delta99 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 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? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 The best 1/48 F-14A is probably the newish Tamiya kit. I would probably choose the Hasegawa kit over the Academy kit, but Hasegawa isn’t cheap either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 What scale? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
delta99 Posted December 21, 2019 Author Share Posted December 21, 2019 2 hours ago, habu2 said: What scale? 1/48 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vaildog Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okthree Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Tamiya. Accurate, good fit, no drama. Tamiya. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
delta99 Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 12 hours ago, Vaildog said: Just buy the Tamiya bro. Life’s too short to waste on inferior kits. Lol, that's good advice. I may spring for it if it's worth the money then Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mstor Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 I'll echo everyone else. Tamiya 100%. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anj4de Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Napalmakita Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
delta99 Posted December 24, 2019 Author Share Posted December 24, 2019 Thanks to everyone for the input. It sounds like the tamiya kit is worth it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bushande Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) 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 December 29, 2019 by bushande Quote Link to post Share on other sites
0viking0 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 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? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Completely finished. I tend to build fast, though, so I'm probably an anomaly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SERNAK Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) 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 December 30, 2019 by SERNAK Quote Link to post Share on other sites
echolmberg Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) 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 December 31, 2019 by echolmberg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bushande Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 (edited) 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 January 1, 2020 by bushande Quote Link to post Share on other sites
is it windy yet? Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 12/21/2019 at 10:38 PM, Vaildog said: Just buy the Tamiya bro. Life’s too short to waste on inferior kits. Testify, brother. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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