to turn that back into a positive. Great video, cheers.
That sounds suspiciously like Formula 1 scoring Alex ;) WRT branding, I'm from the era where Airfix was synonymous with model kits, much like a vacuum cleaner is often called a hoover, and a web search is 'Googling'. A plastic model kit was an 'Airfix kit', albeit Matchbox and Frog were around then too. Thus - in the UK at least - Airfix benefits from that recognisable branding to the extent that if you ask a non-modeller to name a company I think most will say Airfix. Logos: I think in some countries there is probably less choice, so companies don't bother with a prominent logo because there isn't much (if any) competition. As a result when their products appear in other countries where there /is/ more competition they suffer. I wonder if companies with different alphabets and/or don't speak English prioritise the colour palette over the wording as colour is more likely to be universally recognised. (for the same reason remote controls etc. use symbols because they don't have to make different ones for each country). Longevity can be a two-edged sword. You may have built up recognition over the years for all the wrong reasons, for example the historical trope about Airfix kits' parts fit being terrible. It's not /now/ but they still have that legacy. A younger company may not have the brand recognition, but nor do they have the historical baggage (actually watching the video you just mentioned baggage). Revell don't IMHO score well due to a lack of transparency in tooling dates. They have a bad habit of reboxing very old toolings in modern boxes si the unwary may buy what they think is a new kit only to find it was tooled decades ago. WRT kit type, figures are not a discrete category.. are they included under Sci-Fi / Other? Box art design (art work at least) is I think linked to my comments on Logo. Companies from countries where there is no competition may put less effort into the box because they know the consumer has less (no?) choice but to buy their product. On the subject of artwork it can also form the basis for a diorama. Bland artwork of course won't. Agreed ICM's instructional videos are /really/ good. Plastic. Is it too flexible, too brittle, or just right? The Goldilocks of plastic *lol* Interesting that Airfix are second.. perhaps changing supplier quite often keeps the supplier on their toes? Both Tamiya and Airfix look to be hit and miss, but when Airfix miss they seem to do so by a wider margin than Tamiya. BTW Manns Model Moments doesn't come up on Facebook. Found you by searching for Alex Mann.
re Facebook - my account was hacked in Jan 2023 and Facebook have been incredibly unhelpful and just blocked me, meaning I had to create another account...I don't really care for them and I think it's a dying platform so haven't invested in trying to fix the situation - I should just amend my social links at this point!
@@MannsModelMoments Agreed about Farceberk (my name for it) in the long run. I don't use Messenger as their idea of Private is 'only everyone at FB can see it' so 'Private' Messages are no such thing. The farcer.. oops.. parser.. is unable to understand context so for example if you mention Guy Gibson's dog by name - the N word - you get banned. It /used/ to work well but now they're trying to be all things to everyone, /and/ sacrificing function for form. The result being their core function of a communication tool suffers.
A troll commenter on my videos was arguing about how Facebook is not a dying platform, - which he is correct about, but the devil is in the detail - the number one user is India, then the US, then a bunch of emerging market countries. There are more users of Facebook in Africa than the entirety of Europe - which tells you something. 10 years ago it was something everyone used in Europe - now most use it much less (myself included), one of the reasons being (for me) is that I simply don't trust it. Emerging markets tend to follow Western moves, so in 10 years where is Facebook going to be when they all realise the same thing?
Thanks for the great analysis and it was very informative. One area that could be added to the next review is the availability of after market products to support their kits. This is something that has greatly improved the Airfix vintage naval kits. Thanks again.
@@MannsModelMoments thanks for the reply. Having recently returned to the Hobby after a +30 year absence this was all very new to me and I wasn’t sure if the model companies cooperated or even encouraged aftermarket companies to cover their products. It makes an incredible difference to the likes of the vintage Ark Royal, although they should include a health warning for the need of therapy with the PE.
@@MannsModelMoments look up the shit they're into. organ harvesting, disappearing and genociding their people, spying and subversion in basically all countries. they also invaded a bunch of places with plans for more
@@MannsModelMomentsRussian model companies aren’t either. You’re confusing people trying to make a living with a ruthless dictator. You’re persecuting people because of where they were born. There’s a word for that.
@blarrrggg Several of those things could also be applied to the US! But I get your point - global politics generally isn't absolute, but at what point do you pull the trigger and say "no more"? We buy most of our goods from Chinese companies, so in terms of the global stage, most countries have continued on with the trade as long as China doesn't cross any red lines, but we also condemn those practices etc - this is how it's always been, unfortunately. If you feel we shouldn't support Chinese companies, it's absolutely a personal choice and I completely respect that
@CFster No, I'm not "confusing" anything here. There are plenty of honest people in Russia trying to make a living, but their taxes fund the regime that has initiated and perpetuates an unprovoked and aggressive land-grab. If you really want to fund a company whose taxes may end up buying a bullet or bomb that kills Ukrainian citizens, then perhaps you should consider going working there too? Also the insinuation that I'm "racist" (that's what you meant, right?) by persecuting people in Russia - and btw, persecuting people because of where they were born isn't racism - I think you need to look up the word - because of giving Zvezda a 0 in a RUclips video is frankly hilarious. So by that measure your own country is racist en-masse because you have sanctions in place against Russia. You really haven't thought this one through, have you?
You betray yourself as subjective when you say "some elemenrs irrelevant to me" - well this isn't about YOU. However, modern Airfix has definitely surpassed Hasegawa
I men Hasegawa isn't bad by any means but Airfix has done a lot more to improve themselves than Hasegawa has. When people criticize Tamiya for resting and not really trying, I just tend to think of Hasegawa. Main reason I go to them for stuff is because they have the licensing to produce Ace Combat stuff, but that's a highly subjective thing with me.
Compare hase to airfix…i must agree airfix late kits are a lot better than hase, especially in i.e. 1/48 aircraft…cause…how many new tool hase did we get lately. Lately as last 5 to 10 years or so…
@@MannsModelMoments Could you give me an example where Airfix has surpassed Hasegawa? I suppose my main issue with Airfix is their Matchbox like panel line trenches
@@MannsModelMoments Can you give me an example where Airfix are better than Hasegawa? I can give you quite a few where Hase are better in terms of fit and detail (I hesitate to mention accuracy, I never measure my models looking for faults)
I know the Americans don't go for facts and data, but when they're set out in front of you and you still think people are choosing something out of preference.... Guess you really can't teach stupid....lol
@@CFster No, I'm sorry, you don't get to make the rules - I can take criticism, but your comment was just dumb It didn't make a point, it didn't provide evidence, it just rolled out a tired trope that can be demonstrably shown to be untrue of myself of you've looked at any of my content. "Putting yourself out there" doesn't mean saying "Hey' throw your stupid insults at me with no fear of reprisals". You also "put yourself out there" by commenting, and I responded to it in the way it was made, so man up yourself, please.
I'm sure they are....forums are as antiquated as those populating them, and you get haters everywhere. I asked for thoughts and comments, not a bunch of trolls making snarky remarks. If you have an ACTUAL critique or real comment, I'd be happy to engage that in a reasonable way, but if not then I'll leave you to your little group of forum-dwelling goblins.
Having rewatched this and negated the rounds that have no significance to the completed build in your display such as branding instructions boxing kit options or cost and relying more on build and accuracy changes the results somewhat
You seem to be wanting to watch a different video than the one I made. I was reviewing which model COMPANY was the best in the world, not which are the best KITS or BUILDS in the world, which is a completely different (and rather less interesting) question.
@@MannsModelMoments I took your data and extrapolated the information I needed to draw a conclusion based on your video, still valid as far as your video is concerned
I did watch the whole video. If you have watched his whole series on kits, you will see his bias. He talked about penalizing airfix for quality control issues. I have worked with Beth and Tony at Hornby America in regards to the issues. The airfix people have been really supportive of my modeling. I have cerebral palsy and No other company have been as supportive of my modeling . I hope to buy more airfix kits. They are great people to work with . They have the best decals in the business. Have you seen the decals of other companies ? When it comes down to it , the superior customer service and support of disabled modelers kicks every other company to the curb.
What did you think of the analysis and end result? How do you think it could be improved in the future, and would you like to see sub-categories like "Best model aircraft company", "Best model car company" and so on? Let me know down below!
A superb treatese very well considered and presented. It is a challenging subject to address and very thought-provoking. Many thanks.
@@mikeshivers9922 thanks!
Great in-depth research and a broad range of considerations.
A small-medium size company will have no choice but to pay taxes to their government and it is beyond the control of that company how those taxes are spent, just as it is beyond the control of almost any taxpayer, anywhere, how their taxes are spent. The company is also highly unlikely to have any influence on the actions of their government and could even disagree with policies/actions. Depending on where on this planet one lives, what influences in life/current-affairs/social-media/geopolitics one is subjected to, then most of the companies involved in this survey (and on a much broader scale) are liable for criticism, as the governments of those countries might also be accused of undesirable policies and actions affecting those in other nations.
@@neilhughes9310 whilst that is true, every company has a choice. Miniart relocated to Poland because of the war, any other company could also choose to relocate - where there's a will there's a way.
Very interesting, I would certainly appreciate a look at aircraft kits, but would you need to specify a scale? One company might produce fantastic 1/32 scale kits but nothing in 1/72 etc. Also did you consider the quality and or quantity, (comprehensive nature or otherwise) of the water slide transfers (I am old school 😂). My understanding is that Tamiya decals (ugh) are difficult to work with, would or should that be a negative factor?
As a teacher with a hobby club in my school, the students that start with Tamiya or Academy kits stay in the hobby. The students that start with Airfix or Heller simply tend to give up. They choose 1/72 aircraft (Tamiya, academy, Airfix), 1/72 & 1/48 military (Airfix, Tamiya, Academy) and 1/600 or 1/700 ships (Airfix, Tamiya, Academy, Aoshima).😊
I find the academy kits to be good, However, I work with disabled kids, My experience is that the airfix starter sets a good fit with my modelers. I start them off with the lego like kits and go from there.
I am not sure how you could further improve what you've already accomplished? Thank you for this in-depth analysis!!
Homeopathy...the air guitar of medicine. Great videos, and amazing work!!!!
Glad you liked it and got the T-Shirt :-D
Well researched and very informative review. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Alex
I finally got to watch this final volume of the series and I'd like to thank you for all of the time and effort you put in Alex.
Whilst the end result came as no real surprise there's no denying the sheer amount of work you put in to get us there.
Fascinating and factual stuff. Thank you.
Tamiya has been "The Gold Standard" for many years and Tend to be my first choice on many subjects. I agree that their instructions are a bit dated, but their clarity stands well above just about any manufacturer. Photo etched parts are also an interesting subject. Mandatory use in some areas is a real pain and on a Dragon T-34 I am currently building some are microscopic and almost impossible to glue on or even holding with fine tweezers. Decals are another matter that can make the build satisfying or just looking like a toy. I know some Tamiya decals have a bad rep for thickness, but there are some that are absolutely horrible. Some brands can't be redeemed even with half a bottle of Micro Set/Sol. Others are so thin that even though they can look painted on when finished, they are almost impossible to apply and position without ripping. It may be a compromise in some areas, I have to agree with your evaluation for Tamiya finishing as best.
Interesting results. Kind of expected, but also, allowing for elements of personal opinion which always are going to come into this sort of thing, not one I have many arguments with. One factor that can;t really be included is the manufacturers choice and range of subjects. I buy fewer Airfix kits and ICM becuase of this. Not a reflection of the kits so much as the modeller! The last few I bought have been recent ICM kits (I-16 and !I-153)both tooled less than 10 years ago, and around £16 for a 1/48 kit and I am impressed with the value and the quality. I remember Airfix from the bad old days, a company squeezing the last life out of tired moulds with no investment. They have come a long way, and it's nice to see a familiar old brand still going on its own merits. Tamiya, oddly, I have very little experience with. Built a few tank kits...but Dragon eclipsed them, as did things like the HobbyBoss T-35 I must finish one day....
In short. Well done on this! I agree more than I disagree, but understand your choice and the process you took to get there was absolutely valid. Brave to even try!!!!
That was a really incredible piece of hard work you delivered here, Alex. Thank you so much for doing this, it was so well researched and presented. I hope the manufacturers take note of your invaluable input!
Thank you!
Just amazing, all that data and research. I cannot imagine how long that took. Superb work! Yes I'd love to see separate videos for like the best aircraft/tank/scifi kit company etc but considering the amount of work that would take, maybe not. Well done indeed!
I have really enjoyed your in-depth research & analytical thoughts on the matter & your conclusion on the 3 overall winners 🏆 very interesting. I will say I did think Airfix would be in there, Tamiya well to be expected & nice to see ICM there. Thanks. 😃
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great analysis. Thanks. I would be very interested in the best model company by kit type (and even scale, for example, with aircraft - does the best 1/72 kit come from the best 1/48 scale kit company?). Also, I would really like a "stinker" list. That is what specific kit to avoid. For example, if someone were looking at an Airfix 1/72 Fw190 and an Academy 1/72 scale Fw190 side by side at the Hobby Shop, it would be nice to know if one was a real disaster in the box, even if it had great artwork and a better price. A list of the top 100 model kits to avoid would be great. Just because Tamiya scored on top, do they have any stinkers out there? This may be best answered with a pole and some research. Thoughts?
A "stinker" list is not a bad idea, but would require a lot of research because there are so many kits out there - even if you limited it to a single manufacturer it'd be quite a task. I think it's also more subjective as to what makes a bad kit than what makes a good one - accuracy may or may not be important to a "fun" builder, for example. I would advise most builders to avoid Mistercraft, for example, yet some experienced modellers like them as a budget build - especially where subjects are out of production from the original manufacturer.
Howdy Alex...sorry i missed it live...watching now on replay.cheers🍺🍺🍺.
Great video! You really did good in breaking down the scoring components which I'm sure wasn't easy. Just surprised that some companies were left out?
Thanks. No companies were left out, they were just eliminated in the first video....
Interesting video so you are focusing on company's that all things to all people. I get your premise but dont most modellers pick on more narrow band.
Thus depends on how serious younare about you modelling.
I base my short list on:
Subject matter
Kit quality
Price.
Thanks for your work.
Well, it's no good looking at subject first, because you immediately narrow appeal....it'd be like saying that Mclaren are the best car company in the world, when they make high-end supercars that only a fraction of the population could ever conceivably afford!
Thanks for all your hard work putting this together.
No worries!
Best....well it's a personal thing really isn't it and influenced by past experience/future goals and your subjects of choice.
I like Italeri and Bronco as I like Italian armour and Finemolds and Pit Road for their interesting Japanese Items.
FineMolds is very diverse in their catalogue. Aircraft , military, naval, scifi and fantasy, after market products and have worked with Tamiya.
In reality I'm all over the place and it's down to who's making what I would like to build and is it an OK kit.
Just got Tamiya's Fiat 500 'cause it's fun and makes me smile (Revels 2CV for the same reason). Or Robot B-9 (Lost in Space) and Thunderbird 1 - old TV fun. (NCC1701's there as well).
And Mobeus's Plymouth Satellite because of the B-52's song Planet Claire (I'll put her in it).
I think I'm very lucky to be able to enjoy the hobby and the diversity of subjects we enjoy is fantastic.
Enjoy and thanks for the vid. 🦘🦘🦘
(nice t-shirt - Mitchell and Webb do a great sketch about it!)
Cheers
An excellent and most comprehensive analysis which was enjoyable to watch. My take on this is if I could find a model kit with the quality and engineering of Tamiya, the instructions and decals provided by Airfix and the fun build factor of Hasagawa then I would be delighted ! Finally, being 63 with weakening eye sight and finger dexterity that is not as good as they used to be, all parts under 5mm should be outlawed !! I like the idea that you suggested of breaking down the analysis into categories such as cars, aircraft, ships etc..perhaps next time but this was a great review. Thank you
Thanks!
Tamiya is a well deserved 1st place, the term 'shake and bake' kits like the P-47s, P-51s... are a testament to how good they are.
There's a lot to be said for 'shake and bake' kits, but they don't add much to the skill of the modeler, overcoming a tricky kit is character building in the scale modeling universe
It was no surprise to me that Tamiya came out on top; but I was surprised that Airfix was number two.
Me too!!
I. Do t know if RyeField models are available to you, but I think they are some of the best for detail and quality.
Cheers
They are, but they're mainly focused on AFVs
Dear Alex, honestly, you did such a good job that i can t see anyway to improve. Also to even attempt to say something again your hard woork and dedication would be an insult. You are the best channel for me😊
thank you!
While i can't speak for all of their motorcycle kits as i haven't built all of them but some of them (the Yamaha RZ-250 and RZ-350 come to mind) come with 2 sets of instructions.....1 in multipile languages but no Japanese and the other in Japanese only
true
@@MannsModelMoments its an odd practice as i have built some of their orher motorcycle kits that only have 1 set of instructions with multiple laungages including Japanese
Honestly as much as I'd say Tamiya are quite good, their instructions really are the thing that make me think twice before picking up one of their kits. They are a bit of a mess of black and white printing and just having a lot going on at once. Whereas Airfix and even Revell have broken them down into far easier to follow steps with even Revell's better instructions having full color. That's certainly an area that Tamiya needs to improve on because I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of good kits because I don't want to feel like I'm reading a riddle.
Recent kits are better than the historical ones
I dont think that you should be put off by Tamiya instructions. They are a lot clearer than many, though they could be improved of course. Personally I don’t like their colour call-outs with the need to mix paint but that’s a small distraction from great plastic.
Hi Alex. Firstly box art. In my own experience it was what got me to buy the Airfix Bismark one Christmas (long long ago).
As a modeller, I value accuracy more highly than your scoring would allow and the use of colour in the instructions seems unnecessary. Then again I remember the Airfix single exploded view and text instructions style which didn't cause any problems. Any kit that needs filler, either you're not doing it right or its not good enough.
Where I feel really unsettled is the apparent focus on a model as a mantle shelf ornament. Look at the boxes and you see "8 +" as the age range. I'm prepared to bet that of all these products at least 80% are bought by or for the 8 to 14 age group. They are the modellers (as you would understand them) of the future. when I was in that age range (and I think typically so) a mantle shelf ornament was the last thing I wanted. So in ignoring the disparagingly called (at least by youtubers) "toy value" you have missed out a lot. When I was young, an openning cockpit or bomb bay, folding wings and retracable landing gear were highly valued (and I got all that in a 1/48 Monogram Grumman Avenger) and most in some of the Revell.
In the same vein I feel many of your manufacturers are missing a very important trick in not catering very well for this largest market segment.
HI - I tried to cover everything to some degree in this analysis, and what you call "toy value" was incorporated in terms of the kit options - so one that had opening doors/hatches etc would have scored more than one just designed like a corgi display piece.
Of course any analysis will not suit every modeller 100% - but that's what the collective sum of everything tries to even out - which of these companies is offering the most to the broadest audience?
I'm actually just going through the initial stages of a more focussed analysis of aircraft model companies, and it's interesting to see the differences even after the first knock-out rounds!
@@MannsModelMoments Thanks Alex, perhaps i missed something there. Oops.
It is something, though, that I do find annoying is the way that many youtubers are almost snearing at the "play" aspects that the young may actually find more atractive in kit building and thus get hooked and secure the future for the companies and so for us older players. Personally I like the idea of changing the pose from time to time to refresh it so moving control surfaces, bomb doors cockpits etc can be just the job.
When I was young I built an Airfix Me109G6 and made it with an openning cockpit and retractable gear. That gave me great satisfaction and perhaps goes some way to explain 40 years in aerospace!
@@emmabird9745 I agree that it's really not for any of us to "gatekeep" what or how people get their enjoyment from the hobby . We all have our preferences, but that doesn't mean we get to look down on others preferences
Hi Alex - love this data analysis - I do similar stuff in my day job - with a return to modelling as a hobby for my impending retirement - notice your are using Excel for your visualisation (unless I'm mistaken) - have you tried Power BI which grew out of Excel in and around 2012-2015 and left Excel behind ( but that is still a great and widely used tool ). Cannot really fault what you did at all either in Part 1 or Part 2 - other than getting Clarkson to do the voice over 😉
I love Power BI but a bit heavyweight for my needs really!
@@MannsModelMoments I know where you are coming from on that - we use Excel as proof of concept and validation for our Power BI - keep up the great work!
@@NeilMicklethwaite1812 We introduced PowerBI for our teams to get daily updates on their sales figures - it really transformed the way they could manage their customers...prior to that they had to delve into the finance system which was a nightmare!
I posted in part 1 but I think modelling genre is a better analysis. Most modellers have their favourite subject matter be it aircraft, tanks, ww1, ww2, postwar etc.
In progress!
@MannsModelMoments nice that will change the top 5 manufacturers. I would say that video will be easier to collate data for, once you decide which categories you will do.
@@wasrio1403 Oh the data is absolutely not easier to collate! It does change the mix, but the actual data collection and processing is exactly the same
For me it's price then subject, ease of build, then sharpness of details, don't really care to much about accuracy so long as it looks good when completed I use several brands because of subject matter, not big on the two conflict companies atm, Tamiya has always been my go-to company, but because of subject matter the Chinese companies come in a strong second.
I used to like some of the Zvezda kits, being aware of the limitations. But unfortunately for them they didn't emigrate to Ukraine.
really well put-together set of rankings, here...yeah- Tamiya was going to be near the top- their attention to detail is really high, and they're obviously very well beloved by seasoned modelers...the X-15a kits from Special Hobby are pretty amazing, and i was really surprised by how detailed the ICM XB-70 kit was for its smaller scale...competition is a good thing...
Where is border model ?
It didn't make it through to the final
Very interesting indeed. I am not surprised as I do build a lot of Tamiya kits. I have to admit that I am generally a car modeller. Cheers & thanks again for the analysis.
Great analysis, it certainly confirms a couple of things for me. Thank you for the time and effort spent here. Sub categories could be great for a future expansion.
Great topic and thank you for the hard work put into this data dive. Breaking the data into subcategories like aircraft, cars, ships, etc. as mentioned would be very helpful.
Glad you enjoyed it! Individual sub-topics already started!
Having made two old Airfix kits recently, I think I'm ready to move on to something of more recent vintage. They were pretty crude.
If you try a modern (>2012) kit vs a vintage Airfix kit, they're chalk and cheese
An excellent piece of work Alex, thank you. An interesting add-on to this might be to look at the trajectory that companies are on, maybe considering just the last 5 years of output. I for one would also like to see a couple of follow on narrower views; definitely aircraft and probably 1/35 armour. My only quibble with this analysis would be the weighting for decals, which I think most builders consider pretty important. Obviously Airfix would score very highly here, whereas Tamiya's consistently thick offering much less so - not that these would be enough to change the final standings.
fell asleep
Thanks for such a great video. Very interesting and informative. Absolutely top job.
Thank you!
Excellent video. Thank you. (I'm one of those who get frustrated by the obligatory photo-etch bits!)
Video on photoetch coming soon... lol
Thank you for an informative project. My only complaint was your eyes following the autocue…off putting. But that aside a godd job Sir!
Thanks - it's always difficult to make a video face to camera with a script and eliminate that!
Tamiya have always been the Gold Standard , the Creme de la Creme , the icing on the cake . the Top Dog and any other description you care to praise them with . Expensive yes but you pay for quality and the best and Tamiya are head and shoulders above the other model companies .
Thanks for sharing!!
Fascinating analysis Alex thank you.
I totally agree that attractive evocative box art will sway a potential purchaser in its favour over some bland looking alternative.
Revell's boxing is dreadful, and in fairness Airfix aren't much better.
I would like to have seen decal quality as a category simply because in my opinion they make a good kit great. Airfix with their Cartograf decals are leading the way in my opinion.
Thinking of Airfix and Revell in particular, and as with any business. It's easy to gain a negative reputation but incredibly difficult to turn that back into a positive.
Great video, cheers.
I did include decal quality, I think the mention of it got cut in the edits since the video was already super long!
No problem Alex, thank you. @@MannsModelMoments
That sounds suspiciously like Formula 1 scoring Alex ;)
WRT branding, I'm from the era where Airfix was synonymous with model kits, much like a vacuum cleaner is often called a hoover, and a web search is 'Googling'. A plastic model kit was an 'Airfix kit', albeit Matchbox and Frog were around then too. Thus - in the UK at least - Airfix benefits from that recognisable branding to the extent that if you ask a non-modeller to name a company I think most will say Airfix.
Logos: I think in some countries there is probably less choice, so companies don't bother with a prominent logo because there isn't much (if any) competition. As a result when their products appear in other countries where there /is/ more competition they suffer.
I wonder if companies with different alphabets and/or don't speak English prioritise the colour palette over the wording as colour is more likely to be universally recognised. (for the same reason remote controls etc. use symbols because they don't have to make different ones for each country).
Longevity can be a two-edged sword. You may have built up recognition over the years for all the wrong reasons, for example the historical trope about Airfix kits' parts fit being terrible. It's not /now/ but they still have that legacy. A younger company may not have the brand recognition, but nor do they have the historical baggage (actually watching the video you just mentioned baggage).
Revell don't IMHO score well due to a lack of transparency in tooling dates. They have a bad habit of reboxing very old toolings in modern boxes si the unwary may buy what they think is a new kit only to find it was tooled decades ago.
WRT kit type, figures are not a discrete category.. are they included under Sci-Fi / Other?
Box art design (art work at least) is I think linked to my comments on Logo. Companies from countries where there is no competition may put less effort into the box because they know the consumer has less (no?) choice but to buy their product. On the subject of artwork it can also form the basis for a diorama. Bland artwork of course won't.
Agreed ICM's instructional videos are /really/ good.
Plastic. Is it too flexible, too brittle, or just right? The Goldilocks of plastic *lol* Interesting that Airfix are second.. perhaps changing supplier quite often keeps the supplier on their toes?
Both Tamiya and Airfix look to be hit and miss, but when Airfix miss they seem to do so by a wider margin than Tamiya.
BTW Manns Model Moments doesn't come up on Facebook. Found you by searching for Alex Mann.
re Facebook - my account was hacked in Jan 2023 and Facebook have been incredibly unhelpful and just blocked me, meaning I had to create another account...I don't really care for them and I think it's a dying platform so haven't invested in trying to fix the situation - I should just amend my social links at this point!
@@MannsModelMoments Agreed about Farceberk (my name for it) in the long run. I don't use Messenger as their idea of Private is 'only everyone at FB can see it' so 'Private' Messages are no such thing. The farcer.. oops.. parser.. is unable to understand context so for example if you mention Guy Gibson's dog by name - the N word - you get banned. It /used/ to work well but now they're trying to be all things to everyone, /and/ sacrificing function for form. The result being their core function of a communication tool suffers.
A troll commenter on my videos was arguing about how Facebook is not a dying platform, - which he is correct about, but the devil is in the detail - the number one user is India, then the US, then a bunch of emerging market countries. There are more users of Facebook in Africa than the entirety of Europe - which tells you something. 10 years ago it was something everyone used in Europe - now most use it much less (myself included), one of the reasons being (for me) is that I simply don't trust it. Emerging markets tend to follow Western moves, so in 10 years where is Facebook going to be when they all realise the same thing?
Thanks for the great analysis and it was very informative. One area that could be added to the next review is the availability of after market products to support their kits. This is something that has greatly improved the Airfix vintage naval kits. Thanks again.
An interesting idea, but as it's not in the company's control, not one they can really take credit for!
@@MannsModelMoments thanks for the reply. Having recently returned to the Hobby after a +30 year absence this was all very new to me and I wasn’t sure if the model companies cooperated or even encouraged aftermarket companies to cover their products. It makes an incredible difference to the likes of the vintage Ark Royal, although they should include a health warning for the need of therapy with the PE.
Some do - some don't, but it's really down to the individual company philosophy
Hasegawa for at least the last 40 years
Nope
if you lose points for being russian you should also lose points for being chinese
The Chinese aren't engaged in an active invasion of a neighbouring sovereign country, so no, they shouldn't be.
@@MannsModelMoments look up the shit they're into. organ harvesting, disappearing and genociding their people, spying and subversion in basically all countries. they also invaded a bunch of places with plans for more
@@MannsModelMomentsRussian model companies aren’t either. You’re confusing people trying to make a living with a ruthless dictator. You’re persecuting people because of where they were born. There’s a word for that.
@blarrrggg Several of those things could also be applied to the US! But I get your point - global politics generally isn't absolute, but at what point do you pull the trigger and say "no more"? We buy most of our goods from Chinese companies, so in terms of the global stage, most countries have continued on with the trade as long as China doesn't cross any red lines, but we also condemn those practices etc - this is how it's always been, unfortunately. If you feel we shouldn't support Chinese companies, it's absolutely a personal choice and I completely respect that
@CFster No, I'm not "confusing" anything here. There are plenty of honest people in Russia trying to make a living, but their taxes fund the regime that has initiated and perpetuates an unprovoked and aggressive land-grab. If you really want to fund a company whose taxes may end up buying a bullet or bomb that kills Ukrainian citizens, then perhaps you should consider going working there too?
Also the insinuation that I'm "racist" (that's what you meant, right?) by persecuting people in Russia - and btw, persecuting people because of where they were born isn't racism - I think you need to look up the word - because of giving Zvezda a 0 in a RUclips video is frankly hilarious.
So by that measure your own country is racist en-masse because you have sanctions in place against Russia. You really haven't thought this one through, have you?
Highly subjective and some elements irrelevant to me and if you think Airfix are better than Hasegawa you're crazy!
You betray yourself as subjective when you say "some elemenrs irrelevant to me" - well this isn't about YOU. However, modern Airfix has definitely surpassed Hasegawa
I men Hasegawa isn't bad by any means but Airfix has done a lot more to improve themselves than Hasegawa has. When people criticize Tamiya for resting and not really trying, I just tend to think of Hasegawa. Main reason I go to them for stuff is because they have the licensing to produce Ace Combat stuff, but that's a highly subjective thing with me.
Compare hase to airfix…i must agree airfix late kits are a lot better than hase, especially in i.e. 1/48 aircraft…cause…how many new tool hase did we get lately. Lately as last 5 to 10 years or so…
@@MannsModelMoments Could you give me an example where Airfix has surpassed Hasegawa? I suppose my main issue with Airfix is their Matchbox like panel line trenches
@@MannsModelMoments Can you give me an example where Airfix are better than Hasegawa? I can give you quite a few where Hase are better in terms of fit and detail (I hesitate to mention accuracy, I never measure my models looking for faults)
I know the Brits have a hard on for Airfix, but top three? 😂
I know the Americans don't go for facts and data, but when they're set out in front of you and you still think people are choosing something out of preference.... Guess you really can't teach stupid....lol
@@MannsModelMoments don’t put yourself out there if you can’t take criticism. No need to insult your audience.
@@CFster No, I'm sorry, you don't get to make the rules - I can take criticism, but your comment was just dumb It didn't make a point, it didn't provide evidence, it just rolled out a tired trope that can be demonstrably shown to be untrue of myself of you've looked at any of my content.
"Putting yourself out there" doesn't mean saying "Hey' throw your stupid insults at me with no fear of reprisals". You also "put yourself out there" by commenting, and I responded to it in the way it was made, so man up yourself, please.
@@MannsModelMoments they’re laughing about this series on some forums. You do you, but don’t ask for comments if you can’t handle them.
I'm sure they are....forums are as antiquated as those populating them, and you get haters everywhere.
I asked for thoughts and comments, not a bunch of trolls making snarky remarks. If you have an ACTUAL critique or real comment, I'd be happy to engage that in a reasonable way, but if not then I'll leave you to your little group of forum-dwelling goblins.
Oh my god, this has to be the most anorak drivel , comparing the thickness of card board boxes is utter mind blowing
And yet you spent the time to not only watch it, but comment on it...how sad does that make you??
Having rewatched this and negated the rounds that have no significance to the completed build in your display such as branding instructions boxing kit options or cost and relying more on build and accuracy changes the results somewhat
You seem to be wanting to watch a different video than the one I made. I was reviewing which model COMPANY was the best in the world, not which are the best KITS or BUILDS in the world, which is a completely different (and rather less interesting) question.
@@MannsModelMoments I took your data and extrapolated the information I needed to draw a conclusion based on your video, still valid as far as your video is concerned
@@mikoleeman6991 Fair enough!
Oh my god, what an anorak review, boring beyond belief
And yet you watched it and made two almost identical comments....which makes you both hypocritical AND repetitive....well done!
@@MannsModelMoments he watched it and came to his conclusion…what’s the problem?
A clear bias against airfix . What a crock
Er, they were second.
Where was the bias? Making a comment without any supporting evidence just makes you look like a fool
Nah - clearly I have some sort of agenda against them by saying how much they've improved!!! lol
Strange comment. Did you actually watch the video. Airfix came second!!
I did watch the whole video. If you have watched his whole series on kits, you will see his bias. He talked about penalizing airfix for quality control issues. I have worked with Beth and Tony at Hornby America in regards to the issues. The airfix people have been really supportive of my modeling. I have cerebral palsy and No other company have been as supportive of my modeling . I hope to buy more airfix kits. They are great people to work with . They have the best decals in the business. Have you seen the decals of other companies ? When it comes down to it , the superior customer service and support of disabled modelers kicks every other company to the curb.
Italeri ? Also Tamiya winning is...not really a surprise, i would have been surprised if they had not
@@DaytonaRoadster what's the question?