Skull Leader

they need to do a second JASDF weapons set with that also includes the J/AAQ-2 FLIR/Targeting pod! Maybe now that they've got their AMRAAM derivatives online along with these missiles and a few others, maybe a new set will reveal itself someday.

The weapons boxes mean nothing to us at this point

And now Sio is evidently gonna build one....

If they have kits available for a build-off, then why are they bothering with this circle-jerk when they could be shipping kits to people who have been on the hook for a pre-order? Sio, how did you guys possibly think this would be seen as a good thing? You missed your window for showmanship, SHIP THE KITS.

I think they look just fine. On the plus side, now they'll be easier to paint

Even then, only hasegawa 1/72 kits after a certain boxing (I think it was their diamondbacks F-14B boxing? Maybe the black knights history kit) include the pylon in-box... otherwise you're stuck getting a weapons set (which would have the pylon and pod)

it's a misnomer, but most people still usually call it the -14. (smart people looking to avoid a banal argument about semantics just call it a LANTIRN and move on... probably the best idea here too.)

they tested with an ALQ-14 in 1995 before creating a pod that combined the two

A litening pod is not the same as a LANTIRN unfortunately.

I thought I was looking at Revell sidewinders at first.

my last count was around 40 airframes still flying as well. Anyone's guess as to how many are MC. This is the first I've heard about new MFDs in anything other than the F-14AM though. Same stacked screen layout?

Good. Anything and everything the rest of us have to say in this thread has absolutely zero bearing on you.

"Need"? No, this is a hobby... no one NEEDS anything. As. Tomcat fan though, while there are kits that will always be "good enough" for me (the revell tomcat will always be a favorite for me. Good shape, easy to build, easy to modify), I will never not be excited about a new, more accurate and easier to build kit on the market (read: Tamiya). I was initially just as excited about the AMK, until images of the real plastic started leaking, then instead of being transparent about listening to our concerns, they tried to deflect, saying "hey, look at our multi-piece wings!" Or "hey, look at our one-piece nose!" (A superfluous design choice, in most tomcat kits the nose halves go together without issue), or "hey, look at our multi-piece canopy!" (Another party foul, as was recently pointed out). I want to be happy about this kit, but all AMK has done so far is succeeded at putting together an extremely expensive detail set I can part out on other, better shaped tomcat kits. They got so hung up on trying to make the most detailed kit that they could, that they forgot their fundamentals starting with the basic shape. I wish thet would have gotten ambitious and pooched a completely different design, because a tomcat with an accurate shape and and as much detail as AMK had boasted would have been impressive to see.

Soooo nothing. You've fixed nothing. Will the wings fit the academy kit?

The number of apologists in this thread is staggering. "The seats were probably meant for pilots..." "In the end, I won't notice, and neither will anyone else..." And so on. Arent we a little past this point? Besides... AMK proudly proclaimed that this would be the best, most accurate Tomcat kit ever. Shouldn't they be made to learn from such marketing errors? How can they improve if they are not edified? If everyone tries to sweep it under the rug, where is the incentive for AMK to step up their game? From everything I've seen, it's about on the level of the hobby boss kit... certainly not the worst kit on the market, but definitely in no danger of being the best and most accurate. I can find better kits for likely much cheaper.