TaiidanTomcat Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 (edited) I'm now convinced that filling the excess rivets is far easier than rescribing the Tamiya kit. My thoughts exactly Edited December 11, 2009 by TaiidanTomcat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OldGuy Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Hey guys, my new Tomcat was delivered yesterday and I just got done taking a good look at it. All I can say is WOW! :unsure: The pictures online don't do it justice. Now I don't have the eye for contour and shape that some of you do, but it looks good to me. Done a little test fitting and so far the fit looks pretty good. Haven't tried everything yet so don't shake your finger at me if you find something that doesn't fit well. Overall I'm impressed and it makes me want to get a SuperBug now. Just hope I can sneak it by the wife like I did the Tomcat. Tommy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Admiral T. Jurisdiction Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Hey guys, my new Tomcat was delivered yesterday and I just got done taking a good look at it. All I can say is WOW! :unsure: The pictures online don't do it justice. Now I don't have the eye for contour and shape that some of you do, but it looks good to me. Done a little test fitting and so far the fit looks pretty good. Haven't tried everything yet so don't shake your finger at me if you find something that doesn't fit well. Overall I'm impressed and it makes me want to get a SuperBug now. Just hope I can sneak it by the wife like I did the Tomcat. Tommy If you decide to do any test-fitting, don't be shy to take a few pictures and post them here. If you don't have the eye for contours, chances are that someone here will Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alpagueur Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 (edited) It seems what I do really need from this kit are the flapped/slatted/spoilered wings and the upper fuselage... thanks for sharing. p.s. Is it possible to have some close-up of the wings? Edited December 11, 2009 by Alpagueur Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Here's what I find amusing on the shape issue thought. The 3 of the 4 places where I had a 'concern' just by looking at the plastic, I went back and pulled out the Tamiya kit and they have the exact same feature that makes me go 'hmmm'. The thing that drew my eye to the fuselage/spine/canopy height was the height and shape of the Trumpeter kit. I thought it looked a bit squished. But the Tamiya kit is slightly high in the canopy so maybe the Trumpeter is actually more accurate. As for now, the only thing that stands out to me is the rake angle of the aft canopy to fuselage join. It looks like they angled it after too far. So the aft canopy frame going across the top should be pretty much symmetrical. The Trumpeter kit has an angle to it. I thought the nosecone looked like it has too much of a swoop at the point on the bottom but when I placed it next to the Tamiya part, it is exactly the same. The aft cannon bulge next to the grill vent looks really flat and again, Tamiya did the same thing. I'm leaning towards both kits are 95% there in those shapes. I think my only 'gripes' about this kit by looking at it and these may be really, really minor are the fully opened forward left fuselage and the rubber wing sweep pads. Both may turn out to be just fine, but the thought of having to fill the seams along the gun/avionics bays and then rescribing those panels takes me back to thoughts of having to remove the giant plates from the Tamiya fuselage and then scribing the few missing lines...That and the decals which were filed in the circular file. -brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recon Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 From the threads I have seen, it is better to buy the Trumpeter F14 than the Tamiya one correct? Thanks Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Hingtgen Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 (edited) I don't even have the kit (nor plans to buy one soon) but I'd be first in line for a set of VF-2 OIF CAG decals from Brian P! Anyways---I'm one of those that likes to build as "simply" as possible--and that means every hatch and panel closed. But kits like these (with openable everything) tend to make that difficult, as trying to get everything looking good while closed is sometimes almost as much work as it'd be to just detail an exposed interior. So--- Does anyone know how the more "basic" panels fit when closed? Gun bay, refuelling probe, etc. I've seen some openable panels from Bandai that fit so well when closed you can't even see a seam. And there there's the "gear doors closed" parts from Italeri... Edited December 12, 2009 by David Hingtgen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 (edited) It certainly looks the great part out of the box. And most of the kit is very much a re-creation of the Tamiya kit with new stuff added, a different breakdown and some things changed. Until one of these is actually built, I don't think you will get a real answer to which one is better to start from. Certainly Trumpeter is the only OOB option. And of most of the D conversions, I don't think any are a real winner if you want to really nail the accuracy stuff. If I was suggesting something to Tamiya to do a new B or D boxing to compete here (and they weren't re-tooling the kit) my recommendations might look a little something like this: Based on the VF-154 release (you've already got Lantirn pod/pylon, gps dome, late all the ECM bumps, bomb racks, HGU-55 helmets, and some big bombs) this is the minimum it would have to have... 1. COCKPIT! Do an F-16 level cockpit based on the existing kit frame parts. This includes a full cockpit and canopy framing. It's what Trumpeter did for the tubs... 2. Update the wheel hubs. Give mid and late styles. 3. Update the vertical tails to be representative of something other than a pre-1978 jet. OR add vinyl/PE parts to correct the rudder braces at the very least. 4. Add the F-16 GE engine parts and a new GE F-14 specific coaming. 5. Give us some GBU-12 at the minimum for new ordnance. 6 Of course, add the IRST/TVSU There, presto - a Tamiya F-14D. Make the retail price $180 and have it be online for $130. Edited December 12, 2009 by Brian P: Fightertown Decals Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cunumdrum61 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 I do not think you will see anything new Tomcat wise from tamiya. What they have given us is it I'm afraid. I have two of the Trumpy F-14s and Have two of the early F-14's on order.I will go with the Trumpy one over the Tamiya one.Trumpy for now have set the benchmark for the F-14. I think it is a really nice kit but I do wish they had included a closed up left forward fuselage. I guess I will have to close em all up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
THX1138 Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 Let's take a look at the shape of the nose. At first I thought the nose curved too much upwards on the bottom. That's how it looks when you quick fix it. Doesn't look right to me. But I overlayed schematics and that does show it's ok. But I don't have any higher-res schematics to really proof. Most people on this site have way better eyes then me, so see for yourself. Also, I made some shots of the wing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sanchez Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Thanks for review, looks like Trump made this kit too much "riveted" as usually. Some rivet lines are not in proper place, aren't they? Especially on nose section Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 The nose looks too short and does not look to be the right shape, it looks odd. Reddog :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 And yet that nosecone is an exact copy of the Tamiya and the forward fuselages have the same height. I'm thinking when you add the pitot tube it looks more correct. I've got ghe 2 kits next to each other and am measuing them out Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostkiller Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 (edited) this tomcat is wrongly shaped somewhere according to the front section picture the alignment of the intake and the canopy makes it look wrong tamiya had it Ok but in trumpter side it is not spot on that is why some peaple think that the front looks strange but it is should be confirmed I think : playing with pics does not do justice sometime Could we have a pic from the top with the canopy in place ? please tell me I am wrong here..... see below Edited December 14, 2009 by Ghostkiller Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cunumdrum61 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 What we need are some detailed and accurate scale drawings to measure it against. I will never depend on cross referencing a model with photos. Do we know the Tamiya Tomcat is spot against scale drawings? Has that ever been checked against good scale drawings? It could be inaccurate too. I do agree we need to see a photo from looking down at the kit but we need a photo that is not angled at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 To me just from glancing at the pictures, the nose itself seems fine. It looks to me like the divider between the front and rear canopies sits too far back and that might be what is throwing it off. Anybody compare the Trumpeter canopy with the Tamiya one side by side? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cunumdrum61 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Yea I never considered that. Could be only the canopy framing, good catch! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostkiller Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 (edited) I am looking at Danny Coremans 's book : uncovering the grumman f-14 A/B/D tomcat and there is really good drawings of the D tomcat and tamiya looks closer to the plans the drawings are really good and look really spot on you can trust me on that Edited December 14, 2009 by Ghostkiller Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 You guys are judging by a picture that may not be straight on, with a model that is not actually assembled, but taped together and some pretty far from correct drawings... have fun- There is an issue with the aft part of the canopy in shape to the fuselage that's angled too far back. And don't expect the Tamiya to be a benchmark. Their Tomcat is not perfect and has some issues. Maybe not to the casual eye and it probably doesn't matter much but it isn't dead on. -brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cunumdrum61 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Brian, That's exactly what I was saying. Who's to know how accurate the Tamiya F-14 is as well? Comparing one model agianst the other when both could be innacurate! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Av8fan Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 (edited) Brian, I am looking forward to your offerings for this kit. I have the VF-143 "last ride" decals in 1/48 and they are great. I have no doubt that the decals for this kit will be fantastic. I know the kit is not perfect. Edited December 14, 2009 by Av8fan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostkiller Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I did not want to compare tamiya and trumpeter here really.... tamiya's tomcat is far from correct and we all know that ;) I have 2 and I am still scared to make the second one considering the amount of work that it will take to correct the beast none of models are perfect but really obvious details should really be avoid considering the price and the amount of work done by the modeler When I am done with a model : I like to say that is pretty closed to the real thing and avoid thinking that looks wrong maybe I am sick :wacko: I am myself a big fan of the F-14 and I am really sad that it has not been done correctly apparently trump has problems with the canopy's section (remenber the flankers issues ???) well will wait for better pics now Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeyc5usaf Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 if anyone cares, cybermodeler has a review up, they consider it one of the best things since sliced bread Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 that, is an upsized copy of the italeri 1/72 and 1/48 nose cone! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
THX1138 Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'll make a top nose/canopy shot tonight. Once again from a distance with a long zoom to remove any perspective distortion. I'll also scan in the 1/48 Hasegawa schematics. Just for reference, we still don't know for sure if schematics we use are accurate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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