Tamiya Vs Trumpeter

[james424]

I'm part way through a couple of small projects and I'm now starting to look at a bigger project to do during the summer. I was looking at the Tamiya website and thinking that there's some pretty smart kit on there (if only i had a couple of grand to spare) but after talking someone who works in a modelling shop I use he pointed me in the direction of Trumpeter kits. I've never really had anything to do with either Tamiya or Trumpeter and was wondering what people's opinions are on the two makes. Whether anyone had any preferences or can say if either brand is better? Opinions please....

James

[Iain Ogilvie]

This'll be an interesting one

Iain

[Mike]

...and if people start hurling insults about, it'll be a very short topic

[pigsty]

Both. And neither.

The problem is that they hardly overlap. So your starting point ought to be, of what do I want to make a model? Then see who offers something in your preferred scale. I personally would never let the identity of the manufacturer determine my choice that early on, with the exception of a couple of notorious French ones. The Interweb will help you very quickly judge whether you like the look of what's on offer for your Farley Fruitbat Mk.III project.

As a very general observation, Tamiya is reckoned to be more accurate (apart from some early kits, mainly armour) and engineered for easier assembly. But there are precious few Trumpeter kits that are so inaccurate or have such poor surface finish that they should be rejected out of hand. Their standards are improving all the time, most of the flaws can be fixed without too much trouble, and I've not regretted any of the purchases I've made*.

* this is partly because I've made so few of the kits. But reviews I've read are favourable.

[Giorgio N]

Comparing the whole production of two maufacturers is honestly impossible. What is true is that tamiya has a reputation that makes anything they announce eagerly awaited, while trumpeter has in the past made very silly mistakes on a number of subjects. So if accuracy is important for you, tamiya has a better reputation and a much better record. Mind, not that every tamiya plane has always been accurate or any trumpter is not ! They have both had bad and good ones (ok, trumpeter has had more bad ones than tamiya...). The only way to know if the kit you're interested in is check for online reviews and even better, ask here !

I you don't mind accuracy, in general tamiya kits are well known for the almost perfect fit ( at least the newer ones), but trumpeters' are not bad either. Surface detail of many trumpeter kits has been criticized for the use (or better abuse..) of rivets all around. Some people like them, some hate them, some don't care. The level of trumpeter moulds is anyway very good, tamiya might still have the edge but is a small one.

Details are usually good for both brands, but again each kit has its own story.

Decals are decent for both brands, and actually I think trumpeter decals are now nicer in terms of their adhesion and thickness. However trumpeter decals often suffer from inaccuracies big and small.... better not know what is supposed to be written on things like emergency markings if you check a trumpeter sheet, you might either start laughing or swearing !

If airplanes are your thing, there is however one huge difference: tamiya has made relatively few planes, mainly ww2 subjects, while trumpeter is producing plenty of new kits every year !

[AnonymousAA74]

Both. And neither.

Agreed.

[Doug Rogers]

I think it really comes down to what your subject is. Do you have a specific area of interest, or are you purely basing your choice on this question?

I personally have a soft spot for Tamiya as I spent many hours as a teenager making Tamiya tanks, and again personally I find the Trumpeter kits a little 'clumsy' in their appearance sometimes, although having said that I do have several of their kits in my stash (Seahawk, Sea Fury).

I guess if I was standing in a model shop with £30 in my hand faced with this choice, nine times out of ten I would go for the Tamiya kit.

[james424]

Thanks guys, a couple of you have said it all depends on what type of kit I build. I'm only really into building aircraft kits, I never did get into armour builds (don't know why). I've been looking at a couple of their 1:32 kits i.e. F14/15/16. What kind of experiences have people had building these kits???

[andym]

Thanks guys, a couple of you have said it all depends on what type of kit I build. I'm only really into building aircraft kits, I never did get into armour builds (don't know why). I've been looking at a couple of their 1:32 kits i.e. F14/15/16. What kind of experiences have people had building these kits???

Well for the F16 and F15 definately Tamiya. The Tamiya F16 is way more accurate than the Academy one and the Tamiya F15 far better than the Revell one. Trumpeter don't do a F16 or F15 so no problem there.

The F14 is a bit more difficult. The Tamiya kit is a bit long in the tooth, has an odd mixture of raised and recessed detail and a woefully inadequate cockpit. The Trumpeter one however suffers from a number of airframe inaccuracies, you'd really need to ask someone with mre knowledge of the F14 for a definate answer....anyone?

HTH

Andy

[Bandwagon 106]

Tomcats?, I will go Trumpeter every time.. A few things missing- ventral airbake actuators, AOA lights and landing light for the nose u/c. But for detail, it is good. The cockpits are version specific and very nicely detailed, even the radar antenna differ between the A and the D. It should have been even better, but personally, I really rate them highly. And with the B, you get a ton of bombs -GBU-38's, GBU-12's, GBU-27's.

Tamiya's Eagles and Vipers are truly excellent, as are their Phantoms.

Joel

[Giorgio N]

The trumpeter tomcat is miles ahead of the tamiya in terms of details.

However it has at least one serious error in accuracy: the air intakes are all wrong, being at a different angle from the fuselage when compared with the real plane. There might be some other issues but the intakes one is a bad issue for me as it really jumps to the eyes. So the choice is between a well detailed less accurate kit and a less detailed but more accurate kit.

for the F-15 and f-16 there's no choice: tamiya only, as trumpeter has yet to make these. The F-16 is considered one of the best 1/32 kits ever made, with both details and accuracy.