1/48 Kinetic F-104A/C kit question..

[F-16]

I am on the fence right now about getting the new 1/48 Kinetic F-104A/C kit.



I was reading this build on Cybermodeler. (1/48 Kinetic F-104G build)

I know the build is the "G" model, but I am wondering about his comment at the end of the article...
"Someone on Facebook asked how the model is going together and the only analogy I can offer is to imagine if Tamiya had just released a Starfighter in 1/48 - that would be this kit."

Is this statement true on the fit of the parts? Are they THAT good and tight? I know the decals are not correct, but I plan on using aftermarket anyway.

Also, what about ejector pin marks? Are they located on the smaller (doors, gear legs, cockpit floor Etc.) parts? Can't tell anything from the sprue shots.

I have also read almost all the reviews/build articles on HS, ARC, Z5, Britmodeler, Modellingmadness Etc. All of them really praise this kit for the details and the tight fit of the parts.

Is this kit too good to be true..?

Scott
CNJC-IPMS

[Alternative 4]

I too read that review before I started building the kit. While it may just be my modelling skills, the fit does not come close to that of a Tamiya kit and I have had to use far more filler than I would have expected and serious amounts of Tamiya tape to try and mask off detail before using filler. I am building a clean Nasa aircraft so wanted it as sleek as possible.

 

- The inserts on the underside require careful fitting and application of filler as they don't quite match the curve of a fuselage. I have two thoughts on this, 1: the insert parts for the G fit better than the insert parts for the A/C or 2: I didn't quite get the fit of the internal parts right before closing the fuselage.

 

- I closed the speed brakes which required filler to close the gaps, they are made to be kept open.

 

- The nose worked out to be a few mm smaller than the fuselage which required careful blending with filler.

 

- The intakes are strange, there are no location pins as such and the fit has a lot of play. To approximate the real thing, careful placement, painting and filling was required.

 

- Adding the electronics bay insert will cause issues when closing the fuselage. I emitted mine and closed that bay over.

 

- Things like the wings, flaps and wheel wells fit perfectly.

 

- I don't recall any ejector pin marks so they can't be too bad. I haven't assembled the landing gear yet though

 

None of this things are insurmountable and can be handled for with patience. But if the starting point is, the kit fits as well as a Tamiya kit you will be disappointed.

 

 

[ALF18]

Interesting that the kit is intended to have the speed brakes open. On the 104, speed brakes are NEVER open when shut down, unless maintenance has manually opened them.

ALF

[Dave Williams]

1 hour ago, ALF18 said:

Interesting that the kit is intended to have the speed brakes open. On the 104, speed brakes are NEVER open when shut down, unless maintenance has manually opened them.

ALF

Unfortunately, almost every F-104 kit has the speed brakes open.  The model companies seem to believe that it’s something that modelers want.

[Alternative 4]

This post provided incorrect information, corrected in the post below by Richb63. I was confusing a beacon light mod with a white formation light on the spine.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Alternative 4

[RichB63]

1 hour ago, Alternative 4 said:

I just noticed the light on the spine of the fuselage is in the wrong place too. Kinetic have molded it close to the cockpit when it should be closer to the tail.

 

EDIT: The light also looks to be recessed when it should be rather pronounced on the A/C model.

 

My references are the USAF Museum C model and the Smithonian's NASA A model fwiw.

The red beacon atop the spine was a late addition to A and C models, not appearing until most USAF aircraft had been retired from frontline service. The flush mounted white (formation?) light forward on the spine is correct.

 

Here’s an F-104A with the beacon mod. Also note the fuselage vent configuration, which differed from from the C’s and subsequent.

 

[Alternative 4]

Ok cool, thanks. I will edit my original post to remove the incorrect information.

 

EDIT: From reading the F-104G instruction sheet, it looks as though part D15 could be modified to represent the aft beacon.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Alternative 4

[DET1460]

Hey F 16

Just got my F-104J/DJ and from the look of the sprues and parts I'm very impressed with the detail and molding of the parts. Gonna make a 'D' of the  Puerto Rico Air Guard in VN camou. Looks to be a very nicely done kit. JMHO.

 

DET1460

[RichB63]

1 hour ago, DET1460 said:

Hey F 16

Just got my F-104J/DJ and from the look of the sprues and parts I'm very impressed with the detail and molding of the parts. Gonna make a 'D' of the  Puerto Rico Air Guard in VN camou. Looks to be a very nicely done kit. JMHO.

 

DET1460

Good choice.

And many, but not all, pictures of Puerto Rico ANG birds show the red beacon installed atop the fuselage.

 

 

[JeffreyK]

Buy the kit if you want to make a C, don't buy it if you want to make an A out of the box without lots of own additions/conversions because you can't. There is no C-1 downward firing seat, and neither the original layout canopy de-mister tubing that went with that. There are also no stiffener plates that were added to the fuselage left and right of the cockpit when the upward firing C-2 seats were installed in A's. As noted above, many A models had staggered hot air vents on the upper rear port side. Next, the panel behind the nose gear, where the gun shell ejector chute is locates, was different on the A, the chute just being a regtangular hole without the guide rails and on the other side compared to the C. The louvres around there had a different arrangement as well.

 

As far as I can tell, the main lainding gear in all Kinetc kits has the beefed-up, fatter shock absorbers from the G and S models so for A, B, C, D, CF, J/DJ etc. you should source alternatives. This is in contrast to the Hasegawa kits which have the early, thinner type shock absorbers in all kits, incl. the G and S.

I'm not sure about the width of the skinny tyres in the kit, correctness to be confirmed...

A nice touch is the separate rudder trim tab which is sometimes seen deflected on the ground on A and C models.

J

[DET1460]

To RichB63

Thanks for the pics! Nice weather detail to add to the 'STAR...' One thing about the kit that's an improvement over the Hasy kit is that there are (correctly) no rivets on the wings. Like I said, nice molds! I like it, anyway!

 

DET1460