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1/32 Kittyhawk F-84F Thunderstreak & RF-84F Thunderflash !


SharkOwl

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9 hours ago, John1 said:

I second Jennings - No divots!!   It will be a deal breaker for me if you go this route.  

Based on what I have seen of most of Kitty Hawk's recent kits (Divots, slide mold screw-ups, mismatched panel lines, parts not fitting without major trimming, ejector pin marks in stupid locations), I don't plan on wasting my money on it (or any more Kitty Hawk junk).

Just my 2¢.

Larry

 

 

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2 hours ago, ReccePhreak said:

Based on what I have seen of most of Kitty Hawk's recent kits (Divots, slide mold screw-ups, mismatched panel lines, parts not fitting without major trimming, ejector pin marks in stupid locations), I don't plan on wasting my money on it (or any more Kitty Hawk junk).

Just my 2¢.

Larry

 

 

Larry, I hate to say it but my expectations are also pretty low on this one.  Given how they botched their recent 48th &  35th helos due to the divots and horrible execution (despite having some truly awesome SME's providing help on the kits), I don't expect much here.  That being said, product improvement starts at the top.  If they want to get better, they will. If they think they can make the same money releasing kits with issues, they probably won't change.   I've seen some of their stuff that really has first-rate details, so they can do it when they feel like it. 

 

We'll see.... 

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I've built a lot of the new LSP KHM demo models and I can say with 100% certainty they are indeed getting better. Not sure how their helos are progressing, but the fit of their LSP releases has improved markedly. If you ever have assembled any of their older 48th kits, their newer LSP releases are nice kits.

They still of course have odd engineering choices, and some mistakes that boggle the mind,  but overall their OV-10 was a fun kit, and fit much better than any of their older releases.....

Their OS2U fit better than the Bronco by a ways, and their T-28 fit better than any LSP releases prior. 

The facts are in a lot if areas including fit and engineering they indeed are getting a lot better.

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5 hours ago, Jennings Heilig said:

 

And then they do something like the 1/48 RF-101.  It's a total mess, from nose to tail.  I bought one, opened the box, put the lid back on, and sold it on eBay.  Not even worth trying to correct all the errors in it.  

 

Boy, you should try modelling sometimes.:rolleyes:

 

Kitty Hawk RF-101 Voodoo complete build

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I admit that their way of designing kits can be quirky at times, but total mess?

Apart from one main issue (the intakes), all the other mistakes are minor and can be easily corrected with a modicum of modelling techniques. The dimensions are good, the shapes are there and the inimitable Voodoo feel is present. What else do the modellers need?

Ah, the fit! The fit is better than the classic Monogram offering providing you take some time to dry fit and work out how the parts go together (like you should do with every other kit, right?).

As for the price, the KH Voodoo costs the equivalent of 30 Euro in Asia. So if you think the price is steep in Europe and the US, blame it on the importers.

 

 

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There is not even a single CAD image or let alone testshot available and there is already a whining start and diversion to the Voodoo...stay on topic: Streak and Flash.

Things KH needs to get right for sure (apart from everything and it has to be perfect to some here WTH, wake up):

*Flash: obviously, the Recce nose and the intakes in the wings

* Streak: intake. All 48-offerings sort of botched this and it will take some clever engineering to get this right.

So, let's wait and see. This has been in the works since 2014 by the way. KH decided at the time to first tackle some other subjects and experiment with 3D scanning for CAD design. The Mirage 2000 is going to be a good test to see how good the Streak and Flash could become.

 

 

 

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The 1/48 Voodoo has some let downs, tooled several years before its release, the most annoying for me being the way too shallow nose clear parts and lack of camera detail (I got the D-mold set), but is overall very, very Voodooish.

 

Several years on, and going up to 1/32, it's not too much to ask for cameras for the 'Flash, glazing for the apertures that fits flush, and inlet trunking for both (not Tiger II voids). 

 

If alive and well when the kits emerge I will buy them regardless. >1 of each is dependant on Q of fit, detail etc. 

 

Personally, interested in French and Italian. 

 

Tony 

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13 hours ago, quang said:

I admit that their way of designing kits can be quirky at times, but total mess?

Apart from one main issue (the intakes), all the other mistakes are minor and can be easily corrected with a modicum of modelling techniques. The dimensions are good, the shapes are there and the inimitable Voodoo feel is present. What else do the modellers need?

Ah, the fit! The fit is better than the classic Monogram offering providing you take some time to dry fit and work out how the parts go together (like you should do with every other kit, right?).

As for the price, the KH Voodoo costs the equivalent of 30 Euro in Asia. So if you think the price is steep in Europe and the US, blame it on the importers.

 

 

I FULLY agree with Jennings, that even though  "all the other mistakes are minor and can be easily corrected", there should not have been ALL THE OTHER MISTAKES in a current, expensive kit that was years in the design & tooling, with very much input from modelers around the world. Just typical sloppy work by a company that doesn't appear to care.

That being said, I have one of them on order, I will decide how much I feel like correcting when I get started.

 

Larry

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17 hours ago, Jennings Heilig said:

 

Not the point.  The point is, none of that (none, zero, zilch, nada, empty set) should have been necessary.  It's sloppy work by a shoddy designer.  And for a premium price.  If I practiced anesthesia like they practice their vocation, I'd have a lot of dead patients.  Very sloppy work (theirs, not yours - that's amazing on your part, and you have far more patience than I do).

 

Well, this said, KH never killed anyone, even with a crap kit. We can't say the same about medics, and usually a KH kit remains quite cheaper than a visit to a doctor.

 

So, you should practice some  anesthesia on yourself for one or two years, or go Matchbox to learn to get what cooler and come back when the kit is released. 

 

All this said with tongue in cheek, of course !

 

Madcop

 

 

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Mmmm Kitty Hawk....  currently my least favourite manufacturer after working on their Bronco, which is one of a very small number of kits that ended up thrown away. 

 

It was the very worse kit that I have ever attempted, nice subject, nice packaging, nice schemes but appallingly executed.

 

They just got nothing right with that cheap brittle plastic, full of badly positioned ejector pins, poorly moulded, large sprue gates some badly position on transparencies, indifferent fit terribly poor instructions and, even a part pictured on the instructions that was not produced in plastic!!     I went from amusement at the instructions at first, to being infuriated at how any company could possibly release such a shoddy kit.  

 

I have the F5 Tiger in the stash and if that is no better then I will never, under any circumstance, buy a Kitty Hawk again, even if they do release a Jaguar, a subject I would truly love in 1/32.  

 

Why, I wonder,  do so many people make excuse for them.  They don’t deserve it. 

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Hi Barry, i think it's because we want the subjects. T-28, Bronco, ect,ect. Your right, of cource, but no one else is producing them. Better a flawed kit than none at all, Maybe ?  I,m sticking with hasegawa for the F-5.

Edited by firefly7
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19 minutes ago, firefly7 said:

Hi Barry, i think it's because we want the subjects. T-28, Bronco, ect,ect. Your right, of cource, but no one else is producing them. Better a flawed kit than none at all, Maybe ?  I,m sticking with hasegawa for the F-5.

 

But if we keep excusing shoddy kits then they will keep producing shoddy products.  

 

No review I read of the Bronco exposed just how bad it is so I feel ‘mis-sold’ a third rate product. 

Edited by BarryWilliams
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4 minutes ago, BarryWilliams said:

 

But if we keep excusing shoddy kits then they will keep producing shoddy products.  

 

No review I read of the Bronco exposed just how bad it is so I feel ‘mis-sold’ a third rate product. 

 

 

When next I build a KHM OV-10, it will be my 3rd.

 

Im not excusing odd engineering and flubs like missing a wing spar, a crap load of ejector marks in the worst places and OOB gear that cant support the model, but its a fun build to me, and I cant wait to build my 3rd, as I will actually get to keep that one myself. 

 

Its all in the eye of the particular modeler, as IMHO the kit is far far from perfect , but just as far removed from shoddy and 3rd rate. 

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34 minutes ago, Out2gtcha said:

 

 

When next I build a KHM OV-10, it will be my 3rd.

 

Im not excusing odd engineering and flubs like missing a wing spar, a crap load of ejector marks in the worst places and OOB gear that cant support the model, but its a fun build to me, and I cant wait to build my 3rd, as I will actually get to keep that one myself. 

 

Its all in the eye of the particular modeler, as IMHO the kit is far far from perfect , but just as far removed from shoddy and 3rd rate. 

We all have different tastes and get different things from a kit.   Me, I build for relaxation and fun and that Bronco has no fun in it at all.  All

kits have their issues, but most also have redeeming features that balance things out. I did not find that with the Bronco.  

 

Based on the Bronco I would characterise KH as a company run by an accountant whose spreadsheet told him that the development budget had run out and ordered the kit into production regardless that it was unfinished.    That is how the kit felt to me, rushed into production before it was ready. That is why I stand by my description of it as shoddy. 

 

Mind you you I had just finished the Tammy 1/32 Mossie, sheer pleasure from start to finish so that Bronco was a real contrast. 

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