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Tamiya 1/48th F-14 Sept 2016


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Cool that this is finally announced. I'm sure it will be great and do well. I don't see it affecting any other Tomcat kit makers.

Personally I'm very happy to see a solid wing. Almost every Tomcat I build is overslept on a carrier and none of the kits open wings close that well.

I'm curious if anyone else noted that this can only be built as a 1974-1976 Tomcat. A very narrow window for this jet. Without the rudder braces you are limited to a very narrow timeframe. This is what I find disappointing. By all means put out an early A but have the rudder braces and wheels for post 1978 and also important, include the TCS. Hopefully Tamiya will have other variants and options. Not sure that I expect that to happen but I don't know what's in store so I can only hope. I'll buy one but I'll convert it to a later model. Very little about 1976-1978 interest me. Bro- VF-2 had rudder braces by 1978 so this kit represents a 1976 jet.

AMK will cover all variants and have more details I'm sure.

Brian

I'm sure Tamiya will make a couple variants, but probably fall short of all the variants people would hope for. I think we got 3 of the F-16C, but not as extensive as people had hoped for to include A/B/D. I suspect likely options are a later F-14A and possibly a bombcat.

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I'm curious if anyone else noted that this can only be built as a 1974-1976 Tomcat. A very narrow window for this jet. Without the rudder braces you are limited to a very narrow timeframe. This is what I find disappointing. By all means put out an early A but have the rudder braces and wheels for post 1978 and also important, include the TCS. Hopefully Tamiya will have other variants and options. Not sure that I expect that to happen but I don't know what's in store so I can only hope. I'll buy one but I'll convert it to a later model. Very little about 1976-1978 interest me. Bro- VF-2 had rudder braces by 1978 so this kit represents a 1976 jet.

AMK will cover all variants and have more details I'm sure.

Brian

I was wondering if anyone could even see that? The images I've got have been too low a resolution to make out whether the tails had the braces or not. As I see it though, Tamiya might just do those as a tiny photoetch set, so I don't think we are dead in the water yet. Besides, with proper templates and some 10 thousandths sheet styrene, tail braces are pretty easy to do (just tedious).

Its more like a 75-76 jet then as before that even without the boattail you still would have the seven hole gun gas vent that was used up through part of the block 85 production run. The really oddball bit concerns the alpha probe on the nose. Most jets didn't seem to have that, but some did or at least had it mounted. Looks like I have a few pitot probes I can scrounge from Revell Tomcats if I need to though. ;)

I may go "Ali-cat" afterall on my build. Iranian cats to my knowledge never got the tail braces, even to this day and certainly not during the Iran-Iraq war.

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Test shot stuff...you don't think Tamiya would release something with fit like that...?

That is probably exactly what it is. When the mold cavities in the tooling get polished, it will add the micron or two to the parts tolerances, resulting in tighter gaps.

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Are we 100% sure this is going to be only an early version Tomcat? Because I see Phoenix pallets modernized for bombs. Seems to me they'd be pretty much useless in this kit. Even if they are going to release different versions later on, it would seem that those would be parts that would be specific to later versions.

Edited by TomcatFanatic123
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It is said that the fuselage parts of the test sample were 3D printed, not plastics from the tooling. This explains some problems including noticeable gap between the nose and the windshield part and non-separate air brake.

Regarding non-droppable flaps and slats, it seems to me that Tamiya might release an option kit for take-off position with deployable flap/slats and compressed nose gear. For the recent years, they have been trying to reduce the cost of the kits and releasing separate detail sets along with main kits (e.g., Panther D or Lang's detail-up sets) and the same policy might be applied to their new Tomcat kit (hopefully).

Overall, I think it is still a little bit too early to make a final verdict on Tamiya's new Tomcat.

Edited by not2p
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It is said that the fuselage parts of the test sample was 3D printed, not plastics from the tooling. This explains some problems including noticeable gap between the nose and the windshield part and non-separate air brake.

Regarding non-droppable flaps and slats, it seems to me that Tamiya might release an option kit for take-off position with deployable flap/slats and compressed nose gear. For the recent years, they have been trying to reduce the cost of the kits and releasing separate detail sets along with main kits (e.g., Panther D or Lang's detail-up sets) and the same policy might be applied to their new Tomcat kit.

Overall, I think it is still a little bit too early to make a final verdict on Tamiya's new Tomcat.

very interesting... i hope this is the case!!!

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I've always wanted to do an Iranian Tomcat, this kit might be the ticket.

Anyone make decals anymore for an Iranian cat? I know there used to be some sheets out there.

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I've always wanted to do an Iranian Tomcat, this kit might be the ticket.

Anyone make decals anymore for an Iranian cat? I know there used to be some sheets out there.

I think I've got a set if you can't find any. I'll have to do some digging. I believe you'll be able to find some sets out there, though, even on eBay.

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I know this is pure speculation at this point as the test shots are just that, test shots, but I can't help wondering if this was a project they've had on the backburner for years. I'm actually a fan of the parts break down as I like the tomcat with wings swept and all the bays closed up for a clean look. If they can keep the price within reason I may actually have a chance to put a dent in the massive F-14 decal collection I've accumulated over the years.

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I will buy AT LEAST one of each from AMK and Tamiya-- being realistic I would say far more than one. I planned on "Just one" HB Tomcat, and I now have 3... and its only been a year since I got my first.

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I will buy AT LEAST one of each from AMK and Tamiya-- being realistic I would say far more than one. I planned on "Just one" HB Tomcat, and I now have 3... and its only been a year since I got my first.

Sadly, it's an addiction that is hard to break. :crying2: I currently have 15 Monogram kits, 2 HB kits, and 3 Hasegawa kits. I'd have more, but I've actually gotten some of them built. Alas, those numbers are sure to go up.

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I've always wanted to do an Iranian Tomcat, this kit might be the ticket.

Anyone make decals anymore for an Iranian cat? I know there used to be some sheets out there.

Hi-Decal.

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It will be interesting to watch how much the price/value of the Hasegawa Tomcat's will fall. I haven't had the pleasure of building one but if their value drops enough I will probably grab one.

:cheers:

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HUGE Tomcat fanatic here and I'm not sure whether to be excited. I model 100% of my subjects in flight, so having pilots in the kit instead of having to scrounge them from the Hasegawa US Navy crew set I like. No Weapons is kinda WTF (tentative though, so they may change their minds). Wing sweep options means that I can display with wings open and store it with wings closed. VF-2 first cruise, which is a rare scheme to see, I'm happy about even if the other half of the sheet is bones (groan). I wonder if the TCS will be included or not, so I can go into the 80's with it?

Likely as anything I'll build one because it's an F-14 and I give every 1/48 F-14 kit a chance. How many will come down to the pricing and ease of building. I'm not expecting Revell-level cheapness, but if it isn't Hobbyboss expensive and goes together well, I'll get more than one.

Purchasing and building this won't prevent me from also getting the AMK kit as well. And my same rules apply to it also.

I'm like you, almost all my builds are in flight, but I always buy models of aircraft in pairs just in case I later decide to build a second one on it's gear, but when I do I still build them with the canopy and all panels closed. It's just a personal preference since I don't like the way displaying a canopy open breaks up the sleek lines of the aircraft. I'm glad that Tamiya is including a working swing wing. Im still going to buy a couple of AMK Tomcats but I'll wait until they release the B and D models. BTW because most of my builds are in flight PJ productions gets a lot of my money since most kit pilot figures have over scale sized heads.

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I think there is always room for another Tamiya kit, but I will wait to see the price point. I bet its over $100 given what Hasegawa gets for theirs. I honestly don't think the Hasegawa kit builds up with too much trouble either.

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a question: is there really a need for an additional F-14 in 1:48 scale? What have HB and Hase kits that's not good? :huh:/>

Yes we do..... variety is the spice of life....it's that quest for something better. And it creates great discussion like this thread. I hope Kinetic and Kittyhawk jump on board.....😂

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I honestly think that once Tamiya, Hasegawa or AMK, any of the really reliable companies has released a kit there's no need for another one....especially one from KH, they make Lindberg look good, really good. I'd be afraid to see what kind of engineering nightmare they could come up with for the swing wings an intake trunking. I'm always perplexed by the need to redo a kit like the 109 for example so many times. People say its a guaranteed profit, but is it? I know many people that build their favorite plane from the manufacturer that got it right and they stick with that one.

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That is probably exactly what it is. When the mold cavities in the tooling get polished, it will add the micron or two to the parts tolerances, resulting in tighter gaps.

I was at the Tamiya HQ yesterday and one of their staff told me that the sample is partially made with 3D-printed parts because not all of the molds are ready.

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