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Their is a clear  plastic canopy with  frame  option with the kit.

I like the way GWH did there canopy,   solid frame that slips over clear plastic.  Forward wind screen  molded with piece of upper  fuselage for clean assembly and easy painting.

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Ooooooohhhhh maaaaaaaan ..... .... ... .. . I'm devastated. Seriously. Yes I made my puns about the long wait too I confess but I really planned to give this kit a chance once it would come out but after seeing these lates shots ..... crap.

As many here, I'm a total Tomcat nutt and am extremely anal about getting F-14 models as "right" as possible and what is shown in those photos simply is no Tomcat.

 

What am I supposed to do with all those details and gimmiks if they are incorporated in a kit that has so blatant and prominent shape issues and coarse lines?!!! I don't need all the detail and whatnot open and extracted panels and slats and whatever. Yes all that stuff is nice to have but in the end I'm a modeller, I can detail and open / close or whatever myself if I have to. What is paramount for me is CORRECT SHAPE!!! Shape issues are the hardest to correct and some discrepancies are next to unfixable. What good does all that "extra" (that will eventually leave me with a lot of unused plastic after the finished model) if I end up with a grossly misshaped kit? I know I sound terrible writing this and I really don't want to sound too much like a nitpicker. Every model has shape issues and minor subtle stuff is really o.k. After all, correcting this is the spice in teh modelling hobby but at least I want shape issues that are not too prominent and most importantly somehow fixable. This kit is so wrong in so many prominent and visible spots ....

The fool-end looks pretty much unfixable to me, the obviously misshaped GE-cans open and closed as well (the prominent curve / swing is basically missing), the visible misalignment between upper intake lipp and RIO step won't be fixable without generating new misalignments and seriously hurting the fuselage, the lower intake lip doesn't seem right as well; it's not as misshaped as the HobbyBoss/Trumpeter abomination but still overpronounced, the misplaced refuel probe door, the grid of the forward AC vent is way to round and deep, the wheels are too big, nose is a tad too much up, wing spoilers misplaced, the LEX areas along the turtle back seem to be not round enough and generally seem t somewhat too thick .... crap, the Revell/Monogram kit has a thousand times more harmonious shape than this! Get Darren's nose replacement or if not available sand it properly in shape and you are pretty much good to go with the shape but here in this case ... The rework (if possible at all) would have no end.

 

I really don't want to sound like a total asshat and I don't want to belittle the effort and good will of AMK and I really commend them for their hard work they put in this project despite Sios health issues but come on ...... No ... sorry .... as much as I want to .... based on what I have seen so far I just can't bring myself around.

 

What a pity. I really wanted to give it a shot but now ..... Tamiya it is and Tamiya it will be (well and you can't go wrong with the good ol' Revell/Monogram).

What a shame after all this time.

Edited by bushande
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Well, I'm not looking forward for the GWH Tomcat in 1/48. Do we really need another F-14 in 1/48, even in 1/72?

1/48 we have Tamiya's and Hasegawa's. (again, how many Tomcast do we see built with extended wings and open flaps and slats? I understand that they give you the possibility, but in reality it's not a popular option, let's just see the ARC galery) In addition to Academy, Hobby Boss and Monogram.

1/72 we have Hasegawa, Fujimi and Fine Molds, all very good options. Fine Molds in my opinion at the same level of the Tamiya in 1/48 IMHO.

GWH better should focus on giving us a Tomcat in 1/32, which is really where there are no good options, Tamiya is very old and Trumpeter better to say nothing.

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Just now, joscasle said:

Well, I'm not looking forward for the GWH Tomcat in 1/48. Do we really need another F-14 in 1/48, even in 1/72?

1/48 we have Tamiya's and Hasegawa's. (again, how many Tomcast do we see built with extended wings and open flaps and slats? I understand that they give you the possibility, but in reality it's not a popular option, let's just see the ARC galery) In addition to Academy, Hobby Boss and Monogram.

1/72 we have Hasegawa, Fujimi and Fine Molds, all very good options. Fine Molds in my opinion at the same level of the Tamiya in 1/48 IMHO.

GWH better should focus on giving us a Tomcat in 1/32, which is really where there are no good options, Tamiya is very old and Trumpeter better to say nothing.


1/32 is a very difficult market due to the cost of the tooling and then the cost of the kit..plus fairly few have enough room to house even a single 1/32 Tomcat..to say nothing of a 1/32 Tomcat and a 1/32 F-16 and a 1/32 F-15....

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3 minutes ago, Jonathan_Lotton said:


1/32 is a very difficult market due to the cost of the tooling and then the cost of the kit..plus fairly few have enough room to house even a single 1/32 Tomcat..to say nothing of a 1/32 Tomcat and a 1/32 F-16 and a 1/32 F-15....

 

 

Ok, but we really need another 1/48 Tomcat? 

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16 minutes ago, joscasle said:

 

 

Ok, but we really need another 1/48 Tomcat? 

 

It's a hobby, there's no need.

 

Model kits companies don't make  kits because there's a need, they make kits because people buy kits they like.

And Tomcat kits (good ones) sell, sell pretty well.

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1 hour ago, joscasle said:

 

 

Ok, but we really need another 1/48 Tomcat? 



Need?  No. 

But there's always room for improvement, and if someone can come along and make a better Tomcat, they're welcome to try.  The older and less accurate brands will either die out, become cheaper or otherwise become (and remain) irrelevant. 

There wasn't a need for a new 1/48 F-15C, but GWH came along and knocked it out of the park with theirs. 

There wasn't a need for a new 1/48 Mk 1 Spitfire, until Tamiya showed there was a market for it

There wasn't a need for a new 1/48 F-14D, until Tamiya showed everyone how it's done. 

 

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Of course I am a little bit suprised AMK made this kit with such faults (it had supposed to be ultimate model of Tomcat, as far as I remember), but frankly said I am not abe to understand what is the problem. Such minor and potential mistakes shouldn't be a reason to total depreciating of this kit, especially basing only on some accidental pictures. I am glad AMK made so much options: canopy with frame and glass or separate frame, 2 pairs of wings, engine exhausts opened or closed, all control surfaces movable, refueling proble extended or not, airbrakes up or down and probably many more. Add to this real plenty of ordnance: all possible for F-14D missiles, bombs, and pods. I don't care that something in this model is moved forward for 2 milimeters, or a little exaggerated. For me this kit looks extremely exciting, and I want it asap.

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18 minutes ago, Solo said:

Of course I am a little bit suprised AMK made this kit with such faults (it had supposed to be ultimate model of Tomcat, as far as I remember), but frankly said I am not abe to understand what is the problem. Such minor and potential mistakes shouldn't be a reason to total depreciating of this kit, especially basing only on some accidental pictures. I am glad AMK made so much options: canopy with frame and glass or separate frame, 2 pairs of wings, engine exhausts opened or closed, all control surfaces movable, refueling proble extended or not, airbrakes up or down and probably many more. Add to this real plenty of ordnance: all possible for F-14D missiles, bombs, and pods. I don't care that something in this model is moved forward for 2 milimeters, or a little exaggerated. For me this kit looks extremely exciting, and I want it asap.

 

Good for you!!

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1 hour ago, Solo said:

Such minor and potential mistakes shouldn't be a reason to total depreciating of this kit, especially basing only on some accidental pictures. I am glad AMK made so much options: canopy with frame and glass or separate frame, 2 pairs of wings, engine exhausts opened or closed, all control surfaces movable, refueling proble extended or not, airbrakes up or down and probably many more. Add to this real plenty of ordnance: all possible for F-14D missiles, bombs, and pods. I don't care that something in this model is moved forward for 2 milimeters, or a little exaggerated. For me this kit looks extremely exciting, and I want it asap.



Good for you.

However, AMK has repeatedly lied, misled, misrepresented and falsified information as to the status of the kit, refused to acknowledge the errors in the kit in both shape, detail and other issues (IE the location of the IFR probe bay). When the errors were pointed out, people were silenced on their FB page, ignored, treated like they were bullies (mind you after AMK said this would be the most accurate Tomcat ever with "genius" engineering) and then completely vanished for nearly a year. During this time we were told that our concerns had been addressed and we were to be confident that all the test examples were simply that, test examples and that they would move forward from there. 

It was all smoke screen bullcrap. They never had any intention of fixing anything. They lied, they stonewalled and they delayed the inevitable as long as possible.   They created a nearly insurmountable mountain (IE "the best Tomcat ever!) and believed that while they had succeeded at creating a genuinely great kit (the MiG-31) that they were ready to take on the most exhaustively studied aircraft of the modern era with quite possibly the most nit picking, pedantic, fanatic and obsessive fan base ever. Instead of working up slowly with other kits, making sure they were ready, they went for attention..and boy they got it. 

Anyone is free to purchase it and enjoy it, I'm glad it's there for them..but the entire saga has been shameful, and to pretend otherwise is simply living in a fantasy. 

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1 hour ago, Jonathan_Lotton said:


quite possibly the most nit picking, pedantic, fanatic and obsessive fan base ever........

 

You said it !

Take a chill-pill.

Edited by Piker38
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2 hours ago, Solo said:

...................... Such minor and potential mistakes ....................

Neither minor nor potential!

 

Quite major and the way it looks pretty darned definitive.

Oh the waste. Such a pity.

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On 7/1/2019 at 6:00 AM, shion said:

 

F-14D pilots must not use AB mode on the carrier, if I remember right, the AB mode exhaust plume is way too hot for the JBD.

No, in fact, the AB thrust is so huge, the a/c would outspeed the shuttle.

So F-14D were catapulted in Mil mode.

 

 

You obviously haven’t studied the box art of the most accurate F-14D kit evarrr.

 

239498-21976-59-1440.jpg
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2 hours ago, habu2 said:

You obviously haven’t studied the box art of the most accurate F-14D kit evarrr.

 

 

Even if it was an accurate kit, I cringe every time I see that box art. Agggghhh :doh:

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More shots (by AMK this time):

 

64619254_1280226332142191_17076447660002

 

65427571_1280226355475522_68042710664630

 

66242927_1280226388808852_32719086845480

 

65507696_1280226405475517_89644684962640

 

65524733_1280226435475514_51525606860558

 

65999810_1280226442142180_19761286048068

 

Remember what I said about the beaver tail assembly and the gap resulted?

 

https://www.facebook.com/avantgardemodelkits/?__xts__[0]=68.ARByEuIhTk1tlbmZbIETdrToQA7T0gyRIOF7t3av8_BSuR7ZzCmLI2vWz-KcdVbNO2ZqzG73_d0wipN-Xbc54Eh5IW9PIe2bSfeb88QfT5I9-

UOWNyK8hEBk6sDhL4hRRXg1iFtwwyZnJ_uJsNl4uzxkEOxrT5590jI84DhUq28wcMYdjJ9tr6Pp3C_TYNeCHp23QDgAx3j8KegwE5XY5wAqQUfIG0K6LojqLyZQxGT5O_XDkAXvUPx6qE_4ZeAm_-TTO489A-LzKCWUK-OP5crUW6LTG9Mnq_VO6F6VzVQNB988Ci3rgZPR6a9vng&__tn__=k*F&tn-str=k*F

 

According to the AMK owner, kit is in production (see link provided).

 

And for people interested by the Aviation Art Su-33, there's a pretty strange discussion between the AMK owner and a guy involved in the AA Su333 project.

Edited by shion
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Not getting better after these latest shots. The edges of the LEX zone are definitely off, just as I presumed judging from the earlier pictures and don't pin me on it, it's just a feeling but something is off about the front fuselage as well, just can't make out what it is .... but something's definitely off. But the definitive turn off for me is and stays the rear end. I have absolutely no idea how a modeller who is serious about a good rendition of the F-14 is supposed to correct that. Looks worse than what Revell did to the spine of their 1/32 Super Hornet.

Edited by bushande
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16 hours ago, joscasle said:

 

 

Ok, but we really need another 1/48 Tomcat? 

"Need"? No, this is a hobby... no one NEEDS anything.

 

As. Tomcat fan though, while there are kits that will always be "good enough" for me (the revell tomcat will always be a favorite for me. Good shape, easy to build, easy to modify), I will never not be excited about a new, more accurate and easier to build kit on the market (read: Tamiya).

 

I was initially just as excited about the AMK, until images of the real plastic started leaking, then instead of being transparent about listening to our concerns, they tried to deflect, saying "hey, look at our multi-piece wings!" Or "hey, look at our one-piece nose!" (A superfluous design choice, in most tomcat kits the nose halves go together without issue), or "hey, look at our multi-piece canopy!" (Another party foul, as was recently pointed out).

 

I want to be happy about this kit, but all AMK has done so far is succeeded at putting together an extremely expensive detail set I can part out on other, better shaped tomcat kits. They got so hung up on trying to make the most detailed kit that they could, that they forgot their fundamentals starting with the basic shape. I wish thet would have gotten ambitious and pooched a completely different design,  because a tomcat with an accurate shape and and as much detail as AMK had boasted would have been impressive to see.

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13 hours ago, Solo said:

Of course I am a little bit suprised AMK made this kit with such faults (it had supposed to be ultimate model of Tomcat, as far as I remember), but frankly said I am not abe to understand what is the problem. Such minor and potential mistakes shouldn't be a reason to total depreciating of this kit, especially basing only on some accidental pictures. I am glad AMK made so much options: canopy with frame and glass or separate frame, 2 pairs of wings, engine exhausts opened or closed, all control surfaces movable, refueling proble extended or not, airbrakes up or down and probably many more. Add to this real plenty of ordnance: all possible for F-14D missiles, bombs, and pods. I don't care that something in this model is moved forward for 2 milimeters, or a little exaggerated. For me this kit looks extremely exciting, and I want it asap.

Good. Anything and everything the rest of us have to say in this thread has absolutely zero bearing on you.

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44 minutes ago, Skull Leader said:

"Need"? No, this is a hobby... no one NEEDS anything.

 

As. Tomcat fan though, while there are kits that will always be "good enough" for me (the revell tomcat will always be a favorite for me. Good shape, easy to build, easy to modify), I will never not be excited about a new, more accurate and easier to build kit on the market (read: Tamiya).

 

I was initially just as excited about the AMK, until images of the real plastic started leaking, then instead of being transparent about listening to our concerns, they tried to deflect, saying "hey, look at our multi-piece wings!" Or "hey, look at our one-piece nose!" (A superfluous design choice, in most tomcat kits the nose halves go together without issue), or "hey, look at our multi-piece canopy!" (Another party foul, as was recently pointed out).

 

I want to be happy about this kit, but all AMK has done so far is succeeded at putting together an extremely expensive detail set I can part out on other, better shaped tomcat kits. They got so hung up on trying to make the most detailed kit that they could, that they forgot their fundamentals starting with the basic shape. I wish thet would have gotten ambitious and pooched a completely different design,  because a tomcat with an accurate shape and and as much detail as AMK had boasted would have been impressive to see.

Exactly that!

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