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F-104 Starfighter


Andy350

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1 hour ago, Bullbasket said:

Your satnav is playing up as you've navigated your way into the afv section. Ask one of the mods to move it.

 

John.

Sorry John, I'm not having much luck!!!  And I've been using forums for over 20 years now.

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The Italeri 1/32 version is very good (not perfect - but what kit is?). Now it's been out a few years, you can get it for a discounted price. 

 

The Hasegawa 1/32 is an old mould but still holds up reasonably well (if your wanting to avoid any extra expense with aftermarket, the Has is not one to buy, though).

 

The Hassy 1/48th has a good reputation (but like anything with the Hassy logo on it, it's definitely not cheap).

 

The Revell 1/48th is OK, but is definitely showing signs of its advanced years.  

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Chris. 

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While the mods will sure move the thread in the aircraft section, here's some more info in addition to what has been written before.

In 1/32 the Italeri kit is much more modern than the Hasegawa offering, the latter can be found for good prices but it's a kit from a different era, think raised panel lines and little detail. The Italeri kit on the other hand is pretty recent, quite accurate and well detailed. Is it a quality product ? Tricky one... it's without doubt a very good kit but I personally feel that the surface detail is not what I'd expect from a kit of that price. Yes, it's the best 1/32 Starfighter on the market, but at £90 or so I fell that Italeri could have done better and the same company IMHO did better with the 1/732 Mirage III. It will sure result in an impressive model though and as the F-104 is a relatively compact aircraft it will not take too much shelf space.

 

In 1/48 there's Hasegawa and the recent Kinetic kits that would likely fulfil your idea of quality. Of the two, the Kinetic one is the best, a very recent kit (only been out for a month or so) with great detail. And a price to match... My only gripe is that the decal sheet does not offer all the stencils that literally cover the Starfighter.

The Hasegawa kit is still very good, although the representation of rivets on the rear fuselage and tail is overdone. Can be improved with plenty of aftermarket products of course, that will bring the price up. Hasegawa issues may be expensive but Italeri recently reboxed this kit at a decent price, look for their F-104G Special Colors box. IIRC Italeri will reissue the kit with new markings soon.

Eduard also boxed the Hasegawa kit with the addition of some extra parts and great decal sheets in a couple of issues, one for German aircraft and the other for various NATO air forces. Neither is really easy to find today.

 

Overall I feel that today the highest quality kit is the Kinetic 1/48 offering. The Italeri 1/32 offering is also very good and will lead to most impressive model of the 3 but I feel that Italeri could have done better. The Hasegawa 1/48 kit is still a good contender, particularly with the DACO improvement set. In any case I think that any of the 3 kits will make you happy.

 

IMHO none of the other kits on the market is worth considering if you're looking for a quality product. The Esci and Monogram (today available from Revell) kits are not at the same level, the Monogram/Revell kit can be found for cheap but it's an older kit and it shows. Same for the 1/32 Revell kit, can compete with the old Hasegawa one but not with the Italeri offering (but can be found for 1/3 of the price...). The 1/48 Hawk/Testors kit is ancient and toylike.

 

One last comment: keep in mind that Starfighters can be addictive ! Once you've made one you may want to build another one soon... 😃

Edited by Giorgio N
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Thanks for the excellent advice, I'm finding this a bit of a minefield, with different manufacturers and different aged kits.

 

I've found this 1/48 from kinetic, not too sure about the camouflage.  

 

https://www.emodels.co.uk//kinetic-1-48-lockheed-f-104g-starfighter-48083.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0brtBRDOARIsANMDykbPApxS6MWEwzbOIy71Y_t1WT8j4RY4kjSR5uQLiU7KniaqAFZUkloaAt_XEALw_wcB

 

I don't mind the Italeri kit, but I'm not sure I can do a job worthy of this level.

 

I will have a look at others, thanks a million.

 

Andy

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/22/2019 at 6:12 PM, Giorgio N said:

IIRC Italeri will reissue the kit with new markings soon.

I’m still waiting for that, with finally some decent Italian ‘standard’ decals 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

 

For 1/48, at the moment if I can find the Hasegawa for cheaper than the Kinetic, that is the one I will get. The reason is that I have a ‘stock’ of Daco sets so I might as well use them.... Once I finish those, or I can find the Kinetic kit for cheap I will give them a try.  Ahhhh the joy of first world problems 😇

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Hi Andy

I have just bought the Kinetic 104 but not built yet. But what i can say is, the surface is better detailed than the Hasegawa one. The Hasegawa one has too many rivets on the wings and the tail. But its still a good kit. I have still 4 kits from Hasegawa in my stash and will not sell it. Revell made two 104 in 1/48, so please check. The one in tiger look is the old Monogram version,you can forget this kit. The other one in white/blue special scheme is made from Hasegawa moulds, you can get it for cheaper price.

The Italeri 104 in 1/32 is a good one but not perfect but the best choose in 1/32. I have built a one and posted it here as german navy version long time back. Please look and judge it if you like it.

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On 10/11/2019 at 04:35, Harry Callahan said:

Hi Andy

I have just bought the Kinetic 104 but not built yet. But what i can say is, the surface is better detailed than the Hasegawa one. The Hasegawa one has too many rivets on the wings and the tail. But its still a good kit. I have still 4 kits from Hasegawa in my stash and will not sell it. Revell made two 104 in 1/48, so please check. The one in tiger look is the old Monogram version,you can forget this kit. The other one in white/blue special scheme is made from Hasegawa moulds, you can get it for cheaper price.

The Italeri 104 in 1/32 is a good one but not perfect but the best choose in 1/32. I have built a one and posted it here as german navy version long time back. Please look and judge it if you like it.

I'm expecting the Kinetic anytime soon. I'm hoping that I don't make some silly mistakes. I've found that following the instructions step by step isn't always best! 

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