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Posted

hmmm sounds good but a little latte they should bring out the B version ..

i wish someone would do the C version .

thomas

Ah but Japan is buying the F-35A at the moment so they will want to do an F-35AJ JASDF as soon as possible. The Japanese market can get the Fujimi B in 1/72nd so Hasegawa are looking to coener their home market with the Correct version and hopefully a much better tooling

Posted

So, is the unit cost of the 1:72 Hasegawa F-35A going to exceed the unit cost of the 1:1 LM F-35A by the time the importer has taken their cut? (Britmodeller, passim c.2010-present).

As Geoff says, I'd guess that the tooling may be a little less...er... er.... snapfix than the Fujimi F-35B.

  • Like 1
Posted

So, is the unit cost of the 1:72 Hasegawa F-35A going to exceed the unit cost of the 1:1 LM F-35A by the time the importer has taken their cut? (Britmodeller, passim c.2010-present).

As Geoff says, I'd guess that the tooling may be a little less...er... er.... snapfix than the Fujimi F-35B.

hi mate i bought the fujimi 1/72 F35B from japan due anytime soon it was £23.00 including postage from there to the uk . to buy it from the USA the kit alone is about $60.00 .. go figure..

thomas

Posted

I hope they will downscale their F-22... Strange I would have thought this to happen before they release the F-35

Rene

fujimi mate ? , is so cheaper to buy and pay postage then from usa again ..

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

fujimi mate ? , is so cheaper to buy and pay postage then from usa again ..

Hmm - I remember some issues with the Fujimi F-22 - not just the price ;-). Maybe I am wrong but from what I recall the Revell offering is still the best in 1:72 (despite the ejector marks and ill decal colours which I would replace with TwoBobs anyway) with Academy second. Hasegawa is best in 1:48 - so a downscale version from them should be best in 1:72 I hope. As I am not in a hurry. But I will check about the Fujimi once more.

Edit: From the few info I could gather on the web it looks as if Fujimi did the best Raptor in 1-72. So maybe I will get one of these :-)

  • 3 months later...
Posted

Well - for those who want closed weapon bays this might be interesting. But IF I would go for an F-35 I would take a closer look on the Academy kit - as I would prefer to have open bays. I suppose the wheel wells and cockpit on the Hasegawa kit could be less detailed as well becasue they are molded together with the fuselage. :hmmm:

Rene

Posted

I gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed with what I'm seeing. Other than Hase seems to have done the best job with the canopy, the lack of any option to display the weapons bays or hang the external pylons pretty much makes me loose interest. Is it just me or does anyone else really hate the cockpit being moulded into the upper fuselage as well? I'll be sticking with the Academy kit.

Posted

Mixed reaction with this one. On appearance alone, it looks to be another refined and sharp Hasegawa product, with the possibility of all the major variants being tooled. The closer you look though, the more you're left wondering...

The wheelbays, cockpit and even the closed weapons bay aren't much of an issue (for me), what I wonder about the most are the intakes. Will they be a gaping 'hole' like their Super Hornet kits or will there be some sort of representation like the Academy kit? I would also like to see inside the fuselage cavity, there may be cut lines to remove the doors for later tooled weapons bays with open doors, much like their F-117A kits.

On the other hand, maybe not...

Posted

The wheelbays, cockpit and even the closed weapons bay aren't much of an issue (for me), what I wonder about the most are the intakes. Will they be a gaping 'hole' like their Super Hornet kits or will there be some sort of representation like the Academy kit?

Looks like full trunking, even with an engine fan in there:

hasegawa_02_of_15.jpg

Posted

i don't mind the weapons bays being closed. Since most all the other F-35's have them open, no real loss there. But the gear bays and cockpit molded in... that i do not get. Is Hasegawa starting their own version of "easy builds"?

Posted

In general the cockpit is pretty sparse... so that's not a big loss. Landing gear bays are something that will be missed.

Posted

Looks like full trunking, even with an engine fan in there.

Thanks Neu, I've not seen that image before and I now breathe a sigh of relief! Comparing the surface details, this Hasegawa kit is more to my tastes being much more subtle. Each to their own I guess. I would suspect (wrong or right) that the seemingly 'easy build' approach may have been taken for economic reasons, having a look at the fuselage sprues, they are just that. Nothing else is tooled on them.

It may be safe to conclude that Hasegawa will be tooling new fuselage sprues for each variant, along with their typical 'side sprues' with specific details... I would still like to see if there are any 'cut lines' inside the fuselage, hinting at the possibility of an overpriced 'with weapons bay/weapons' release, like some of the later limited edition F-117A kits. :mellow:

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Notice the tight closeup on the upper spine with it's view of the carefully recessed panel lines, accurate or not.

Hasegawa got burned, badly, by the 1/48 F-22. This is the result as a very conservative new venture into the realm of U.S. Fifth Generation Fighters.

Too bad about the nature of the execution. I would have expected a more complete external weapons load at least, to compete with the Academy.

Cockpit is about what I expected, though a nice surprise would have been a clear main panel. I imagine Eduard will be along to help but a decent Mk.16 seat is really needed on my side of the Atlantic.

Does the hole in the bottom mean that there will be a stand?

Been a long time (MPC?) since I've seen inserts that large for the vertical tails.

I wish they had adopted a similar attitude towards the EOTS fairing which will be difficult in this scale to separate from the sprue and attach cleanly to the lower nose. The fairing for the real unit in fact incorporates part of the lower fuselage curveature.

Looks to me like they did a better job capturing the curved lined of the lower intake than the other companies and I would expect the thicker plastic to be less fragile. Kudos.

Not such a hot job on the wing LE/TE. Could just be early mold stress.

Also a little unimpressed by the nature of the exhaust. Detail looks a tad soft.

Be interesting to see how sharp the Chine Edge is when the fuselage mates up. This is something that most manufacturers get wrong as the edge on the real deal (F-35 and F-22) is _sharp_.

Here's hoping that something for Italy, Norway or the Netherlands accompanies what I expect will be a very dull: Holloman/Eglin/Edwards mix of USAF birds.

Also would like to see Decal (or mask) RAM panels for the wing covers and TEF/LEF edges

Posted

Here's hoping that something for Italy, Norway or the Netherlands accompanies what I expect will be a very dull: Holloman/Eglin/Edwards mix of USAF birds.

Unfortunately you're not going to get much choice, at least initially. There are only markings for an Eglin 422nd TES 'Green Bats' jet... It's a shame that no 'Foreign' or other test schemes have been catered for as that would add a great deal more to the package. Conversely and rather annoyingly, Hasegawa will be releasing an F-16BM with colourful 'JSF Test Support' markings!

The A-10C seems pretty interesting, I wonder if it will come with a few weapons set sprues to go with the (hopefully not resin) new injection sprue...

Just to clarify, this is Hasegawa's attempt at a quick build 'Easy Kit' hence the moulded in cockpit, wheel wells, etc. The usual quality is still there on the externals as can be seen on the images and a display stand will be included too.

Posted (edited)

I was going to buy the Academy but seeing this I will wait. It's all about pricing. A 'normal' Hasegawa release would be about 40 quid, but I agree that this kit looks like a simplified release, it is certainly not comparable to their Eurofighter. One would expect a more attractive price point. Since the Academy is not cheap (for an Academy kit) at 25 quid, it will be interesting to see what this will go for. At an equivalent price level I would probably forsake all the additional detail on the Academy kit in favor of a more accurate Hasegawa kit. On modern fighters I prefer a sleek look and opening all the bays will spoil that, and if the door inserts don't fit well (they never do) it will be a lot more work to build the Academy.

Edited by sroubos
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

I like the look of the recessed lines on the buildup but have my doubts as to the efficacy of the decals as RAM appliques. I can see how easy it would be to get curl or rip trying to align large strips of zig-zag, just so.

OTOH, if that's just paint, they surely did a lousy job with the 'feathered edges' of the intake plates and the incomplete pattern on the upper fuselage.

Biggest problem with the build however is the lack of sharp edged chines, both on the LEX and on the forward fuselage. Not a good deal there, as the boxart indicates, modern stealth jets have razor sharp upper and lower hemisphere demarcations, so much so that even the pilot's ladder is angled to rest over rather than on them.

There isn't any real reason for this beyond sloppy engineering. I would have tooled that edge in a single piece with the join on the lower fuselage below it.

Price is another issue. Street retail is $37.99 in the U.S. and $34.99 for online shops. The former is probably low. The latter had better be high to account for shipping. As sleek and sharp as the Hasegawa molding is, they are shooting themselves in the foot by asking so much for an aircraft that is smaller than the high grade 72nd F-15 which can be had, on sale, for $18.99 with twice as many parts and 30% larger size.

Here's hoping that, with so little to work with, someone like Quick Boost, Wolfpack or Aires will put out resin ladder compartments, external fuel tanks, wing pylons, gun pods and EWP pods to help dress up this jet as well the F-35B/C sure to follow. That would only leave Hasegawa or Skunk Models 72nd Weapons Sets for AIM-9X, AIM-120C and GBU-39/BRU-61 combinations.

Posted

Overall, it seems to be a decent kit. Hasegawa make no effort to hide that this is a 'Quick Build' kit, hence what you see - a plain and simple kit. The lack of 'Razor Sharp' areas might conflict with the 'easy build' demographic - kids, keep in mind all that health and safety stuff. Personally, I hadn't noticed this area but it doesn't seem so bad to me in the photos. Looking forward to an F-35B and F-35C for some nicely finished, quick desktop models.

Here's hoping that, with so little to work with, someone like Quick Boost, Wolfpack or Aires will put out resin ladder compartments, external fuel tanks, wing pylons, gun pods and EWP pods to help dress up this jet as well the F-35B/C sure to follow. That would only leave Hasegawa or Skunk Models 72nd Weapons Sets for AIM-9X, AIM-120C and GBU-39/BRU-61 combinations.

Hit or Miss, the only thing(s) you're probably going to get for this kit are the typical Eduard pre painted adhesive set(s), possibly a near useless external plate set to replace the decals and a resin ejection seat or full cockpit... The Academy, Italeri and other kits will more than likely get the better deal with aftermarket stuff.

The more I look at the F-35, the more it looks like a a fat chicken trying to fly!!!

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