Trumpeter vs. Hasegawa

[Schlissefahrt]

If anyone has any experience with either of these manufacturers then here is a question for y'all.

I am looking to build a couple of 1/32 airplanes (not sure what type yet) and two companies, Trumpeter and Hasegawa make quite a few in this scale. However, Trumpeter kits are averaging around $100 and the Hasegawa kits around $30. Now I have quite a bit of experience with Hasegawa 1/48 kits, and they are very nice by my standards, and I vaguely remember building a trumpeter kit quite a few years back and thinking that I was not that satisfied with it.

Does anyone have any detailed anecdotes they could share about either of these manufacturers in this particular scale? Does Trumpeter have a lot more detail out-of-the-box, or are they just overcharging? Thanks for the help.

 

[tigertc]

Trumpeter are a Chinese company. Hasegawa are Japanese.

Although (imho) Trumpeter are are good.Plastic model quality i would rank thusly

1. Tamiya

2. Hasegawa

3. Bandai

4. Fujimi

5. Revell

6. Italeri

7. Eduard

8. ?

9. ?

10. ?

11. Kinder Egg Surprise

12. Airfix

I am guessing this will start some jolly banter!

 

[rjwood_uk]

eduard are darn good for 1/48

if you found hasegawa 1/32s for $30 im guessing it is a much older release. new castings will be up there at the $100 mark with the trumpeter kits.

one thing that is constantly mentioned about trumpeter kits is they go way over board with the rivits. sometimes completely inacurate and out of palce. Hasegawa are famed for their nice ingraved, acurate panel lines. a few trumpeter kits also have some shape issues.

let me know what kits you were thinking of and i might be able to give you a better review.

Richard

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Trumpeter are a Chinese company. Hasegawa are Japanese.Although (imho) Trumpeter are are good.Plastic model quality i would rank thusly

1. Tamiya

2. Hasegawa

3. Bandai

4. Fujimi

5. Revell

6. Italeri

7. Eduard

8. ?

9. ?

10. ?

11. Kinder Egg Surprise

12. Airfix

I am guessing this will start some jolly banter!

You heathen swine you, I object to that, Airfix are much better than Kinder Egg Surprises.

No respect some people, mutter, mutter, mutter......

By the way Tiger, I have just bought a copy of "Model Military International" which contains the second part of an article about the construction of a Tamiya 1/16th King Tiger. The finishes on this model are staggering and the level of realism is unbeleivable. If you get a chance have a look at a copy.

 

[Schlissefahrt]

Since my post, I have read some third party reviews of each manufacturer. While I have seen the examples of inaccuracy on behalf of trumpeter, their new releases seem to be accurate and contain loads of customizable detail. Hasegawa kits have the reputation as being more accurate still, but not nearly as detailed, or so it seems.

rjwood, it seems even among the newer releases by Hasegawa the price does not go much higher than 30. The highest priced examples are around 60-70, and those are the modern jets, which obviously, contain a lot more due to their size in real life compared to WW2 birds.

I would like the ability to customize and detail to my hearts content, but I am not the best and resizing and/or scratch building in order to make a Trumpeter kit more accurate. I am still torn between which company I should choose. However, thank you for all of the replies.

EDIT: also, rjwood, kits that I am interested in are any WW2 plane to be exact. :P I am not entirely picky as I love most all WW2 aircraft, however, I am looking for a kit that is both accurate, goes together well out of the box, and has plenty of detail to play with (aka, different options for different style aircraft of the same model) Thanks

EDIT2: Ok, from what it seems, both the new 1/32 P-47s from Hasegawa and Trumpeter are very highly praised. The only difference is between the offered optional detail, which Trumpeter definitely triumphs in. If anyone has any experience with either of these kits, I would appreciate an overview. Thanks.

 

[rjwood_uk]

deffinatly go with the trump for the P-47, although iv you want to do a P-51 go with hasegawa or tamiya hands down!

if you want to do a spit, use the hasegawa, if you get the VB kit you can make about 3 different birds.

also, you might want to try joining the LSP forum (large scale planes) they will be very helpfull for you!

http://www.largescaleplanes.com

let us know what you decide and keep us updated!

 

[Schlissefahrt]

Thanks rj. I am not a very avid large scale modeler. My domain is usually 1/48, so this will be a different step for me. Thanks for the link as well.

 

[tigertc]

bunkersbiatch

You heathen swine you, I object to that, Airfix are much better than Kinder Egg Surprises.No respect some people, mutter, mutter, mutter......

By the way Tiger, I have just bought a copy of "Model Military International" which contains the second part of an article about the construction of a Tamiya 1/16th King Tiger. The finishes on this model are staggering and the level of realism is unbeleivable. If you get a chance have a look at a copy.

you ladyboy!!!!

mine will never be that good..........*cries into glass of luke warm milk (skimmed)