Tamiya Kits

[Avian]

This thread is for the discussion of Tamiya model kits.

I am looking into buying several Tamiya kits in for a DI style series. The beauty with these models is that they often come with multiple of the same dinosaur, and you can paint these with the same color scheme to look natural for a film such as mine. One such of these is the Velociraptor set. This set includes 6 Velociraptors, all with different poses. Does anybody happen to own this set already or notice any sort of issues when glueing the pieces together? Thanks.

[CityRaptor]

Well, I used to have that set. It's a pretty easy build and actually consists of two identical sprues, but every body is compatible with every limb, so you can create several poses and the six shown on the box are just examples. 

We also have an old Tamiya Thread:
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=994.0

[Fenestra]

I've bought the Tamiya Brachiosaurus and Velociraptor kits in the past.
They are easy to assemble (there is a flyer in the box that tells you how to) and any super glue will do.
For the Brachio: it is advised to have something like Apoxy clay to fill in gaps after you glue the pieces together. 
For the Velociraptors: As CityRaptor stated; You will get two identical racks, consisting 3 raptors. There will be 3 different body's with heads, 6 arms, 6 legs and 3 bases on each rack.
You can choose which body with head you want to glue with whatever arms or legs. The bases will fit all.

[CityRaptor]

Actually the Raptors come with 7 legs per rack. So one will have some leftovers. But that will also happen with some other kits. Parasaurolophus for example has two head options, labeled male and female on the box. 

[Avian]

 Thanks that definitely helps my decision in whether to buy one or not!

[indohyus]

I highly recommend any of the sets. The Mesozoic creatures give great variety (see my review on the blog for more details) and others, like the Chasmosaurus set and Triceratops set give a great mix of environment and miniature creatures.

[CityRaptor]

And the Parasaurolophus comes with three Pterosaurs, claimed to be Nyctosaurus. Totally I had 4 sets.  The aforementioned Para, Mesozoic Creatures and two packs of Raptors.  One was build and painted, the other still in mint condition. Originally I planned to collect all kits and then build and paint them in order to have the bases matching properly. Yep, they make a big diorama, too. But lack of space, inability to decide which optional parts to use and lacking painting skills resulted in me selling off the kits instead. Indeed I sold most of my model kits, deciding to focus on regular figures instead.
That being said, those Tamiyas are pretty fine kits, even if outdated by now, due to being from the 90s. They are far superior to kits like Lindberg and Airfix. Comparism with Aurora/Monogram/Revell is kinda difficult due to these being snap together kits with moving parts, although in a way they are their spirtual successors, as those had bases, small creatures and in some cases optional parts, too.

[Crackington]

To be fair, the Lindberg kits are from the moulds of the 1960s Pyro kits and the Airfix kits were from the 70s. I like the Tamiya kits, but they should be a bit better than their predecessors...

Also, not sure if you've seen the older Tamiyas, but they don't stand up too well now either. The original Rex is in a kangaroo pose and not much of an advance on the Airfix kit, to be honest.

[Justin_]

I don't have any of these Tamiya kits but I'd like to know which have cycads on the bases and what are the leaves on them made of? They don't look like solid plastic.

[CityRaptor]

The Parasaurolophus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus have them. As I owned the Para, I can confirm that the leaves are some kind of paper which needs to be cut out and glued on wires also included.  Fearing that I might mess that up was another reason to for me to give up on the Tamiyas. I'm not that good with constructing paper things.

To be fair, the Lindberg kits are from the moulds of the 1960s Pyro kits and the Airfix kits were from the 70s. I like the Tamiya kits, but they should be a bit better than their predecessors...

Also, not sure if you've seen the older Tamiyas, but they don't stand up too well now either. The original Rex is in a kangaroo pose and not much of an advance on the Airfix kit, to be honest.

Uh, yeah, I realized that the comparism was a bit unfair on my part. But out of those outdated, still either available or often re-issued kits, the Tamiya Dinosaur Diorama series ones are probably the best.  I mean, come on, even by the 50s or 60s Dinosaur model standards Pyro/Lindberg's offerings where rather bad. They look like something one could find in a rundown Dinosaur Park or maybe as a roadsite attraction. Only the Corythosaurus and Protoceratops look better, coming straight out of a Burian painting instead. The Boxart of some releases and claims of being life-like and super detailed do not help.


Uh yeah...

The Airfix and Tamiya Preshitoric World ones, while still outdated, fare better if you want Retrosaurs.  Of course the Dinosaur Diorama series by now would probably also qualify as Retro, just Post-Dinosaur Renaissance rather than Pre.

[stargatedalek]

I have a few kits and I quite adore them. Haven't painted them or filled seals yet, but I assembled most of the dinosaurs. They are definitely "sci-fi adjacent" designs, like you'd see in games like The Isle, rather than deliberately accurate. What they get right is what they didn't bother to get wrong.

The Nyctosaurus are deceptively accurate, as they represent females and not males. Though still bald.

[Crackington]

Yep, the Rex is a pretty bad model City Raptor, can't argue with that! Amazingly, the Pyros/Lindbergs are still being made, which means that they are not only the grandparents of the other kits, but arguably  the most successful kits ever made as they are still in production!

I do also think that the Pyros and Airfix models were aimed at younger kids than the later Tamiyas. In Airfix's case, a hook to catch them and get them on to the more "advanced" aircraft kits.

Tamiyas appear to be aimed at older modellists, if not in their construction, certainly in their painting. I have the Mesozoic Creatures kit and I found that tiny Archaeopteryx the hardest model I ever painted. I needed a microscope!

[Justin_]

I'm thinking of getting a Parasaurolophus diorama purely for the cycad and pterosaurs.

I'm also intrigued by the Velociraptors although they don't look much like dromaeosaurs apart from the sickle claw.
What could they be without needing too much customization? I wouldn't necessarily need to make them all the same species. They're a bit like Coelophysis, but the necks are too short and arms too long, but I might try making that adjustment on one or two if I do get a set.

[indohyus]

I don't have any of these Tamiya kits but I'd like to know which have cycads on the bases and what are the leaves on them made of? They don't look like solid plastic.

If I remember correctly, the leaves are hemp made.

[Justin_]

As I owned the Para, I can confirm that the leaves are some kind of paper which needs to be cut out and glued on wires also included.

If I remember correctly, the leaves are hemp made.

Thanks. I've seen a few photos of unmade kits with uncut sheet material for the leaves. I recently bought some mini laser-cut ferns that are a fibrous green paper that looks similar. I also found some YouTube tutorials for making model palm leaves from paper masking tape folded over wire, which is a lot cheaper than the £20 - £30 the Para kit goes for in the UK.