Problemchild 2149 Posted September 7, 2020 About to do a repro 959 shell and interested to hear experiences with either the TBG or Kamtec shells? ive used both companies before for various builds but unsure on which route to take this time. clearly the main difference is cost the TBG shell, wing and cockpit comes in at £50 with shipping from Canada (all items sold separately) while the Kamtec one is around £38 with shipping any advice greatly received JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonboy1 2929 Posted September 7, 2020 I've used 1 shell from Kamtec (think it was a Frog) and was not especially impressed with it. It seemed to have a lot of detail missing and the cut lines were almost invisible. I've used TBG shells exclusively since (and always recommend people who ask me to paint shells for them to use them too) - probably in the 30-40 range now - and have never been disappointed. That said - I don't want to sound like I'm being hard on Kamtec - as runners, I think they are spot on, especially as I think they are a bit thicker than TBG shells. Also, I love their ABS bodies - they've got an Austin Allegro I've got 101 ideas for!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperChamp82 743 Posted September 7, 2020 Difficult one as the 959 isn’t really a basher - which, for me, is the level of detail in both Kamtec and TBG 959 shells They’re way thicker than the original so def gain durability but lose pretty much all the nice touches in the Tamiya original If I had to choose, the TBG shell was slightly better in terms of respecting 959 angles / curves 👍 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted September 7, 2020 That’s all good info im putting the repro shell on a non 959 chassis but not will I be bashing - it’s all about cost JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badcrumble 4181 Posted September 9, 2020 Another option? https://landlmodels.co.uk/products/tm959-210mm-959-porsche 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted September 30, 2020 Thanks for all the good info decided on the Kamtec set up now just got to look into the other ancillaries JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raman36 1647 Posted September 30, 2020 Sorry to be late to party.. TBG would have been the better choice. He’s a Porsche fanatic and continuously improved the 959 body.. was a passion for him! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted December 2, 2020 On 9/30/2020 at 11:50 PM, Raman36 said: Sorry to be late to party.. TBG would have been the better choice. He’s a Porsche fanatic and continuously improved the 959 body.. was a passion for him! You are defo right I bought the kamtec one and it’s good but the front end just isn’t right so I bought a TBG one too so I’ll paint up the kamtec one with decals and put it up for sale JJ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kamika007z 39 Posted December 5, 2020 Post some pictures of both here when you're done! We'd love to see them side by side. I've got a NIB body set for the 959 that I haven't been able to part with yet.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted December 6, 2020 23 hours ago, Kamika007z said: Post some pictures of both here when you're done! We'd love to see them side by side. I've got a NIB body set for the 959 that I haven't been able to part with yet.. Yeah will do got an original spoiler set and a resin repro set (god knows how the lexan ones are supposed to attach 2 sets of MCI decals now arrived will crack on soon JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kamika007z 39 Posted December 6, 2020 How do the quality of the MCI's look for the 959? I recently got a set for the Mud Blaster and they weren't bad at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted December 6, 2020 MCI are excellent I’ve gone for 1 standard and 1 high quality JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kamika007z 39 Posted December 12, 2020 On 12/6/2020 at 6:32 PM, Problemchild said: MCI are excellent I’ve gone for 1 standard and 1 high quality JJ Nice! Do you see a difference between the standard vs the high quality? Just wondering what the difference is between the two. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted December 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Kamika007z said: Nice! Do you see a difference between the standard vs the high quality? Just wondering what the difference is between the two. Yeah - the colours are much brighter id ordered a few different things so the extra for the nice decals didn’t really impact JJ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brad-t 0 Posted January 13, 2021 I just purchased a set of decals from MCI and it sounds like for the same reason you are. I am doing an MF01X. But - I didn't see an option for high quality. There was a check box to enable 'Premium Color Options' - but I thought this was just so I could choose changes. Did I miss something? I'll go back and order again if there is a better option. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Percymon 2184 Posted January 13, 2021 On 9/10/2020 at 12:14 AM, Badcrumble said: Another option? https://landlmodels.co.uk/products/tm959-210mm-959-porsche An interesting, and welcome option. Its 6+ years ago since i did the MF-01X with the TBG body, the one i received was wafer thin on the front lower bumper and the lowest portion at the rear - these are the highest drawn areas when creating the shells I'd guess. If I were doing it again I think I'd go with Kamtec or the L&L one - just to see if they were any better / avoid some of the disappointment I had with the TBG one. Maybe i didnt get the best example, maybe they are slightly better now ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
didcos 37 Posted January 13, 2021 I'm usually quite critical of repro bodies and stickers, as some are quite bad. But the TBG 959 body fits the chassis quite well and small details are OK. The 959 MCI stickers are good quality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjg1973 159 Posted January 14, 2021 Here’s my 959 with a TBG body and MCI decals. https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=130609&id=29570 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted January 18, 2021 On 1/13/2021 at 2:13 PM, brad-t said: I just purchased a set of decals from MCI and it sounds like for the same reason you are. I am doing an MF01X. But - I didn't see an option for high quality. There was a check box to enable 'Premium Color Options' - but I thought this was just so I could choose changes. Did I miss something? I'll go back and order again if there is a better option. Premium colour option is the brighter more Vibrant set if you look at my build thread you will see the difference the standard ones are fine JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted January 18, 2021 On 1/13/2021 at 2:41 PM, Percymon said: An interesting, and welcome option. Its 6+ years ago since i did the MF-01X with the TBG body, the one i received was wafer thin on the front lower bumper and the lowest portion at the rear - these are the highest drawn areas when creating the shells I'd guess. If I were doing it again I think I'd go with Kamtec or the L&L one - just to see if they were any better / avoid some of the disappointment I had with the TBG one. Maybe i didnt get the best example, maybe they are slightly better now ? I found this too I’ve done a back to back comparison on my build thread (page 3 has the details) JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites