Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I'm sorry if this has been asked before. The search function isn't great, and my search skills are weak. I got the Revell F-14A kit to build Maverick's Top Gun fighter. I'm part way through construction, and the parts fit is apalling. It's going to take an immense amount of bondo and sanding to make this kit display worthy. I'm throwing in the towel on it. I'm here to ask for recommendations on alternative kits. I don't like the price of the Tamiya kit. Is the Academy kit any good? My second choice would be the Hasegawa kit. Any comments on the quality of these kits?

Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, delta99 said:

I'm sorry if this has been asked before. The search function isn't great, and my search skills are weak. I got the Revell F-14A kit to build Maverick's Top Gun fighter. I'm part way through construction, and the parts fit is apalling. It's going to take an immense amount of bondo and sanding to make this kit display worthy. I'm throwing in the towel on it. I'm here to ask for recommendations on alternative kits. I don't like the price of the Tamiya kit. Is the Academy kit any good? My second choice would be the Hasegawa kit. Any comments on the quality of these kits?

 

This article will help you.

 

Monogram Tomcat shortcuts

 

I've built close to 100 of them. Once you know the shortcuts, the Monogram kit isn't too bad. With that said, the Tamiya 1/48 Tomcat is fantastic. It's pricey, but it's worth every penny. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, delta99 said:

I'm sorry if this has been asked before. The search function isn't great, and my search skills are weak. I got the Revell F-14A kit to build Maverick's Top Gun fighter. I'm part way through construction, and the parts fit is apalling. It's going to take an immense amount of bondo and sanding to make this kit display worthy. I'm throwing in the towel on it. I'm here to ask for recommendations on alternative kits. I don't like the price of the Tamiya kit. Is the Academy kit any good? My second choice would be the Hasegawa kit. Any comments on the quality of these kits?

 

Just buy the Tamiya bro. Life’s too short to waste on inferior kits. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ditto... in 1/48 Tamiya. 

7 minutes ago, Vaildog said:

 

Just buy the Tamiya bro. Life’s too short to waste on inferior kits. 

Ditto...in 1/48, Tamiya is the best, hands down. Worth every penny, or yen, or euro, or whatever your currency. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello all

 

Everything has been said...Tamiya, then Monogram. Those two are the closest to the real thing in shape and form. If you go shopping for a Monogram Tomcat it is best to check online for the older kits. The older the better. I have a new(er) Revell boxing here and the molds meanwhile are clearly on the finsh line...worn out. In order to beaf up the Monogram kit a bit you could use left over parts of the Tamiya kit. I added resin wheels and Verlinden seats to my Tamiya Cat and used only half the weapons...the original parts will look very nice on a Monogram bird.

 

cheers

Uwe

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/22/2019 at 10:46 AM, delta99 said:

Lol, that's good advice. I may spring for it if it's worth the money then

The 'worth' is in the pure fact that you can sit down, look at the instructions and feel confident that the build will go the way it's supposed to.  Instead of cutting pieces off, sanding n filling, finding tricks to get parts lined up..you can actually enjoy a build without major issues and have fun creating. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/21/2019 at 9:38 PM, Vaildog said:

 

Just buy the Tamiya bro. Life’s too short to waste on inferior kits. 

 

I would disagree. It depends on what you want out of modeling. I enjoy building some of those "inferior" kits for the pure nostalgia. I also build the "inferior" Monogram Tomcat because I can find them cheap and can use the dozens of decal sets I have. You can't do that with the Tamiya Tomcat unless you are independently wealthy. 10 Monogram kits cost me $100. 10 Tamiya kits would cost over $800. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Tamiya, period!

However, as said before, the Revell/Monogram kit is - except for mini-flaws that can eithe rbe sanded away or corrected with Darrens nice resin sets - just close behind in terms of shape accuracy. However, it is really just a kit for those modellers, who know the Tomcat well enough, don't want to spend the dime on the new expensive kits and most importantly who take joy in spending lots of time on one specific kit attending to it's flaws and looking for the details on the orginal and how to incorporate them in the kit. The Monogram kit is only for those Tomcat afficionados witha great deal of time and patience. I agree with Darren, Monogram is still my favorite right after the new Tamiya. If I was you, I'd spend the dime on a Tamiya and keep the Monogram for later.

Edited by bushande
Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/24/2019 at 2:43 AM, Darren Roberts said:

I did a speed build on the Tamiya Tomcat to see how long it took. From the cutting of the first piece off the sprue to the last fiddly bit added on was a grand total of 17 hours.

For a finished model or only dry fit?

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/22/2019 at 5:38 AM, Vaildog said:

 

Just buy the Tamiya bro. Life’s too short to waste on inferior kits. 

The problem when building a kit in 1/48, such as the F-14 and particularly a collection for example, the NFWS/NSAWC Tomcats, is that you need more than one kits, and therefore the whole project gets quite expensive.

 

From personal experience (and I'm still trying to buy more kits and decals - if I can find any!!!) I can say that I have spend (so far) more than $1000 to buy as many A-4s, F-5s, F-21s, and etc., in order to create an Adversary collection that besides NFWS, will include all the West and East coast adversary squadrons.

 

Now, regarding the issue of which is the best 1/48 Tomcat? I agree with the rest of the Arc'ers that Tamiya's is currently the best. Though, I would wait until Academy releases a new mould Tomcat in 1/48.

Edited by SERNAK
Link to post
Share on other sites

As others have said here, Monogram is the way to go.  They're not that difficult and all you need are basic modeling skills to end up with a good-looking build.  With the Tamiya kit being 6x more than the Revellogram kit, I can get the Revellogram one plus five other other model kits.

 

Eric

Edited by echolmberg
Link to post
Share on other sites

very true on the Revellogram! However, it may be only second to Tamiya regarding an accurate eshape (particularly the rear end and the shape around the canopy are just gorgeous) and the price is unbeatable and yes, the few fixes that it needs, especially correcting the radome (if you can't find Darrens splendit nose correction)and rescribing the raised panellines can be done by any halfway decently talented modeller,  but! ..... You just need to know your stuff about the Tomcat version you want to depict. In that respect the kit is just a crude mix of all three iterations of the F-14 and if you really want an authentic replication of the original you need to properly know or educate yourself about the F-14. If you know spit about the F-14 but still want a correct depiction of the original without deving too much into the matter of the original, then you won't get around the Tamiya at the moment. I will not mention the AMK .... there are over 300 pages on this dreaded subject here on this forum.

Edited by bushande
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...