Jump to content

1/48 - Grumman F-14 Tomcat by Great Wall Hobby (GWH) - F-14A & B released - F-14D in 2024


Homebee

Recommended Posts

Finally the definitive best kit of the Tomcat🤣 maybe they where better of if they designed a Tomtit..

 

Just kidding of course but i think it is detail(gwh) against easy buildable and great fit (tamiya).

So buy whatever you need..

 

Cheers, Jan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Nocoolname said:

Is anybody 'not' making a Tomcat? Should 'I' be making a Tomcat?

Honestly, I'm serious! There seem to be so many doing this kit I feel like I've missed a memo. Like one of those bad dreams where you didn't realise you had an exam scheduled for the day until you see all your class mates walking out and asking where you were. I'll dig out my crayons and start drawing up my version of the kit. To go one up on the others mine will have inflatable tyres, working engines and will actually fly, all in 1/48 scale*. I might also get mine out before AMK 😜

 

*May not be true

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, janneman36 said:

Finally the definitive best kit of the Tomcat🤣 maybe they where better of if they designed a Tomtit..

 

Just kidding of course but i think it is detail(gwh) against easy buildable and great fit (tamiya).

So buy whatever you need..

 

Cheers, Jan

TBH I like the idea of having both options to hand. With the Tamiya I know I can literally throw together a decent build that will still look a treat while the GWH provides a sold basis for hyper detail should I feel inclined. I'm now actually wondering where the AMK kit will sit. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/29/2018 at 7:39 AM, Nocoolname said:

There seem to be so many doing this kit I feel like I've missed a memo. 

 

 

To go one up on the others mine will have inflatable tyres, working engines and will actually fly, all in 1/48 scale*.

Don't worry, airfix missed the memo as well!

 

 

As for tyres, my 80's Hasegawa kit had rubber tyres AND photo etch included with the kit, which was well ahead of its time.

 

Hopefully the gwh slat arms get reduced from the steel girders they appear to be...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, hairystick said:

Don't worry, airfix missed the memo as well!

 

 

As for tyres, my 80's Hasegawa kit had rubber tyres AND photo etch included with the kit, which was well ahead of its time.

 

Hopefully the gwh slat arms get reduced from the steel girders they appear to be...

The Hasegawa kit has really stood the test of time and still makes for a great kit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

There are rumours on social media that this is, in fact, the AMK kit and GWH have bought the project from AMK, 

 

AMK's website has disappeared, their Facebook account has had no updates since November and Martin@AMK who is active on the forums with the Tomcat progress has not been online since November, this is worrying

  • Confused 1
  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/31/2019 at 6:43 PM, thepureness said:

There are rumours on social media that this is, in fact, the AMK kit and GWH have bought the project from AMK, 

 

AMK's website has disappeared, their Facebook account has had no updates since November and Martin@AMK who is active on the forums with the Tomcat progress has not been online since November, this is worrying

Why is it worrying ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, mackem said:

Why is it worrying ?

 

AMK seem merely to be hibernating away from the disappointed pre-orderers and hypercritical line drawing brigade, and it now appears that the GWH project is entirely unconnected. However, AMK's p**-poor communications, or rather an inability to use anything but hyperbole, has done them no favours.

 

Worrying? AMK held out enormous promise is being able to produce models of interesting Eastern European Cold War jets that not many others tackled. They bit off more than they could chew with the Grumman kitty, and really ought to have focused on Russian subjects or — if they really wanted American swing-wings — the first decent 1/48 F-111 series. 

 

Hopefully there are no longer worries about AMK's future in the world of quality kits, just a long-winded and very small catalogue. But, as others have noted, with the slick Tamiyas at the easy build end and GWH everything-out at the other, where exactly will the AMK F-14 sit?  Probably, hopefully, in the value-for-money slot.

 

Tony

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...
  • 6 months later...
On 2/15/2020 at 2:03 AM, Nocoolname said:

All gone quite quiet on this one, anyone know if this is still a 'thing' or have GWH kicked it into the long grass? Their SU-35 and F-15 series are superb so their rendering of an F-14A would make an awesome complement to the AMK F-14D.

It's scheduled for sometime in 2020. It will be Great Wall Hobbies own engineered kit and has absolutely nothing in common with the AMK kit (Thankfully). I'll have to take a look at the GWH 1/72 release to see what may be expected in the 1/48 kit.

 

Right now the 1/48 Tamiya F-14A/D kits are King of the Hill. They are the most accurate Tomcats in 1/48 scale. GWH will have dirty wings and positionable airbrake and flying surfaces, which is an advantage over the Tamiya kit. It remains to be seen if GWH will be as accurate as the Tamiya kit. I don't know if GWH has gotten a licence from Northrop/Grumman and has access to all the drawings and blueprints like Tamiya has. We have seen what happens when kit manufactures don't really examine a subject before designing and cutting molds.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what GWH offers.

Edited by Masinissa
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Masinissa said:

It's scheduled for sometime in 2020. It will be Great Wall Hobbies own engineered kit and has absolutely nothing in common with the AMK kit (Thankfully). I'll have to take a look at the GWH 1/72 release to see what may be expected in the 1/48 kit.

 

Right now the 1/48 Tamiya F-14A/D kits are King of the Hill. They are the most accurate Tomcats in 1/48 scale. GWH will have dirty wings and positionable airbrake and flying surfaces, which is an advantage over the Tamiya kit. It remains to be seen if GWH will be as accurate as the Tamiya kit. I don't know if GWH has gotten a licence from Northrop/Grumman and has access to all the drawings and blueprints like Tamiya has. We have seen what happens when kit manufactures don't really examine a subject before designing and cutting molds.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what GWH offers.

The AMK kit looks and feels like an F-14 and has outstanding engineering. I'm not an accuracy hunter, just a 'looks appreciator' and the AMK kit makes a nice complement to my Hasegawa and Tamiya kits and if their F-15 and Mig kits are anything to go by the GWH kits look to be an absolute knock-out.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, LUCIANO007 said:

"License from Grumman..." lol.

I can take that only as a joke.

 

Tamiya P-38 Licence paid to Lockheed = perfect 1/48 scale kit.

Tamiya F-14A/D Licence paid to Grumman = perfect 1/48 scale kit.

Eduard P-51D family Licence paid to Boeing = 99% perfect 1/48 scale kit.

 

So why do you think having a model that is faithful to the prototype is a "joke". After all when they say "We will make the most accurate F-14 Tomcat in history of models!" do you think kit makers are trying to sell you a "joke"? Great Wall Hobby's first release of the 1/48 F-15 had major shape issues. They fixed them all because they didn't want to be the butt of jokes. They fixed their P-61 and the MiG-29 too.

 

I expect more from a model company that prices their products from $50 - $250. It's my hard earned money. I won't waste it on mediocre kits and modeling products.

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Masinissa said:

Tamiya P-38 Licence paid to Lockheed = perfect 1/48 scale kit.

Tamiya F-14A/D Licence paid to Grumman = perfect 1/48 scale kit.

Eduard P-51D family Licence paid to Boeing = 99% perfect 1/48 scale kit.

 

So why do you think having a model that is faithful to the prototype is a "joke". After all when they say "We will make the most accurate F-14 Tomcat in history of models!" do you think kit makers are trying to sell you a "joke"? Great Wall Hobby's first release of the 1/48 F-15 had major shape issues. They fixed them all because they didn't want to be the butt of jokes. They fixed their P-61 and the MiG-29 too.

 

I expect more from a model company that prices their products from $50 - $250. It's my hard earned money. I won't waste it on mediocre kits and modeling products.

...because this is just scale modelling, and there is no such thing as perfect model. Also, almost everything in scale is based on assumptions... sometimes, wild ones as well... How about thinning the cockpit sidewalls to actual scale thickness? 🤣 🤣 🤣 

 

So, yep, talking about licensing from Grumman or Lockheed for a scale model, does sound like a joke to me!

Edited by LUCIANO007
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, LUCIANO007 said:

How about thinning the cockpit sidewalls to actual scale thickness?


You’re taking it too far. Now that’s a joke. Of course thats never going to happen for any plastic kit in a regular scale. And quite low down on most people priorities I imagine. 

 

What @Masinissa means by blueprints I think is more in the terms of getting the overall shape and profile/cross sections correct and panel lines in the right places too. As in getting a model to be spot on. Something the amk kit has issues with according to the critical reviews. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding "licensing", I don't think it has anything to do with accuracy it's more about copyright. The respective companies own the rights to the name and shapes of the aircraft so the model companies have to pay them off in some cases and say so on the box. I think some of the car manufacturers do the same which is why some of the kits are more expensive than others to cover the licence cost. It's also why some kits don't carry the common name of the item, check a certain 4 wheel drive WW2 American truck, it's rarely called by it's nickname on the box nowadays. I think that's because of licensing. I believe the Americans tried to introduce a law to stop the copyright problems for model kits but it was attached to a larger bill that failed so we're stuck with the problem.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Masinissa said:

Tamiya P-38 Licence paid to Lockheed = perfect 1/48 scale kit.

Tamiya F-14A/D Licence paid to Grumman = perfect 1/48 scale kit.

Eduard P-51D family Licence paid to Boeing = 99% perfect 1/48 scale kit.

 

So why do you think having a model that is faithful to the prototype is a "joke". After all when they say "We will make the most accurate F-14 Tomcat in history of models!" do you think kit makers are trying to sell you a "joke"? Great Wall Hobby's first release of the 1/48 F-15 had major shape issues. They fixed them all because they didn't want to be the butt of jokes. They fixed their P-61 and the MiG-29 too.

 

I expect more from a model company that prices their products from $50 - $250. It's my hard earned money. I won't waste it on mediocre kits and modeling products.

Perfect in ‘your’ opinion. Perfect is a subjective not authoritative term. Besides, it is simply not possible with today’s technology to produce an absolute replica of a real world aircraft in such a smaller scale in any material. That would be the stuff of Star Trek TNG Replicators.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Licensing is not cooperation. Licensing is leasing the right to use the name of the company that produced the subject to avoid potential legal actions. It's a way for those companies to make money without doing anything and I have no sympathies towards them. The percentage of actual cooperation is probably very low. The only one that comes to mind is Revell and Dassault on the 1/48 Rafales. Are there evidences that Northrop actually cooperated with Tamiya ?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, LUCIANO007 said:

Also, almost everything in scale is based on assumptions.

No, it's based on actual measurements of real aircraft. Then they do the math to scale it down. That's why we have Scale Models. Model manufactures will make compromises in internal details and those areas are often not in scale. A compromise is not based on guesswork or assumptions. (Of course there are manufacturers that don't care and it shows up in their products.)

 

I know there are those kit buyers who don't care about accuracy. That's fine. I'm in the camp that likes kits to reflect reality. There is a whole aftermarket industry in the hobby that caters to this market. Just look at all the items in the Quickboost catalog of corrections and enhancements. Floquil Paint Company built their reputation by making paint that had scale thickness. They bragged about this feature of their paints in brochures. If no one cared about real measurements then there would be no aftermarket industry and model paints with fine grained pigments would never have come into existence.

 

"How about thinning the cockpit sidewalls to actual scale thickness?" 

 

Have you used any sets by Aires? The Aires aftermarket ARE in scale and they require you to thin the plastic down to actual scale thickness. The plastic HAS to become paper thin to get Aires resin to fit.

 

The fact remains that Tamiya has the best 1/48 Tomcats on the market today. Great Wall Hobby may take the crown or be second best. We will soon see.  The Tamiya kit is $70, with shipping included, direct from Japan to Los Angeles. AMK is $85 from China. (Yes I had an AMK kit and held the plastic in my hands.) The Great Wall Hobby kit will be over $100. Will I get a GWH F-14? Yes if it's accurate and measures up.

 

Everyone is free to make their choice now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, Laurent said:

Licensing is not cooperation. Licensing is leasing the right to use the name of the company that produced the subject to avoid potential legal actions. It's a way for those companies to make money without doing anything and I have no sympathies towards them. The percentage of actual cooperation is probably very low. The only one that comes to mind is Revell and Dassault on the 1/48 Rafales. Are there evidences that Northrop actually cooperated with Tamiya ?

Tamiya will be at the Chino Airshow in May. I'll get a direct answer from their Execs that weekend. In the meantime it has been reported that Tamiya did get all the engineering drawings and blueprints from both Lockheed (P-38) and Northrop/Grumman (F-14A/D).

 

This trend of getting factory blueprints has inspired Wingsey to obtain Messerschmitt Bf-109E blueprints which they are putting to good use for their forthcoming 1/48 Emil. 

 

78384831_2567091530072835_54521203054660

 

As for companies enforcing their licencing rights - has any company like Hobby Boss, AMK, or Trumpeter been sued for using the names or likenesses of the F-14 Tomcat? They never paid a fee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Masinissa said:

No, it's based on actual measurements of real aircraft. Then they do the math to scale it down.

Theoretically yes, in practice no. It's not possible to do an accurate CAD model without cross-sectional data: fuselage frames, wing airfoils. In theory these are measurable but it practice manufacturer blueprints or 3D scans are required to obtain these kind of informations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...