Wild Bill Horton Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 This was one of the most challenging (read worst) kits I ever made. The fuselage seam was laughable; I reinforced it with plastic strip and filled it the best I could, but its far from perfect. I did add to the basic kit with aftermarket decals (Scalemaster,I think), Eduard color PE for the cockpit, and Steel Beach FOD covers (there is NO intake trunking, kids). That being said, this is one big, attractive bird. It was pretty much worth the effort, but I can't recommend the kit unless its to an experienced modeler with lots of time and skill. And I'm building Trumpy's Stuka now, and that one fits like a Tamiya kit; BOY have they improved. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
USMC6094 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I've been wondering what one of those looked like built up, thats a good looking Vigi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Liberator24 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Looks good. After hearing your overwhelming joy, Im glad I sold it...HA! -Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Phantom ordie Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 There is an internal brace kit that makes the fuselage seams fit better. I believe Cobra made it. Sprue Bros. had them at one time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hammerhead Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Great job with the Vigilante. The internal brace set is from Nautilus. B/R Kai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Gorgeous viggie! I know about all the hardship involved in building the trumpy viggie, but the reward of having it built is really gratifying :-D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grand Toad Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Despite the travails of building this Vigilante, it looks fantastic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sledge Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Very nice! I love it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neeko Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 When building a Trumpeter 1/48 Vigilante. the Nautilus brace is an absolute must. Even with that in place, I still ran a strip of styrene along the entire top and bottom fuselage seam in order to reinforce the joint. I finished my Vigilante last year, and while it did seem like it was much more of a challenge than it should have been, I am proud as hell to have it on my display shelf. I am not a fantastic modeler by any stretch of the imagination, however building the Vigi (along with the Academy MiG-29AS that immediately preceded it) did wonders to my confidence in being able to tackle a challenging kit. The Trumpeter Vigilante is one of those kits that a lot of people want to have in their stash, but once they get one and look at the breakdown realize it takes a lot of stones to build it up. The Trumpeter Vigilante was a bear of a kit, but you'll never hear me complain one bit about it. I wear the fact that I prevailed over it as a badge of honor! :)/> This pic proves I am totally insane: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wild Bill Horton Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Great job on your Vigi, Nick. I'm pretty proud of mine, too; its a beautiful bird, but I'll complain anyway....it amazes me in this day and age that a major company can't make a fuselage that has a reasonably straight join. But Trumpy has improved; I'm almost done with their Stuka and the result is stunning; can't wait to share it with you guys. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anj4de Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Hello all I was very lucky last week...got a rather cheap Vigilante from E-Bay! I have built the old Airfix one when I was a young boy...and always wanted a larger one ever since I build 1/48 birds. Since the overall opinions on this kit are between "mixed" and "horrible" the heavy price tag was so far holding me back. Now I got one and I will build it! I am currently still busy with the Tamiya Tomcat and a MIG-21 but when those are done... Good thing about this kit, I do not need aftermarket decals since I version I wanted is included in the kit! :-) I am now searching for build reviews and also for after market stuff...where needed. The Cutting Edge sets seem to be sold out for a long time...:-( I will probbaly get an Eduard PE set and Quickboost seats...unless I can find first of all good pictures of the Black Box pit. I also have just started researching the Vigilantes and will have do do a lot more there before I cut plastic! Below is my inspiration picture! :-) cheers Uwe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winnie Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Mentioned above by Neeko is the Nautilus braces, they are worth it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 It's a bear to build, but if you can persevere through it, it makes for an attractive model. That's great to know about the XMold sets. I'm surprised they're coming out with new items for this kit. I'll third the Nautilus set! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonbryon Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 11 hours ago, HomeBe said: New: XMold - 1/48 - RA-5C Vigilante seamless air intakes + corrected tail cone (for Trumpeter kit) http://xmold-modeling.com/products-page/scale1-48/148-ra-5c-vigilante-seamless-air-intakes-corrected-tail-cone-for-trumpeter-kit/ V.P. I don't have my 1/48 Trumpeter Vigilante to hand, but I presume this set corrects the error in the shape of the inner intake wall. Can anyone confirm? Has anyone purchased this set and can comment on the quality? I am interested! Thanks Jon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SinisterVampire319 Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Website says sold out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okthree Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 (edited) 46 minutes ago, SinisterVampire319 said: Website says sold out. Dang! Should've ordered it when I first looked at the intakes. I wonder how the resin intakes will work with the Nautilus brace? Edited March 9, 2017 by okthree Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SinisterVampire319 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 19 hours ago, okthree said: I wonder how the resin intakes will work with the Nautilus brace? It's been a while. But I sort of remember someone saying it won't without some cutting. Shouldn't be too hard though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonbryon Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 On 09/03/2017 at 5:25 AM, okthree said: Dang! Should've ordered it when I first looked at the intakes. I wonder how the resin intakes will work with the Nautilus brace? They must be making more as it was back in stock today and I successfully ordered another. Interested to see what the quality is like... Jon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okthree Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 2 hours ago, jonbryon said: They must be making more as it was back in stock today and I successfully ordered another. Interested to see what the quality is like... Jon They must be selling as fast as they can cast them. Sold out again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jpk Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 (edited) There were two different intake shapes between the early and late RA-5C's. This set looks like it is for the late version with the J79-10's. They would be incorrect for the early version with the J79-8 engines. Cutting Edge made sets for both, IF you can find them. You can tell the difference between early and late Vigi's by the leading edge extension over the intake. The early ones did not have it. Additionally, with this set you will need to create the fillet from scratch to be correct. The CE set has the correct fillet cast with the intake. Edited March 12, 2017 by jpk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 If you're interested in an epic WIP-thread here is my build from way way way back. All the aftermarket I could lay my hands on including the Nautilus set. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/153212-ra-5c-vigilante/#comment-1394905 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
picknpluck Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Does the 1/72 kit have the same issues? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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