Mark M Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 ive seen reference to the italeri and testors kits are they OK? whats the best and how avaliable are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kspriss Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 (edited) ive seen reference to the italeri and testors kits are they OK? whats the best and how avaliable are they? im pretty sure they are one and the same kit, if its the old Italieri U2c. Cockpit very basic, just a seat. no jet pipe insert, so you can see through the model if done OOB..wheelwells bare, very soft details on pogos. id hold out for the senior span kit, seems to be a bit better HTH steve Edited October 30, 2011 by kspriss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 i got the impression that the senior span was the sae kit was well just with an extra tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kspriss Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 i got the impression that the senior span was the sae kit was well just with an extra tank ahh, possibly. ive got the old testors kit, but id quite like the senior span one steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob P Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 The Senior Span boxing deleted the dual seat option and provided an extra sprue for the Senior Span/Spear sensors and arials. Overall it's not a bad representation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kspriss Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 The Senior Span boxing deleted the dual seat option and provided an extra sprue for the Senior Span/Spear sensors and arials.Overall it's not a bad representation. hmmm...might be different kits then, as the testors one is definately single seat steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Two totally different aeroplanes. The Testors kit is a U-2C, it's basic and purists will recognise it misses some aspects of a C, but it scrubs up quite well and I'm pleased with mine which I built some years ago - sorry, no photos available. The Italeri was U-2R or (by deleting the strakes on the tailplanes iirc) a TR-1, again quite nice, but some fit issues. U-2R was a significant redesign of the original, and was essentially a new, considerably larger aircraft based on the same design concept as the original. So you pays your money and takes your choice ... If you can get hold of a copy, "Dragon Lady" by Chris Pocock is the best ref I found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McIntyre Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Not only two different airplanes, but two entirely different kits. The Testors kit was based off of the original Hawk kit. I'm not sure when that came out, but it was a U-2A when first released (and IIRC, the U-2 was still very secret). Testors later got the molds and modified them to the U-2C version (no two-seater option in this kit). The U-2R kit when originally released by Testors was as the TR-1/ER-2 (NASA's version was the ER-2). The TR-1/ER-2/U-2R shares no common parts (or parentage) with the aforementioned U-2A/C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 so is the italeri kit the better one, im not looking for any particular varient just a U2 model in 1/48 to go with my 1/48 cold war aircraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McIntyre Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Italeri, being much the newer kit would be the better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 thanks, so time so a search for that then, anyone gopt a cheap one or even a free one! lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob P Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Mark, since you were kind enough to help out with the 19 Squadron Hawk decals, I have one unboxed but intact that I'll part with for a very modest sum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Taureau Qui Rit Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Italeri, being much the newer kit would be the better choice. Just to muddy the waters, although Italeri's U-2R/TR-1 is an completely different kit from the Testors U-2C, Italeri also released their own re-boxing of the Testors U-2C. I have one of them in the stash myself, and considering the fairly extreme age of the original kit it's really not that bad at all, although obviously there's a fair bit of work required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 The Italeri C was/is a retool of the original Hawk kit which, in itself, came out in 1962!!! It was released at the height of the Cuban crisis and for the time very topical and some kind of breach of security! Italeri/Testors added the long hump making the original tool fuselage an irreversible prospect. Therefore the original Hawk kit has become more collectable unless one wants to build it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Yes the original Hawk Kit got them a visit from the FBI when they brought it out as the U-2 was still uber secret then. In fact its pretty accurate in overall shape for the early U-2. The U02A molds were then used to make the U-2C so if you want an early one you have to find the original Hawk kit, or the now probably harder to find cutting edge set to back date the C model. Cutting edge did some seriously nice sets for the U-2 which again are getting harder to find as are their U-2 decals. The later Italeri kits make some nice models but do take some work. As has been pointed out just to confuse matters Italeri did also release a boxing of the Testors U-2C. Julien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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