Most accurate 1/72 Vigilante?

[JackMan]

I know the Trumpeter RA-5C kit is the most detailed but which kit is, dimensionally, the most accurate kit in 1/72?

 

Also, is there anyone who makes the early bomber version ( A-5A) in 1/72?

 

Thanks much

 

 

Edited May 16, 2017 by JackMan

[Mizar]

I think Airfix or Monogram did an A-5 and probably somewhere her on forums ventured into a DIY conversion but lost track of it,also for what I have read in the past Trumpeter RA-5 has something early/late mixed that needs a small fix.Outside Trumpeter there is a rescribed copy of Hasegawa offering which I got it from a Revell reboxing and should also be avoided as plastic seems brittle,there is warping on fuselage halves and decals are the self destructive type.

 

Luigi

[GW8345]

There are no 1/72 scale A-5A (A3J-1) Vigie kit, the old Revell and Monogram kits were (IIRC) 1/87 scale (they called them "Box Scale" back then).

 

If you want a 1/72 scale A-5A you will need to modify a RA-5C, there's an old Fine Scale Modeler article that showed how to do it.

 

There are several 1/72 scale RA-5C's but none of them are perfect, off the top of my head I know Airfix did one, along with Hasegawa (old 70's mold) and of course the newer Trumpeter kit. From what I've heard the Trumpeter kit has some shape issues with the nose area around the front seat and the other two lack some details but with some TLC they can be built into nice kits, just depending on how much work you want to put into them.

 

As for the old Revell/Monogram kits, there were produced in the 60's and aren't anywhere close to today's standards. 

[DonSS3]

2 hours ago, GW8345 said:

As for the old Revell/Monogram kits, there were produced in the 60's and aren't anywhere close to today's standards. 

None of the earlier RA-5C kits,  Hasegawa nor Airfix are anywhere near today's expectations.

[Paul Boyer]

Trumpeter's kit isn't perfect, but it is the best Vigie in "our" scale. The main nits are the too-wide canopy hatches; there should be a double-bubble effect there where the hatches meet the fuselage. The other thing is the recessed rivet detail is a bit deep. Now these are small "problems" but difficult to correct. Best just to not worry about them. On the other hand, the detail is MUCH better than what you got from the Airfix or Hasegawa kits that were developed in the late '60s - early '70s. The only two Vigies in my collection are the Trumpeter and a Hasegawa kit that I converted back to an A-5A for FineScale Modeler back in the early '90s.

Edited May 16, 2017 by Paul Boyer
typo

[JackMan]

4 hours ago, Mizar said:

Outside Trumpeter there is a rescribed copy of Hasegawa offering which I got it from a Revell reboxing and should also be avoided as plastic seems brittle,there is warping on fuselage halves and decals are the self destructive type.

Luigi

 

Luigi, Now that you mention it, I seem to recall a Korean company copied that same rescribed copy. I believe it was Kangnam (or ACE or something).

 

Paul, any chance you could PM me and e-mail a scan of that A-5A article?

 

Hmm, so the consensus is that the Airfix & Hasegawa kit are the most dimensionally accurate but don't hold up to Trumpeter in terms of details.

 

I'm motivated to get the old Hase kit after seeing what Asao Shirai did with his....

http://www.hsgalleries.com/gallery04/ra5cas_1.htm

 

 

 

[Paul Boyer]

Sorry, can't scan/transmitt copyrighted material (and I am not the copyright holder, anyway).

 

Asao Shirai did a marvelous job, there. To get to that, you'd have to do a LOT of work. Better to start with the Trumpeter kit and ignore the minor cross-section shape of the canopies. Unfortunately, Shirai used the markings that were on Heavy 7's A-5A on the RA-5C model. He followed the decal instructions, I'm sure, as Microscale got it wrong. Oops. Beautiful model, though.

[Murph]

One of the things I found annoying about the Trumpeter kit was the lack of proper intakes; that seemed to be a trend in that timeframe, as Revell did the same with their Typhoon and Tornado kits.  Fortunately, XMM Resins has come to the rescue for the Trumpeter kit.  LINK  

 

Regards,

Murph

[redcorvette]

11 hours ago, GW8345 said:

There are no 1/72 scale A-5A (A3J-1) Vigie kit, the old Revell and Monogram kits were (IIRC) 1/87 scale (they called them "Box Scale" back then).

 

If you want a 1/72 scale A-5A you will need to modify a RA-5C, there's an old Fine Scale Modeler article that showed how to do it.

 

There are several 1/72 scale RA-5C's but none of them are perfect, off the top of my head I know Airfix did one, along with Hasegawa (old 70's mold) and of course the newer Trumpeter kit. From what I've heard the Trumpeter kit has some shape issues with the nose area around the front seat and the other two lack some details but with some TLC they can be built into nice kits, just depending on how much work you want to put into them.

 

As for the old Revell/Monogram kits, there were produced in the 60's and aren't anywhere close to today's standards. 

 

I loved the old "box scale" Revell and Monogram kits.  The Revell kit had opening cockpits and a removable engine and the Monogram had a spring to eject the bomb out the rear.  Great stuff for the mid-60's! 

Mark 

[JackMan]

 

Paul, no worries about the article. I understand your concern.

 

Murph, thanks for the XMM link. I wasn't aware that 1/72 seamless intakes were available for the Vigilante. I didn't even know the tailcone needed correction either

 

[GW8345]

I built a Hasegawa RA-5C years ago (before the Trumpeter kit came out) and to make it a nice looking kit (I'm no master builder by a long shot) I spruced up the landing gear, added so detail to the front cockpit (can't really see any of the back with those small windows) and replaced the burner can's with aftermarket ones (used the once for an F-4J, they used the same engine).

 

If you want to do a A-5A (A3J-1) use the burner cans for a F-4B Phantom II.

[JackMan]

13 minutes ago, GW8345 said:

...replaced the burner can's with aftermarket ones (used the once for an F-4J, they used the same engine).

 

If you want to do a A-5A (A3J-1) use the burner cans for a F-4B Phantom II.

 

Good tip. I'm glad the Hasegawa Phantoms give you both types of burner cans. I can use the spares from my Phantom kits.

 

[GW8345]

3 minutes ago, JackMan said:

 

Good tip. I'm glad the Hasegawa Phantoms give you both types of burner cans. I can use the spares from my Phantom kits.

 

I didn't use the burner can's from a Hasegawa Phantom, I used aftermarket ones.