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Fonderie Miniatures F-84F


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Just wondering if anyone knows about the accuracy of this kit, and the quality. I have been wanting an F-84F for awhile, but all that is out right now is the Italeri boxing of the Kinetic kit, and the FM kit. I found the one review on Cybermodeler, that says it is pretty decent in box, and another comment on another forum that says it is a horrible kit. So, anybody know about this kit, or have any links I missed? I know the revell monogram is supposed to be the best, and I know about its speedbrake and vertical stabilizer issues. But, i cant find it anywhere right now, and I dont use ebay because of a paypal problem where I got hacked.

Thanks

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Don't discount the Monogram kit, although it does have those dreaded raised panel lines which to some make it unworthy of consideration. Nice cockpit and crystal clear clear bits are the main things I remember from when I built mine. I don't recall any drama in the process.

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not to bust your bubble but seeing how bad they did on their 48scale f-80 was, I assume this kit is going to be a let down accuracy wise. if your not worried about that then it shouldn't be a problem.

lets hope they get it right. trumpeter/hobby boss are extremely random. some kits are beyond horrible and some are extremely well done.

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Kinetic did an F-84F kit which is also in an italeri box but it has issues too. I have read it is based on the old monogram kit but with errors added in and it is not cheap. If you can live with the errors then Italeri offers a couple of nice boxings with US and NATO options. Chief error if I remember correctly was that the shaped of the intake.

In addition Heller did the F and the RF-84F at one point in 1/48 and they we not too bad. I built the Heller F-84F and once done it looked pretty good. Some of the detail was pretty simplified though (lg struts molded integral with doors and nose wheel molded with the strut) but overall not a bad looking effort. I have no idea as to accuracy though.

Really Monogram is probably your best bet. It is a nice kit and you can rescribe it if you must but the detail looks good when painted.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for the HB kit but who knows (The shadow knows...?).

Zach

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Fit-wise, the Monogram kit is one of their better jet kits. I can't recall having any problems at all with it. The panel lines on it are pretty simple, so it wouldn't be too hard to rescribe. It has a well-detailed cockpit and good wheel well detail, too.

AMS Resin has several nice update sets for the Monogram and Heller kits, IIRC.

Ben

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See ARC Gallery F-84f by Glidingbob

FM one is based on the Heller one who has a wrong aft fuselage ( based on old Aeromodeller plans )

Monogram is the best for me but airbrakes are wrong positonned. A mistake corrected by Kinetic that unfortunately missed the oval air intake an some panel lines specific to the RF-84f and not the F.

There has been quite a lot of discussions about those issues on ARC forums .

KR

Bob

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not to bust your bubble but seeing how bad they did on their 48scale f-80 was, I assume this kit is going to be a let down accuracy wise. if your not worried about that then it shouldn't be a problem.

lets hope they get it right. trumpeter/hobby boss are extremely random. some kits are beyond horrible and some are extremely well done.

HB will probably be a copy, albeit a more refined, updated copy of an extant kit like Monogram, Kinetic or FM. All three of those kits are basicly ok in outline so there shouldn't be any issues. Fingers crossed.

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The Monogram kit can be made into a great model straight from the box. Here is mine. Painted with a brush using MM Acryl and a coat of future. Decals are from the Kinetic kit.

It was a enjoyable build with good fit.

alyu.jpg

eav9.jpg

f13i.jpg

7ra9.jpg

Scott

CNJC-IPMS

Edited by f-16
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stay away from this one and wait for the Hobby Boss F-84F that is coming.

Considering HobbyBooBoo's abysmal track record, I would not expect them to release anything even closely resembling an F-84F. And FM's kits are as much a POS as Mach "Poo's" Mach 2)stuff. Stick with the accurate Monogram kit, and rescribe it.

Just my 2¢.

Larry

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  • 2 months later...

I can add some first-hand information about this HB F-84F kit as I just got two of them in the mail today. First thing I did was got to Hairold's place (he of AMS Resin) so we could do a thorough look-see and compare it to the other three F-84F 48th scale kits. I left one of the kits with him so he can evaluate his current parts to see which will fit "as is" and which may need revising "to fit." Here is the "first look" in brief.

General overview:

There are six gray sprues, one clear sprue, one PE fret, and two decal sheets.

The HB is pretty much copied from the Fonderie F-84 fuselage and Heller parts. The plastic is somewhat soft, will require care to align wings and tail without warps. The finish is smooth, not "grainy" or "matte" like the Kinetic/Italeri. That is the start of it.

The good news:

The Fonderie "replacement" FUSELAGE for the Heller fuselage is the most correct in profile so, likewise, the HB profile is correct. [10]

The Monogram fuselage in plan is too "skinny" aft of the wing roots, ditto Kinetic/Italeri; the Heller/Fonderie is too fat at ejector terminus. HB is correct shape. [10]

PANEL LINES, finely engraved; other than the comment below (obvious error) they look "right" compared to photos of 51-9433. [8]

HB GUN BAY not opened but, calipers in hand, I measured that the Tamiya cover is close enough so, when posed open, the minor measurement differences "won't matter"; thus opening the gun bay is just a busy-work option with either the Tamiya gun bay parts or one of the aftermarket detail sets. [6]

The SPEED BRAKE size and location correct, opened with separate bay (decent detail) and brake (decent inner detail, PE for exterior detail). [9]

The INTAKE SPLITER is a separate part, and is not molded together with the nose gear well; detail is decent and, as one part, no seam line. [9]

The DROGUE CHUTE HOUSING is a separate part, thus no seam line; we suspect this is to allow another release with the ventral fairing as on early blocks (and see comment below). [9]

The WINGS are generally correct; welcome details are the separate flaps and "wells" for the PE spoilers (the spoilers are NOT "for cooling the mechanism" as asserted in a certain "F-84F Walkaround" book ... :o ) other than the comment below (obvious error) they are otherwise externally well done. [8 for "external" rating]

The TAILPIPE (ejector, in Republic terminalogy) is two pieces plus internal fore and aft turbine faces; detail is decent but missing the four vents. [8]

The OUTER DROP TANKS are nicely detailed and, without measuring, appear to be correct the correct dimensions in scale. [10]

The PYLONS are correctly shaped and nicely detailed. [10]

The CANOPY is furnished with parts for posing both closed and open, five parts in all; very well done. [10]

The FIDDLY BIT details are generally good for the scale, nothing specific to downgrade. [8]

I did a parts cleanup and DRY FIT only of the fuselage; six alignment pins aid alignment, and the parts fit perfectly. [10]

I observed only two or three very small instances of flash and no offsets in any parts; all sprues are very well molded. [10]

The Bad News:

The COCKPIT details, including pan, side panels, instrument panel, and seat, are minimal; they are barely better than those with Heller/Fonderie. [3]

The NOSE GEAR details, including well, gear, and wheels, are equivalent to Heller/Fonderie; the well is not even close to correct, the gear and wheel are in once piece. [2]

The MAIN GEAR details, including well, gear, and wheels, are equivalent to Heller/Fonderie; the wells are molded with the ventral wing halves, thus are to shallow and detail is minimal, barely a representation, and should have been molded with the dorsal wing halves as, for example, done by Monogram [3]; the gear has minimal detail that is short of correct and the wheels are severely lacking in detail. [1]

The GEAR DOORS are a mixed bag, some with decent details, some with incorrect or no detail. [5]

The INNER DROP TANKS, unlike the outer drop tanks, are minimally detailed; they represent the smaller of the inner drop tanks used (the AMS Resin inner tanks represent the larger tanks). [5]

The HORIZONTAL TAIL parts represent the early blocks which had traditional fixed stabilizers with elevators; all late blocks had flying tails (as per Monogram, et al). [5]

OBVIOUS ERRORS are: {A} fuselage has the incorrect RF-84F panel line (copied from Caruana's incorrect drawing in SAMI); {B} starboard wing has the refueling door represented but that door was only on the port wing. [0]

Conclusion:

In general, the EXTERIOR is the strong point of this kit; it is the most accurate in shape, and the best detailed, of the available kits. [9.5]

In contrast, many of the "INTERIOR" details miss the mark. [3]

FROM THE BOX the HB can be built as a model that, for exterior appearance, is closest to the 1:1 Thunderstreak (late blocks, of course).

To ENHANCE the build, the HB begs for aftermarket details to "correct" what isn't right; AMS Resin detail parts are available from Sprue Brothers.

PRICE is within the range of most listings for Kinetic/Italeri (retail and eBay) and Heller/Fonderie (eBay); neither excessive nor economical.

RECOMMENDED!

Edited by Plankwing
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A bit more this morning. Some of which Bruce has touched on:

Missing tail skid under the para housing.

Missing “sugar scoops” inside the “ejector”.

The large “suck in” doors and the openings are shaped wrong.

Counter balance weight on the tip of the fin isn't represented, there is a scribed rectangle for it though.

Several small scoops and vents missing from the fuselage sides.

There is a very prominent panel line missing for the wing root fairing. (especially at the rear)

Oddly the small drop tanks have nice details, but the large ones have nothing but two mounting holes.

The seat seams to be an odd combination of the early “G” seat and the later AMI seat.

After comparing it to a walkaround of the one at the McGuire AFB.....

It is the most accurate of any kit so far. They just missed the mark on the small details.

No deal breaker...all the “niggles” can be overcome to make this kit the absolute best rendition of the F-84F.

Edited by Harold
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