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1/48 - Lockheed-Martin F-35A & B Lightning II by Tamiya - released


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I am happy the Tamiya kit has the RAM panel lines raised.  This kills that negative argument because now Tamiya does it.  We destroyed Meng and Italeri kits for the very same reasons and now I see generous understanding for Tamiya. 

 

As I said, nothing a wet sanding stick can't fix...!

 

Now, where is my wallet?...

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Dumbo said:

Also the future Finnish fleet of F-35A´s will be equiped with the drag chute!🥳

And from a Swiss aviation journalist, the future fleet of 36 x F-35A of the Swiss Air Force will also be

equipped with the drag chute.

 

So, drag chute equipped F-35A will eventually include those of Norway, Canada, Finland and Switzerland.

 

I also read somewhere that the current KLU F-35A fleet of Netherlands could also be retrofited with the

drag chute that is, by the way, produced by Fokker of Netherlands for Lockeed Martin.      

😎

SharkOwl

Edited by SharkOwl
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The thing with the RAM panels is that they are far less visible on newer airframes, which is why I prefer the recessed approach Hasegawa has taken. They give you the option also then to use decals to avoid having to mask them if you do want to make one of the earlier versions.

 

But we haven't seen the actual box contents. I wouldn't put it past Tamiya to cater for both tastes by providing the RAM panels as shown in the photo as separate 'stickers', sort of the way some 3rd party manufacturers created the strenghtening panels for the F-16A MLU updates.

 

But 1/48 is not my scale so I'm not too bothered by this, I wish everyone whose scale it is a great experience building what is sure to be a fantastic kit :)

Edited by sroubos
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43 minutes ago, SharkOwl said:

And from a Swiss aviation journalist, the future fleet of 36 x F-35A of the Swiss Air Force will also be

equipped with the drag chute.

 

So, drag chute equipped F-35A will eventually include those of Norway, Canada, Finland and Switzerland.

 

I also read somewhere that the current KLU F-35A fleet of Netherlands could also be retrofited with the

drag chute that is, by the way, produced by Fokker of Netherlands for Lockeed Martin.      

😎

SharkOwl


I know two guys on the procurement program for the F-35, a drag chute isn’t a sure thing yet, but it is being considered.

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25 minutes ago, Scooby said:


I know two guys on the procurement program for the F-35, a drag chute isn’t a sure thing yet, but it is being considered.

Lockheed Martin official page for Canada on their website is presented with this photo.

 

Drag chute and lateral air refueling probe like the ones on F-35B and F-35C are Canadian specifications for the CF-35A fleet

from the start of the procurement program.

 

And it is written on many aviation articles about it.

😎

SharkOwl

 

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5 minutes ago, SharkOwl said:

Lockheed Martin official page for Canada on their website is presented with this photo.

 

Drag chute and lateral air refueling probe like the ones on F-35B and F-35C are Canadian specifications for the CF-35A fleet

from the start of the procurement program.

 

And it is written on many aviation articles about it.

😎

SharkOwl

 

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I know articles have been written on it. I’m stating I know two people on the procurement program and the drag chute isn’t for certain yet. The drag chute is a Canadian design and is manufactured in Canada. Both of these guys I served with in the CF-18 community. They are still determining if we need the chute based on the length of our runways and current data, which they are researching.

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11 minutes ago, SharkOwl said:

Lockheed Martin official page for Canada on their website is presented with this photo.

 

Drag chute and lateral air refueling probe like the ones on F-35B and F-35C are Canadian specifications for the CF-35A fleet

from the start of the procurement program.

 

And it is written on many aviation articles about it.

😎

SharkOwl

 

spacer.png

That's not a realistic F-35. I mean, where are the thick RAM panels?

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Raised RAM panels on a kit is are not a problem themselves. Half of the problem is people tend to use wash over everything, usually the black one. It will never work in case of this type of external detail...

Edited by koho
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58 minutes ago, Scooby said:


I know articles have been written on it. I’m stating I know two people on the procurement program and the drag chute isn’t for certain yet. The drag chute is a Canadian design and is manufactured in Canada. Both of these guys I served with in the CF-18 community. They are still determining if we need the chute based on the length of our runways and current data, which they are researching.

Lets wait and see !

😎

SharkOwl

Edited by SharkOwl
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Yeah, those RAM panels are way to thick :(

I do not understand why they had to do them like that. Sure, there is always sand paper, but they COULD have saved us the trouble and done it right in the first place.

Edited by SprueMan
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2 hours ago, Scooby said:

This is great news! I’ll be buying a F-35A for sure.

 

Have they announced the second kit yet?  I don’t  think the second announcement is the Tamiya boxing of the Italeri F-35B as some suggested here.

Hi Gary, from the Tamiya blog:

◇ 1/48 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
◇ 1/35 British Cruiser Tank A34 Comet
◇ 1/24 Nissan Z
◇ 1/12 Ducati Superleggera V4
◇ 1/12 Team Suzuki ECSTAR GSX-RR ’20 No.42 (Finished Model)

 

Just spotted the 1/48 F-35B on Scalemates, billed as Tamiya release in an Italeri box 

 

Also just read a news story that SAAB is crying foul about Canada not following the rules in the F-35 program haha. Apple news for what it’s worth. I remember all the hoopla back in 80 when we were choosing replacements for the 101’s, 104’s and 116’s. Never a dull moment.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited by MrB17
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Well, as much as I absolutely HATE the F-35 due to it being what I think is the most homely/ugly modern fighter aircraft, if the build reviews end up verifying that it builds up as perfectly as all the other recent 1/48 Tamiya airplane kits, I'll have no choice but to get this model!  As I'm sure everyone here knows that even older Tamiya kits are just amazingly fabulous to build, like their 1/48 He217 A-7 Uhu, P-47, and so many others.  While Tamiya may not have the ultimate in detail, and they have the unfortunate reputation of less than great decals, and almost no planes include seat belts/harnesses, these are minor nitpicking issues more than made up for with stellar fit and engineering.  No reason to expect the F-35A will be anything different!

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4 hours ago, SprueMan said:

One thing though; Its a shame that Tamiya did not also make a new spray can in the F-35 color to go with it. It would have been really handy.


Do we know this for fact? Has anyone seen the kits paint guides? Hopefully what is called out is not some three XF paint ratio mix that no one uses. There would certainly be a huge worldwide market for a good OOB (out of bottle) Have Glass grey paint so hopefully a ‘AS’ spray can is still in Tamiya’s thought bubble. 
 

Cheers.. Dave 

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22 hours ago, Ray_W said:

Just when I thought I might save some money. I'm in. I have been wanting to build a RAAF F-35A. Now with Tamiya there will be no excuse not to. 

 

Ray

😃 same here.

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4 hours ago, MrB17 said:

Hi Gary, from the Tamiya blog:

◇ 1/48 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
◇ 1/35 British Cruiser Tank A34 Comet
◇ 1/24 Nissan Z
◇ 1/12 Ducati Superleggera V4
◇ 1/12 Team Suzuki ECSTAR GSX-RR ’20 No.42 (Finished Model)

 

Just spotted the 1/48 F-35B on Scalemates, billed as Tamiya release in an Italeri box 

 

Also just read a news story that SAAB is crying foul about Canada not following the rules in the F-35 program haha. Apple news for what it’s worth. I remember all the hoopla back in 80 when we were choosing replacements for the 101’s, 104’s and 116’s. Never a dull moment.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff


Hi Jeff,

 

Odd, as Tamiya announced two all new tooling kits. Or is there a second in that list?

 

Yeah, never a dull moment in our procurement process, EH-101 is the biggest gong show.

 

I think they are doing things right this time, I know guys who have served two years at Edwards on F-35 and another who went to both Edwards and Australia for the past four years.

 

The Saab (Lada) would have been a disaster if it would have been selected.

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No it is not - it’s 100% independent tooling on the F-35A that Tamiya announced today. What you’re probably seeing is the Tamiya release of the Italeri F-35B for the Japanese market. The timing of the two releases is going to confuse more than a few.

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26 minutes ago, seiran01 said:

What you’re probably seeing is the Tamiya release of the Italeri F-35B for the Japanese market. The timing of the two releases is going to confuse more than a few.

Agreed, the wording on Scalemates is confusing (Tamiya release in Italeri box w/Tamiya item #) there’s no box art, just the Tamiya logo. However right below it is the 1/32 Tornado GR.4 with the same wording. Then right below that is the Tamiya 1/48 F-35A. After a few beer, this can be very confusing.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

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1 hour ago, stalal said:

Is Tamiya kit in anyway related to Italeri kit? 

 

I think the Scalemates timelines are reasonably clear and will be improved with box art and possibly separate entry of the Tamiya F-35A and the Tamiya/Italeri F-35B. Just remember that Tamiya own tool 1/48 series kits always starts with 61 so you're ordering 61124 for their F-35A.

 

The re-box Italeri F-35B will carry Tamiya's serial number 38103. Not a '61' series so it indicates a rebox.

 

24 minutes ago, MrB17 said:

this can be very confusing.

 

You're right about confusion. That's always been the case with re-boxings and these two are very close. A unique matching. 

 

Tamiya F-35 Timeline

SM F-35 Timeline Tamiya

 

Italeri F-35 Timeline.

SM F-35 Timeline Italieri

 

Ray

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An excellent idea of the XF- spray can approach! Let's hope they take up that idea.

 

As for the RAM panels, have a look at real jets going around the mach loop. The panels do show up. Perhaps the angle of the light (rather than the radar waves)?

 

I'm hanging out for a B version in the Correct Scale. I've been saying that this jet is going to be in service for a while, so kit manufacturers would be on to a winner once "someone" made an accurate model.

 

As for the "bland gray jet" brigade...

Edited by hairystick
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