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1/48 Hasegawa Tomcats.... Does anyone.....


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.....actually build these things? Over the last several years, I have picked up quite a few of them with people wanting to sell off in favor of the Tamiya kit.  I probably should have built one before I bought all of the ones I have. So far, the only issue I have is building the wheel bay boxes, and I am getting ready to mate the upper and lower half of the fuselage. I know the intakes are going to be a PITA as well. 

 

Anyone have any tips or tricks to make that less painfull? Ive seen the articles here by Dave A...

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Luck, that join between the nose and body.....sometimes it works....most times bring out the putty. Same for the beaver tail to main body join. And of course the canopy if you want it closed. The only real tip I have is prepaint the main landing gear and the intakes. It is impossible to mask the gear off tight enough to paint without screwing it up. Really, just go slow and read the instructions.

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Do you mean the detailed writeups on Hyperscale by David Aungst?  

 

http://www.hyperscale.com/features/2001/f14constructiondwa_3.htm

 

These are my bible with building the Hasegawa F-14.  I've built a few, didn't seem that painful.  Yes, you have to be careful, and no, it's probably not as good as the new Tamiya, but I have a bunch of these, and I plan on building them.

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I've completed two and have three in work.  They look great when finished, but are a nightmare to get across the finish line.   Packing them with aftermarket everything is probably the best way to make your life easier.

 

  1. Wheel bays - go with Aires replacements.  Even with all the grinding needed, they are still easier to install than the kit parts.
  2. Cockpit - Again, go with Aires.  Kit parts are a joke fit wise.
  3. Intakes - May God have mercy on your soul.  To make these look right, you are going to have to do some major surgery and scratch building.  The ramps hang too low.  I've devised a procedure to correct them, but it's a ton of work.  The intake side walls need to be extended, tons of cutting of the lower fuselage ramp area, thinning of gear wells, etc. Just cover them up with intake covers/plugs if you still wish to stick with Hasegawa. 
  4. Wings - See the David A. procedure to correct the flaps for the flaps down config.  Not an issue if you pose them in the swept config.
  5. Afterburner nozzles - not bad as is, but Aires and now Reskit make some nice resin replacements.
  6. Wheels - There are three types of main wheel hubs.  Check your refs to know which is correct for the era of your subject.  The best early and mid model wheels are those from Eduard.  For late style wheels, Reskit seems to be the best option.  DEF makes a late style, but the rim diameter looks oversized to me.  Also avoid wheelliant wheels, the mains are far to wide.
  7. Ordnance - AMK makes some nice F-14 ordnance for a decent price.  There's also the Black Box bombcat conversion for the bomb racks, various other sources for BOL rails, LANTIRN pod, etc.
  8. Markings - The F-14 has a ton of unique stenciling that seems to always get missed with most AM decals.  Fightertown makes a nice stencil set, but there's also the old VF Decal sheet that is packed with good stuff (I snagged several sheets back in the day before they went away).
  9. Landing gear - There are some aftermarket options, but not worth the hassle.  I've messed with the G-factor set and I say don't.  The nose gear is nice, but the mains have fit issues.  The masters were based off the kit parts and one of the main struts was built up with parts out of alignment.

So.....you might want to just go with the Tamiya kit unless you really like to put yourself through hell.

Edited by sigtau
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I have one Hasegawa finished and had four in the stash. After I opened the box of my first Tamiya kit, I knew I wasn’t going to waste another minute on the Hasegawas. I have enough chores in my life, and building a model of my favorite plane doesn’t have to be one of them. I sold the two unstarted ones and tossed the two half-done ones in the bin.


Contentment ensued.

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On 2/21/2021 at 5:12 PM, sigtau said:

I've completed two and have three in work.  They look great when finished, but are a nightmare to get across the finish line.   Packing them with aftermarket everything is probably the best way to make your life easier.

 

  1. Wheel bays - go with Aires replacements.  Even with all the grinding needed, they are still easier to install than the kit parts.
  2. Cockpit - Again, go with Aires.  Kit parts are a joke fit wise.
  3. Intakes - May God have mercy on your soul.  To make these look right, you are going to have to do some major surgery and scratch building.  The ramps hang too low.  I've devised a procedure to correct them, but it's a ton of work.  The intake side walls need to be extended, tons of cutting of the lower fuselage ramp area, thinning of gear wells, etc. Just cover them up with intake covers/plugs if you still wish to stick with Hasegawa. 
  4. Wings - See the David A. procedure to correct the flaps for the flaps down config.  Not an issue if you pose them in the swept config.
  5. Afterburner nozzles - not bad as is, but Aires and now Reskit make some nice resin replacements.
  6. Wheels - There are three types of main wheel hubs.  Check your refs to know which is correct for the era of your subject.  The best early and mid model wheels are those from Eduard.  For late style wheels, Reskit seems to be the best option.  DEF makes a late style, but the rim diameter looks oversized to me.  Also avoid wheelliant wheels, the mains are far to wide.
  7. Ordnance - AMK makes some nice F-14 ordnance for a decent price.  There's also the Black Box bombcat conversion for the bomb racks, various other sources for BOL rails, LANTIRN pod, etc.
  8. Markings - The F-14 has a ton of unique stenciling that seems to always get missed with most AM decals.  Fightertown makes a nice stencil set, but there's also the old VF Decal sheet that is packed with good stuff (I snagged several sheets back in the day before they went away).
  9. Landing gear - There are some aftermarket options, but not worth the hassle.  I've messed with the G-factor set and I say don't.  The nose gear is nice, but the mains have fit issues.  The masters were based off the kit parts and one of the main struts was built up with parts out of alignment.

So.....you might want to just go with the Tamiya kit unless you really like to put yourself through hell.

 

You know it's bad when using aftermarket makes it easier. 😂   I finished one up last year, and it will be the last Hasegawa Tomcat I ever build. I'd rather build the Monogram than the Hasegawa. It can be done, but it's just too muich work.

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12 hours ago, Darren Roberts said:

 

You know it's bad when using aftermarket makes it easier. 😂   I finished one up last year, and it will be the last Hasegawa Tomcat I ever build. I'd rather build the Monogram than the Hasegawa. It can be done, but it's just too muich work.

 

Sadly, Ive considered making a trade of 1 for 2 in that direction. I guess if I slug my way through the Hase kit, I will eventually figure it out. I already know my poison with the Revellogram kits.

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I have built the Hasegawa kit at least 20 times. First few sucked, then they got better. As I mentioned before sometimes they come out good, sometimes they make you want to pull out your nose hairs.

Give them a go. They cost much less then Tamiya, and are being unloaded here and at model shows all the time.

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