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Halo Revell kits are extremely disappointing


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So I don’t know about anyone else but I was super excited about these kits I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the pelican and the warthog especially after seeing their prototype models 

 

however after seeing them in my local model shop I almost wanted to cry they looked terrible! What is with Revell kits lately! 

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I admit freely that I'm not very familiar with “Halo” other than i know its a video game. But i agree the models look very toylike. Not sure if revell is hoping to lure younger generations to model building by making them toylike but if they are its a 60 year backwards leap. And it is a solid shame they would go that route. 

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And you're surprised by this? EVERY promotional model series released to cash in on what's hot has had major suckage of some sort or other; the kit manufacturers want to get into the market while things are selling, and that precludes spending any real time in design and testing. Besides, it's only kids who build models, right...? And they don't care about the fine points of the kits. ;)

 

Star Wars models. Terrible. Babylon 5 models. Terrible. Batman models. Terrible. Star Trek models. Oy vey... some of them are horrendous, but most are just terrible.

 

The exceptions are the kits from the Japanese manufacturers who release kits long after the event, where they're deliberately targeting the adult fan and modeller. Most of the US-sourced stuff... junk.

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I saw these Halo kits at the Abingdon IPMS show last month and persuaded one of the Traders to break the box seal and let me poke around inside the box - needless to say, the lid went back on quite soon after and it was re-shelved. What a load of ****

I bought a Zvezda Star Destroyer from him instead - far better, properly made, accurate and although overbadged by Revell, was far better than any of their (Revell's that is) other Star Wars crap - thank you Russia (Zvezda)

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I think y’all missing the point.:D

 

The box for the Pelican has the words ‘Build & Play’ ‘Snap Tite’ age’8+’ and has ‘Light and sounds’.

It’s pretty obvious to me what the market for this kit is, and that it has not been designed or released with 'old nerds' like us in mind.:pipe:

 

 

Mart

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Revell decided some time ago that the scifi specialty kits would be aimed at lower ages and used to introduce a young kid to model making. Simplified detail, easy assembly and sound/light features and a quick no-skills-needed build do make them attractive for somebody starting out. Revell has the old Finemolds kits and the Zvezda ISD for older, more experienced modelers- a convenient way to save R&D and tooling costs. 

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On 10/17/2017 at 20:43, LotusArenco said:

I think y’all missing the point.:D

 

The box for the Pelican has the words ‘Build & Play’ ‘Snap Tite’ age’8+’ and has ‘Light and sounds’.

It’s pretty obvious to me what the market for this kit is, and that it has not been designed or released with 'old nerds' like us in mind.:pipe:

 

 

Mart

This is something i've seen with quite a lot of their recent kits, especially the Star Wars stuff. Several 'models' that i've seen and thought would be interesting before realizing it's Snap-tite/Build & play.. If these were just something available as well as a more conventional model kit, that wouldn't be a problem, but they aren't...it's so disappointing to have a model company getting these unique sci-fi properties and then making what seems more like toys.

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On 10/19/2017 at 6:21 PM, TheVoidDragon said:

This is something i've seen with quite a lot of their recent kits, especially the Star Wars stuff. Several 'models' that i've seen and thought would be interesting before realizing it's Snap-tite/Build & play.. If these were just something available as well as a more conventional model kit, that wouldn't be a problem, but they aren't...it's so disappointing to have a model company getting these unique sci-fi properties and then making what seems more like toys.

I think the motivating factor is that there are far more young people out there buying toys than model kits. These Revell kits are designed like a gateway drug- get them doing a bit more than just pulling it out of the box but not too much they have to stress about assembly. If they get past this stage then they can try more challenging kit builds. The one real problem with this approach is that they do not have the next step in their product line- it just jumps ahead into the FineMolds reboxed kits, which is a big jump.

 

I started my son off with a couple snap kits, which were enhanced a bit with extra detail and custom paint. We then moved to the MPC Snowspeeder- a simple kit which was not too much of a challenge but he felt a real sense of accomplishment when it was done. since then his skills have really improved to the point we are building side by side our own projects.

 

Revell had a good idea, butt hey did not think it through all the way- there should have been a set of 'normal' model kits in the lineup- no sound and light features and a much higher parts count for the young builders to move up into- this way they get kids hooked on their brand and also give experienced people something to buy which they can enjoy too.

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1 hour ago, rockpopandchips said:

Hi as I have been looking around for a nice looking HALO kite the Bandai Level 3 Sprukits came up at an unbelievable bargain, needless to say I have ordered one. Happy days.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MNK4D62/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Cool - I've been looking at that for a while when it was around £40, as I used to enjoy the original Halo back when I had an Xbox (the original one!).  Although I never really got into it on the 360, I still have a fondness for the characters. :)

 

As to the Revell kits, I've seen quite a few of the Star Wars Make & Play kits, and for their intended market they're excellent.  I've built a few of them for the Boy, and I do find them a bit lacking in fit & finish, as well as having some poor definition between what is sprue-gate and attachment tab.  I built a small 1:12300 Star Destroyer with Himself the other day, and managed to lop off one of the tabs in the front face of the bridge, but once the glue was flooded in there it didn't matter much.  He just wanted it done, although even he noticed that my tiny little Bandai Vehicle Scale SD had much more finesse and detail. :shrug:

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On 11/9/2017 at 14:18, Richard Baker said:

I think the motivating factor is that there are far more young people out there buying toys than model kits. These Revell kits are designed like a gateway drug- get them doing a bit more than just pulling it out of the box but not too much they have to stress about assembly. If they get past this stage then they can try more challenging kit builds. The one real problem with this approach is that they do not have the next step in their product line- it just jumps ahead into the FineMolds reboxed kits, which is a big jump.

 

I started my son off with a couple snap kits, which were enhanced a bit with extra detail and custom paint. We then moved to the MPC Snowspeeder- a simple kit which was not too much of a challenge but he felt a real sense of accomplishment when it was done. since then his skills have really improved to the point we are building side by side our own projects.

 

Revell had a good idea, butt hey did not think it through all the way- there should have been a set of 'normal' model kits in the lineup- no sound and light features and a much higher parts count for the young builders to move up into- this way they get kids hooked on their brand and also give experienced people something to buy which they can enjoy too.

That's the problem, really. It's fine that they'd make these more toy-like kits, something to get people started in the hobby at a more basic level, but there's not really anything for anyone other than those beginners/younger people. Halo and Star Wars are two unique properties that as far as i know they're the only ones with rights to make model kits for (or at least the only other real option is to Import Bandai kits), so to have them focus on making toys in franchises that are very popular with adults as well seems a bit silly. These Toy-like kits can help get someone started but then there's nowhere for them to really go after that, there needs to be proper full model kits for Halo and the new Star Wars movies as well as those. 

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