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Hobby Boss F-14 Tomcat


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So if the Hobbyboss 48 scale F-14 is the scaled down version of the Trumpy kit in 32 scale, that means it is only time and Trumpy will upscale the Hobbyboss F-111's to 32 scale? WooHoo!!! I know probally dreamin.

I will stay with the Hasegawa F-14's as they are too good to beat. Sure construction can be difficult first time around but after the first one and you understand the pitfalls they are easy to build. It will be cheaper than the Hobbyboss version as well and more accurate. I still have three of each of the original Pacific and Atlantic boxings of the F-14A in my stash. I want one day to build an example of each of the first two F-14 sqaudrons delivered.

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Well, I also think that HB cat will be more expensive than Hasegawa one, but you can´t say anything about accuracy until someone make a comparison between them or until you see the actual kit HB kit........otherwise it could be.......futurology??.... :rofl:

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I wonder if the landing gear will be just as underdetailed as the Trumpy kit was? I was going to pick one up, but after seeing all the silly goofs, I decided I would rather get a Hornet and wait for the aftermarket to pick up on the shortcomings.

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With so many 1/48 Tomcats on the market, why HB decided to do another one is beyond me. HB should have done a 1/48 Viggen, MiG-25, or MiG-31 instead.

I say the more tomcat kits the better, competition is a good thing.

I've been begging for Revell to retool their 1/48th kit to a similar level of detail and cost point as their F-15E or Superhornet kits. They went about 1/4 the way there last year when the re-released the old tools with a new Bombcat sprue.

I don't have any figures, but I got to think that Ol' Revellogram Tomcat tools has had more repops than anything else in their inventory. It's like the Golden Goose.

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With so many 1/48 Tomcats on the market, why HB decided to do another one is beyond me. <...>

Because an F-14 is almost guaranteed to sell and a Viggen or BiG MiG, well, isn't. Wish it were different, but that's the way things are.

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With so many 1/48 Tomcats on the market, why HB decided to do another one is beyond me.

Personally, I like the idea, it'll make the old Monogram kits even more plentiful and cheap!

Tomcats are guaranteed sellers because the F-14 is like the P-51 in that regard. A rich history, colorful paint schemes, and arguably the all-around best fighter aircraft of its time...a time that's not quite over yet if you ask me.

John

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The F-14 is an icon, an icon of the Naval Aviation for 35 years, besides many hit movies were done with Viggens or Foxhounds?

The Tomcat in American service has only a handful of kills and was much more successful as a bomber in the last half of its life

Even success in air to air combat - the reason these platforms were built in the first place is not a reliable indicator of sales, look at the Mirage IIICs released by Eduard and Hobbyboss. The Mirage IIIC is historically a very significant aircraft, representing one of the most one sided air campaigns in history, the Six Day War. But did it sell all that well to the general modeling community?

We'll have to see how the kit looks and hopefully how the price is positioned versus the Hasegawa kit to see how much impact it may have. And remember not everyone is on Ebay or cruises shows to grab Hasegawa kits at $20, I think the last full price Hasegawa I saw was around $85. If the HB kit has the upgrades for Bombcats and weaponry if it sells close to that price they have an advantage. Revell will always have the bottom end of the market based on price, but HB may have an advantage at the upper end if one doesn't need aftermarket.

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The F-14 is an icon, an icon of the Naval Aviation for 35 years, besides many hit movies were done with Viggens or Foxhounds?

LOL, I don´t know about a hit movie...but there is a movie with Viggen........

Yup it´s a crappy movie...but who cares about the storyline when there are Viggens flying about?

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Does anyone have a release date on the HB F-14 kits? They are doing 3 correct (A, B and a D)? The Future Kit tab on Cybermodeler use to list HB new releases under Aircraft, now they don't, what's up with that?

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  • 3 months later...
I beg to differ on the Viggen. The old 1/48 ESCI/Airfix Viggen sold very well on eBay for $66+ and even $90+ a pop.

Fair point. The problem is, though, that this was at a time when the kit wasn't readily available by a manufacturer. Look for how much Esci/Italeri 1/48 Mirage F.1s went on eBay BEFORE Italeri re-released them. I'd hazard a guess and say they don't sell for anywhere near that amount NOW that the kit is still available in shops.

That said, I would REALLY love a new tool Viggen in 1/48 (even more so in 1/72 :thumbsup:), but I'm afraid it just isn't economically viable for a major manufacturer.

EDIT: Seeing that Trumpeter's about to do a 1/32 Yak-38 Forger (CLICK!), I withdraw my statement of economical viability and concede that apparently there's neither rhyme nor reason to some subject choices. :thumbsup:

Edited by ChernayaAkula
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