habu2 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 (did you know the markings on that kit box are completely photoshopped? That wasn't really a VF-2 bird) yeah, I was gonna mention that but didn't want to lose focus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 One other thing I will mention about the Hasegawa F-14 for those who might be on the fence about going Hasegawa or HB is to date, Hasegawa is STILL the only company to have done the early block beaver tail in styrene. They don't pop up for sale very often, but they are worth the money as you get the beaver tail and the seven grill gun gas vent (replaced by the two grill one in the later blocks). Hobby Boss did do an early F-14A Swordsman jet, but the plastic is not correct for the specific airframe depicted in the decals. While the early jets make up a pretty small minority of all the F-14s built, many of them did soldier on for quite a number of years and wore some interesting paintjobs. Granted Steel Beach has done those two elements in resin to convert other Tomcat kits. I have the sets myself and the seven hole gun vent is practically a requirement for doing one of the 1989 Gulf of Sidra VF-32 jets since I have yet to see a Hasegawa kit with the later production style beaver tail and that gun vent. But I know a lot of modelers that like working in just styrene whenever possible and at least the Hasegawa kit allows you to do that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jason Amigo Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hmm...I really wasn't considering getting a Revel kit again, but for the sheer difference in price as compared to the Has/HB I may reconsider this. As I said earlier, I really think Revell is underrated, and if only they fixed the raised panel lines and added a few extra sprues they'd really give everyone else a run for their money. Also, why doesn't Academy also release B or D versions? Does anybody sell aftermarket parts for a B/D of the Academy kit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hmm...I really wasn't considering getting a Revel kit again, but for the sheer difference in price as compared to the Has/HB I may reconsider this. As I said earlier, I really think Revell is underrated, and if only they fixed the raised panel lines and added a few extra sprues they'd really give everyone else a run for their money. Also, why doesn't Academy also release B or D versions? Does anybody sell aftermarket parts for a B/D of the Academy kit? Both Revell and Academy have released "improved" versions with new sprues, weapons, etc for B & D versions. IMHO, the Revell kit is still a bear to deal with the seams and raised panel lines. That Zig-Zag seal across the front fusalage gives me nightmares :wacko: It can of course be built into a very nice finished product with some TLC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 One can obtain an early boxing Revell-Monogram F-14D pretty cheap and use it as a conversion kit for an Academy offering somewhat easily since the Academy kit was practically "inspired" by the Revell one in terms of parts layout. As a result, parts designed for the Monogram kit almost work as a drop fit on the Academy one. Even one of the dirt cheap True Details resin F-14A pits designed for the Monogram Tomcat can be made to work well here. A few F-14 "purists" out there aren't big fans of the Academy kit though due to some shape issues as while the obvious inspiration is there, Revell is still a bit better in the more subtle shape features. But I've built a couple of the Academy kits and the biggest shape issue, which is the lower nose profile protruding down too far can be overcome pretty easily with some coarse grit sandpaper (or a Dremel), some Milliput and a bit of TLC. The second area that needs correction are the panel lines on the nose sides around the cockpit, but again those tend to be an easy fix and in my experience, rescribing a nose area takes less time than rescribing a whole model. Do an Academy kit up right and it looks great. The one universal pain I recall that both the Academy and Revell kits have involve the intakes. They are shaped fine, but the way they are designed it is almost impossible to get them seamless on the inside. But Darren's Sprue Brothers vinyl intake covers work nice wonders there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
guillaume320 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Hi All, Could anybody please advise which Hasegawa boxing includes the early beaver tail? I would love to make one of those 'retro' jets!! Best regards, Guillaume Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Parabat Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 The best bets I can think of would be the VF-1 and VF-2 early boxings. http://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=120283 Have a look at the following link which will allow you to see exactly what sprues are in what boxing. http://modelingmadness.com/splfeat/kr/has48d.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
guillaume320 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 The best bets I can think of would be the VF-1 and VF-2 early boxings. http://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=120283 Have a look at the following link which will allow you to see exactly what sprues are in what boxing. http://modelingmadness.com/splfeat/kr/has48d.htm Thanks a lot for the quick reply!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 ... If Revellogram would update their kits as necessary and do away with those raised panel lines, they would be right up there. I know we would pay more, but I still think they would really be competitive. Removing raised panel lines and engraving them is NOT an easy (if even possible) thing to do on steel molds. To do that they would not only have to fill in the engraved lines on the molds but they would then have to add (weld) very thin raised lines where the panel lines go and smooth that in with the existing steel. This would be a nightmare and if it's even possible would likely be much cheaper to create new molds entirely. If you wanted to remove engraved lines and make them raised, THAT would be easy, but not the other way around. So it's highly unlikely you'll ever see that. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Removing raised panel lines and engraving them is NOT an easy (if even possible) thing to do on steel molds. To do that they would not only have to fill in the engraved lines on the molds but they would then have to add (weld) very thin raised lines where the panel lines go and smooth that in with the existing steel. This would be a nightmare and if it's even possible would likely be much cheaper to create new molds entirely. If you wanted to remove engraved lines and make them raised, THAT would be easy, but not the other way around. So it's highly unlikely you'll ever see that. Bill Fully agreed. Revelligram has gotten a lot of use out of those current tools. I keep wishing they would re-tool these with a few improvements. That zig-zag seam along the front fuselage for one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skull Leader Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 for the money, I'll deal with the hassle. They're cheap so I can afford a little elbow grease :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jason Amigo Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Both Revell and Academy have released "improved" versions with new sprues, weapons, etc for B & D versions. IMHO, the Revell kit is still a bear to deal with the seams and raised panel lines. That Zig-Zag seal across the front fusalage gives me nightmares :wacko:/> It can of course be built into a very nice finished product with some TLC. I'm familiar with the B and D conversions of Revell, but Academy has some too? :o All I've seen are the Bombcat kits (which I have built) and some new boxing with new markings from Cartograph, but never B or D kits. As for the Revell kits, I really don't mind the fit issues to be honest =)) Darren Roberts did a fine article on how to overcome these, so its not a problem. Its just those dang raised panel lines. If I had an Achilles heel it would be scribing panel lines. In other news though I may be running low on funds for this build :( I will do it eventually but maybe not right away. I've got some commissioned works I have to finish and maybe only after can I have the time and money to take this on. Thanks for the replies BTW, I'm hoping this thread could be a good reference page for F-14 kits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkKnight Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 who in their right mind ever thought raised panel lines was a good idea? I wish someone could go back in time to the sixties/seventies and tell them dont do it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skull Leader Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 who in their right mind ever thought raised panel lines was a good idea? I wish someone could go back in time to the sixties/seventies and tell them dont do it 1) at the time, it was probably easier to make molds that way 2) raised panel lines aren't so bad if a more careful approach was made as to how the kit parts were laid out 3) there are many instances where a raised panel line is just as accurate as a recessed one might be, depending on the aircraft Seriously, modelers have been dealing with this issue since before many of us were alive... it isn't THAT big of a deal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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