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F-14A Tamiya vs Hobby Boss 1/48


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Building the HB Tomcat currently and I will say this about the Hobby Boss kit. It is a kit I have had in my build pile for a while, so it is already paid for. It is well engineered, open panels I am closing fit very well.  Detail is good. I built the wings with everything closed up and all the slats/flaps fit well.  I have also built the Hasegawa kit, and the flaps and slats did not fit well in the closed position for me.    My big complaint on this kit is that it is overly complicated when it does not need to be and for me what is becoming a big issue is the design of the wing pivots. They are weak and the wings will droop as time goes by with this kit on your shelf if they are extended forward.  I am building the kit with the wings glued in the swept forward position.  This nothing internal to help support the weight of the wings as there is with every other Tomcat kit on the market.  I have not looked at the nose shape too much yet, but when I put the radome on the fuselage it does appear misshaped somehow but honestly I am not sure about this at this point.  The intakes are what they are, I decided to accept that they are not as they should be.  Honestly at this point I find myself at the point of putting the kit in a box and coming back to it in the future because of the wing issue for me.     Of the Tomcat kits I have built over the years I would rate them as follows and all are to !/48 scale:  I rate these on a 1-5 scale with 1 being the best...

 

Hasegawa as #1 for shape and detail but #5 for build and design quality.   Monogram now Revell  #2 for shape accuracy (very very close with Hasegawa here) and #3 for build ease.  The design of the kit makes getting a good finished model a lot of work.  Italeri, I would rate as #3 for shape with weak details (a lot of the vents are decals and a really poor cockpit) but rate this kit as #2 for ease of build.  Academy I would rate this kit as #5 for shape - the forward fuselage and #2 for build ease.  The Hobby Boss kit I would rate as #3 for shape and #2 for build quality with the exception of the wing pivot - this may be the killer in the long term.  I have the new Tamiya kit but have not started it yet.  I would guess from what I have read it would be my #1 for accuracy and a very strong #1 for ease of build.  

 

These of course are my feelings on the kits and of course many will rate the kits very differently.  The Tomcat is not an easy aircraft to design a model of.  There have been many kit design approaches - and a lot of technology advances from the early deigned kits to todays Tamiya beauty.  The Monogram kit was a hand drawn design (engineering drawings for each part were drawn by hand on paper with major parts drawn to 1/24th scale to improve the ability to get shapes correct and have a bit more detail. Some detail parts were 4x size on paper)  and then wooden master patterns were made to create the 3D tooling masters.  The Hobby Boss kit was a 100% CAD design as is the new Tamiya kit.  Again these are my personal thoughts on these various kits.  All can be built into stunning models.       

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IMHO the HB kit (which I enjoyed building, and thought was quite OK) looks like a toy next to the Tamiya kit. The latter is far more complex, but also more accurate and well fitting. I haven´t finished my Tamiya kit yet, but dry fitting the fuselage parts ad the seams are hardly visible. The parts just fits. The wing mechanism is screwed in place and feels very solid, and the wing glove fits like.. well, a glove around the wings. This in stark contrast to the loose fitting wings on the HB kit. Also, the wings can be left off until after painting (or indefinitely) as they slide on to short "wing spars" that are mounted in the fuselage.

The Tamiya kit requires very little effort in the form of modelling skills to be assembled. Just take care with some of the sprue gates that are located on the surface to be glued on to other parts. 

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Hello all

 

I have received my Tamiya Cat yesterday...and started right away! I could not wait...and what I have experianced so far is absolutely fantastic. Part fit is 101%, engineering of the parts must have been done by someone from the far future or out of space. If you build accurately the seams in most cases do not even require sanding, just a bit of polishing. I spent 3h with the kit last night and have the rear boddy at a stage where I can start painting. As an example how well this kit is engineered...the Tomcat's intakes, apart from being shape wise 100%, can be klicked onto the fuselage and fit with absolutely no gap at all! I am blown away...in 48 scale no other Tomcat can even vaguely be compared with the Tamiya bird. Another example...the wings can be glued togther with 0 gaps without needing tape or clamps to hold them togther until the glue dries!

Now I am waiting for the primer to be delieverd (tomorrow) and then I will carry on. In the meantime I will build all the sub componants, landing gear, etc...and start the cockpit. So is there room for AM stuff? For me yes...but not a lot. I want wheels with a bit more details on the tyres and I have ordered the Master nose tube and sensor made of metal since I tend to break those when they are not solid!

 

thanks

Uwe

 

 

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I am currently in the process of building the eduard's danger zone which is HB plastic with eduard's goodies.

 

What i will say is going to be the exact opposite of Aircal's unforutunately. nothing fits, nothing. i do not know if it's my bad luck but the kit has been nothing but a putty magnet, fit is not only terrible but the alignment is totally out of whack, large parts warped and skewed too at that. i said wth and soldiered on BUT i kept all the eduard goodies off this abomination of plastic, i will use all the resin and pe with Tamiya's tomcat instead, if i can get one in the foreseeable future that is.

 

As for the shape, i can't comment because it took so much effort to glue everything to each other, it may not represent what HB intended due to me having manhandle everything into place if you get what i mean. :(

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7 hours ago, anj4de said:

I have received my Tamiya Cat yesterday...and started right away! I could not wait...

 

 

Aaargh, I have decided to resist buying the current F-14A and instead hold out for Tamiya's next release which I hope will be the 'mainstream' block 125 F-14A or thereabout.

I just hope that the next version will be released sooner rather than later...

 

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..."Alert 1 this is Eagle 1, you're clear to fire, "Splash the Zeros"...:-)

203%20with%20old%20and%20new%20Sidwinder
202%20and%20203%20on%20the%20way%20to%20
Old%20and%20new%20Sidewinder%20together_

 

@Anders...I want a later -A as well for my Zotz Miss Molly decals...but do you know what I will do? I will just buy another one :-)

 

BTW...I love the two different Sidewinder versions on the same plane! Both included in the kit! Enough weapons btw for two fleet intercept loads!

Now searching for the 203 numbers and the bird's serial...I already have the kill marks!

Edited by anj4de
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Just to add, if modelling Final Countdown VF-84 Tomcats, take note of the upper surfaces. The film was made in a transition phase, the upper surfaces are all Gull Gray, there is no white on the control surfaces as is shown in the kit and earlier Jolly Rogers F-14 markings.  The underside, however, still is white. 

Edited by Fighting Eighty-Four
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I thought I saw that in th efilm but was not sure...After closely watching the szenes again I think it really is so, what a pity :-(

Anyway, just foud some mor pics taken during the making of the movie...private shots of a ground crew guy. Cool pictures!!!

https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=1176097

 

cheers

Uwe

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3 hours ago, anj4de said:

@Anders...I want a later -A as well for my Zotz Miss Molly decals...but do you know what I will do? I will just buy another one :-)

 

Good point, but I can't bear to model an early version in typical hi-wiz camouflage.

So... I will try to wait. But the force is strong on this one...

 

Here's to hoping Tamiya announces an F-14A block 125 no later then at Shizuoka 2017! :)

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3 minutes ago, Anders_Isaksson said:

 

Good point, but I can't bear to model an early version in typical hi-wiz camouflage.

So... I will try to wait. But the force is strong on this one...

 

Here's to hoping Tamiya announces an F-14A block 125 no later then at Shizuoka 2017! :)

...and I love hi-viz...the 60ties and 70ties, the golden age of naval aviation. Another projec waiting in my stash is CAG VF-111 F-4B NL-200...;-)

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4 hours ago, Anders_Isaksson said:

 

Aaargh, I have decided to resist buying the current F-14A and instead hold out for Tamiya's next release which I hope will be the 'mainstream' block 125 F-14A or thereabout.

I just hope that the next version will be released sooner rather than later...

 

Honestly...treat yourself! I picked up two of these kits (haven't started them yet) but you really have to see this kit with your own eyes and fondle the plastic with your own hands. Its money well spent in my opinion. Who knows when (if) Tamiya will get around to subsequent versions of this kit. But there's no doubt that this is THEE F-14A Tomcat kit to get in 1/48 now and probably for a long while to come. Buy it and enjoy!

Give in to the dark side...LOL!

Cheers!

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9 hours ago, anj4de said:

..."Alert 1 this is Eagle 1, you're clear to fire, "Splash the Zeros"...:-)

203%20with%20old%20and%20new%20Sidwinder
202%20and%20203%20on%20the%20way%20to%20
Old%20and%20new%20Sidewinder%20together_

 

@Anders...I want a later -A as well for my Zotz Miss Molly decals...but do you know what I will do? I will just buy another one :-)

 

BTW...I love the two different Sidewinder versions on the same plane! Both included in the kit! Enough weapons btw for two fleet intercept loads!

Now searching for the 203 numbers and the bird's serial...I already have the kill marks!

any body know the serial numbers of the jets used in the movie??

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8 hours ago, Don said:

Honestly...treat yourself!

...

 

Yes Don, I know what you mean. :rolleyes:

Here I have wrestled both the Hasegawa and HB attempts at the Tomcat and finally (finally!!!) the mother of all Tomcat kits comes along - and I then decide to pass on it!

Just how does this work?

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19 hours ago, Anders_Isaksson said:

 

Aaargh, I have decided to resist buying the current F-14A and instead hold out for Tamiya's next release which I hope will be the 'mainstream' block 125 F-14A or thereabout.

I just hope that the next version will be released sooner rather than later...

 

Or you could just get the Steel Beach set and have the Block 125 right now. :thumbsup: The problem is you never know when Tamiya will release it, if ever. The chances are probably good for it, since it's an easy update. But Tamiya is not known for their promptness. They have set up numerous kits for different versions that have yet to see the light of day. If they go by what they did with their F-16 series, 2017 is probably being optimistic. But again, you never know. To try and persuade you to get the kit now, you don't really need the Block 125 upgrade to do later paint schemes. Many of the Block 90's saw service well through the 90's, with everything thing from overall Gull Gray to the TPS. All you'd really need to pick up would be a TCS pod and a set of wheels. In all honesty, the ECM antennas aren't really that noticeable if there's a scheme you really want to do but don't want to get the SB set. 

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25 minutes ago, Darren Roberts said:

Or you could just get the Steel Beach set and have the Block 125 right now. :thumbsup:

 

Oh yes... I know about the your conversion set, Darren. :rolleyes:

But I already have a Steel Beach TCS and the Contact Resine wheels lying around so I may have to give in after all.

 

Still, I will try to hold out at least for May 2017. It's not as if I don't have stuff to build until then... :whistle:

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Gloss schmloss.. I´m going for a satin finish, since I think it is more accurate, especially for a small scale model. I am sure there are loads of nice ultra-weathered low-viz schemes too that would be used, especially if you get suitable resin parts. 

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On 11/9/2016 at 11:17 AM, anj4de said:

..."Alert 1 this is Eagle 1, you're clear to fire, "Splash the Zeros"...:-)

203%20with%20old%20and%20new%20Sidwinder
202%20and%20203%20on%20the%20way%20to%20
Old%20and%20new%20Sidewinder%20together_

 

@Anders...I want a later -A as well for my Zotz Miss Molly decals...but do you know what I will do? I will just buy another one :-)

 

BTW...I love the two different Sidewinder versions on the same plane! Both included in the kit! Enough weapons btw for two fleet intercept loads!

Now searching for the 203 numbers and the bird's serial...I already have the kill marks!

Am I seeing things, or does 203 not have any walkways on top of the intakes? I've never seen a Tomcat without walkways. It sure looks pretty empty up there.

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Talking about walkways, do all tomcats have anti slip coating on the walkways? I am doing the jolly rogers scheme included in the kit and I am thinking about replacing the decal with some kind of textured paint. 

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3 hours ago, Darren Roberts said:

Am I seeing things, or does 203 not have any walkways on top of the intakes? I've never seen a Tomcat without walkways. It sure looks pretty empty up there.

...and both birds have a mix of older and newer Sidwinder rockets!

 

cheers

Uwe

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Hello all

 

Has anybody heard of the usual suspects coming up with aftermarket stuff for the Tamiya bird already. I know Darren's sets...but what I want are nice wheels for example. The ones available so far are all of the newer typ. Also an inner canopy part that has the defroster air pipe would be nice...Hasegawa has it in the kit. That's about it for me right now. I am sure the experts will want a resin cockpit and wheel bays with lots of cables in them...

 

thanks

Uwe

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