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Best 1/48 and 1/72 kits of….


DaveJL

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Hello all,

 

I'm tinkering with the idea of adding more WWII aircraft to my collection. I model jets almost exclusively but i've a keen interest in the Second World War, but I never seem to build many subjects; my tally being 3x P-51s and a B-17 in 1/48 along with a T-34, a Panzer IV, 2x Tigers and a SAS/LRDG double in 1/35 (i do have some more plans for that scale.)

 

Anyway, i've made a tentative list of some aircraft that i'd like to build, so any input or recommendations on the 'best' kits would be great.

 

1. Spitfire MK IX

2. Mosquito

3. Hellcat

4. P-38 Lightning

5. Ju-87 Stuka

6. ME-109G

7. FW-190

8. Typhoon

9. Me-262

10. P-47 Thunderbolt

 

EDIT- SEE LAST POST :D

 

 

Thanks

 

Dave

 

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My two Pacific Pesos' worth:

Spitfire - Eduard, by a country mile.

Mosquito - you have a choice of Tamiya or Revell; the Revell finishes a distant second. There's also Airfix: a bit of a mixed bag, but the only manufacturer to offer a two-stage Merlin option (which needs some work to make it look reasonable).

Hellcat - Eduard.

Typhoon - Hasegawa, soon to be re-released by Eduard.

P-47 - probably Tamiya, although the Hasegawa one's not bad either.

 

Sorry, can't help with any of the others.

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58 minutes ago, DaveJL said:

 

1. Spitfire MK IX

2. Mosquito

3. Hellcat

4. P-38 Lightning

5. Ju-87 Stuka

6. ME-109G

7. FW-190

8. Typhoon

9. Me-262

10. P-47 Thunderbolt

 

 

 

 

 

Okay I'll bite.

 

1) Eduard (no competition)

2) Tamiya (although Airfix slightly more accurate in terms of shape)

3) no opinion

4) Early (F/G/H): Hasegawa (correct intakes rear fuselage). Late (J/L) Academy (easier to build; more accurate forward engine nacelles)

5) no opinion

6) Eduard for detail; probably Zvezda for shape and ease of construction

7) Early (A2,3,4) Hasegawa [more accurate than Tamiya; at time of writing rumoured Eduard kits not available]; later (A6, 7, 8, F) also Hasegawa (accurate shape) or Eduard (less accurate shape, complex, but more detail). For D: probably Eduard

8) Hasegawa or Italeri or Eduard rebox of Hasegawa

9) no opinion

10) Tamiya (no competition)

Edited by elger
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My take on this topic:

 

1. Spitfire MK IX           Eduard

2. Mosquito                 Tamiya

3. Hellcat                     Eduard

4. P-38 Lightning         Hasegawa or Academy

5. Ju-87 Stuka             Hasegawa or Airfix

6. Bf-109G                   Eduard

7. Fw-190                    Tamiya

8. Typhoon                  Hasegawa

9. Me-262                   Tamiya or Hobby Boss

10. P-47 Thunderbolt  Tamiya

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in the case of the Hellcat ; the Hasegawa (F6F-5) is very nice , but so is the ARII  (F6F-3)

 

for the Thunderbolt ...TAMIYA  ; miles better than any other kit of the t-bolt.

(if you want to do a late model P-47 (D-30,D-35,D-40) you will have to buy the P-47M kit)

 

Lightning ? I agree with Jessica ; Academy or Hasegawa

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Thanks for the input so far folks.

 

If I were to build a FW190, of the Eastern front, say in 1943 (quite like the idea of a whitewashed camouflage job), which would be the correct model?

 

Cheers!

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36 minutes ago, DaveJL said:

Thanks for the input so far folks.

 

If I were to build a FW190, of the Eastern front, say in 1943 (quite like the idea of a whitewashed camouflage job), which would be the correct model?

 

Cheers!

Hi, DaveJL,

An A-5 from JG54 (Grünherz) seems to fit the bill. Go Eduard or Hasegawa.

https://www.google.de/search?q=focke+wulf+grünherz&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjr6sniyOfSAhVGIpoKHV5YAUMQsAQIHA&biw=1648&bih=890

 

Fernando

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For Hellcats, regardless of whether it's 1/48 or 1/72, Eduard's are the best by miles. The same is true of the Tamiya P-47's in 1/72 or 1/48, they are the best by a huge margin. Go for the Eduard Spitfire IX, easily the best. I have an Eduard Bf109G-5 in my stash and I don't think it looks that complicated for a 1/48 kit. Note Eduard do Bf109E kits and are releasing F and G kits all the time, currently they are a couple of G-6 options, a G-2 , G-5 an F-4 and soon to be released F-2.

 

Also note Eduard are doing an all new tool Fw190 for release later this year, it should be much simplified and easier to build than their current range, I would wait until it's released before judging the best Fw190. If you can't wait, a Tamiya or Hasegawa Fw190 would be the ones to go for.

 

thanks

Mike

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7 minutes ago, Mikemx said:

Also note Eduard are doing an all new tool Fw190 for release later this year, it should be much simplified and easier to build than their current range, I would wait until it's released before judging the best Fw190. If you can't wait, a Tamiya or Hasegawa Fw190 would be the ones to go for.

 

thanks

Mike

 

Yes, and finally an accurately slimmer tail too.

It will be a serious competitor to Hasegawa kits.

 

Vedran

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4 hours ago, Mikemx said:

For Hellcats, regardless of whether it's 1/48 or 1/72, Eduard's are the best by miles.

thanks

Mike

 

I think our miles must be different sizes Mike.

 

The Hasegawa 1/48 Hellcat is as good as the Eduard IMHO. The Eduard has a little more surface detail but the Hasegawa I built fell together whereas Eduard has needed some adjustments here and there. Both manufacturers' F6F-3 kits lack visible detail through the rear windows.

 

Eduard's biggest positive over Hasegawa is price. I'd argue that anyone sat with a Hasegawa kit thinking of swapping it for Eduard on the strength of superlatives on the internet will find themselves disappointed though, because it's not "miles" better - it's debateable whether it's better at all. It's good, don't get me wrong, but the Hasegawa kit is also good and the existence of another good kit doesn't diminish that. I'd be delighted to build another Hasegawa 1/48 F6F and wouldn't at all consider that I was building the poorer kit, now that I've almost finished the Eduard (which has room for improvement as all kits do).

 

My reason for posting isn't to pick an argument, but more to express that the margins between some of the alternatives above are somewhat narrower in some cases than the choice of language might suggest :)

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I always understood that on their 1/48th Hellcat Hasegawa got the "smile" on the intake at the bottom of the cowling badly wrong, whereas Otaki got it about right.  I have not heard the same criticism of the Eduard kits. 

 

Not that I take any interest in what goes on in the strange dark world of 1/48th, you understand.

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With regards to the 109G, it might be a toss up between Eduard and Zvezda - depending what's important to you.  Definitely be aware that Eduard's initial boxing had a mismatch in scale between the wings  and fuselage, which has been corrected in subsequent releases.  They are top choice if  riveted surfaces are important.  There is still some rumbling with the height along the fuselage,and the exhaust tips being about 36mm (or 0.75mm at 1/48) too large.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1476805951/1/Those+oversized+exhaust+stacks+on+Eduard+Bf-109s

 

regards,

Jack

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2 hours ago, SovereignHobbies said:

 

I think our miles must be different sizes Mike.

 

The Hasegawa 1/48 Hellcat is as good as the Eduard IMHO. The Eduard has a little more surface detail but the Hasegawa I built fell together whereas Eduard has needed some adjustments here and there. Both manufacturer's F6F-3 kits lack visible detail through the rear windows.

 

Eduard's biggest positive over Hasegawa is price. I'd argue that anyone sat with a Hasegawa kit thinking of swapping it for Eduard on the strength of superlatives on the internet will find themselves disappointed though, because it's not "miles" better - it's debateable whether it's better at all. It's good, don't get me wrong, but the Hasegawa kit is also good and the existence of another good kit doesn't diminish that. I'd be delighted to build another Hasegawa 1/48 F6F and wouldn't at all consider that I was building the poorer kit, now that I've almost finished the Eduard (which has room for improvement as all kits do).

 

My reason for posting isn't to pick an argument, but more to express that the margins between some of the alternatives above are somewhat narrower in some cases than the choice of language might suggest :)

 

We'll have to agree to disagree. The Eduard kits are loads cheaper than the Hasegawa kits too. The profipack is about £10 cheaper (it also includes mask/etch and some of them resin bits) and the Weekend is normally half the price of the Hasegawa kit, although sometimes you can get 3 (or almost 4) Eduard Weekend kits to the 1 Hasegawa kit. 

 

thanks

Mike

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1 hour ago, Seahawk said:

I always understood that on their 1/48th Hellcat Hasegawa got the "smile" on the intake at the bottom of the cowling badly wrong, whereas Otaki got it about right.  I have not heard the same criticism of the Eduard kits. 

 

Not that I take any interest in what goes on in the strange dark world of 1/48th, you understand.

 

 

1 hour ago, dragonlanceHR said:

Oh there were a lot of wasted electrons when the Eduard Hellcat came out.

It has better cowling and wheel wells than the Hase kit.

 

Vedran

 

The Hasegawa shape is a bit off, but the Eduard parts don't fit together without a lot of remedial work. Eduard's propeller is the wrong shape. Both are missing prominent structure behind the armour bulkhead. Both kits need some modelling skills and/or resin to fix.

 

9 minutes ago, Mikemx said:

 

We'll have to agree to disagree. The Eduard kits are loads cheaper than the Hasegawa kits too. The profipack is about £10 cheaper (it also includes mask/etch and some of them resin bits) and the Weekend is normally half the price of the Hasegawa kit, although sometimes you can get 3 (or almost 4) Eduard Weekend kits to the 1 Hasegawa kit. 

 

thanks

Mike

 

Yep I already covered the price in my post Mike. That is in the Eduard kit's favour.  If you want a really good Hasegawa F6F-3 Hellcat you'll need a resin cowling and some scratchbuilding or AM for behind the cockpit. If you want a really good Eduard F6F-3 Hellcat you'll need to spend an hour or two carefully sanding and fettling the kit cowling pieces to get the left and right halves to mate with the front ring, plus some scratchbuilding or AM for behind the cockpit and an Ultracast propeller. Neither is perfect straight out of the box, unless you don't know what a Hellcat looks like in which case Eduard's best just because it's cheap - but that's not most peoples' criteria for determining which is best. Hasegawa builds without trouble, Eduard doesn't.

 

My issue here is not one of what's best, but the exaggerations used in describing one kit as being vastly better than the other. Both are good kits with strengths and weaknesses. I've built both (well, almost finished the Eduard). I'd not have commented had the previous posts weighed them up and suggested that Eduard was a bit better, but "miles" better? Sorry, no. That's exaggerating any gap by a long stretch. Giving a recommendation one way or the other is fine, but as I said, anyone half-way sensible who goes out of their way to trade a Hasegawa Hellcat kit for an Eduard one will be wondering what all the fuss was about, especially if they'd built the user-friendly Hasegawa kit before. If someone tells you something is miles better than something that is already pretty good, that sets expectations at a level where the Eduard Hellcat isn't going to meet them over the Hasegawa kit. The only thing that really differentiates them is retail price - but if any half-decent modeller picks up a Hasegawa kit 2nd hand at a show they will make a Hellcat out of it that they'll be every bit as happy with as if they'd used the Eduard kit.

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6 hours ago, SovereignHobbies said:

 

I think our miles must be different sizes Mike.

 

The Hasegawa 1/48 Hellcat is as good as the Eduard IMHO. The Eduard has a little more surface detail but the Hasegawa I built fell together whereas Eduard has needed some adjustments here and there. Both manufacturers' F6F-3 kits lack visible detail through the rear windows.

 

Eduard's biggest positive over Hasegawa is price. I'd argue that anyone sat with a Hasegawa kit thinking of swapping it for Eduard on the strength of superlatives on the internet will find themselves disappointed though, because it's not "miles" better - it's debateable whether it's better at all. It's good, don't get me wrong, but the Hasegawa kit is also good and the existence of another good kit doesn't diminish that. I'd be delighted to build another Hasegawa 1/48 F6F and wouldn't at all consider that I was building the poorer kit, now that I've almost finished the Eduard (which has room for improvement as all kits do).

 

My reason for posting isn't to pick an argument, but more to express that the margins between some of the alternatives above are somewhat narrower in some cases than the choice of language might suggest :)

FWIW I had the opposite experience, having built both Hasegawa and Eduard Hellcats: I thought the Eduard was a less troublesome build. I really didn't like the way Hasegawa engineered the wing-fuselage join with a circumferential seam around the bottom that was, for me, tough to eradicate.

 

I also think Eduard did a much better job (though not perfect) with the shape of the engine cowling intakes.

Edited by Seawinder
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regarding the Ju-87, you may want to narrow down which subtype,   for the D and G,  hasegawa is the only option, (unless you like retro modelling)

Ju-87 B, the new tool Airfix has been  getting positive reviews and is the only B-1 available (as used early war, BoB)  though I'm sure they will do a B-2 in time.

The Hase B-2 was reboxed by Revell of Germany, and can be got cheaper used, and will have better decals.

see http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235006818-which-stuka/

for more and why to avoid the Italeri.

 

For a Ju-87 A the only option the Special Hobby.

 

Me262, I've seen various opinions, including that the Monogram kit from 1979 still has the best shape.... 

The Tamiya is highly rated,  but I've  not seen any wailing or gnashing of teeth about the Hobby Boss Me 262 kits, and they do a whole family, and can be picked up cheaper.

I've also not  seen any howling negativity on the Hobby Boss Fw 190D's either.

 

regarding winter finish fw 190's,  there are examples of F-8's in winter whitewash.

eg

Fw190F-8winter.jpg

 

this is a really helpful guide to radial engine Fw 190's A/F/G, 

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/fw190jb_1.htm

 

Having got this far.... 

 

Worth noting that there is a lot of airframe changes for a "Bf109 G"  the advice you have been given is for G-5/6/14 versions.  

 

more examples

the Typhoon , even though they are nearly all Typhoon Ib, they can cardoot or bubble hood, normal or  Tempest type tail plane, 3 or  4 blade prop,  along with a a whole  range of detail changes.

 

Eduard Spitfires are also sub variant specific, depending on wing fitted, apart from that they do come  with all the other detail options.

 

Mosquitos, same again, fighter, nightfighter, bomber, PR, Sea Mosquito ?    

 

I'm not trying to put you off,  but I suggest you may wish to come at this from the other direction,  find a scheme or aircraft   you like, and  then pin down the subtype/relevant kit  you require, though you may find that there won't be a straight kit available.

 

HTH

T

 

 

 

 

 

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18 hours ago, SovereignHobbies said:

 

 I'd argue that anyone sat with a Hasegawa kit thinking of swapping it for Eduard on the strength of superlatives on the internet will find themselves disappointed though, because it's not "miles" better -

 

Hi, SovereignHobbies,

 

I agree, I like Eduard better and if I buy a Hellcat kit today, I would buy one of them, but wouldn't toss my Hases; I already have replacement cowlings (for that "smile" thing) aplenty. Without that, it is Eduard all the way.

 

That said, what is really inexplicable is that people would still consider an Arii kit. Not bad, for the moment and even further, but not today. The same can be said of their F4U.

 

Fernando

Edited by Fernando
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Thanks Troy, food for thought.

 

Re the Ju-87, i'd like to do either a desert version, or one armed with the 2 cannons under the wings - not sure if this was seen in the desert.

 

Typhoon would probably be a bubble top, around the D-Day timescale. 

 

As for the rest, i'm not sure yet, as i say, WWII, although of great interest to me in literature, my modelling of the period is somewhat lacking in knowledge. 

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7 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

this is a really helpful guide to radial engine Fw 190's A/F/G, 

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/fw190jb_1.htm

 

I find the IPMS Stockholm 190 guide very useful as well. It may just be my simple mind, but I like the fact that it has pictures.

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/11/stuff_eng_fw190_01.htm

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