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Tamiya 1/48th F-14 Sept 2016


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You know, as I am reading this I was a little miffed that the weapons are being sold separately. But, as I look at the weapons sprues... WOW. The engineering on the Phoenix and Sidewinder missiles looks incredible! I'm going to splurge for a set regardless of whether or not I use it on the Tamiya Tomcat kit. There will be plenty of extras to use on other models. At least the Sidewinder/Sparrow pylons and the Phoenix pallets are provided in the kit. Anyone who has built Tomcat models already has a few unused bits or ordnance laying around to use if they don't wish to get the Tamiya set.

As for which jet to do when I get it... that is a tough one. I've got a few high vis decal sets to choose from. But, I am also tempted to perhaps do it up as an Iranian Ali-Cat, even though I would need to use one of Darren's IFR probe sets (which I have in my stash). I will be curious to see if Tamiya at least represents the reinforcement plates on the tails or not.

As for other kits in my stash... I likely won't ditch too many of those just yet mainly because I selected a couple them for unique kit features (such as the Wolfpack early beavertail Hasegawa kit that I have). I'll also likely hold onto the Hobbyboss D because it is a D model.

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Mold quality was beyond outstanding in the MIG (better than anything from Tamigawa).

gary

While I realize that the plastic being shown is probably a test shot, I noticed a surfeit of ejection pin marks on said plastic. So I would agree with your comments vis a vis mold quality, if they remain extant. That having been said I've never been a Tamiya aircraft fanboy. I can and do dig their armor kits, but I am just "meh" about their aircraft kits.

Rick

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"The following KIT has been approved for ALL AUDIENCES" Very basic kit, it seems that Tamiya has not risked much and has done a more digestible kit for all kind of modelers...

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Good news for the modelling community. I really dont think AMK has much to worry about. The companies that should be worried are revell and hasegawa. To me, its kinda like buying a new car. You can either but the base model (tamiya) or the model with all the bells and whistles (AMK). Most people buy a ton on resin to drop in models anyways (ie hasegawa) so the price would probably come out the same anyways. I am just waiting for when we can get side by side comparisons.

Edited by adamitri
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I promised I'd never do this...but I'm going to do it! :rolleyes: I've looked at the pictures of the completed model quite a few times. Is it me, or do the intakes have a slight downward curve? I can't tell if it's the angle of the picture, or if it's really there. It's not really a big deal for me because I'll slap intake covers on it. While this seems to be a wonderful release, it seems a bit underwhelming compared to what they've come out with lately. As someone posted earlier, it looks like it's been sitting on a shelf for 15 years and they decided to release it. It still looks to be a great kit and easy to build, but I think AMK can still be the game-changer everyone has been waiting for.

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I wish they did another subject.

Me too...I'm having a hard time getting any sort of excited over this. Don't get me wrong, I love the F-14, I'm a Naval Aviation guy. But, call me crazy, I think the Hasegawa F-14s are just fine. On top of that, AMK has theirs coming out soon as well, and if it is remotely as well done as the MiG-31 then Tamiya San has a lot to live up to.

I think the community would have much rather seen a F-16B/D announced instead...especially Jennings apparently!

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Me too...I'm having a hard time getting any sort of excited over this. Don't get me wrong, I love the F-14, I'm a Naval Aviation guy. But, call me crazy, I think the Hasegawa F-14s are just fine. On top of that, AMK has theirs coming out soon as well, and if it is remotely as well done as the MiG-31 then Tamiya San has a lot to live up to.

I think the community would have much rather seen a F-16B/D announced instead...especially Jennings apparently!

Same same here. The no weapons being included (if that's indeed going to be the case) is irritating to me and will probably make me lean more towards AMK's 'Cat'. Honestly, considering the buckets of flak modelers have shot at Hasegawa over this over the years I am surprised Tamiya would do such a thing.

I don't know, right now this is kind of vanilla to me.

:cheers:

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Well, this leaves hope that Tamiya will in the end release also the F-16D :deadhorse1:/> :monkeydance:/>

I've long thought they have been waiting for a stronger economy to release that alternate release. My thinking is when they are flooding the market with new kits they will sneak this one in.

Currently to keep the skills up in their R&D department, they are producing all new kits (a limited number). Just enough to maintain their skills.

If they were to only push an F-16D out their R&D people wouldn't maintain any of their skills. They'd not only risk them losing their skills, they'd risk losing the employee altogether.

I think the F-16D is an ace up Tamiya's sleeve that they are saving for a later date.

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If it's pre 2001 then yes.

So, you're saying Tamiya found out Acc Min were doing a Beaufighter, then decided to deliberately tool one to knock them out of business?

Is there any evidence to support that? It just sounds a little far fetched to me.

I know a few people who were very involved with AM. They say the kit was done, I can't say if this was true or not, although I do trust them.

AM was a strong vibrant addition to the hobby industry and is defunct now. Certainly Tamiya didn't do that all on their own, AM had their own internal problems. Although the Tamiya Beaufighter didn't help, AM went under soon after Tamiya killed their release.

I'm sure there is some business strategy involved amongst the competition.

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Maybe they're waiting for another manufacturer to announce one first?

Mark

They could have really sunk that Wingman models B/D conversion...although, I don't think that set has fared well either way??

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Compare to GWH, Kinetic and AMK, I am disappointed with this release by Tamiya. The plastic looks soft, seems like they subcontract the molding design to a third party vendor. It looks like Italeri plastic. I think the brand "Tamiya" still means a lot to people.

No doubt test shots, Im not concerned.

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The more I view the video, the more I like it.

Here’s what I see:

  • Detailed intake interior tops where the spill doors are.
  • The ventral fins look like they have a decent representation of the towing hardpoint at the aft end.
  • Sprue layout consistent with planning for future versions and details: Bombcat parts, newer helmets, seats, RIO instrument panels, engines, wheels…
  • The wings look like they are designed to slide onto the interlocking gear mechanism after assembly. The parts with the gearing on them are installed when the fuselage top and bottom are joined, leaving the ribbed spar sticking out of the wing gloves. This lets you clean up the top/bottom join without the wing getting in the way.
  • Contrary to some, I like how the tails and stabilators are molded with inserts rather than even halves. With inserts, you don’t have to glue along the leading and trailing edges. That way, the trailing edges can be nice and thin and you don’t run the risk of deforming them when you glue the parts together. I did that with my first Hasegawa Cat when I used too much glue. I wish the wings used the same approach!
  • Optional twin Sidewinder rails for the glove pylons.
  • Two Sidewinder and two Sparrow versions. Although now that I think about it, I’ve never hung a Sparrow on a model. Always hated them…

Wow, this is gonna be an interesting year to be a Tomcat modeler! I only have a single Hobby Boss A-model (a very mixed bag), and I hope to put it behind me before the AMK and Tamiya versions arrive. The five remaining Hasegawa ones are perfectly serviceable.

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I promised I'd never do this...but I'm going to do it! :rolleyes:/>/>/>/> I've looked at the pictures of the completed model quite a few times. Is it me, or do the intakes have a slight downward curve? I can't tell if it's the angle of the picture, or if it's really there. It's not really a big deal for me because I'll slap intake covers on it.

Why not to??? I guess you meant the top surface of the intake? A little bit indeed, but the real one seems to have it too(very slightly, looking at the inside edge of the walkway):

http://combatpilot.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Tomcat.f14.750pix.jpg

Anyway, it looks much better than the Hasegawa one to me, the shape of the leading edge of the wing glove is spot on, on the Hasegawa it's way too thick/blunt. Decal options are nice too, I like the high vis bounty hunters with white control surfaces, paid good amount of money for the Hasegawa limited edition on Ebay though :o

Edited by delide
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I'm quite surprised that Tamiya released a Tomcat in 1/48 scale. With that said, I'm a bit puzzled by the sprue pictures. It's not nearly as detailed as their F-16 series is. It almost looks like a hybrid between a Hasegawa kit and a Revell/Monogram kit. Maybe they were intentionally going for a more simple build. This release looks to be the standard pre Block 125 with no ECM gear. Looks like I'll be able to come out with some Steel Beach items to update to a Block 125 and even come out with an early gun vent. AMK still has a market to sell to, I think.

Then I am a happy chap!! I think that's exactly whats required. Can somebody pinch me-this must be a dream...

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