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Meng 1/48 F-18 kits


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Hi all,

 

Generally speaking how good are the Meng 1/48 F-18 kits?  As good as 1/48 scale Tamiya kits in terms of quality, fit and accuracy?

They look amazing but wanted to get the inside scoop form members who have built them... I'd buy a Tamiya F-18 in 1/48 if they made one but since they don't I'm looking for a great out of the box build...

 

Thanks!

 

-Greg

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Greg

 

I've built the 1/48 Meng F-18E and it was close to Tamiya for fit. I don't think I used any putty and it gives you wing tips like the Tamiya F-4B with straight or angled pieces for the wing folds. It also gives you metal pins in the pylons to change weapon loads.

 

Don

 

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My personal opinion is that the Hobbyboss F-18E  Is more accurate, and has much finer details. I also hear the fit isn't too bad.  They definitely had their A team working on that one! Just in case you were wondering. 

Edited by Bsin
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On 2/8/2023 at 2:38 PM, eraucubsfan said:

One thing to look at, if you want the F kit, the Hobbyboss kit is a Pre-ACS aircraft.  

 

It has both instrument panels and coamings for early/ACS cockpits. Sprue J has the ACS IP and coaming.

 

Don

 

Edited by DONG
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6 hours ago, DONG said:

 

It has both instrument panels and coamings for early/ACS cockpits. Sprue J has the ACS IP and coaming.

 

Don

 

 

Are you sure about this? According to the instruction sheets, sprue J has parts specific to the Growler. Is this sprue included in the F kit?

 

Mark

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Just checked the instructions for both the EA-18G and the F/A-18F, and both use part G3 for the rear IP, and A20 for the front IP. Hence no difference. 

 

Instructions from Scalemates: 

1387760-98-instructions.pdf (scalemates.com)

1360682-79-instructions.pdf (scalemates.com)

 

As you will see from the parts chart at the end of each of the instructions, the J-sprue don't contain parts for the cockpit. And Sprue J is not in the F/A-18F kit for that matter. 

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@Niels yes that is correct, the F (and G) kit from Meng are ACS aircraft.  I think the question is whether the Hobby Boss F kit has the sprue in the box from the G kit allowing it to be modeled as ACS-equipped aircraft.  From the instructions, it appears that it doesn't.  This is similar to what Hasegawa did.  The sprue is J from the G kit, which contains the different parts needed for the ACS (and also other G specific mods).  

 

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Thanks @eraucubsfan

As this thread is relating to the Meng kit, what Hobby Boss or Hasegawa have done isn't that interesting. That being said, and for sake of information both Hasegawa and Hobby Boss left out the ACS IP in the rear cockpit for their F/A-18F's. Hasegawa have however included it in some boxings, so check the various alternatives by checking Scalemates.

 

Hobby Boss included it in their EA-18G. And as it turns out, these parts are also on Sprue J, so I belive this is what @DONG refered to actually, and not Sprue J on the Meng kit 🍺😅

Edited by Niels
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Yes I was referring to the Hobby Boss F/A-18F, it has sprue J from the EA-18G. I have all 3 Hobby Boss Super Hornets and they look to have the same sprues because the new refueling pod comes in the G kit.

 

Don

 

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