What makes Tamiya so good?

[Mjwomack]

Sunday afternoon with a glass of wine (Bobal since you din't ask) and time for some mellow reflection...

 

What makes Tamiya so good?

 

This thought came to me through the mist of an obscure Spanish grape as @Keeff starts of a set of Military Miniature figures, and I remembered just how many I did back in the day!

 

Yes, they are such a straight forward build (but so are Hasegawa).

Yes, you can get a good model OOB or you can go to town with detailing, but that's pretty standard nowadays with the mainstream manufacturers

Yes they're reliable- a bad apple tarnishes the barrel but a bad Tamiya is a rare beast so you have confidence in what you're getting- I'd buy a Tamiya 'blind' as it were whereas for other firms I tend to check the reviews.

But there is also something enticing in the packaging.

 

So, I rock back in my chair and ask, (not necessarily with the aid of wine) what makes Tamiya so good?

 

[Andrés S.]

43 minutes ago, Mjwomack said:

So, I rock back in my chair and ask, (not necessarily with the aid of wine) what makes Tamiya so good?

 

My opinion, as an aviation modeler:

- 

- Practically perfect fit between parts.
- Exquisitely reproduced surface detail on the wings and fuselage: neither too wide nor too narrow, neither too deep nor too shallow.
- Cockpit, landing gear, propeller, exhaust pipes, etc., are at the same level as the surface details.

 

But decals, unfortunately, look like slices of mortadella. And today, at least to my taste, riveting would be absolutely beneficial to their models.

 

Andrés.

[Keeff]

Well, I didn't know I would have that much impact with the old school dudes! 

 

So here's my take (based on a total of 3 armour related, 1 aircraft and 1 almost complete vehicle): 

1. On the more modern kits, fit is excellent with minimal fettling needed 

2. Detail is good and can be improved with aftermarket

3. A good range of subjects that appeal to a wide audience, although some room to add

4. Even older tooled kits still build well - my PAK 40 build and the venerable Panther are good cases here

5. Good mojo restorers after more difficult subjects or those 'challenging' builds

 

Like many, I have tried other manufacturers such as Takom, Eduard and RFM since my return to the hobby and have found merits in all, aswell as those not-so-good points. 

 

Of course I'll keep building Tamiya kits if they have the subject I want, possibly in preference to others. 

 

Keith ☺️ 

 

[SnøMotion]

At the moment, what I like doing is taking a 1:24 scale car/van kit and messing about with it. Might just be lowering and wheels or might be making an MX5 trophy truck. I’m not fussed about super detailing and I don’t enjoy having to fix a poorly engineered kit before I can start messing. I also don’t like to spend more than £29.99 if I can help it, just in case I muck it up. 

 

For those reasons, if there’s a Tamiya version of the thing I want to build, then it’s the Tamiya version I’ll buy. I know I can just 3D model and print whatever it is I want to do and not have to worry too much about the rest of it working 

 

Martin

[johnlambert]

It's definitely about the quality for me. Not just the way that parts are moulded, or fit together. In general there are some simple yet effective ways that it designs for assembly. The one example that always comes to mind was with the 1:24 Fiat 500 kit and the seat runners, There are four almost identical parts, two per front seat. Each one could only fit in the correct place. It's not exclusive to Tamiya, but Tamiya seems to do this better and more consistently than anyone else.

 

Generally, Tamiya instructions are clear. The range is pretty broad. Even the availability is pretty good.

[cmatthewbacon]

What, other than the excellent choice of subjects, perfect fit, accurate shapes, and clever engineering to make them easy to build and hard to get wrong? 😜

 

As well as those, the thing that Tamiya does uniquely well, IMHO (and I admit, I have mostly built car kits, and a few aeroplanes) is that they render complex structures and detail in relatively few separate parts that just require some masking and detail painting to look like the real thing. The NSX is a case in point... the whole chassis, engine and suspension is a dozen or so mouldings, layered one above the other in places. But follow the instructions, do the detail painting, and when you flip it over and look you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference from an Aoshima or Meng kit that has taken 100 pieces to get to the same state...

 

best,

M.

 

 

[Karearea]

As the A6M-2 is my first modern Tamiya kit, I have to agree that it’s primarily the fit and moulding quality that’s made an impression. I mentioned in the build log I was taken aback by just how tiny some of the details are, I’ve never really seen anything like it in styrene.
 

But additionally to the fit there’s a particular quality evident in how pieces sort of ‘snick’ together. Driving reviews of manual Ferraris always used to talk about the smooth mechanical precision of the gearshift, and sliding the cowl onto the backing plate brings this to mind. You have an absolute impression of quality, and confidence you won’t need to fettle anything to make it work, a bit like building with LEGO. (The Shiden isn’t quite like that, but has still built up far more easily than I’d initially anticipated). But all that said, it hasn’t been boring to build so far, just satisfying in a competent sense rather than as a raw challenge.

….I do wish they’d rerelease the 1/72 F-84G though.

 

Their Fine Primer is much the same, it just works and I never feel any fear that it will react with a painstakingly built unpainted model (provided basic precautions are taken with cleanliness). Every other primer I’ve encountered is both more temperamental and less durable, and gives an inferior finish. 

Edited September 29 by Karearea

[dromia]

An almost guaranteed fine result with little effort is what does it for me.

 

Their water slide transfers are the only let down.

[Snafu35]

Hello,

 

I would say simplicity and precision.

I'm building Betty and I think to myself: oooh, have I already done all this? And so quickly?

There are so few parts.
And I haven't used any filler yet!  

I feel like it's not ‘normal’ for this model to be so easy and quick to build. I almost feel like something is missing! 

 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35          

[Mjwomack]

4 hours ago, Snafu35 said:

I feel like it's not ‘normal’ for this model to be so easy and quick to build. I almost feel like something is missing! 

 

Our problem Eric is that we do too many 'Classic Kit' GB and have forgotten that they are meant to go together smoothly.

 

Which is probably why I'd forgotten that the engineering in them is, as many have commented. a joyous compromise of simplicity, accuracy and fool-proof👍

[Nick McV]

It's the fit. I've not done that many Tamiya builds, but the ones I have done "built like Lego". Funny though how somehow having to grapple with an ill-fitting kit brings with it a kind of badge of honour, like that's what makes a proper modeller. Why make life hard for ourselves? 😁

[Dennis_C]

I would add couple more cents into this.

 

First, Tamiya name - and especially its red and blue squares with white stars logo - for me is simply synonymous to modelling hobby. You read 'Tamiya', you see the logo - it automatically associates with modelling. So anytime you make a Tamiya kit - you at the epicentre of modelling. I think that changes the feelings.

 

Second, and I think I feel it with Hasegawa models too - all the products 'made in Japan' are just very cleverly engineered and are produced with high care. Manufacturer does not want to feel ashamed and so can't offer unsatisfactory product. And you feel this attitude as you touch the kit sprues. Maybe the parts are not necessarily best detailed in older kits, but everything is produced with care and high quality control. One example - in Tamiya or Hasegawa kits I do not need to clean molding seams. I guess molds match each other perfectly each time they close to produce the next sprue. In my experience even in Eduard kits there is some shift between molds resulting in clean up of molding seams required on every part. In Tamiya I have nothing to clean. Maybe super light move of sanding paper and that is it.

 

One more thing I just thought about. I think Tamiya gives zero tolerances for the parts expected to be glued unpainted - like fuselage, but give some slight tolerances for painted parts - like interiors. I always have troubles to close fuselages with painted cockpits of Eduard or Airfix kits - these guys have zero tolerances elsewhere - but not with Tamiya! Somehow my Ki-61 just closed with no effort! I just realised I have not removed any paint from the sides of cockpit frames. Wing and canopy still perfectly fit... Fantastic?

Edited September 30 by Dennis_C

[Nick McV]

2 minutes ago, Dennis_C said:

One more thing I just thought about. I think Tamiya gives zero tolerances for the parts expected to be glued unpainted - like fuselage, but give some slight tolerances for painted parts - like interiors. I always have troubles to close painted fuselages of Eduard or Airfix kits - these guys have zero tolerances elsewhere - but not with Tamiya! Somehow my Ki-61 just closed with no effort! I just realised I have not removed any paint from the sides of cockpit frames... Fantastic?

 

That's a very interesting point. Because tolerances on modern kits are so tight, before painting I always mask any part of the cockpit sidewall that may have something pressing against it, like this, then remove the tape to leave bare plastic:

 

 

What you're saying is that Tamiya's engineering is so precise that they even factor in the thickness of a couple of coats of paint?!  That's next level stuff.

 

Cheers

 

Nick

[Parabat]

I've just started building a 1/48 F-14A. The detail is phenomenal in the cockpit and so far bits and pieces I've been assembling are near perfect fit. 

I've really only built three Tamiya kits before (1/48 Fw190A-3, 1/20 Ferrari F1 and 1/12 Honda Repsol) and those were excellent kits too, perhaps simplified in places.

To me, my expectation (met so far) is that a Tamiya kit is going to provide well detailed parts with clear, crisp moulding, a good plastic that is reliably not pebbly, brittle or covered in flash, and will fit very well. I know that I will probably need to replace the decals, a specific version might not be available and add some more/better detailing in places, but also that I'm not going to be cursing poor fit and spending a lot of time filling and sanding.

[Dennis_C]

6 hours ago, Nick McV said:

What you're saying is that Tamiya's engineering is so precise that they even factor in the thickness of a couple of coats of paint?!  That's next level stuff.

I felt that in Ki-61 cockpit insert was a little loose in the fuselage. And as I was writing the above post, I realised I did not have troubles fitting painted parts into the fuselage and closing the fuselage. So probably yes - they gave us some fraction of a millimeter of tolerances for paint layers.

And there are clearly no tolerances for external parts. Like wing to fuselage joint is absolutely precise.

Edited October 1 by Dennis_C

[AaCee26]

Quality, quality and quality! In most cases outstsanding research, execution and buildability.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

[dnl42]

Fully agree, the engineering and molding are excellent.

As for the decals, I used to despise them, but now that I've learned to apply them, they're fine! First off, don't bother with MSI Micro Set and Micro Sol as they just don't work for Tamiya decals. For me, the key was to use Mark Fit Strong atop a clear coat. The clear coat had nothing to do with silvering as I use Mr.Color, which provides an amazingly smooth coat regardless of sheen. Rather, the clear coat protects the paint from the setting solution. 

 

This own goal shows the need for the clearcoat:

 

 

And, um, being the pedantic that I am, clearances allow painted parts to mate properly--tolerance is how well they hit their engineered clearance.

 

[Ale85]

Easy building, smart engineering, perfect fit of the parts: this makes Tamiya's kit so good for me. Any cons: as already said, decals are not so good. 

[Sam]

They provide included pilot figures!

[Parabat]

24 minutes ago, Sam said:

They provide included pilot figures!

Indeed, impressively, the Tamiya F-14A late boxing (61122) provides both late 80s/early 90s figures as well as late 90s/early 2000s figures.