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Tamiya 1/48th F-14 Sept 2016


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I'm curious about the fuselage top/nose section too! My best hope is that it's a single-piece molding from the boattail to the radar bulkhead. Imagine not having a seam to deal with on the spine...

Really, really looking forward to this kit. But why haven't we seen any sprue shots of the fuselage top? Also very curious why the mid section of the lower fuselage is a separate part.

Cliff

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Nop, Hasegawa make an awful Phoenix pallets... Revell make a better one.

:whistle:/>

Good knight! They look like mutated blobs of plastic! I'll have to pull one of my Hasegawa kits out and take a look at it.

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So happy to be working at Hobbytown USA in Kennesaw right now..........my employee discount is looking pretty sweet right about now! :D/>

Dave, I'll be coming by. I used to work at the HTown in Cumming. We weren't nearly as big as you (or as well managed). I need to get a dozen colors of paint anyway. I miss that discount but not much else.

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Dave, I'll be coming by. I used to work at the HTown in Cumming. We weren't nearly as big as you (or as well managed). I need to get a dozen colors of paint anyway. I miss that discount but not much else.

I worked at HT for about 8 years before it closed up. It wasn't all that bad. The only bad thing was that owners didn't understand that they would sell more by dropping the price on kits. Then they wondered why the kits sat on the shelves.

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Our HT did very well until the recession hit. We opened our new, larger location the very day the housing bubble popped in '08. Our primary clients were blue collar R/C car guys who mainly worked residential construction, so we were hit pretty hard. What a lot of them didn't understand was that the R/C stuff didn't have the mark-up that everything else did. I wasn't much for R/C stuff, so they couldn't stand me because I didn't know how to tune their carburetors or advise them on hop-ups, and they kept telling the owner that if he'd just get rid off all the other "sissy, boring crap" that the store would start doing well again. Problem was is that while a Traxxas truck brought $400 in a single sale, we profited only $30 on it and that went into ordering a replacement and having it sent. The profit in R/C was parts, and a lot of the "great customers" ordered their parts online unless they were in a jam. Models and supplies made most of our money. I helped create the local IPMS chapter, hosted model contests (of which we had many regional and a few national winners), held introductory model classes, etc. But I couldn't talk the owner into a stepped decrease in model prices so that they didn't sit on shelves (we had a Tamiya 1/32 F-14 that I bought my last day on the job in 2011 that had been with the store since opening in 2004), and he never went for new releases unless there was a package deal or their were auto-ordered by corporate. In 2011 he began going through the nastiest divorce since War of the Roses and the store folded. I loved working there except during the holidays, but I needed to move on.

This new Tamiya Tomcat, he'd have been talked into it by his distributors, but it would have sat with us at HT pricing. AMK would have never gotten a chance no matter now much I would have urged.

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Some thing I never understood why the Fujimi F-14 at 1/48 was such a blooper versus the 1/72 one.

The Fujimi 1/72 is the best. That one should be in 1/48!

Rubber tyres, etched parts, optional wingpositions, with flaps/slats.

The Fujimi 1/72 blows this Tamiya F-14 away

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Some thing I never understood why the Fujimi F-14 at 1/48 was such a blooper versus the 1/72 one.

The Fujimi 1/72 is the best. That one should be in 1/48!

Rubber tyres, etched parts, optional wingpositions, with flaps/slats.

The Fujimi 1/72 blows this Tamiya F-14 away

The Fujimi 1/48 scale kit came out years before their 1/72 scale. In fact, it was one of the first 1/48 scale Tomcats to be released. At the time, it was viewed as an amazing kit. Now, not so much. The 1/72 is indeed a beautiful kit, but it has its issues as well. A lot of what you listed is personal preference. I actually don't like the vinyl tires. I've built half a dozen Fujimi 1/72 scale kits, and not once did I use any of the engine parts. So all those beautiful parts were wasted. The problem is, that drove the price up. So, it's a double-edged sword. Include parts most won't use and have a high price, or go with the basics and have a more reasonable price. Trumpeter gets raked over the coals for including all those extra parts and then some complain that those extra parts aren't in another kit. The same goes for rivets. People talk about Trumpeter's "mad riveter", then I see builds where modelers have gone back and riveted the entire model, getting "oohs" and "aahhs" from others. The bottom line is that modelers are a cheap, fickle bunch and that there's no way to please them 100% of the time.

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The Fujimi 1/48 scale kit came out years before their 1/72 scale. In fact, it was one of the first 1/48 scale Tomcats to be released. At the time, it was viewed as an amazing kit. Now, not so much. The 1/72 is indeed a beautiful kit, but it has its issues as well. A lot of what you listed is personal preference. I actually don't like the vinyl tires. I've built half a dozen Fujimi 1/72 scale kits, and not once did I use any of the engine parts. So all those beautiful parts were wasted. The problem is, that drove the price up. So, it's a double-edged sword. Include parts most won't use and have a high price, or go with the basics and have a more reasonable price. Trumpeter gets raked over the coals for including all those extra parts and then some complain that those extra parts aren't in another kit. The same goes for rivets. People talk about Trumpeter's "mad riveter", then I see builds where modelers have gone back and riveted the entire model, getting "oohs" and "aahhs" from others. The bottom line is that modelers are a cheap, fickle bunch and that there's no way to please them 100% of the time.

Like women.

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...The bottom line is that modelers are a...fickle bunch and that there's no way to please them 100% of the time.

There it is ^^^. Heck in our small little local club of 14-16 modelers its amazing just how few times we can all agree on something! What's also interesting (and related to Darren's post above) is how many times a model manufacturer does provide all the bells and whistles in a kit and yet many modelers go and replace most of it with aftermarket anyway. I am not criticizing those modelers who choose to do that but by Tamiya going the root they have chosen to with their F-14 means OOB folks like me get a well engineered, accurate, and fairly simple model (within reason of course) and the super detailing aficionados and aftermarket companies can go to town as they please and how they probably would do regardless of open this or dropped that being included.

:cheers:

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Two questions:

(1) Do we know if the gun / avionics bay doors are all closed up on the port side? I see the ladder and steps to be positionable but could not tell if the rest of the panels are all closed up (which I'd prefer). Wish there were pics of the front and top fuselage sprues.

(2) I'm unsure if the sprue layout indicates any provisions for a B and D model in the future. I see the Alpha engine/exhausts on a separate sprue (which is good) but I see the cockpit parts are together with the tail hook and pilots etc. So, does the layout suggest plans for B and D, or do we know for a fact that Tamiya is / isn't considering these other variants? I would be happy with an A but I am really hoping for a B.

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Two questions:

(1) Do we know if the gun / avionics bay doors are all closed up on the port side? I see the ladder and steps to be positionable but could not tell if the rest of the panels are all closed up (which I'd prefer). Wish there were pics of the front and top fuselage sprues.

(2) I'm unsure if the sprue layout indicates any provisions for a B and D model in the future. I see the Alpha engine/exhausts on a separate sprue (which is good) but I see the cockpit parts are together with the tail hook and pilots etc. So, does the layout suggest plans for B and D, or do we know for a fact that Tamiya is / isn't considering these other variants? I would be happy with an A but I am really hoping for a B.

I believe the avionics and gun bays will be closed up based on the available information.

As for others variants I would stay tune, as it is an exciting time to be a modeler who wants to build the most accurate F-14 model in any scale. Some things that Tamiya is coming up will set a new standard.

Personally, I'm super stoked about this kit and I hope it will be a global success. The announcement of the IFR probe and bay was a surprise. Can't wait for more sprues to show up as development on the tooling continues.

Stay tune for more to come....

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Two questions:

(1) Do we know if the gun / avionics bay doors are all closed up on the port side? I see the ladder and steps to be positionable but could not tell if the rest of the panels are all closed up (which I'd prefer). Wish there were pics of the front and top fuselage sprues.

(2) I'm unsure if the sprue layout indicates any provisions for a B and D model in the future. I see the Alpha engine/exhausts on a separate sprue (which is good) but I see the cockpit parts are together with the tail hook and pilots etc. So, does the layout suggest plans for B and D, or do we know for a fact that Tamiya is / isn't considering these other variants? I would be happy with an A but I am really hoping for a B.

I believe the avionics and gun bays will be closed up based on the available information.

As for others variants I would stay tune, as it is an exciting time to be a modeler who wants to build the most accurate F-14 model in any scale. Some things that Tamiya is coming up will set a new standard.

Personally, I'm super stoked about this kit and I hope it will be a global success. The announcement of the IFR probe and bay was a surprise. Can't wait for more sprues to show up as development on the tooling continues.

Stay tune for more to come....

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Not sure if it is just me but the MLG tires look too big relative to the wheel hubs.

f14-detail-gearmain-12l.jpg

MMZ20160702225343_2_8.jpg

Mark

Mark, I would not worry about the size of the tires for the mains and the wheel hub. This kit will be exacting to the original specifications.

Edited by gtypecanare
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I believe the avionics and gun bays will be closed up based on the available information.

As for others variants I would stay tune, as it is an exciting time to be a modeler who wants to build the most accurate F-14 model in any scale. Some things that Tamiya is coming up will set a new standard.

Personally, I'm super stoked about this kit and I hope it will be a global success. The announcement of the IFR probe and bay was a surprise. Can't wait for more sprues to show up as development on the tooling continues.

Stay tune for more to come....

Thank you. In response to my question, I can't tell if you have insider info but you cannot let us know, or if you are just guessing.

Mark, I would not worry about the size of the tires for the mains and the wheel hub. This kit will be exacting to the original specifications.

Also this. Please don't take my question negatively, but do you have a stake/role in this project? I get the impression that you do from your posts in this thread, but I think you never made it explicit (unless I missed it). The reason I ask is to understand the neutrality of your responses, such as the one to Mark's question. Do you know that the tires are exact, or do you think that they are. Because albeit extremely subtle, I see what Mark is saying.

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Just to make sure, all I wanted to know is whether you are closely connected to the project (like Martin from AMK) such that we can take what you say about this Tomcat as a fact (which would be awesome) or if you are sharing your opinions and hopes. That is all. There is also the possibility that you may be connected to Tamiya (will you be at the Tamiya booth at the Nats?) but may not have all the access to the project, but even that will be reason to be all ears when you comment about this project. So your affiliation is what I am trying to decipher. Sorry all if I have missed any previous discussions on this.

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Thank you. In response to my question, I can't tell if you have insider info but you cannot let us know, or if you are just guessing.

Also this. Please don't take my question negatively, but do you have a stake/role in this project? I get the impression that you do from your posts in this thread, but I think you never made it explicit (unless I missed it). The reason I ask is to understand the neutrality of your responses, such as the one to Mark's question. Do you know that the tires are exact, or do you think that they are. Because albeit extremely subtle, I see what Mark is saying.

Janissary, we get information from our headquarters in Shizuoka City and informed what can be made available for public consumption. 😊

I'm a passionate advocate of Tamiya and all its products. Please pay us a visit at the IPMS National Convention if you have any questions to discuss in person.

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