SebastianP Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Once upon a time, Italeri was the only game in town, then came Revell of Germany, and since then the Asian manufacturers seem to have *all* jumped on the bandwagon. Hasegawa, Fujimi, Hobby Boss and Academy all have Raptor kits out there, and unlike the two European offerings, I have no experience with any of those... Italeri has that separate forward fuselage with the big seam and the weird nose-up posture. It's also kind of crude detail-wise, which is par for the course for both very early release kits (IIRC there were only two Raptors in existance when this kit was engineered), and for Italeri kits in general. Tamiya is the Italeri kit and decal sheet in a more expensive box, as usual for their 1/72 releases. Revell of Germany makes a decent offering, I suppose, but I'm kind of peeved about the lack of panel lines around the radome - it would be so much easier if the kit had those. It also has sinkmark and ejector pin mark problems in hard to fix areas like the weapons bays and their doors. Aside from that though, it builds into a very solid model, and it (like all post-2000 Revell jet kits) comes with a full set of very nice weapons, with the only thing really missing being SDBs. :) What about the others? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
randypandy831 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) academy had shape problems with their 1/48 kit but none of the issues were transferred to their 72nd kit. I had academy's 72nd kit and did dry fitting with the fuselage with zero problems. I never built it and sold so, I'm not sure about any construction problems. the boss boss kit is a copy of the italeri/revell kit. Edited November 12, 2013 by randypandy831 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Inquisitor Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) Once upon a time, Italeri was the only game in town, then came Revell of Germany, and since then the Asian manufacturers seem to have *all* jumped on the bandwagon. Hasegawa, Fujimi, Hobby Boss and Academy all have Raptor kits out there, and unlike the two European offerings, I have no experience with any of those... Italeri has that separate forward fuselage with the big seam and the weird nose-up posture. It's also kind of crude detail-wise, which is par for the course for both very early release kits (IIRC there were only two Raptors in existance when this kit was engineered), and for Italeri kits in general. Tamiya is the Italeri kit and decal sheet in a more expensive box, as usual for their 1/72 releases. Revell of Germany makes a decent offering, I suppose, but I'm kind of peeved about the lack of panel lines around the radome - it would be so much easier if the kit had those. It also has sinkmark and ejector pin mark problems in hard to fix areas like the weapons bays and their doors. Aside from that though, it builds into a very solid model, and it (like all post-2000 Revell jet kits) comes with a full set of very nice weapons, with the only thing really missing being SDBs. What about the others? Hobbyboss is a copy of the Italeri kit, with the only added benefit of the front and rear halves joined together, so no seam to fix. But still got the nose up problem. Best overall shape is the Revell offering. The academy 1/72 fixed the blunt nose and smaller vertical tail problem from the 1/48. It is pretty nice in the little details like panel lines, cockpit and wheel ways and weapon bays. But they did a big boo boo on the intakes, which the 1/48 didn't have. There should have been a gap or space between the intake and the chin/front fuselage but hte 1/72 they completely elimiated it. If you look at this comparison image I made. First two images are from academy site and third is from builds. You can notice how the 1/72 the intakes is almost flush with the forward fuselage/chin. Edited November 12, 2013 by Inquisitor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Milo Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Once upon a time, Italeri was the only game in town, then came Revell of Germany, and since then the Asian manufacturers seem to have *all* jumped on the bandwagon. Hasegawa, Fujimi, Hobby Boss and Academy all have Raptor kits out there, and unlike the two European offerings, I have no experience with any of those... Hasegawa never made their own kit, they reboxed the Revell one for their Idolmaster special editions: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10127418 I think it's odd that they haven't yet but they are coming out with an F-35. I could've sworn they had one in development. Maybe the 48th scale kit has made them gun-shy... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sarathi S. Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 And for Ace Combat fans who DON'T like the idolmaster jets (there are many), Hasegawa is apparently releasing a Mobius 1 F-22 later this year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Procopius Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I think it's odd that they haven't yet but they are coming out with an F-35. I could've sworn they had one in development. Maybe the 48th scale kit has made them gun-shy...[/font][/size] Not that odd, the JASDF can't buy the F-22. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SebastianP Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 Thanks for the info. So, my options are really limited to the Revell (with its missing panel lines and irritating sink- and ejector marks) or the Academy (which apparently has shape issues that cross my "aaarrgh" threshold)? kits? Dammit. At least the Revell kit is good for stocking up on weapons... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Johnopfor Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Fujimi also has a 1/72 Raptor kit as well. I haven't seen any serious complaints about the kit accuracy-wise, but it's more than double the price of the Revell kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SebastianP Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 Forgot about that. I found an in-box review of the Fujimi just now, http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=313&t=22564, this does seem to be the kit to get just from the look of the sprues. I haven't found a decent picture of one that's built up though, and what I *have* seen suggests that it has the same problem as the Academy kit, i.e. the boundary layer diverter area is AWOL... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Milo Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 Not that odd, the JASDF can't buy the F-22. Huh? That has no bearing on Hasegawa releasing a kit.... Anyways, I found a review of the Fujimi Raptor: http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/f-22a-raptor No such thing as TMI! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Thanks for the info. So, my options are really limited to the Revell (with its missing panel lines and irritating sink- and ejector marks) or the Academy (which apparently has shape issues that cross my "aaarrgh" threshold)? kits? Dammit. At least the Revell kit is good for stocking up on weapons... I don't know what part of the globe you occupy, but here in the states I bought my Revell F-22 Raptor at Hobby Lobby for only $14.62 (Including tax) with their 40% off weekly coupon. It's a very nice kit for the price. I can get the same kit at Micheals Arts and Crafts for 50% off; although their coupon isn't always available. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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