Scooter Man Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Considering the fact that the Tamiya 1/72nd scale Mossies are a LOT cheaper and easier to find on the market, I was just curious to know if anyone has ever done a side by side comparison. If you know of such an article would you mind letting me know....THANKS! Best regards, Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chuck1945 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 No article, but I did compare them since the Hasegawa Mossie preceded the Tamiya one. This meant I already had a Hasegawa kit when the Tamiya one was released. My immediate thought then the Hasegawa kit arrived was that it was a crisper molding then the Airfix Mossie from the early 70s, but in some ways (landing gear for instance) the Airfix kit had better detail. Then the Tamiya kit arrived and it simply blows away the Hasegawa kit. The Tamiya kit was criticized at first for a shape problem on the fin/rudder (easily fixed with a sanding stick) and for a too thin engine nacelles, but compared to some in flight photos, they look good to me and that issue seems to have gone away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darren Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I would choose the Tamiya mossie every time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shawn C. Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Another big problem with the Hasegawa Mossies is that the canopy is molded in two pieces, split right down the middle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peebeep Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 The Hasegawa is pants compared to the Tamiya. In many respects the Airfix is preferable to the Hasegawa. peebeep Quote Link to post Share on other sites
agboak Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I had a brief discussion of this with Anders Svennik. He suggests that, in addition to the tailfin problem, the rear fuselage of the Tamiya kit is too conical (IIRC), the relationship of the canopy and the nose looks wrong, and the wing chord is too large. He thinks the bottom of the bombbay is too rounded: my impression is that the Hasegawa is too "square" where the bombbay meets the nose. I haven't yet gone back to the kits to check all this. As far as detail is concerned the Tamiya kit wins comfortably, though it was no cheaper than the Hasegawa when I got mine. Both appear to have problems - perhaps the Airfix is the winner after all? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pingu1 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 (edited) The Hasegawa is pants compared to the Tamiya. In many respects the Airfix is preferable to the Hasegawa. peebeep Concur with Peebeep. The Hasegawa kit is rubbish - accuracy and detail issues with the u/c, and Hasegawa's attitude in 1/72 that someone's bound to come along with an aftermarket cockpit, so they don't need to do anything more than the basics should be enough to stop you buying their 1/72 products on principle. And as for that join line down the middle of the canopy... I've had one in my stash for at least seven years, with no serious risk of it being built, even though I've got an Eduard etched set and a vac canopy for it. Finally, the only version of the Hasegawa Mossie currently available, the Mk.VI with IDF decals, retails for £17.99 (sic). The Airfix kit of the Mk.VI, which is certainly no worse, sells for £6.99, while the Tamiya Mk.VI, which is superior in every respect, sells for £11.99. Leave the Hase kit where it deserves to stay - on the shelf! Cheers, Chris. Edited January 25, 2007 by pingu1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chuck1945 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Another big problem with the Hasegawa Mossies is that the canopy is molded in two pieces, split right down the middle. I had forgotten about that - a deal killer right there. In any case, as soon as I had a Tamiya Mosquito, my Hasegawa example was donated for a door prize at one of the model shows. At least Hasegawa's more recent twins, especially the B-25 and B-26, do provide for more interior detail then they bothered with on the Mossie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooter Man Posted January 25, 2007 Author Share Posted January 25, 2007 Well I guess that seals the deal for me. I'll definitely stay away from the Hasegawa kit and stick with the Tamiya one. Thank you gentlemen! TL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peebeep Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 (edited) I had a brief discussion of this with Anders Svennik. He suggests that, in addition to the tailfin problem, the rear fuselage of the Tamiya kit is too conical (IIRC), the relationship of the canopy and the nose looks wrong, and the wing chord is too large. He thinks the bottom of the bombbay is too rounded: my impression is that the Hasegawa is too "square" where the bombbay meets the nose. I haven't yet gone back to the kits to check all this. Looks pretty round and conical to me. Dunno about the other stuff, but the Tamiya parts matched the plans I have pretty well - sure there are plans and then there are plans, but if it looks reasonably right that's good enough for me. I would certainly agree that the Hasegawa fuselage looks too boxy. Until the perfect kit arrives in 1/72 I will be buying Mossies from Mr Tamiya. peebeep Edited January 25, 2007 by peebeep Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chuck1945 Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Until the perfect kit arrives in 1/72 I will be buying Mossies from Mr Tamiya.Amen brother Quote Link to post Share on other sites
atckyrre Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 A lot of opinins here... Both Tamiya and hasegawas Mossies looks good when built. Both have issues. Both are fairly expensive, though you can get the Hasegawa bomber cheap through Revell's issue. To be blunt: If you have to ask this question chances are you won't see the difference between the twos when built. I certainly don't. Kyrre. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J.C. Bahr Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 For my money... my vote goes to Tamiya. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pingu1 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 A lot of opinins here...Both Tamiya and hasegawas Mossies looks good when built. Both have issues. Both are fairly expensive, though you can get the Hasegawa bomber cheap through Revell's issue. Kyrre. In the UK, all the Tamiya 1/72 Mossies are now £11.99. That's £6 cheaper (or 2/3 the price of) than the only currently-available Hasegawa boxing. The Revell AG Hasegawa re-pop is OOP at the moment,but if memory serves, it was about £12 - in fact, I seem to recall that Hannants had it for £13.99 - when it was last available, so no savings - though better decals - there. The Airfix kit is £6.99, and plenty good enough, especially if you're prepared to do a little scratchbuilding work on the cockpit and u/c wells. The Heller printing press at Trun being what it was (is?), you have to factor in the cost of a sheet of aftermarket decals, though, so you won't end up with much - if any - saving compared to the Tamiya kits. In the circumstances, the choice should be obvious... Cheers, Chris. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spitfire Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 You can get the Tamiya Mossies for around £9 including P&P from this site: www.luckymodel.com, which is based in Hong Kong. They stock lots of other kits at low prices too and by ordering more you'd save on shipping costs. It's because of companies such as this that UK companies forced Tamiya to lower the price of their kits so that they could compete. Cheers, John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lasermonkey Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 There's a seller in the UK (I believe it's Heritage, but I could be wrong) that sells unboxed but bagged Airfix Mosquito II/VI/XVIII at airshows, etc. At Shuttleworth last Spring, they were £2.50 a pop. I bought six! I think they might be £3 now, but that's still a bargain. They include photocopied instructions and decals. Cheers, Mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
atckyrre Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Well here in Norway a typical Tamiya 1:72 Mosquito is about 20 quid so definitely no bargain. If you can find one... I have built three so far and for the sake of building the thing and actually finishing it I'll be sticking to the Tamiya kit. It literally falls together. Shape? As said, I certainly can't see any faults. And when they're pointed out I stick my fingers in the ears and go LALALALALALA! Ignorance is bliss. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peebeep Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 And when they're pointed out I stick my fingers in the ears and go LALALALALALA! :lol: I'll drink to that! What's yours? peebeep Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LanceB Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 You can get the Tamiya Mossies for around £9 including P&P from this site: www.luckymodel.com, which is based in Hong Kong. They stock lots of other kits at low prices too and by ordering more you'd save on shipping costs. It's because of companies such as this that UK companies forced Tamiya to lower the price of their kits so that they could compete.Cheers, John Tamiya sells their kits for the same price everywhere. What jacks the prices up is 1) shipping and 2) the distributor. The Tamiya distributor for the UK, for example, threw a hissy fit when a certain online retailer placed ads in UK model mags, and threatened at least one publisher with cancellation of all advertising plus no kits for review if they continued to allow that online retailer to advertise. I guess if he figured he got no publicity and the competition was handed a chance to get even more publicity for the cost of supplying review kits, he'd win. Papa Tamiya says he always tells this to overseas distributors who complain about online shops from Japan (or thereabouts): "If you did your jobs right, you wouldn't need to worry." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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