Don Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Hello all, I have the itch to do a 1/72 RA-5 Vigilante. I've looked at the Airfix, Hasegawa, Kangnam, Revell, and Trumpeter kits online. No real enthusiasm exists for the Kangnam kit so it seems that ones a non-starter. Airfix has it fans though its obviously old and I don't think its been reissued in the last 10 to 15 years which could make it harder to find and the decals, being old Airfix, would probably be shot (raised panel lines too). As I understand it the Revell is a knockoff of the Hasegawa kit but with engraved panel lines and apparently not bad decals (Hasegawa has reissued it's RA-5 kits fairly regularly so finding one isn't or shouldn't be an issue and their decals are generally useable...generally). The Airfix, Hasegawa/Revell Vigilantes seem to be given the nod for accuracy shape wise, but lack details and supposedly have tricky fit issues. Lastly there's the newer Trumpeter kit. It has been criticized for its rivets, incorrect spine, and some fit issues here and there. But its more detailed, the decals look good, its easy to find and the spine is only really noticeable to those that really know the Vigilante or if its sitting next to the Airfix/Hasegawa/Revell kits. Bottom line, I want a simple to build and as hassle free as possible Vigilante. Which one should I be going for? Help, hints, opinions, thoughts, build shares are all welcome! Thanks and regards, Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Trumpeter, and if you pose the canopies in the raised position the issue with "crease" in the fuselage is not as obvious. Also XMM Resin offers full length intake trunking. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Thanks Murph! The tip on posing the canopies open is a good one. I also wasn't aware of the aftermarket intake trucking either. I was leaning towards Trumpeter and I can grab one from my LHS for $25 which doesn't seem to bad at all. So, I guess I'll go Trumpeter. Regards, Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
picknpluck Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 (edited) The Trumpeter kit goes together nicely. You just need to reshape the top of the vertical tail. It builds into a later RA-5C with LEXs and modified intake shapes (156XXX BuNos). The Revell kit builds into the earlier RA-5C. Here's mine: Edited May 23, 2018 by picknpluck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Teeradej Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 This is my Hasegawa Vigi with Microscale decals and metal pitot. Very bad fitting but with some work it turned out nicely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JackMan Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Looking at Teeradej's beautiful model, the Hasegawa kit seems to capture the graceful lines of the Vigilante better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted May 25, 2018 Author Share Posted May 25, 2018 Nice looking Vigilantes guys ! It really is an elegant and "fast" looking aircraft. I picked up the Trumpeter kit yesterday and I am quite happy with what I see in the box and am pretty excited to get cracking on it. Thanks everyone who contributed to this thread. Much appreciated. Regards, Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jpk Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 4 hours ago, JackMan said: Looking at Teeradej's beautiful model, the Hasegawa kit seems to capture the graceful lines of the Vigilante better. I have a friend, retired Navy and he worked on Viggies. He has several 1/72 kit by the various mfgrs. He thinks the Hasegawa has the best shape. He's wanting to detail the Hasegawa kit with the Trumpy parts like landing gear, cockpit, etc.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Who made a 1:72 A-5A? That's what I built as a young teen. I want say it was Revell but might have been Hasegawa. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 10 minutes ago, Slartibartfast said: Who made a 1:72 A-5A? That's what I built as a young teen. I want say it was Revell but might have been Hasegawa. No one has made a 1/72 A-5A, Revell and Monogram made a "box scale" A-5A that comes out to be about 1/96 scale (IIRC). Right now, if you want a 1/72 scale A-5A you will have to convert a RA-5C. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Boyer Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 1 minute ago, GW8345 said: No one has made a 1/72 A-5A, Revell and Monogram made a "box scale" A-5A that comes out to be about 1/96 scale (IIRC). Right now, if you want a 1/72 scale A-5A you will have to convert a RA-5C. Yup! It can be done: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 (edited) It could have been box scale. Back then, cost was the over-riding concern. It was a stretch to buy the 1:72 Hasegawa A-6. I built a lot of Revell 1:32 props for that reason. Edited May 26, 2018 by Slartibartfast Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted May 26, 2018 Author Share Posted May 26, 2018 Nice one Paul ! Regards, Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rex Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 (edited) yeah, Paul might remember that a fairly famous modeler built an A-5A conversion, in a fairly famous magazine,,,,,,,about 1995 or so? don't remember the exact month, but it was the issue just before Paul's CVW-6 article edit, geez, that really was 23 years ago? Edited May 26, 2018 by Rex Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 4 hours ago, Rex said: yeah, Paul might remember that a fairly famous modeler built an A-5A conversion, in a fairly famous magazine,,,,,,,about 1995 or so? don't remember the exact month, but it was the issue just before Paul's CVW-6 article edit, geez, that really was 23 years ago? January 1993, I still have that article. On day I'm going to attempt to convert an RA-5 to and A-5, one day. BTW, I still have that CVW-6 article somewhere too.🙂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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