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Revell F-14


LSP_Mike

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You are right Luca, the forward fuselage cross sections become more and more pear shaped towards rear; or, to be more precise, the bottom becomes more and more flat. 

 

In my opinion, the photo clearly shows the Tamiya fuselage and radome are very close to reality and Revell isn't.

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This is a very interesting discussion and I think the consensus is the Tamiya kit is best in shape. The Trumpeter one requires a lot of work as well and the Revell one is best value for money and DIY improvements. 

Also I read - and suggested myself - that the upscaling of the Tamiya 1/48 kit would be solving most (if not all) problems and discussion to have a proper easy to build LS Tomcat.....who knows, they may issue it in 2019 when Top Gun: Maverick (current working title) comes out...

 

I have the Trumpeter by the way, Zacto's intakes and Technics cockpit (made for the Tamiya kit though). Last thought: is it possible to merge the front part of the Tamiya cat to the Trumpeter kit?

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This is a very interesting discussion and I think the consensus is the Tamiya kit is best in shape. The Trumpeter one requires a lot of work as well and the Revell one is best value for money and DIY improvements. 

Also I read - and suggested myself - that the upscaling of the Tamiya 1/48 kit would be solving most (if not all) problems and discussion to have a proper easy to build LS Tomcat.....who knows, they may issue it in 2019 when Top Gun: Maverick (current working title) comes out...

 

I have the Trumpeter by the way, Zacto's intakes and Technics cockpit (made for the Tamiya kit though). Last thought: is it possible to merge the front part of the Tamiya cat to the Trumpeter kit?

 

Not sure that would really make sense, Tim. I thought about it as well, but the Trumpeter rear fuselage requires so many modifications that rescribing the Tamiya fuselage requires about the same amount of work without possible fitting issues. I am thinking about using Trumpeter wings on my Tamiya kit to build a launch or arresting scene.   

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Horrible we reach the conclusion we are dealing with FrankenTomcat options....they all have pros and cons, but none are "perfect" (meaning up to the standard that could be achieved with the modern techniques of today...). Still: hoping Tamiya will upscale the 48 to 32....It would outsell everything.

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...and imagine all the options for colour schemes for the early and later birds....then the B and D-version...the wings don't need the slats, flaps etc. That can be done by aftermarket (KASL Hobby or using the Trumpeter wings...

 

Tamiya should reconsider starting up its 32-jet department. And while they develop the 32-Tomcat, the F-16A/B/D/E/F series can be put on the list as well as a super F-35 Lightning II...

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Me too, Tim. Tamiya upscaling their 1/48th scale kit would be a dream come true. I wouldn't even care about closed slats, flaps and air brakes, I just want a properly proportioned, easy to build Tomcat kit with nice surface details. 

 

 

...and imagine all the options for colour schemes for the early and later birds....then the B and D-version...the wings don't need the slats, flaps etc. That can be done by aftermarket (KASL Hobby or using the Trumpeter wings...

 

Tamiya should reconsider starting up its 32-jet department. And while they develop the 32-Tomcat, the F-16A/B/D/E/F series can be put on the list as well as a super F-35 Lightning II...

 

AMEN!

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By the way, for those interested: I have made some new fuselage top louvers for my Revell Tomcat; they also fit the Tamiya kit. I initially wanted to use the HAT PE parts to replace the louvers, but I wasn't able to make them fit as all the louver parts have the same length which makes it impossible to fit the trapezoidal cutout.

 

img_3102r8sw2.jpg

 

img_3103b4sex.jpg

 

If you're interested, check out my Shapeways shop in my signature. The pics show test prints made with another printer; the Shapeways parts will look even smoother.

 

I hope this is OK for the Mods - I don't make money with those parts, I just want to make life easier for people who want to improve their big scale Cats.

Edited by Starfighter
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Starfighter,

those louvers look spot on. I too have been thinking of building the Tamiya kit with the trumpeter wings, I was also interested in using the Aires wheel wells for the trumpeter kit in the Tamiya kit, but if you were thinking about it, they do not fit. Such a shame as the detail is amazing in the Aires sets, but the angles at the front of the main wheel wells are different.

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Agreed, but with your scratch building skills, I think that you would have those aires wheel wells fitted in a few days. Compared to the Tamiya kit, the aires set is about 10mm short, (I don't know what is correct) my plan there was to cut the landing gear door to make the fuselage, and the landing gear door as per normal.  I think the fit issues at the front are something that could be overcome, it's just a question of is it worth the work in making them fit, or go ahead a detail the Tamiya wheel well as good as possible. If using the Aires wheel well, I think the only option then is to use the trumpeter landing gear, as the aires set is designed to take trumpeters gear.

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