I recall doing a 1/35 T34/85.
Brand name:cant remember,an Eastern European brand(ICM?AER?),it came with a big decal sheet.
It really was a rough kit,the turret top didnt go with the bottom,shrinkage was all over the place....etc.
It ended up in my rubbish bin.
Armor/AFV
For discussions on tanks, artillery, jeeps, etc.
For discussions on tanks, artillery, jeeps, etc.
Hosted by Darren Baker, Mario Matijasic
Absolute worst model kit you encountered?
nooplwb
Joined: April 12, 2005
KitMaker: 202 posts
Armorama: 195 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 02:48 PM UTC
canuck100a
Joined: September 13, 2005
KitMaker: 96 posts
Armorama: 96 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 03:45 PM UTC
For me I would have to say the 1/72 Ace BMP-1.
Eric
Eric
zedhol
Joined: December 01, 2009
KitMaker: 244 posts
Armorama: 160 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 04:47 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Yep, Starfix I think has to be the worst manufacturer out there I've ever seen-- we wouldn't even carry the kits in the Hobby shop I worked at because we felt they would discourage model building in general. You used to be able to find them in the "dollar stores" occasionally, but even spending a buck on one was .99 cents to much!
Absolutely agree that Starfix are awful, and we didn't carry them for the same reason in our store, but check them out on ebay, people sell them as "Rare" and "detailed kits". One born every minute I guess.
vettejack
Joined: November 23, 2012
KitMaker: 1,277 posts
Armorama: 1,254 posts
Posted: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 05:33 PM UTC
For me, compared to today...pretty much everything from the 60's/mid 70's time frame (yea, even Tamiya put out rough, unbuildable stuff)! 'OGONEK' (Russia) kits probably worse of them all (and the slimy mold release agent that never fully would wash away). Tissue paper for boxes that were always crushed when unpacking. And who in the hell makes 1/30th scale kits? 
Paint would not stick and the kits even defied the laws of nature at times when super glue would not even work on some pieces. 
Paint would not stick and the kits even defied the laws of nature at times when super glue would not even work on some pieces. M4A1Sherman
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 03, 2016 - 06:23 PM UTC
Quoted Text
working on the Tamiya t-62 and the fit is atrocious I don't think I have ever had to use so much putty on a kit before
Really? I built several of those and had no real problems at all. I DID however replace the Tracks with aftermarket FRIULISMO sets. Maybe your particular TAMIYA T-62 was a fluke- TRUMPETER's T-62s are SO MUCH BETTER, in the long run...
M4A1Sherman
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 03, 2016 - 06:27 PM UTC
ng
I believe TAMIYA's very first Tank kits were molded in 1/30 scale- I remember an old TAMIYA Pz.Kpfw.IV that a buddy of mine built. It wasn't really a bad kit, (for the time), aside of the "ribbed Rubber Band" Tracks...
REVELL molded their very early Armor kits in 1/40 scale, and most of them are better left forgotten. Their 1/40 "M4 Sherman", was a hodge-podge of different Sherman variants, and was meant to be, I think, to be more of a TOY, rather than an accurate showpiece. Their 1/40 combo kit of the M1 155mm "Long Tom" and M4 High Speed Tractor were actually one of the best kits that one could buy in the early 1960s. Their 1/40 M56, on the other hand, was in short, a piece of junk.
Another manufacturer that comes to mind from the 1960s that was actually pretty good, was ADAMS which was later SNAP; they also made their military kits in 1/40 scale: I remember an LVT-A5, and I built several of their WWII US Jeeps, which were actually little jewels. These kits were very finely engineered and molded- A pot-bellied, yelling "Sergeant-type" and a leisurely, smiling USAAF "Fighter or Bomber" Pilot Officer in Peaked Cap and A-2 Leather Jacket in the Driver's Seat of the Jeep were included.
RENWALL kits of all scales and stripes were to be avoided...
PS- ZVEZDA's earlier kits were also blessed with the aforementioned "slimy" mold-release than was nearly impossible to remove from the parts. I had a 1/48 ZVEZDA Yak-9D (?) that was inundated with that nasty stuff, and I tried every single household cleaner that my Mom had stored under her sink, (And she had A LOT of them!!! ), to NO AVAIL!!! I wound up S**T-canning that kit!!!
Quoted Text
For me, compared to today...pretty much everything from the 60's/mid 70's time frame (yea, even Tamiya put out rough, unbuildable stuff)! 'OGONEK' (Russia) kits probably worse of them all (and the slimy mold release agent that never fully would wash away). Tissue paper for boxes that were always crushed when unpacking. And who in the hell makes 1/30th scale kits?
I believe TAMIYA's very first Tank kits were molded in 1/30 scale- I remember an old TAMIYA Pz.Kpfw.IV that a buddy of mine built. It wasn't really a bad kit, (for the time), aside of the "ribbed Rubber Band" Tracks...
REVELL molded their very early Armor kits in 1/40 scale, and most of them are better left forgotten. Their 1/40 "M4 Sherman", was a hodge-podge of different Sherman variants, and was meant to be, I think, to be more of a TOY, rather than an accurate showpiece. Their 1/40 combo kit of the M1 155mm "Long Tom" and M4 High Speed Tractor were actually one of the best kits that one could buy in the early 1960s. Their 1/40 M56, on the other hand, was in short, a piece of junk.
Another manufacturer that comes to mind from the 1960s that was actually pretty good, was ADAMS which was later SNAP; they also made their military kits in 1/40 scale: I remember an LVT-A5, and I built several of their WWII US Jeeps, which were actually little jewels. These kits were very finely engineered and molded- A pot-bellied, yelling "Sergeant-type" and a leisurely, smiling USAAF "Fighter or Bomber" Pilot Officer in Peaked Cap and A-2 Leather Jacket in the Driver's Seat of the Jeep were included.
RENWALL kits of all scales and stripes were to be avoided...
PS- ZVEZDA's earlier kits were also blessed with the aforementioned "slimy" mold-release than was nearly impossible to remove from the parts. I had a 1/48 ZVEZDA Yak-9D (?) that was inundated with that nasty stuff, and I tried every single household cleaner that my Mom had stored under her sink, (And she had A LOT of them!!!
), to NO AVAIL!!! I wound up S**T-canning that kit!!!
retiredyank
Joined: June 29, 2009
KitMaker: 11,610 posts
Armorama: 7,843 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 03, 2016 - 06:30 PM UTC
Hong Models Shilka. Very poor fit and instructions worse than Dragon.
Kevlar06
Joined: March 15, 2009
KitMaker: 3,670 posts
Armorama: 2,052 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 03, 2016 - 10:08 PM UTC
REVELL molded their very early Armor kits in 1/40 scale, and most of them are better left forgotten. Their 1/40 "M4 Sherman", was a hodge-podge of different Sherman variants, and was meant to be, I think, to be more of a TOY, rather than an accurate showpiece. Their 1/40 combo kit of the M1 155mm "Long Tom" and M4 High Speed Tractor were actually one of the best kits that one could buy in the early 1960s. Their 1/40 M56, on the other hand, was in short, a piece of junk.
Another manufacturer that comes to mind from the 1960s that was actually pretty good, was ADAMS which was later SNAP; they also made their military kits in 1/40 scale....[/quote]
Adams models originally were marketed by Revell, I believe Adams was actually a Revell designer, who then split form the main company to go into business for himself. SNAP picked up the molds, followed by Life-Like in the 1970s. Revell continued with the 1/40th scale for a long time, and some of their molds continue to be released by Monogram right up to today. Of course Monogram has acquired the Renwal 1/32 line too, so those kits are still being released. It would be nice to to see the Revell/Adams/Life Like 155mm & HST and the Atomic Cannon released again, but something tells me those molds are lost to the ages, since we haven't seen any re-releases lately.
VR, Russ
woodstock74
Joined: December 28, 2002
KitMaker: 1,189 posts
Armorama: 692 posts
Posted: Monday, April 04, 2016 - 05:45 AM UTC
AMT's 1/35 T-72. Garbage, 1 of 2 kits I've ever thrown out. The other was Testor's 1/24 Porsche 917K.
JPTRR
Managing Editor
#051
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
Armorama: 2,447 posts
Posted: Monday, April 04, 2016 - 08:39 AM UTC
Quoted Text
'OGONEK' (Russia) kits probably worse of them all
I had a couple of those, one a KV-85, if I recall. Unloaded them at a show - practically gave them away.
Monte
Joined: December 08, 2002
KitMaker: 833 posts
Armorama: 601 posts
Posted: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 - 01:42 AM UTC
Italeri Elephant. Opened the box and saw a warped upper hull and disgustingly molded parts. Put the cover back on the box and went right back to the hobby shop for a refund.
Haven't even looked at an Italeri kit since.
Haven't even looked at an Italeri kit since.
Cantstopbuyingkits
Joined: January 28, 2015
KitMaker: 2,099 posts
Armorama: 1,920 posts
Posted: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 - 01:56 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Italeri Elephant. Opened the box and saw a warped upper hull and disgustingly molded parts. Put the cover back on the box and went right back to the hobby shop for a refund.
Haven't even looked at an Italeri kit since.
worse, it's £39.99 in their recent WOT rebox
Bravo1102
Joined: December 08, 2003
KitMaker: 2,864 posts
Armorama: 2,497 posts
Posted: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 - 03:19 AM UTC
Some of the kits mentioned like the Tamiya T-62 and Italeri Elephant might be suffering from old tired molds where things just come out wrong. The original kits were fine but what comes out of that mold today can't be built.
i had a Life-like LVT-4(A) that was gorgeous, then bought another and it was a gooey mass of flash. Ever wonder why the Adams kits have never been re-released? The molds are really, really far gone. Life-like killed them re-popping kits until the last releases were a sheet of flash with some vague blobs that are supposed to be parts. I did a HAWK missile carrier like that. Went through a pack of X-acto blades to cut it out but it worked.
The worst I ever built was a 1/72 Maquette Wellington Ia. It was a repop of the Frog kit. It was swimming in mold release, the wings were mis-molded with crazed waves in the plastic and the instructions were actually for the Airfix kit with the extra part numbers added as most of the sub-assemblies are in fact quite different. The AER 1/35 ASU-57 was a dream compared to the pain that Wellington put me through.
And then there was the Co-optiva Studebaker 6x6 truck. As a brand new kit it was a sheet of mismatched blobs in a sheet of flash. Nothing matched up. And the rails on the truck bed? Guess your best and cut. Then butt parts together and glue. Just glue and file, whatever I end up with will be a truck and that's all that matters. That ancient Life-like HAWK missile carrier prepared me for it. I have files and sandpaper I CAN MAKE ANYTHING FIT! (insert maniacal laughter here)
Like the Maquette/RPM T-34/85 mentioned above. At one point it was my favorite T-34/85 kit. And I LOVE Alan kits. It will fit because I gots mad skillz and implements of destruction to coerce plastic to do what I want it to.
Sometimes it's an adventure and you got to hold your nose and dive in.
i had a Life-like LVT-4(A) that was gorgeous, then bought another and it was a gooey mass of flash. Ever wonder why the Adams kits have never been re-released? The molds are really, really far gone. Life-like killed them re-popping kits until the last releases were a sheet of flash with some vague blobs that are supposed to be parts. I did a HAWK missile carrier like that. Went through a pack of X-acto blades to cut it out but it worked.
The worst I ever built was a 1/72 Maquette Wellington Ia. It was a repop of the Frog kit. It was swimming in mold release, the wings were mis-molded with crazed waves in the plastic and the instructions were actually for the Airfix kit with the extra part numbers added as most of the sub-assemblies are in fact quite different. The AER 1/35 ASU-57 was a dream compared to the pain that Wellington put me through.
And then there was the Co-optiva Studebaker 6x6 truck. As a brand new kit it was a sheet of mismatched blobs in a sheet of flash. Nothing matched up. And the rails on the truck bed? Guess your best and cut. Then butt parts together and glue. Just glue and file, whatever I end up with will be a truck and that's all that matters. That ancient Life-like HAWK missile carrier prepared me for it. I have files and sandpaper I CAN MAKE ANYTHING FIT! (insert maniacal laughter here)
Like the Maquette/RPM T-34/85 mentioned above. At one point it was my favorite T-34/85 kit. And I LOVE Alan kits. It will fit because I gots mad skillz and implements of destruction to coerce plastic to do what I want it to.
Sometimes it's an adventure and you got to hold your nose and dive in.
Phael_minis
Joined: January 14, 2013
KitMaker: 208 posts
Armorama: 208 posts
Posted: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 - 11:11 AM UTC
In recent kits, Roden 1/35 omnibus.
I've been waiting so long for this one, and was so disappointed...
I've been waiting so long for this one, and was so disappointed...
DutyFirst1917
Joined: February 03, 2016
KitMaker: 93 posts
Armorama: 86 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 08:59 AM UTC
For me hands down 1/35 scale Hobby Craft M2A2! So bad I'm not even trying or wasting my time. Track is thin with tons of flash. Detail is soft to say the least almost like an out of focus picture. The fit and finish is communist vintage at its best and the icing on the cake is the motorized bits look like a fire just waiting to happen. I think this will turn into a "how to" project for my oldest kiddo and then a test vehicle for me!
Cheers,
Tim
Cheers,
Tim
erichvon
Joined: January 17, 2006
KitMaker: 1,694 posts
Armorama: 1,584 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 09:10 AM UTC
Monte, I'll agree with that one. I bought one years ago and an Eduard zimmerit set for it at the same time. A valuable lesson was learnt in that you can't polish a turd. A truly awful kit. No detail, badly fitting parts, tons of flash. I got about halfway through building it and threw it in the bin. In fact I think that's the only kit I've ever thrown away. There was nothing at all on it that was worth sticking in the spares box in case it came in useful later. Verything about it was bad. Even kits that I built 20 years ago that look dreadful I've kept for spares in case of the carpet monster, warped/broken bits etc. Having said that I've built quite a few Italeri kits since and they've been quite enjoyable to build and have turned out quite nice. I just avoid their really ancient stuff like the Elefant.
Bodeen
#026
Joined: June 08, 2002
KitMaker: 1,744 posts
Armorama: 1,359 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 09:43 AM UTC
Alan-Wespe...I even bought an aftermarket barrel. The kit is horrible....the tracks are completely useless. I refuse to buy Fruils for such a "dog"! It is 3/4 complete and I can't bring myself to finish it. 
brekinapez
Joined: July 26, 2013
KitMaker: 2,272 posts
Armorama: 1,860 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 09:46 AM UTC
Quoted Text
I built their Bison I. Also crap. I didn't know Dragon was coming out with one the month after I bought that turd, but I've since picked one up to replace Alan's fecal mess.
biggeoff
Joined: March 03, 2009
KitMaker: 19 posts
Armorama: 12 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 12:54 PM UTC
for me it has to be the Baluard 1/35 Ko1 Diesel Locomotive. Slabs of brittle Resin and poorly cast white metal wheels etc. No detail in the resin , except the grill. Took 3 or more years of getting it out of the stash, lookin , then putting it back before I finally finished it. Real shocker
chnoone
Joined: January 01, 2009
KitMaker: 1,036 posts
Armorama: 1,033 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 01:21 PM UTC
Defiantly the Bergerpanzer3 "Büffel" from ELITE Models .... trashed the bl 
dy thing within hours after starting ... had to wait several years till PSM produced there fantastic kit.
A "traumatic" experience
Cheers
Christopher
dy thing within hours after starting ... had to wait several years till PSM produced there fantastic kit.A "traumatic" experience
Cheers
Christopher
RobinNilsson
TOS Moderator
Joined: November 29, 2006
KitMaker: 6,693 posts
Armorama: 5,562 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 04:29 PM UTC
Styrene:
The A7V by Tauro. The tracks fell apart, overdimensioned metal springs to make some kind of working suspension (had to be replaced), panels didn't fit so there were large gaps to fill and lots of lost rivets, some of the rivets were halfway over the edge of the panels so they were usually lost.
There have been plenty of others (some already mentioned in this thread) but I prefer not to think about them to avoid getting a headache
Resin:
Resin conversion from I-Corps Models to build the M48 AVLB.
Lots of poor casting, instructions were so-so, some of the bridge girders had a large lump of resin on them and the cause for this was that a piece of silicone from the mould was stuck in one of the parts so the silicone missing from the mould had allowed the lumps of resin to form.
/ Robin
The A7V by Tauro. The tracks fell apart, overdimensioned metal springs to make some kind of working suspension (had to be replaced), panels didn't fit so there were large gaps to fill and lots of lost rivets, some of the rivets were halfway over the edge of the panels so they were usually lost.
There have been plenty of others (some already mentioned in this thread) but I prefer not to think about them to avoid getting a headache
Resin:
Resin conversion from I-Corps Models to build the M48 AVLB.
Lots of poor casting, instructions were so-so, some of the bridge girders had a large lump of resin on them and the cause for this was that a piece of silicone from the mould was stuck in one of the parts so the silicone missing from the mould had allowed the lumps of resin to form.
/ Robin
M4A1Sherman
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 05:01 PM UTC
Quoted Text
For me it had to be the 1/35 M29C Weasel from a company called Bluetank. It actually was closer to 1/twentysomething in scale and had horribly toylike cast in details. The stern was wrong and it had tracks that didn't even resemble correctly patterned ones.
All that was bad enough, but it also came terribly warped and accompanied by a set of awful figures that were actually 1/48 scale. Basically, I remember it being something of a perfect storm of "who cares" and "it's close enough".
Jim
LSA
Yeah, I got burned with THAT THING, too!!!
Live and learn, I guess...
PS- Does anyone remember the old AURORA "Batmobile" from the 1960s..? SINK MARKS all over the damned thing, poor fit, excessive flash, you name it, all the warts were there. Conversely, AURORA also made the 1/16 "Yesteryear"/Old Timers"-series of kits; what we call "Antique Automobiles" here in the 'States, and "Veteran Automobiles" in the UK- These turned out quite decently for me, even when I was only 8 years old. The parts fit together just fine, but the various "tube-glues of that era were "not good", just to be gracious. I had the Mercer Raceabout, Stutz Bearcat, Buick "Bug", and the "Curved Dash" Oldsmobile, 1903, if I remember right...
I really enjoyed REVELL's old 1/252 USS Olympia, which back then, (1956 Copyright), was a multi-colored kit- White Hull & Turrets, Tan Decks & Superstructure, Brown Masts, etc. REVELL even included various thicknesses of string for "Rigging", etc. It was a pretty sophisticated kit for that era. I got that one for Christmas, 1961- I worked on that kit for about a week, which was a looooong time for me in those days, so long ago. It turned out just fine, for an 8-year-old...
I bought another one of those about 10 years ago- Boy, what a mistake THAT was! Poor quality White plastic, mountains of flash, sink marks all over the place, NO Rigging materials of any kind, and the details overall had become reeeally soft... What a disappointment- REVELL really let things slip with the re-release of that kit. I expect that they just let the molds become completely worn out...
Biggles2
Joined: January 01, 2004
KitMaker: 7,600 posts
Armorama: 6,110 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 07:33 PM UTC
Quoted Text
REVELL molded their very early Armor kits in 1/40 scale, and most of them are better left forgotten. Their 1/40 "M4 Sherman", was a hodge-podge of different Sherman variants, and was meant to be, I think, to be more of a TOY, rather than an accurate showpiece.
You have to remember that these models dated to the '50's and early '60's, and for the most part, were "state of the art" for their time. Research and developemnt, and molding technology was limited - for all plastic models in those days. When I was a kid I had most of the Revell 1/40 armor, and Airfix 1/72, etc..etc., and not knowing any better, thought they were all great. Like most anything else (except for some classic cars), very little from 50 or so years ago, will stand up to modern technology.
As for really bad kits, almost anything by Lindbergh. They were bad even 50 years ago!
thathaway3
Joined: September 10, 2004
KitMaker: 1,610 posts
Armorama: 684 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 11:13 PM UTC
The worst kit I've ever seen was the old Revell 1/490 USS Hornet CV8 originally released in 1967. Ironically the BEST part of the kit was the hull. Unlike the later 1/350 and 1/700 Trumpeter kits which have been universally trashed because of the absolutely HORRIBLE job they did in capturing the correct shape of the hull, Revell actually did a pretty good job with that. However from there up, all that could be said was that "yeah, it's an aircraft carrier", but it only superficially represents what the Hornet actually looked like. I like to represent a ship the way it actually was, and this kit was SO bad, that even scratch building to fix things was too much trouble. It's sitting in the box waiting to be given to one of the grand kids as a rainy day "project".
I just bought the Trumpy 1/700 and lived with the ugly hull.
I just bought the Trumpy 1/700 and lived with the ugly hull.
TimW42
Joined: April 05, 2006
KitMaker: 159 posts
Armorama: 158 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 11:39 PM UTC
Worst kit? This thing:
http://www.aviapress.com/engl/mwh/mwh3508.jpg
Fit was approximate. The geometry was non-euclidean, almost like a vehicle designed by H. P. Lovecraft.
Tim W.
http://www.aviapress.com/engl/mwh/mwh3508.jpg
Fit was approximate. The geometry was non-euclidean, almost like a vehicle designed by H. P. Lovecraft.
Tim W.
 |
WEB HOSTING BY
Copyright ©2021 Armorama and Kitmaker Network, a subsidiary of Silver Star Enterprises
All Rights Reserved. Please read our Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
All Rights Reserved. Please read our Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.