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Tamiya 1:48 F-14 2.0


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  • 5 weeks later...

For those who have built both, which one is simpler to build: Hasegawa F-18C or Tamiya Tomcat (both 48)? I am talking about part cleaning, part fit, the need to recribe lost detail, putty, all the stuff that needs to be done until the first coat of primer on the whole model.

 

I have built a few Hase 18s, so I know some of the tricky parts (windshield area, top/bottom joint in front of the horizontal stabs etc.). F-14 looks beautiful but F-18 has fewer parts I believe. 

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^^^^^^^^ There is No comparison. Tamiya is SO Far Superior in just about every aspect.  I'll add that the F-14 is likely the best engineered kit ever to this point in time....

Edited by viper730
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I will second that...I'm well into my first Tamiya F-14 and it is the best kit I have ever built.   I literally can't wait to get back to it each time a modeling session ends.  It is truly a pleasure to build and everything just fits...flawlessly.  I now have two more of these gems and will build them as soon as I finish the first one.  I could build these kits all year long.  It's that good.   

 

Steve

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That's really high praise. To keep it fair and balanced, what is the worst part of the build that needs attention. Any place where you say 'next time I build it, I will..." It's OK if there's none. 

 

Every time I go to my LHS, I see one on the shelf, eye level, looking at me, with a price tag of $99. I fondled the box a few times but haven't pulled the trigger yet.  

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there arent any areas that I would do differently next time. as has been said many times the kit falls together. there is no comparison with the Hasegawa F-18 kit. the only thing I could ask for is that there was the larger chin pod included with it. everything is great out of the box. even the decals are usable. 

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9 hours ago, Janissary said:

That's really high praise. To keep it fair and balanced, what is the worst part of the build that needs attention. Any place where you say 'next time I build it, I will..." It's OK if there's none. 

 

Every time I go to my LHS, I see one on the shelf, eye level, looking at me, with a price tag of $99. I fondled the box a few times but haven't pulled the trigger yet.  

You're going to be hard pressed finding people with negative feedback on this kit.  But give this a read for a different perspective: https://doogsmodels.com/2016/11/16/tamiyas-new-tomcat-not-the-second-coming/

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I follow Doogs site as much as I can, and have seen his Tomcat review. His negative remarks are more about the parts and features Tamiya decided not to include rather than the build itself. He too says it builds up wonderfully. So it is true that I'm yet to find a single negative comment about the build itself. That's remarkable. 

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11 hours ago, dylan said:

there arent any areas that I would do differently next time. as has been said many times the kit falls together. there is no comparison with the Hasegawa F-18 kit. the only thing I could ask for is that there was the larger chin pod included with it. everything is great out of the box. even the decals are usable. 

I feel the same way so far.  No trouble spots or gotchyas.  Just a simple, straightforward, easy build.  

 

Steve

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13 hours ago, Janissary said:

That's really high praise. To keep it fair and balanced, what is the worst part of the build that needs attention. Any place where you say 'next time I build it, I will..." It's OK if there's none. 

 

Every time I go to my LHS, I see one on the shelf, eye level, looking at me, with a price tag of $99. I fondled the box a few times but haven't pulled the trigger yet.  

Get one from Scale Hobbyist or one of the various online retailers and save a few bucks - $99 is overpriced for what he kit is selling for elsewhere, even with shipping  

 

Steve

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2 hours ago, Janissary said:

I follow Doogs site as much as I can, and have seen his Tomcat review. His negative remarks are more about the parts and features Tamiya decided not to include rather than the build itself. He too says it builds up wonderfully. So it is true that I'm yet to find a single negative comment about the build itself. That's remarkable. 

 

I don't think you will find a negative about the build experience. I agree with Doog's on the lack of detail in the cockpit and wheel bays, but the wings and TCS are simply personal preference. My Steel Beach stuff got raked over the coals, but that's okay. The TCS he referenced is actually out of production and I've made new piece. I also realize he has higher than normal expectations. If it's not Aries, it's not good enough. I cater to a different market than that.

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Basic details are one thing, but the ejector pin marks and their placement is another thing. The wheel bays have them (as usual for Tamiya) but there is also one on the inside of the windscreen, and it extends to the clear area. WTF was Tamiya thinking?!? >:(

 

Jens

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2 hours ago, JEN722 said:

Basic details are one thing, but the ejector pin marks and their placement is another thing. The wheel bays have them (as usual for Tamiya) but there is also one on the inside of the windscreen, and it extends to the clear area. WTF was Tamiya thinking?!? >:(

 

Jens

 I just looks at my kit again. There are no pin marks on the visible side of any of the wheel bay parts after they have been assembled. There are 4 small pin marks on the canopy. none are on the Plexiglas areas. They seem to be more of a difference in texture that actual holes.  The only ejector pins marks I had to fill were in the intake. The shape of the part pretty much requires them.

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2 hours ago, JEN722 said:

Basic details are one thing, but the ejector pin marks and their placement is another thing. The wheel bays have them (as usual for Tamiya) but there is also one on the inside of the windscreen, and it extends to the clear area. WTF was Tamiya thinking?!? >:(

 

Jens

Hi,

 

When I first read this, I went to check my windscreen. To my great relief, I did not find that ejector pin mark in the clear area.  Now I just checked again with a big lamp...no such mark.

Are there defective windscreens out there?

 

Cheers, Stefan. 

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The ejector pin mark is inside the top frame right above the flat part of the windscreen. The gear bay ejector pin marks are in the nose gear well.

I am pretty sure it's not a one-off thing. I could go check my other Tamiya Tomcats but it does not change the fact that it is there and visible (once you see it...).

 

Jens

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On 2/3/2017 at 9:35 AM, picknpluck said:

 

"Well la-de-freakin'-dah! We got ourselves a writer here!"

 

Seriously, it was an interesting read and I don't care for some of the other reviews out there...the ones that just provide fluff and no real criticism of something flagrant in the design or otherwise. I can get into sarcasm, but I bet it wont win any favors from the industry. But hey, it's his blog and he can say what whatever he wants.

 

I bookmarked him and dragged his bookmark to my Modeling fav's right next to ....Phil Flory.

Edited by Mr Matt Foley
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3 hours ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

 

"Well la-de-freakin'-dah! We got ourselves a writer here!"

 

Seriously, it was an interesting read and I don't care for some of the other reviews out there...the ones that just provide fluff and no real criticism of something flagrant in the design or otherwise. I can get into sarcasm, but I bet it wont win any favors from the industry. But hey, it's his blog and he can say what whatever he wants.

 

I bookmarked him and dragged his bookmark to my Modeling fav's right next to ....Phil Flory.

I could do without the salty language.

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1 hour ago, Darren Roberts said:

I could do without the salty language.

 

Agreed...enough of the F-Bombs. You lose credibility with your audience.....some of them anyway. One of the best recent arguments against being so hyper-critical was written by Paul Cotcher about the new Fitter kit from Kitty Hawk. It is truly a walk down memory lane.

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I have visited Doog's site. I do check it from time to time. I mainly go there to see how he did something but as far as his reviews I gave up on them. His language is too far over the top for me. I do enough cussing on my own, minly cause I lack the skill I would love to have in this hobby. When it comes down to kit reviews I make my own decision. We all have our own opinions and I for one will not say someone else is right or wrong. This is a hobby for me , I try and build for fun and to not go down the road other members in my family have gone. This hobby can get expensive at times but to me it's better than the alternatives I could be doing and getting in trouble for.

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