Hi, I'm kind of a new guy here at the forum, I've been easing my way back into model building after a 20 year break in the action.. I've recently been building a few aircraft models in 1/48 to get back into in, and I'm looking to buy something it a bit higher quality than the cheap RMX models i'm into now. I sure am a big fan of the A-10 Warthog/Thunderbolt and am pretty much decided on building one in 1/48th scale.. I've read all the available reviews I could find and have checked out lots of builds people have done, but I'm still not sure which one to go for.. I am leaning toward one of the Italeri kits or the Tamiya kit. I want recessed panel lines (obviously), and because they are in my price range, those are the two im debating on.. The italeri has lots of aftermarket support, and reviews seem decent, and the tamiya has mixed reviews, some stating very poor opinion of the kit, but it was an old review, and then i read another saying the newer tamiya kits are updated versions of the older kit, and are much better.. The Hobby boss is a bit more than I want to spend on the base kit for now. If some of you experienced A-10 builders could give me a minute of your time and opinion, I'd be very appreciative.

Thanks,
J.Austin

IMHO, the HobbyBoss kit is worth the extra cash...it is one of the nicest builds I've put together.

Hutch

The Tamiya kit is one of their oldest and is most definitely not up to their recent standard. It was first issued more than 35 years ago. In addition, it's a prototype, not an operational aircraft. I would recommend the Hobby Boss kit. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good and since it's a recent issue the aftermarket parts available should fit it well enough. There are multiple articles here on Aeroscale which detail the corrections the kit needs.