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Italeri 2020 catalog - "new" (reissue, repop, rebox etc.) in 2020


Homebee

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It's interesting to see how that F-14A ESCI tooling is very similar to Italeri's own F-14A. I'm building it now and at first sight I though it was their own kit. It's different in some areas (forward fuselage, wing sweep mechanism) but largely identical. Even the included stores are the same. I wonder is they developed it concurrently to some extent, but I can't fathom how it would end up like this then.

Edited by sroubos
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38 minutes ago, sroubos said:

It's interesting to see how that F-14A ESCI tooling is very similar to Italeri's own F-14A. I'm building it now and at first sight I though it was their own kit. It's different in some areas (forward fuselage, wing sweep mechanism) but largely identical. Even the included stores are the same. I wonder is they developed it concurrently to some extent, but I can't fathom how it would end up like this then.

 

Similar ???

I have both on the shelf side by side, built when they were first issued and to me they look very different. Shapes are quite different, the panel lines patterns differ in several areas and the shape of most detail parts is different, in some cases very different. The only similarity I can remember is in the way the main structural parts are designed, but this is common to many other Tomcat kits...

Edited by Giorgio N
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On 3/4/2020 at 10:03 PM, Homebee said:

Released - 1/72nd - ref. 1326 - Carrier Deck Section

https://www.italeri.com/prodotto/2163

 

 

V.P.

 

Now this is a kit that I'm happy to see re-released. It may not be the best deck section ever made but it's a decent kit offered at an acceptable price and will make happy most USN enthusiasts.

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Well, I don't have the ESCI tooling so I defer to you judgment on this. From the pictures though they look very similar, almost identical break-up into parts with the exception of the forward fuselage. The way the seats are split up, the underwing stores are identical including the camera pod which is an odd choice to include as it was not commonly carried etc.

 

But as stated I don't have the ESCI. I assume they weren't released on the same day so one company may have influenced the other.

 

Slightly OT, what's the deal on the accuracy of the Italeri tooling? It does look 'off' to me in some regards, particularly the nose area, but I can't put my finger on it.

Edited by sroubos
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The parts break up is similar between the two kits but that's pretty much it when it comes to similarities. Comparing the pictures in this thread with sprue shots of the Italeri kits I can see a lot of differences, from the way the wings are interconnected to the break point of the intakes, the shape of the landing gear, exhaust nozzles, wheels...

 

https://www.super-hobby.it/products/F-14A-Tomcat-197233.html

 

I can't see any indication of any "influence" from one kit to the other, simply they both represent a typical Tomcat of the era, when the TARPS pod had been introduced only a few years earlier and was so added by both companies to the sprues.

Look for comparison at the first mould Hasegawa kit, it is again very similar in parts breakdown. However this lacks the TARPS pod, as this was not operational yet when Hasegawa first issued the kit

 

https://www.super-hobby.it/products/F-14A-Tomcat-low.html

 

Regarding the Italeri kit accuracy, the nose area is not too correct. IIRC it's a bit too wide and the radome is not great. I've read that this part has been modified over the years to a better shape, but I never bought any other Italeri Tomcat after the one I built in 1987.. yes, I did buy this kit only a couple weeks after it was first issued ! There are days when I feel a strange urge to buy another one and see what I could do with it today with a few more years of modelling experience, then fortunately my brain start working properly again and I realize that not only there are better kits out there but I also have several of these better kits in the stash waiting to be built.

Said that, I would not condemn the Italeri Tomcat and if someone wants a cheap kit that looks like a Tomcat, it is IMHO not a bad choice and is better than the Esci kit

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Yeah, I'm building it now in the guise of one of the nuclear-equipped planes from the Buck Danny comics. It builds well enough although the panel lines disappear in a few areas due to sanding requirements, particularly on the cockpit section. My kit is the second boxing from the late 80s I think and I don't think they have made improvements to it, like I said, it looks a bit off. Not enough to bother me though.

 

jpg_buck_danny_alerte_atomique_case_1.jp

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4 hours ago, sroubos said:

Yeah, I'm building it now in the guise of one of the nuclear-equipped planes from the Buck Danny comics. It builds well enough although the panel lines disappear in a few areas due to sanding requirements, particularly on the cockpit section. My kit is the second boxing from the late 80s I think and I don't think they have made improvements to it, like I said, it looks a bit off. Not enough to bother me though.

 

jpg_buck_danny_alerte_atomique_case_1.jp

Mission Apocalypse/ Nuclear Alert - Now that is a great story that would have been worthy of a movie. Very well chosen subject! 

 

Jay

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I know right? A real thriller with a plausible storyline, engrossing action pieces on the land, sea and air, and great characters. And the Tomcats are the stars, years before the guys that made Top Gun realized that. 

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On 3/6/2020 at 9:40 PM, Giorgio N said:

 

Now this is a kit that I'm happy to see re-released. It may not be the best deck section ever made but it's a decent kit offered at an acceptable price and will make happy most USN enthusiasts.

As my wife has openly threatened divorce if I bring home a carrier kit (but I need Nimitz AND Enterprise!!) I’m hopeful this will be okay...😇

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  • 2 weeks later...

Expected soon - https://nowosci.plastikowe.pl/aktualnosci/zapowiedzi-italeri-marzec-2020/

 

1/48th - ref. 2802 — Hawker Hurricane I Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary 

 

2802-00.jpg

 

1/72nd - ref. 1436 — Heinkel He 111H Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary

 

1436-00-1.jpg

 

1/12th - ref. 2991 — Lockheed F-104G Starfighter Cockpit

 

 

2991-00-1.jpg

 

V.P.

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/25/2020 at 9:51 PM, Thomas V. said:

T-33 will be Platz,superb model which is not easy to come by, TA-4F/J Fujimi, also a superb little kit, also great to see them finally reissue Esci's F-5A.

As for Spitfire Mk.I cannot see reasoning behind it, even it being 80th BoB anniversary, after Tamiya and Eduard (August), but that's Italeri of today.

Great to see Esci Straighter cockpit, had quite hefty price tag in the 1980's.

@Wez sounds like it is the Platz kit and l hope there are decals for at least one USAFE machine.

 

Regards

Robert

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  • 2 weeks later...

Great to see H-34 Pirate, what was essentially first dedicated combat helicopter, just hope they got the load out correct- one MG151+ one M2 on starboard side same combo on the port side was most frequent configuration, also MG151 was operated with and without gunshield.

Edited by Thomas V.
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