Jump to content

Northrop YF-23 - 1:48 Hobby Boss


Mike

Recommended Posts

Having looked carefully at the model I can't help feeling that something is very amiss with the shape of the top of the fuselage at the area around the front of the engines and on the run down to the wing leading edge. There are marked dips which don't seem to appear on the real thing.Whether it's just my copy or not it looks as if someones pressed their thumbs into the mould before it's set !...Having said that all the review photos I've seen so far look the same.......there is no smooth transition at all !. I'm not overly bothered as I'm going to hack it to bits to make the proposed two seat F-23B or possibly go really mad and go for the navalised version in any case, but for anyone looking for an accurate YF-23..........I'm not so sure !

Melchie the confused ! :shrug:

As I say it looks like someones pressed their fingers into the mould...........all that's missing are the fingerprints...!! The whole point of the shape in the first place is the smoothness of all the transitions.

P1150943_zpsb06652de.jpg

Also the rear of the 'hump' looks too deep...

P1150939_zpsd549311f.jpg

And the real thing..................where are all the wavy lines then ?? can't say I'm overly impressed with it...

ScreenShot002_zps6bc732ca.jpg

Edited by general melchett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks to my eye as if the moulded plastic has collapsed in from the correct shape. Perhaps the parts are being removed too quickly from the moulds and not given enough time to cool?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing a little filler won't fix.

Ummm correction Paul...........nothing a lot of filler won't fix...I can't for the life of me understand these shape errors as there's now a huge amount of data released about the aircraft over the net.......you only have to go over to this site for instance,

http://www.yf-23.net/

Personally I'm not too bothered as I'll deal with it but for someone looking for an accurate oob build then it might well end in tears......

It looks to my eye as if the moulded plastic has collapsed in from the correct shape. Perhaps the parts are being removed too quickly from the moulds and not given enough time to cool?

Col, it almost looks that way........really detracts from the wonderful shape of the thing especially if you're going for a darker scheme...I'm toying with the idea of removing the whole area and scratching the thing again.....but then if I go with the navalized two seater as originally planned it won't matter as it's all going to go in any case !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.

"So, if two were built and both are now in museums, what crashed at Boscombe Down in (IIRC) 26/09/1994 on takeoff? :hmmm::wicked:

The truth is out there!

Christian the Married and exiled to africa"

---------------------------------------------------------------

According to reports, the Boscombe a/c was a 2 seater, and I believe a larger airframe. It sat in the back of a hangar with a tarp over the centre section and someone accidentally left the doors open!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd read about some of the shape issues previously, and yes, disappointing. The intakes are also not correct. See this link. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=260345&view=findpost&p=2551785

My kit (when I get one) was always going to be a whatif, so I can live with the issues. Do I wish that it was better? Yes, absolutely. I hope that Chris/Zactoman will one day finish the 1/32. You can see the quality in that photo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I look at my Hobby Cr@p Vampire and Melchie's post above and feel tears welling up...and a very strong sense of Déja-Vu.

Oh well another pallet of filler please......

It looks a bit more inherent than deformation Col. If that were the case then the damage would be in that valley between the engine and fuselage bulge in my experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am affraid too that it is no deforming after demolding - but simply more of what one seemingly have to expect from Trumpyboss by now. OK it makes a rather nice whiffer but I would expect to get a kit of the prototypes in the first place (I mean both... see decals...). I would not have bought this kit anyway (even if it was a cracker I think) but it is really hurting to see Trumpyboss miss one great opportunity after the other. I whished they would have messed up their Me262 instead - as there is Tamiya out there anyway, but no - they mess up what is without competitor in the market. :chair:

Rene

Link to comment
Share on other sites

they mess up what is without competitor in the market. :chair:

Well, there's some logic to that.

If there's a competitor, try and do something as good and cheaper.

If there's no competitor, as there are quite a few chances the market is not that big (or there already would be a competitor...), occupy the market with something and there won't be any competitor.

Sad for the modeler, but who cares?

Sebastien, 48 y.o. biologically, 788 y.o. if you take cynicism into account...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing a little filler won't fix. You won't stop me having one, lol

Yeah DF, you'll be needing a couple quart buckets of Blue Acryl to fair it all in after you've cut through the plastic of the upper wings, laid down sprue ribs on the lower wing surfaces and added sheet extensions to both the engine sides and wing skins to give the fairings to their proper height. Good grief, _look_ at those wingroots and then compare-

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/yf23roll.jpg

http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=5641

People, I'll say it real slooow: The. Entire. Sectional. Root. Profile. Is. Blown. To. Pieces.

It's not just that the aircraft has multiple stair-step relief in the fairings themselves (that would screw up it's supersonic fineness profile like catapulting the veritable Cliffs Of Dover thru the Mach). I could accept this as a CA+Sheet fix, particularly if these were areas where they popped off RAM panels as a function of demilling the airframes for museum pieces, which I think is likely.

But that wingroot would look in-scale on a 32nd B-17.

And if you look at -where- the 'blended' change in slope from the engine fairing to the wing root itself changes the light reflectance values, it becomes obvious that it is the outboard sectional profile that not only makes the engine fairings look short and dumpy instead of tall and sleek but also causes the panels infront of the engine fairings to look overly swollen as much as relieved because they _have to be_ to pop up from the absurd height of the wing skins themselves.

The photo in the post above crops too early to be sure I'm also not entirely sure that Hobby Boss haven't gifted us with a flattened engine fairing profile overall.

http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/RBButler96130/media/1027131142a_zps3a06890c.jpg.html

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/YF-23_side.jpg

http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/imgs/northrop-yf23-blackwidow2_3.jpg

Notice that, on the real jet, the fairing topline slopes down as it goes forward, from a highpoint just in front of the stabs. It looks flat in planview but it is not.

You look at this razor edge-

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/YF-23_on_side_of_hangar.jpg

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/yf23roll.jpg

And you look at the thickness of the wing where the LEF has dropped in the taxi-

http://www.1zoom.net/big2/11/225585-Berserker.jpg

And you explain to me again why you are paying 70 dollar street retail for a kit with about 90 parts when you can buy the HB F-111 for 80 bucks with 541 parts.

If it weren't for the girls-at-Beetles-concert hysterical squee factor, this kit would be on sale for 30 bucks by January 1.

No weapons bay. No Weapons. No Radar. No Avionics Bays. No dropped/articulated control surfaces (though this was common on the YF-23 to the point of comical until they dampened the control responses to taxying bumps). Inaccurate intakes. Torqued wing roots and engine fairings. No engines. Engine exhaust channels are about 20% too short with incorrect nozzle flap configuration for either PAV-1 or PAV-2. Fictional WHIF operational decals but no PAV-1 markings and indeed, it needs Kursad's Caracal sheet to get the basics right for the TWO prototypes this kit is applicable to because it's not the EMD version.

And with that sheet, you are paying the better part of Benjamin for a kit that is neither fish nor fowl. Derp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have to agree with Hit and Miss, (very appropriate !), It really is only good for hacking up and whiffing.

I love the stuff written in the little flyer that comes with HB kits referring to the kit, not only is it a 'new tooling' but it also has.......

,

DSC_0124_zps28594dc2.jpg

DSC_0125_zps70f59521.jpg

I wonder who or what this was in reference to ??

And I'am always a bit suspicious when the box is a little vague about the subject matter !!

DSC_0126_zpsfa00756e.jpg

Hmmmm..... :shutup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, for a parts count that may actually be less than that of a Monogram F-15C (around 18-21 dollars), we have a jet which assembles with less detail than a 72nd scale Testors kit from almost 25 years ago. And costs nearly double that of a Hasegawa F-22A (33 dollars) without the convenience of a monolithic top and bottom fuselage pancake.

And you explain to me again why you are paying 70 dollar street retail for a kit with about 90 parts when you can buy the HB F-111 for 80 bucks with 541 parts.

Fella - you need to shop around. This kit is on sale in the UK for £29.99 (which should make it $48 in the US), whereas the Hasegawa F-22 that you mentioned earlier is on sale in the UK from anywhere between £40 and £75 - so I'm not sure how, unless the prices in the US are wwaaaayyyy different to ours, the HB kit can be "twice" the price of the Raptor! I agree with much of what has been said on here and those odd depressions on the upper fuselage half may cause some head scratching, but there is still a lot of plastic in the box for the modeller to enjoy - and how much do you think the kit would have been if it had contained all of the features of the Raptor? £50? £60? £70?! Despite the errors in this new kit, spending 30 quid on it seems value for money given the fun you can have with it - and the fact that I spent more than that last night with my friends and all I have to show for it this morning, is a headache... ;)

Spence

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Snapshot in time (Squadron USA prices, not necessarily the lowest in the market!):

1:48 Hobby Boss YF-23 $63.00

1:48 Hasegawa F-22 $81.00

1:48 Hobby Boss FB-111 $99.00

YMMV - none of these are "sale" pricing, so it's always possible that you can find it cheaper somewhere else.

Cheers,

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Spence,

Here's some prices for you:

Hasegawa Raptor, Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Hasegawa-48-F-22-Raptor-USAF/dp/B0038JCAKI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384985037&sr=8-1&keywords=Hasegawa+F-22

Hobbyboss F-111D/E, Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobby-boss-1-48-80350-F-111D-E-Aardvark-/121158844255?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item1c35a13f5f

Hobbyboss YF-23, Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Hobby-Boss-Prototype-Airplane-Building/dp/B00EP5VUFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384985533&sr=8-1&keywords=Hobby+Boss+YF-23

Now, keep in mind, that when this kit came out, it could be had for as little as $52.00. I know this because I bought one from a disreputable secondary seller: 'Phil's Hobby Shop', online out of Amazon. A week after the sale, this dealer hadn't told me why he hadn't shipped and would not tell me why he had stock when I ordered but now had none. Wouldn't tell me if the price was good for a restock or when it was due in. All but demanded that I accept a refund and then cancelled my order outright, when I got Amazon involved.

Why? Because 'Kevin', of Phil's Hobby Shop, is a complete shyster and should not be dealt with for any reason.

But beyond this, the kit was so /incredibly/ popular that it sold out, almost immediately. Much to everyone's shock and delight (because apparently nobody does a head count at the Big Four U.S. model sites and so didn't know how avidly this model was awaited). And all the restocks are now aiming towards 69 dollars. That's 69 + 10-15 shipping. In the hobby shops, it's closer to 80 outright.

Which is why I no longer buy from Squadron because the free shipping amount is now well over the 100 bucks it used to be and retail storefronts are simply too hard for me to get to.

I can buy the YF-23 off of EBay UK from a storefront seller for about $47.50 but then I get the joys of a PayPal account and international shipping of around 20 bucks and since Paypal is what essentially cost me my whole life's material wealth, I refuse to deal with them either.

The reason the Hasegawa F-22 is low priced is because the raised RAM stripping, while accurate (in the same way that the Tamiya F-117 'panel lines' are accurate) has made it a pariah, especially after Academy retooled their own kits unfortunate shaping (nose) and proportional size (verticals/stabs) issues, while having always come with much better weapon loads and a fantastic decal sheet.

The result is that the Academy 'second best alternate, to be used for spare parts on the soon to arrive Hasegawa', while roughly 44 dollars when it came out, no goes for about 70 bucks as well and the Hasegawa, which has the by-far superior shape and finer details, is now the red headed step child in the bargain bin.

And I do shop around.

Here's a truth: including international shipping we are paying between 400-700% markup on the value of these kits. From Monovell to Trumpeter, the pricing of these kits would be half what it was if we retained a single in-States company with control over owned molds and packaging. So much for outsourcing to cheaper labor.

And the Chinese manufacturers are particularly guilty because they saturate the market with very low research quality 'as fast as you can own the market base' (like Italeri but with better tool die cutters), digital CAD kits, made by slave labor and robotics. If I can pay 60+10 for a YF-23 with 90 odd parts and 65 for an F-111, flawed as it is, with 541, there is _no way_ that the value of the plastic and cardboard involved in the packaging is anywhere's near real, for either of them. Because the F-111 is as big as the YF-23. And the YF-23 doesn't have the detail that the Hasegawa Raptor does, at one third the price.

Just like I said.

Sorry about the headache. I'll go scream my frustration outside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I received my decal sheet from Caracal Models today, just a week after being dispatched! amazing since its Christmas.

They are absolutely superb, the quality is stunning & the instruction booklet is great quality. I just need Santa to deliver the YF-23!

Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...