A starter set is the shortest route to a finished first model. One box holds the kit, the basic shades of paint, a brush and glue, so building can begin as soon as the shrink wrap is off – no second trip, no guessing which three colours the instructions will ask for.
Subjects cover cars, aircraft, helicopters and military vehicles across several scales and levels of difficulty, which is why these boxes are the usual present for somebody taking up the hobby and a dependable choice for building alongside a child.
1:72 Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Starter Set
22.36 €
1:24 Mercedes Benz 300 SLR 70th Anniversary Gift Set
39.96 €
1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc & Messerschmitt Bf-109F-4
22.36 €
1:72 Starter Kit Messerschmitt Bf-109
9.56 €
1:72 D-Day Fighters Gift Set
51.16 €
1:72 North-American P-51D Mustang Starter set
12.76 €
The whole point of a starter set is that nothing is missing: sprues, decals, instructions, pots or tubes of the basic shades, a brush and adhesive. You do not have to work out in advance which paints to add, and the first evening at the table goes on building instead of shopping. Sets range from very simple models of a few dozen parts up to fuller kits aimed at a confident beginner, so there is a suitable box both for a schoolchild and for an adult returning to the hobby after twenty years away.
Pick what the recipient actually likes looking at. Road and racing machines continue in car and formula model kits, aviation in aircraft model kits, and armour in military vehicle model kits. A starter set is effectively a sample of a branch somebody may stay in for years, so the subject matters more than the part count.
For children choose fewer, larger parts; an adult beginner will enjoy a more involved model and be bored by a very simple one. The recommended age and the part count in the product description are the two figures worth reading.
Once the paints from the box run out, the full range of model paints takes over, with finer brushes and more precise adhesives for plastic to follow. That second purchase is usually the moment somebody decides whether this is a hobby or an afternoon.
The full set of branches, from ships to figures, is in plastic model kits.
