Is there a state of the art 1/48 A10 Warthog kit?

[One 48]

Sorry, I know asked a few of these types of questions as I'm back in hobby again and chose 1/48 as my preferred scale

I'll be asking about best 1/48 Jaguar kits next BTW , do appreciate the advice given here, have went on to buy 1/48 F-35 and F-22 kits thanks to good peeps comments to my last questions on types.

But first things first, the A-10 A or C model, don't mind, do PC enjoy flight simulation too and have the study sim DCS A-10C as well as the less fidelity Flaming Cliffs A-10A, much upgraded DCS A-10C v 2 coming very soon at a good upgrade price, great news.

But yeah, kit wise, once had a 1/48 Tamiya A10 in stash a very very long time ago, peek in box told me this was early Tamiya .. maybe its still our best bet in this scale though? 

Are there better 1/48 A-10 kits these days, engineering, shape, ease of fit ... that looks accurate enough when finished without major surgery?

TIA

[Mick4350]

There is the Hobbyboss A-10 Thunderbolt's in 1/48 scale that have two separate kits covering both the single seat and two seat version (80323 and 80324). They do have some shortcomings, but I understand they are reasonably ok.

[One 48]

Thanks Mick.

Am I correct in thinking, Tamiya kit is not so good, one of their older  not so good kits?

You know, after what Tamiya did with their 1/48 F-16's and F-14's, its a wonder they have not revisited the Hog in 1/48 to their new standards ... I reckon it would sell by the bucket load.

I'd buy one.

Edited September 23, 2020 by One 48
Just because :)

[Stephen]

 

[One 48]

21 minutes ago, Stephen said:

 

Awesome Stephen, but more work than I'm capable of doing though maybe? ... scribing panels is right out for me ... I'd just make a mess trying to do that

[Lord Riot]

The Italeri one is superb in my opinion, having just built one! I used some Quickboost intakes but apart from that it was out of the box. A really nice fit, engraved panel lines except where on the real thing they're raised rivets, nice adjustable canopy and a whole plethora of underwing stores.

 

I'm just waiting for 81st TFW decals to finish off.

 

 

 

[Seawinder]

If you really care about the A-10, then IMHO the answer is No, there isn't currently a state of the art 1/48 kit in terms of accuracy, fit and/or engineering. Having built the Italeri, I shouldn't go so far as to call it superb. It's got significant shape issues from the cockpit forward, inconsistent surface detail, poor fit of the engine nacelles, and intake fans with something like 33% too few blades - they really need to be replaced IMO.

 

The old Monogram/Revell kit has arguably the most accurate shapes, but it's 1970s/80s technology with raised panel lines and some pretty dodgy fit.

 

Hobby Boss, which I've never held in my hands, is said to be the most modern and best engineered, but it also suffers from shape issues. If you don't mind digging around, it's pretty easy to find discussions here and elsewhere.

[Julien]

We really do need a new tool.

[exdraken]

If state of the art mrans Tamiya F-14 quality, then no, no A-10 in any scale.

If you mean modern in the sense of detail and an in servive A-10 for say the last 20 years, then yes, go for Italeri or the more expensive HobbyBoss!

 

[One 48]

Thanks all, not after perfection, just something that looks right and goes together without much hassle and looks great at the end of the day ... so Italeri or Hobby boss it is then, will have a look on Ebay.

Imagine if Tamiya revisited this kit for a new tool version to their now great standards, that would be wonderful ... expensive no doubt, but wonderful.

Cheers.

[spruecutter96]

As I understand it, the early Tamiya 1/48th kits were based on a development airframe, which was fitted with a 20mm Vulcan gatling-cannon, due to the GAU-8 30mm weapon not being available at that time. So, if the cannon looks somewhat under-sized on your Tamiya kit, that's the reason. I believe that Tamiya corrected this detail with later version of the kit. From what I remember, the Tamiya was decent, but not amazing, in terms of detail.  

 

I've owned / sold the Hobbyboss two-seater A-10 and I thought it looked pretty good in the box, even if the rivets looked a bit too obvious for the scale. 

 

Why not go "full throttle" and get the 1/32 scale Trumpeter A-10? Accuracy was not a priority when they produced that one, but - boy - is it an impressive sight once built. The main thing it needs is a resin cockpit upgrade, as the kit one is a complete work of fiction. Oddly, the kit bang-seat is pretty good and really looks the part. I will now be drowned in dozens of posts of "How the Hell can you not mention "...XYZ" on the Trumpeter Warthog?". 

 

Chris. 

[One 48]

On 25/09/2020 at 18:21, spruecutter96 said:

Why not go "full throttle" and get the 1/32 scale Trumpeter A-10? Accuracy was not a priority when they produced that one, but - boy - is it an impressive sight once built. The main thing it needs is a resin cockpit upgrade, as the kit one is a complete work of fiction. Oddly, the kit bang-seat is pretty good and really looks the part. I will now be drowned in dozens of posts of "How the Hell can you not mention "...XYZ" on the Trumpeter Warthog?". 

 

Chris. 

Hi Chris, not an option unfortunately, spent the last year or so selling my 1/32 Aircraft stash to switch to a more manageable 1/48, have kept back the Tamiya WW2 stuff, the F-15 and F-16C. some WnW 1/32 too, but that's it, don't have the space for them, never-mind a 1/32 Trumpy Warthog

Thanks for suggestion though, 1/48 is my preferred scale now.

[spruecutter96]

No problem at all. I am kind of in the exact opposite situation myself. Sold all my 1/48th stuff a few years ago - have kept all my 1/32nd, jammed in to every spare corner of the house. You never know, one day I might actually get around to building the blimmin' things!

 

Chris.