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Zip da dee doo da! 1/48 kinetic F-104G Starfighter


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 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 The printing is outdated, it’s monochrome, and thus the painting profiles are hard to read and follow.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!

 

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2 hours ago, guillaume320 said:

Awesome build and write up ! I look forward to adding a few to complement my Hasegawa/Daco kits....

 

One question though: Are you sure the ailerons drop as well? I thought they would remain in neutral position 🤔

 

G

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. 

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39 minutes ago, Habu12 said:

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. 

Awesome bit of knowledge, thanks a lot!! 

 

I hope Kinetic continues to surprise us with new releases of the same standard 😀

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23 hours ago, guillaume320 said:

Awesome bit of knowledge, thanks a lot!! 

 

I hope Kinetic continues to surprise us with new releases of the same standard 😀

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. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, it seems to be a great kit, but the hype for this kit is high, so i will still waiting till the price goes down. It was the same with Italeri's F-104 in 1/32, first price was 80 to 120,00 Euros, but later it goes down, so i got mine for 56,00 Euros. So its worth to wait.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The center part of the windscreen is off. The glass should not extend so far to the corner. This leads to the issue that the frame on the left and right is too straight. Overall shape should be more elliptical. Some panel lines are wrong and the intake trunk should extend a little more to the wing rear. The kit is nice, but no need to replace the Hasegawa kit, if you have one.

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10 hours ago, Thomas from ARC said:

The center part of the windscreen is off. The glass should not extend so far to the corner. This leads to the issue that the frame on the left and right is too straight. Overall shape should be more elliptical. Some panel lines are wrong and the intake trunk should extend a little more to the wing rear. The kit is nice, but no need to replace the Hasegawa kit, if you have one.

Thomas from ARC 🤓, what is the last kit you have finished? Can you show it to us?

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10 hours ago, quangster said:

Thomas from ARC 🤓, what is the last kit you have finished? Can you show it to us?

Sure I can. But what has it to do with the fact, that the Kinetic kit has some issues, when they promote it as so excellent? I only pointed out some of my findings. Maybe you did not notice, that I did NOT criticize Habu12´s build, which is excellent, but the kit itself? Anyway, here we go, my latest two WIP´s (yes I also build tanks):

 

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The T-64A is the Trumpeter kit, the M60A3 is the AFV Club kit, which will receive decals from the Revell kit, which has a Forest Green option included.

 

Thomas

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