rkp111 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Any thoughts? Looking to add one to the collection, thinking AMk mainly because of the not so great decals from the other two. I'm working on GWH su 35 and it is a nice kit but has quite a few drawbacks, mainly seam lines. Any input will greatly be appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskey Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Well the first question to ask is what're you looking to build, an A, B, or a D? I'm assuming you're referring to 1/48 as the AMK is only that scale. The GWH kit isn't even out yet so there's no opinion you can find anywhere or ask anyone about it. That leaves just the AMK and Tamiya kits, which would point this whole exercise to modelling a D. The Tamiya is already a known quantity, there are numerous builds of absolutely stunning depictions of it, and tons of reading material as far as accuracy and details if you do a simple search here or an online search engine. The AMK is still new, offers a lot of more fine details the Tamiya doesn't, has the dirty wings, and will continue to perplex most of the community as to it's worth regardless of who made it. IMHO the only thing that has sparked any value to me of it is just the wings, but I don't have one so I can't speak about it overall. When it comes down to it, just as with any subject I believe, you the individual modeller, has to form your own opinion on what you're looking for in a kit. Accuracy? Ease of build? Details? Cost? Put all that together and it should lead you to the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 17 hours ago, rkp111 said: Any thoughts? Looking to add one to the collection, thinking AMk mainly because of the not so great decals from the other two. I'm working on GWH su 35 and it is a nice kit but has quite a few drawbacks, mainly seam lines. Any input will greatly be appreciated If you have the money to spend on any of the kits, then you can hopefully afford an aftermarket decal sheet, of which there are plenty. As for seam lines, I've never come across any kit that didn't have them, or are the seams on the GWH kit something special? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthBayKid Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 For pure ease of building, accuracy, and general feel-good factor, you simply can't beat the Tamiya kit. GWH's kit is likely to be very nice as well. I'm not impressed with AMK's efforts. Their panel lines are far too deep and prominent for my taste, and there is the well documented fat rear end on their Tomcat, along with other accuracy issues that they didn't (or couldn't afford to) correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushande Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) Second the last post: If you strife for accuracy in shape, then you are only left with Tamiya. If you can live with the shape issues of the AMK and want to do her with dirty wings then you are only left with that option at the moment or resort to the good ol' Hasegawa. Has shape issues as well but not as hard to correct (if possible at all) as AMK. Edited January 8, 2020 by bushande Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Indeed, the Tamiya kit is I would say your best bet. When it comes to ease of assembly it simply cannot be beaten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticguy Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 On 1/7/2020 at 1:15 AM, rkp111 said: Any thoughts? Looking to add one to the collection, thinking AMk mainly because of the not so great decals from the other two. I'm working on GWH su 35 and it is a nice kit but has quite a few drawbacks, mainly seam lines. Any input will greatly be appreciated Save yourself nervous breakdowns, money and time, buy the Tamiya kit or wait for the GWH's one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Another shout here for the Tamiya kit. I’ve just finished it and it’s a great build. You won’t regret it. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nocoolname Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Tamiya for being simple while beautiful. And gives you the option for the swingy-wingy-thingy. Detail-wise I actually prefer the AMK to the Tamiya for what it offers out of the box as well as the scope for additional details (for instance, the separate nose makes it easier for me to add the spare radar set), but I can't fault the Tamiya for overall niceness. That being said, I'm still waiting for what GWH will (hopefully) be bringing to the party this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthBayKid Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Here’s an excellent review (fact based) of the AMK kit. As has been widely reported, it has some fairly serious shape and dimension problems. https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=it&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://www.modelingtime.com/review-tomcat-amk-1-48/&xid=17259,15700023,15700186,15700190,15700256,15700259,15700262,15700265,15700271 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 10 hours ago, NorthBayKid said: Here’s an excellent review (fact based) of the AMK kit. As has been widely reported, it has some fairly serious shape and dimension problems. https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=it&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://www.modelingtime.com/review-tomcat-amk-1-48/&xid=17259,15700023,15700186,15700190,15700256,15700259,15700262,15700265,15700271 Thanks for posting this ! It is a very good description of the problems, unfortunately confirms what others had noticed when the CAD drawings were first shown. I would only disagree with the author where he mentions that kits in the '70s were accurate.. some sure were but others were sure not 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthBayKid Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 That’s true, and it depended entirely on who the master craftsman was who did the master pattern work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 On 14/01/2020 at 01:09, NorthBayKid said: Here’s an excellent review (fact based) of the AMK kit. As has been widely reported, it has some fairly serious shape and dimension problems. https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=it&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=https://www.modelingtime.com/review-tomcat-amk-1-48/&xid=17259,15700023,15700186,15700190,15700256,15700259,15700262,15700265,15700271 I have had a look at the link (thx for posting) My kit has a lot of the same problems, The ladder on the nose cone thread is completely short shot on mine, also the intake trunk has that strange line down it which appears raised when I run my nail down it. My canopy frame was also broken, this is down to it being badly put in the box I think. Those closed exhausts are very basic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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