sroubos

Stilll a good kit. Nacelles a bit thin and the props are terrible. QuickBoost has sets for both but don't bother with the nacelles. they are even worse than the kit parts.

Best easily available Skyhawk on the market and not that bad, but surface detail is still crude compared to the Fujimi. A shame that's not re-released more often.

I've been considering hacking up a Hasegawa kit to do the prototype, so I'll definitely get this boxing. I already have the A6M3 magazine version of the FM kit and it is very nice, a bit more detail than the Tamiya kit but slightly less refined panel lines. Both kits are in a different league from the Airfix kit, and I would rate the Hasegawa higher than the Airfix kit as well since the panel lines are much better and it can be had at a similar price. Tamiya and FM are more expensive but you get what you pay for. One thing I will say for the Airfix kit is that it builds very well. It's a pity Airfix have increased their prices so much, when it was a released a few years back the Series 1 boxing was only 6 quid and at that price it is a great buy. I recently got one at Aldi for a fiver, great value for money.

Yes that was the point I tried to make. It will look pretty lousy for the standards of most serious builders which would then necessitate sanding and respraying. That's why I think it's aimed at casual modellers.

Sorry yes the F boxing of RSs P-38 kit. I think they also do a G and an H.

It's probably a coating on top of normal grey plastic, at least that's how they did it on my F-84G. It gets irreparably damaged when you start sanding the joints. Not that you need to do a lot of sanding as the fit is perfect but it's enough to ruin the coating. These kits are aimed at very casual modellers who don't bother getting rid of the glue joints. Hence the decal set, it makes painting almost completely superfluous. Unless you are a proper modeller.

Building the RS F now and I suppose it's pretty much the best game in town but it is one hell of a job. Filler required everywhere and the boom alignment requires some cutting to get it right, which I didn't, so then again, maybe it didn't require cutting... Anyway, it's getting to the painting stage and it comes with some nice decal options so I'm still enjoying the build.

On an unrelated note, does anyone notice how much glue Gregg uses on his kits in that HS video? He always states this disappears under a coat of paint but looking at the mating surfaces around the nose inserts I can hardly believe that. Yet is does indeed not show on his finished kits. Does he use Tamiya ultra thin? I use that stuff but I always have to give it a bit of light sanding, I would never proceed to painting with the kit looking the way it does in Gregg's video.

The parts count and detail on this is just mental. Let's hope it all fits well. I don't know this brand, how are their other models?

I got their A6M3 with the magazine tie-in and it didn't cost me a whole lot more than a normal FM kit. In fact you could argue it's a better deal as you get a very nice magazine along with your kit rather than a cardboard box. Of course you can't read the magazine but it comes with lots of nice pictures, including a few surprising ones.

I think a lot of people in Europe and the States forget that Tamiya is very much a company focussed on their home market. If you have been to Japan you would be amazed at the high profile the company has. It is absolutely out of this world to see how present Tamiya is in public life and in high streets compared to say, Revell or Airfix, which frankly, are names only known to us anoraks here in the west. Tamiya is not influenced at all by what sells in the west. They sell the vast majority of their products in Japan and what they sell abroad is not much more than a sideline, which is why they have virtually no presence here and let everything be handled by agents who charge us extortionate handling fees for their products. I was lucky enough to visit Japan some time ago and I was amazed at the prices their kits went for. Most of the 72nd scale kits were around 7 quid and I got the then relatively new 32nd scale spit for just over 55. So what determines what Tamiya releases? They release what will sell well in Japan and that's a) Japanese planes b) pacific fighters and c) well known other planes. This is why the WarBirds series has a P-51D but is unlikely to ever have a B.

I need this. I like Sword kits; they choose interesting subjects and they build well for short-run stuff.

Italeri kit is much sought after is it not? I think I may still have one. YF-23 should have won. Much sexier aircraft than the 22.

Funny how the Airfix Mk.I was held in such high esteem before and now that a newer kit is coming it's suddenly crap. Modellers are never satisfied I suppose I built the Airfix and Tamiya kits in parallel a few years back and personally I thought the Tamiya was miles better. Supposedly it's not entirely accurate but I don't see it and the surface detail was light years ahead of the Airfix kit. I can hardly imagine how nice the new kit will be. Best of all, perhaps a lot of people will get rid of their old Tamiya kits I can snap some up at decent prices

Looks like a stunning kit. I'll buy it just for the innovative parts breakdown and the canopy framing solution. In the end though I don't think it will result in a better model than the Fujimi kit.