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1/32 - Lockheed F-104A/C Starfighter by Italeri - released - new boxing in July 2020


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  • 2 months later...

Nice box art , and that MIGHT persuade me to buy the 104, after he problems with the original release , I don't expect anything much to be be fixed on this release , but the ability to build a Vietnam era 104, without re-scribing is appealing!

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So their G/S seems to be a success despite of the issues.

Hard to tell if it's a success, from what I've heard they are not selling as fast as they hoped, but here the price is likely to be more of a problem than any of the issues.

Personally I've seen the plastic and have passed, at least for the moment. It really looks rough, panel lines are inconsistent across the kit with some that start in a way and end in another, some details that would have looked adequate on a kit 20 year ago and a bit too many errors in the decal sheet. The overall look IMHO is of a semi-finished product rushed into production and considering it's been in development for years (maybe longer than the real aircraft) I'd have expected something better. Especially at almost € 100, had it been in the € 50-60 range a few things would have been more acceptable.

The shape is good though, and this for me is a good point. I might buy one when and if the price goes down (or someone sells me one half price), but if I have to rescribe panel lines, improve details and then have to get aftermarket decals, I might just buy the old Hasegawa that can be found easily at model show for € 20 or so..

Edited by Giorgio N
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I'm not concerned with the alleged "issues" with the original kit. I'd be happy to buy & build the G/S version AND this one. Price however is the deciding factor. If they knock the price down to the £35 - £45 mark then I'll buy but, otherwise I'm afraid the kit is unaffordable!

Allan

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Hard to tell if it's a success, from what I've heard they are not selling as fast as they hoped, but here the price is likely to be more of a problem than any of the issues.

Personally I've seen the plastic and have passed, at least for the moment. It really looks rough, panel lines are inconsistent across the kit with some that start in a way and end in another, some details that would have looked adequate on a kit 20 year ago and a bit too many errors in the decal sheet. The overall look IMHO is of a semi-finished product rushed into production and considering it's been in development for years (maybe longer than the real aircraft) I'd have expected something better. Especially at almost € 100, had it been in the € 50-60 range a few things would have been more acceptable.

The shape is good though, and this for me is a good point. I might buy one when and if the price goes down (or someone sells me one half price), but if I have to rescribe panel lines, improve details and then have to get aftermarket decals, I might just buy the old Hasegawa that can be found easily at model show for € 20 or so..

D'accord, though my philosophy is slightly different...

Waiting to see what AFV do with theirs, its price-point and then assess how much I still want to build the Greek Mount Olympus zipper.

There are just so many good 1/32 scale kits I would like to build before I die, such that I no longer have the time or patience for second best.

Price, given the 40 hours of pleasure, achievement and turning the air blue at difficult times with each project is considerably cheaper than an equivalent amount of time in the pub. I'd rather pay £100-140 for Tamiya quality and have a fun build. The more pricey the kit, the more care taken in producing a great end result, usually. That does not mean putting a £100 price tag on a sow's ear.

Not sure where to position the Italeri Starfighter in terms of quality, but £45 would be a fairer price, given what Revell Germany can do. Their beautiful Hawker Hunter is only £25, the excellent Hawk T.1 about £22, and if they tackle the beloved 1/32 Draken I'd bet it would sell for £35-45. Putting a soppy bit of etch in the box doesn't justify a £90 price tag.

Tony

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  • 4 weeks later...

D'accord, though my philosophy is slightly different...

Waiting to see what AFV do with theirs, its price-point and then assess how much I still want to build the Greek Mount Olympus zipper.

There are just so many good 1/32 scale kits I would like to build before I die, such that I no longer have the time or patience for second best.

Price, given the 40 hours of pleasure, achievement and turning the air blue at difficult times with each project is considerably cheaper than an equivalent amount of time in the pub. I'd rather pay £100-140 for Tamiya quality and have a fun build. The more pricey the kit, the more care taken in producing a great end result, usually. That does not mean putting a £100 price tag on a sow's ear.

Not sure where to position the Italeri Starfighter in terms of quality, but £45 would be a fairer price, given what Revell Germany can do. Their beautiful Hawker Hunter is only £25, the excellent Hawk T.1 about £22, and if they tackle the beloved 1/32 Draken I'd bet it would sell for £35-45. Putting a soppy bit of etch in the box doesn't justify a £90 price tag.

Tony

Tony, had initialy missed your reply, anyway I perfectly understand your point and agree. the Italeri kit really is a second or even third best when compared to what others have done, sometime at a lower price.

And speaking of this new variant of the 104, looks like they have all the USAF and U.S. AIR FORCE titles in black... wrong, these should be in blue FS 15044 ! Again Italeri seems to have missed something that would have only required a bit of internet searching to get right. I know, some will reply that this is what aftermarket sheets are for, but for €100 I'd like to have the markings right.. and we're not talking a small nose art that needs the interpretation of an old B/W photo but a detail that is clearly stated in Technical Orders that can be downloaded for free from the web...

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Tony, had initialy missed your reply, anyway I perfectly understand your point and agree. the Italeri kit really is a second or even third best when compared to what others have done, sometime at a lower price.

And speaking of this new variant of the 104, looks like they have all the USAF and U.S. AIR FORCE titles in black... wrong, these should be in blue FS 15044 ! Again Italeri seems to have missed something that would have only required a bit of internet searching to get right. I know, some will reply that this is what aftermarket sheets are for, but for €100 I'd like to have the markings right.. and we're not talking a small nose art that needs the interpretation of an old B/W photo but a detail that is clearly stated in Technical Orders that can be downloaded for free from the web...

They got some details in the G/S release wrong - like the size of the Italian roundels, you really couldn't make it up! Zotz will be releasing a sheet of USAF Vietnam C's, all camouflaged. Would be good if Victory Productions upscaled their 1/48 sheet. http://decals.kitreview.com/decals/vpd48005reviewdwa_1.htm

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  • 1 month later...

The NASA ship on the sheet 013, lost in the Valkyrie crash, was a F-104N ie a G wasn't it?

Cheers,

Ken

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