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I'm in the process of building the 1/200 Trumpeter Iowa and decided from the start that I would not buy any aftermarket PE sets. The PE that came with the kit is actually pretty nice. But when I started seeing certain things, such as the catapults, the radars, the masts, I decided to just buy those things to enhance the kit. I have worked with Pontos, MK1, Eduard, and others so I have experience with PE sets and quality. I also sometimes feel it's a waste of time and money, such as when you spend hours scraping off the portholes and doors, to replace them with PE, then paint them gray, and they end up looking just like they did before you scraped them off! So I feel that some PE is not that necessary, although I absolutely love to take out all those shiny brass or steel plates full of tons and tons of eye candy.
So when I got Tom's PE set, I was excited to see it since it was my first time working with Tom's stuff. I was immediately disappointed! This is by far the least detailed of all the PE I have ever used. Where all the other companies include simulated bolts and holes and raised and lowered sections, Tom's are just PLAIN. NOTHING is detailed. It's just flat, unmarked brass. The finish doesn't even compare to other PE sets. On side is actually mottled from the acid they must use. The "paths" used to hold the pieces on the plate look like they have been drawn on with a marker. No 2 identical parts look identical. Again, almost like they were hand drawn. There are no super fine filaments like there are in the other sets. I have included pictures as an example of what I'm trying to describe. Where Pontos and MK1 and others instruct you to modify a plastic part and "add" PE to it, Tom's wants you to replace the entire cylindrical part with a flat piece of badly designed brass.
The only thing Tom's has in common with other PE manufacturers are the barren instructions. VERY plain, minimal drawings with very little written directions.
The price, which seemed reasonable when I placed the order, now is clearly way too much. I wish I would have taken a closer look before I ordered, and before I put together one of the catapults and realized that the kit parts were MUCH more detailed. Needless to say, I will be using the kit parts rather than Tom's stuff. Total waste of money!
Live and learn!
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File comment: As an example, the cylinders on the catapult (circled in red) are represented by some flat brass 2 dimensional parts.
cata_06.jpg [ 70.85 KiB | Viewed 884 times ]
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File comment: 2 dimensional parts (circled in red) that are totally different from each other from bad design.
2011.jpeg [ 150.03 KiB | Viewed 884 times ]
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Last edited by Tobori on Mon Nov 07, 2016 2:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
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