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New Thunderbird Kits!


HL-10

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I just Googled it and the finished model looks like a really poor 'snap-fit' kit.

Hopefully it will be better when we see some proper shots of the finished kit.

http://www.taghobby.com/1-0/1-2/takaratomy-2016%E5%B9%B42%E6%9C%88%E7%99%BC%E5%94%AE%EF%BC%9A-%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B-thunderbirds-real-kit-02-1144-thunderbird2%E8%99%9F%E6%A9%9F-4%E8%99%9F%E6%A9%9F-4800yen/

Roy.

Edited by roymattblack
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Is this a snap fit? Some pics on the web look like it has pretty big seams.

http://www.play-asia.com/thunderbirds-1144-scale-real-kit-thunderbirds-2-4/13/709gzt

Still OK as a starting point if you want to make it look better though.

David

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Is this a snap fit? Some pics on the web look like it has pretty big seams.

http://www.play-asia.com/thunderbirds-1144-scale-real-kit-thunderbirds-2-4/13/709gzt

Still OK as a starting point if you want to make it look better though.

David

Did you see the 1/48th Mole "Real Kit" down the bottom of the page? £45.46

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Ordered one from HLJ so we'll see what its like when it arrives.

I tried to finish the new Aoshima Thunderbird 4 last night but the decals went to hell in a handbasket! Very delicate and fragile, so I've emailed Aoshima to see if I can get a spare set.

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As all the text is black, could you not print your own on clear decal film?

...And when the 'new' TB2 arrives, it would be great to hear how big it actually is.

Not another 7" one hopefully...

Roy.

Edited by roymattblack
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I read somewhere it's about 240mm - so not big. That doesn't reconcile to the claimed 1/144 scale unless the new TB2 is much smaller than the original.

David

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Sorry to hear about he decals- other than that how was the kit?

It was pretty good, went together without any problems, shape-wise it was good, the only issues were the pilot is well underscale and the red engine tubes at the back are moulded as part of the main hull, so you need to paint them red BEFORE painting the rest yellow otherwise the masking it a total bugger! (guess how I found that one out!)

It comes with a motor and a choice of under-hull pieces to allow you to put wheels on it or a proper hull. It also comes with a small blub to put in the light strip, along with some electrical connectors and a small switch

DSC_4443.JPG

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DSC_4448.JPG

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DSC_4446.JPG

As for size its about right for 1:48 scale. Here it is next to my Imai which sclaes out to 1:60

DSC_4451.JPG

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You get a nicely detailed cockpit and an assortment of tools for the front "tubes". This is the Gordon figure next to an Airifix 1:48 Spitfire pilot

DSC_4471.JPG

I thought I had a build thread for this somewhere but I appear to have lost it and I haven't been taking photos of the build since I finished the Eagle last week... I've put it to one side until I hear back from Aoshima. As for making Decals - I could do that, but I had to do it for the Imai one and that was a PITA so I'm going to see if Aoshmia will help first - they were very good about my request for a set of decals for the Mole a couple of years back.

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Yes - one of the problems with the Imai one was the roof over the cockpit - this one has a better shape.

I do have a concern over the red engine pipes - I think they may be too long, but to be honest that won't be hard to fix - if you cut them off and reattach it also gets around that masking problem I mentioned before :)

I'll take some proper pics when the model is finished, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.

Edited by Kallisti
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Never heard of "Takara Tomy".

Seriously? They're one of the largest toy manufacturers in Japan, if not the world.

Micronauts? Transformers? Tamagotchi? Beyblade? Choro-Q? Bit-Char-G? Tomica? Zoids? Furby? Bllip? Omnibot?

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Seriously? They're one of the largest toy manufacturers in Japan, if not the world.

Micronauts? Transformers? Tamagotchi? Beyblade? Choro-Q? Bit-Char-G? Tomica? Zoids? Furby? Bllip? Omnibot?

Yes, never heard of them.

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Until I started investigating the world of Japanese Thunderbirds toys I'd also never heard of them either. They may be one of the biggest toy companies in the world, but they don't appear to market to the UK directly so its not surprising. Maybe they use another name in the UK...

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The Aoshima Thunderbird 4 kit is on my short list- I have an unbuilt Imai one but keep putting it off- so much work needs to be done to make it look right. Aoshima did such a fantastic job with Thunderbird 3 that I was looking forward to seeing what their take on TB4 would be like.

The wheels bother me a bit since a lot of the japanese kits have that play action feature fixation, but then again we did see TB4 did operate out of the water occasionally so some sort of lower gear was implied. I assume the motor was for the wheels or does it have another purpose?

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... but then again we did see TB4 did operate out of the water occasionally so some sort of lower gear was implied. I assume the motor was for the wheels or does it have another purpose?

When did TB4 operate out of the water on wheels/rollers?

I don't recal such an episode.

Roy.

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Isn't there one when TB2 is disabled and TB4 runs down and launches from a ramp on the edge of the island?

David

Yes, in the episode Terror in New York City. The US Navy shot down Thunderbird 2 because they couldn't identify it (a quarter of a century before the USS Vincennes did it for real with an Iranian airliner). So Thunderbird 4 had to be launched from a ramp when, er, the Empire State Building collapsed when it was being moved to a new location and two men were trapped in an underground river.

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I read somewhere it's about 240mm - so not big. That doesn't reconcile to the claimed 1/144 scale unless the new TB2 is much smaller than the original.

David

The "real" Thunderbird 2 is 250ft long. This would result in a model near 21 inches (approx. 52cm) long in 1/144 scale. A pretty sizeable model. If the TB2 kit here is only 24 cm long the it clearly is NOT 1/144 scale. Also, as pointed out earlier it looks like a very poor snap together toy rather than a proper kit. Think I will pass on this. Now, if someone would produce a decent sized of the Thunderbird Shadow............................................!!! That really WAS uber cool!!

Allan

Edited by Albeback52
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