Habu12

I really hope this trend continues. Well, two trends. a) I hope Tamiya makes more warbirds, and b)they retool their older warbirds like they did with the Spitfire. I think the Corsair and Thunderbolt are ripe for that.

Full write up: Tamiya P-38F/G Lightning Box Packaging/Decals/Pubs: 9 Although Tamiya’s instruction sheets have been industry standard for decades, they’re due for an upgrade. More color, and 3D graphics have permeated many others by now. Having said that, the stalwart nature of the sheets make them easy to read and follow. So I might just contradict myself here. At any rate, the decals DO need an upgrade, and many would agree. Sprues: 10 Absolutely zero flash. Superbly molded, and parts gates are state of the art. However, the attachment points on a mating surface, particularly on wing leading edges can be a pain to remove perfectly enough so that you don’t have to use filler. Shape: 10 I find no issues here. Perhaps the Lightning illuminati will find something wrong, but I don’t see it. Subject/Cool Factor: 9 Second only to the Mustang, the Lightning is of course another favorite. Its importance is also not argued. Engineering: 10 Tamiya took this subject to the next level, just as they did with their Spitfire. While there’s no direct comparison to an earlier Tamiya release, it does render the old Hasegawa kit obsolete. At least for an early Lighting, so far. Not hat the Hase kit is bad at all. The fidelity of the engineering makes it a breeze to build. There’s no alignment issues at all. That’s not something that can be said for the Hase kit. The integration of ball bearing nose and nacelle weights make it easy to sit on its gear without issue, It does take away the ability to detail the nose gun bay. I imagine aftermarket companies will work on this, and make a set that incorporates noseweight. BOX SCORE: 48 BUILD Fit: 10 Absolutely superb. No issues. Detail: 10 Detail is fantastic. Without a doubt, the most detailed 1/48 P-38 to date. Most notable is the detail inside the wheel wells. More busy and accurate than any other P-38 kit. The cockpit is fantastic, and much like the Spitfire, an aftermarket option isn’t really necessary. Effort: 10 No issues. A complete delight to build.. Value: 9 $60-75 is something we expect to pay for the F-14 kit, a much larger and more complex aircraft. It’s not unexpected. Costs are just not going to go down. But when you can get a Mustang kit for $20 less that has this level of excellence.. A tick off. Fun Factor: 10 This was an absolute delight. Enjoyed every minute of it. BUILD SCORE: 49 Add it all up and the D score is…97 out of 100 Another exquisite kit from the best in the biz. What else is there to say?

OOB, Sky decals.

I told myself I wasn’t gonna do all gray, but I wanted to get it done before I left on a work trip. Sooooo....

Mr. Color lacquer 337, FS35237 Grayish Blue. It’s more gray than blue with just the right hue. No mixing needed!

I had no issues with the fit. Or with any of the build, really. No flash at all. I almost never have flash in an Airfix kit.

It is here in California!

OOB, Xtradedals.

They all had clear noses. It’s the fiberglass. Some didn’t have them painted over so as to not have the paint interfere with the radar. But underneath all the painted noses was the same material. Semi opaque fiberglass.

This kit still holds up, after all these years. If nothing else, get them for the wonderful box art! Good work!

The only issue I had with the tails were the angles. It doesn’t really lock into place. And I think I did shim it. I’d have to look again.

I did not. The last time I built a fujimi kit, there was no internet. Shows how long it’s been

Thanks, but not enough to not doff some Hase kits. They’re gone. I don’t care one iota about that windscreen. I already got another one of these Kinetic kits coming.

Wow this just came up on my feed again. Well now that I’ve built the Eduard kit, I can fully confirm that they did in fact step up their gane, and the Eduard Mustang is a gem!

Bandai

Dirty! Well used. Man, I was gonna do an Italian one next, but you’ve taken the cake!

No FO whatsoever. The LEDs shine through the holes in the parts just fine. No reflective paint or foil, just opaque plastic. I don’t know about he snap kit, but it’s roughly half the size of the 1/2700 Zvezda/Revell kit.

Yup! For a short time they did. They went to B’s afterward. Btw, fleet squadrons (excluding test/eval) that flew the F-14D are: VF-2 VF-11 VF-31 VF-101 VF-124 VF-213

Bandai’s exquisite new ISD. It goes together very fast. It’s also smaller than I thought, but was a blast to build. And the lighting set looks great!

Yeah I was around a CF-104D many years ago. And I was curious, so I walked around checking it out. And I can say that yes, those leading edges are supremely sharp! Not Xacto blade sharp, but if you swiped your hand or arm quickly on them, You could injure yourself. So I had to be careful, and I was able to manually move the control surfaces. Not easily, but still.

Ref pics show that they droop a little bit. Sometimes they don’t. But I know you can physically make the droop if you walk by one and pull it down. The flaps. Same thing. The flap hinges have the angle molded in, so I just left it be.

Kinetic 1/48 F-104G Starfighter Box Packaging/Decals/Pubs: 7 This is the biggest letdown of the whole kit. But I’ll get to that. The decals are cartograph, so they are of perfect register, glossy, and colorful. There aren’t many, as the only options you have are for German Zippers. And all versions are attractive, with two three-tone camouflage and one Marine jet with the two-tone gray/silver scheme. The instruction sheet belies the excellence of the rest of the kit. Kinetic has been told directly, by myself and others, that their instruction sheets are subpar and in dire need of improvement. The printing is outdated, it’s monochrome, and thus the painting profiles are hard to read and follow. The paint callouts are also limited, as the only paint line referred to are MiG colors. Yes, there is conversion table at the front of the sheet, but who wants to constantly refer to that while building? Kinetic has been advised to look at other manufacturer’s instruction sheets for reference and inspiration. That consultation has still not produced an updated instruction sheet. Sprues: 9 Nice, crisp, no flash. Detail is excellent, and the gates are clearly defined. . Although not quite to the quality of the top manufacturers. Shape: 10 Compared to the Hasegawa kit, it’s almost identical. And while some of the detail in that kit is called into question, that’s not the case here. Excellent shape. Subject/Cool Factor: 8 While not a Mustang or Spitfire, the Century Series are still a very popular subject matter. Although the F-104 is arguable not the most coveted of the six aircraft. In any case, we’ve not had a completely new tool Zipper in along time, and this one is most certainly welcome. Engineering: 9 Kinetic has been known to take the basic layout from other already existing kits. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? And such is the case here. It follows the Hasegawa layout and buuld sequence to an extent, and that’s not a bad thing. BOX SCORE: 43 BUILD Fit: 10 I ad absolutely no issues with the fit that I didn’t cause myself (I stupidly put the nose gear well in backwards). The intakes fit perfectly. The only filler used was on the fuselage underside. In one spot. Detail: 9 Detail is excellent. And the much maligned, overdone rivet detail of the Hasegawa isn’t present on this kit. Not that it’s completely devoid of any. But he rivets are added where most needed, such as around the tail/engine section. Effort: 9 Just a tick off for the confusing build sequence at times. The instruction sheet does leave out some thing like the AIM-9 assembly, and it’s exact position on the belly. I had to estimate that myself. Other than that, no issues with the build. Value: 7 While not an exorbitant price, the letdown with the pubs in this kit really make it difficult to be a higher score. Fun Factor: 9 Fun kit, just the aforementioned letdown. BUILD SCORE: 44 Add it all up and the D score is...89 out of 100 Just missed out the Grade A kit. Fix those pubs, Raymond!

I’ll have a full writ up coming, but short answer, yes! Highly recommended.

This new Kinetic Kit was a delight to build! Full write up soon.