The HB A4E ist not the best Skyhawk ever released. True. But its way better than the Monogram or HC kits.
I think the effort to rebuild the slats is not bigger than the way to fit most of the overpriced and mostly not correct in detail resin cockpits into the fuselages or suuuuuper detailed wheel openings into the wings. My last horror trip was the one with the 1/48 Aires Hellcat parts...😒
I buyed the new HB kit for 34€ and will check the differences against the Hasegawa E version.
Many words are wrote here but no one did it to this time.
I have many Hasegawa Skyhawks but I think the HB kit is an option for guys who dont have 50-60€ for the Hasegawa kit which stil needs weapons and better/thinner decals than the included stickers with mostly wrong colors.
At the moment is no one available on ebay😕
I build many HB kits to this time. They are not perfect but the fit is awesome.
Best regards