Bandai where have you been all my life!!!

I have my perfect grade Falcon on layaway and just got my first 1/72 scale X-Wing to go with it.

All I can say is wow! I wasn't a big fan of 72 scale because I like things a bit bigger and epic (probably why I am moving into a castle ). I do like things in scale though and even though I am working on a bunch of 32 scale fighters and 350 scale Trek ships, I have to say I am impressed with these little kits. The fit and finish as well as detail is amazing, Now I want ALL of them! Just seeing things in scale gets me off... I just like seeing what things look like sized to each other. I can only imagine how good the PG Falcon parts are going to look if a cheap little $20 kit is this nice!

I can't believe this is my first Bandai kit. I have no idea why I never bought one of these before. AND they are a lot of fun to build... this brings back memories of when I was a kid and enjoyed building models and kit bashing. I know I'm not saying anything that you guys don't already know, I just didn't realize how nice these kits are. My only complaint is I wish the canopy had glass inserts, but I guess I can add those if I really feel the need.

Now the problem is I am thinking I need to build a hanger bay to display them in

The 1/48 X-wing is pretty sweet too. A bit pricey because it comes with electronics but compared to the price of the 1/72 Falcon? Chicken feed.

Bandai kits will spoil you. It's definitely sad looking at the fit and finish on the Polar Lights D-7 I'm working on. :facepalm

I have an AMT ProShop motorized X-Wing that looks somewhere around a 1/32 scale but I'm actually not looking forward to building it. It just looks like a nightmare, especially now after working on a Bandai kit!

Yeah, Bandai kits are amazing detail wise for their scale and they are the most accurate kits to date as well

If they can design and manufacture these kits and still sell them for the $20-25 range and make money compared to the crap some other companies are putting out... well those other companies need to be ashamed!

I am just blown away at the level of detail and engineering that goes into these kits compared to Revell stuff which is the same price or even more these days and comes in 3 or 4 parts with way over simplified details to help keep the number of parts to a minimum

Bandai has sure spoiled us

Again as I am sure you guys already know... Bandai puts in layered details that you won't even see when done. It's that extra detail and layering that really makes the difference. They could have skimped but didn't... and still kept the price reasonable.

The level of detail Bandai maintains, even at smaller scales, is amazing... I will say that finemolds did well, too... Check out these guys. The Jengo(?) Fett is finemolds... Boba's is bandai.

well the X-Wing is just about done. Another 'wish'... other than these two things it's perfect... I wish the wings locked in the body a little better.

korben44 said:

The level of detail Bandai maintains, even at smaller scales, is amazing... I will say that finemolds did well, too... Check out these guys. The Jengo(?) Fett is finemolds... Boba's is bandai.

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They look great!

Fine Molds in some areas was actually better than Bandai.

For example, Bandai stuff that small in scale sometimes gets thicker than scale parts in areas and details. Maybe sometimes this is due to the snap fit design so it doesn't break when assembling, or maybe just making it thicker than scale so it is more durable, or just making it out of scale so you can see the detail from several feet away despite it being small

For example, I have a Fine Molds 1/500 version of the Yukikaze from Star Blazers/Yamato but the Bandai 1/1000 version of it actually has fins and details that are as thick or thicker in places than the 1/500 version

Also sometimes they way overexagerrate detail on very small stuff that looks oddly out of scale when you look up close at it.

And Fine Molds did panel lines much better than Bandai

Don't get me wrong though. Bandai rules in accuracy, optional features and overall detail, but Fine Molds was a close second

What's interesting is that Bandai doesn't have to over exaggerate st smaller scales, though. It's fairly evident I their 1/350 Falcon kits. At least when compared to the 1/144 kit. The dish on the one I have was a bit thick compared to the shapeways part from 308bits. But, like you said, it was most likely due to making it sturdy.

The snap together style of the bandai kits does get in the way sometimes.

I like how Bandai layers detail, but I noticed they add detail you'll never see. Like on this X-Wing... on the cockpit piece there is detail on the back area under the astromech strip that is detailed but when you put the strip in you'll never see this part,.

One thing about the X-Wing and this isn't Bandia (I don't think, I think all the companies are like this), the landing gear is completely unrealistic and oversized.