Tamiya A-10A

[ElectroSoldier]

Any comments on the Tamiya A-10A kits?

I remember building a few long long time ago when I loved them from beyond the Woodbridge and Bentwaters wires.

I remember them going together well, with only a little filler needed here and there but otherwise it could have been built with only a knife, glue, brush and a handful of paints.

Im not really looking to build any of the later modification, I just want those whining war hogs with a WR on their tails

Also, I remember it had 2 ECM pods on the wings tips,and I also remember cutting them off because the WR jets didnt have them.

And the kit includes a large range of weapons, but the CBU, is it a CBU-87/89 type?

Any and all comments on it are welcome.

[Keith Diamond]

I have two of them. Started on both, but not yet finished. It represents the prototype A-10 and has some mistakes because of that. The ejection seat included is an Escapac, which is what the prototype had, instead of the ACES II which the production version has. The cockpit is very bare and the control are represented by decals. The details on the outside of the airframe are also lacking, particularly the rivet detail on the emppenage. As for the weapons, I thought they lacked detail and just didn't look right, especially the MER included in the kit. I'd say ditch them and find some from another kit or the Hasegawa weapons kits. I have A-10 kits made by Monogram (now Revell Monogram), Revell, ESCI, and Tamiya. I'd say the Tamiya kit runs a distant second in overall detail to the Monogram kit. I haven't started on the Revell kit, so I don't know how that is. HTH.

[Spaced Marine]

I'd go Monogram all the way. Avoid Zhengdefu like the plague (and its hobbycraft rebox). I'm hoping the newly anounced Hobbyboss kits will me more modern in tooling. Only time will tell.

[Dave Williams]

I'm pretty sure the kit doesn't have CBU-87s. The kit was out long before those existed and is from the early Tamiya days (Harrier, F-15, YF-16, etc.). Nothing like Tamiya quality nowdays. As Keith said, its an old kit and has come prototype features. It was originally released with early markings and then later reissued with some minor updates like gun vents, but always had the ESCAPAC seat. Also the weapons are pretty bad. Aside from things the A-10 never carried, the shapes are off and weapon details crude.

The Monogram kit is better and probably cheaper too.

[ElectroSoldier]

The cost is about the same, and there are less monogram kits about

Maybe the CBU is a Mk20 Rockeye II...

Yes I know what you mean about the age and the MER, I remember seeing a hog clutching a MER and thinking it doesnt look like that when I was a kid...

I think at the price I might go for one, but get some nice detail sets...

[Steve Filak]

They're Rockeyes. As Dave said, the kit was originally released long before the CBU-87 existed. As has been mentioned, the kit represents an early A-10 prototype, and lacks many of the details found on production aircraft. It also lacks much of the prominent rivet detail that you'll find on the Monogram kit, and the cockpit is almost devoid of detail. There is also no DRA or Sidewinders included.

(As an aside, I can't understand why R/M couldn't have upgraded the weapons when they re-popped the kit last year. Gray plastic and different decals does not a new kit make).

On the plus side, the Tamiya kit goes together MUCH easier than the R/M kit. Assembly, particularly alignment of the major assemblies, is much more simple.

[Randy Wise]

As a matter of personal choice, I'd rather build (and have done so) the Monogram Bolt as opposed to the Tamiya version.

Randy

[Julien (UK)]

I remember building a few long long time ago when I loved them from beyond the Woodbridge and Bentwaters wires.

.......

Im not really looking to build any of the later modification, I just want those whining war hogs with a WR on their tails <_<

Do you need any decals, I found a partial the other day with some UK A-10's on it.

Julien