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Showing results for tags 'quality'.
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Can't speak with authority since I've completed only a few car kits in 1/24, but wanted to have a therapeutic moan about Monogram. I've done a couple of Fujimis - OK albeit slightly crude in some ways - and Tamiya, which are of very high quality; and currently I'm building the second/third Monogram. First, the instructions are crude and basic, indeed in some ways they are inadequate, not showing clearly where the mating surfaces are supposed to be exactly. this can be ascertained after lots of fiddling, but frankly i'd expect better. Second, on this NASCAR racer I have a couple of parts the exact location of which I cannot determine; and worse, I have two or three parts that try as I might, I cannot find any reference to in the instructions or illustrations! Third, the fit of parts is in some cases very poor (not helped by loads of flash everywhere): even with great care, alignment is out in places, requiring modification. This current build has front and rear bodyshell parts separate, that need to be mated to the main body, and their mating/connecting surfaces are so poorly constructed or vestigial that I'm having to assemble the whole body very slowly in stages, glueing one side first, clamping overnight, glueing another bit, clamping overnight - followed by reinforcement with strips of thin plastic, and much use of filler to deal with sizeable gaps... It's a pity, since there are so many interesting cars that seem available only from Monogram, often older kits too that can be found only on the Internet. I'd very much prefer to build only Tamiya, for quality, ease of construction, and very clear instructions. Phew! Rant over. I wonder what other more experienced modellers think of Monogram... Tony