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I have built the old Monogram kit, and I like it.  But then, I'm a nostalgia builder, too, and still enjoy building classic Monogram kits.  This one was first introduced in 1966, and while Hyperscalers would turn up their noses at it as too simple, inaccurate, toy-like, it has raised panel lines, etc, etc, it reflects the next generation of Monogram's detail, after the more toy-like first-generation F4F, SBD, SB2C and TBF kits (though I still build those, too).  The Kingfisher stayed in production catalog through the merger with Revell, right up to the demise of the brands in the Hobbico bankruptcy in 2018. 


Out of the box, it looks like a Kingfisher, or you can superdetail if you like.  There are also aftermarket detail sets for this kit, from cockpits to floats, and decals.  And in the 90s, Revell-Monogram added some photoetch detail parts to the kit, and you can find those boxings easily enough on the second-hand market.  You can find it on eBay and similar sites, or on dealer tables at shows or club meetings, and for reasonable prices.  If I were looking for this, I'd look to pay ten bucks at the most, and I know I'd have one in a very short time.


The old Airfix kit in 1/72 is out there, too.  It's another kit that shows its age in terms of design, but, it's another one that can be found readily and builds into a decent representation of a Kingfisher.


I don't know offhand if either Tamiya or Hasegawa ever produced Kingfisher kits.  I'd have to look that up.


Lindberg also released a 1/72-scale kit of the Kingfisher, in 1967.  Again, many today would turn up their noses at it.  But again, you can build it into a nice depiction of a Kingfisher.


It all depends on your individual taste.


The more recent 1/32 scale kits reflect 21st-century expectations in detail and design, and their prices reflect that.  I have not built them, because I don't build a lot of 1/32 airplanes.  But I have seen them built, and they do finish nicely.


Personally, in my favorite scale of 1/48, I would definitely build the Monogram kit.


Hope that helps!


Best regards,

Brad


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