Jump to content

Kitty Hawk 1/32 F-5E Tiger II


Recommended Posts

I've been looking forward to the release of this kit from Kitty Hawk, and after going through the kit during my first-look over on Cybermodeler, I am still hopeful that this kit can render any one of the seven decal subjects in the box. The main issue I have is that the kit tries to capture the features of all seven subjects without being able to render any of them straight OOB. More recently, I found the discussion thread looking at this kit and there are some sharp engineering eyes that have poured over the plastic. Like every kit out there, this one isn't perfect, but it is time to put it to the test.

 

Since I can't do much with the nose section without the cockpit installed, I initially thought about using the Verlinden cockpit, but decided to build this as much out-of-the-box as possible. The revelation that the right side console was backwards was interesting, but I flipped it around using a razor saw.

kh_32018_01.jpg

 

Another revelation described in that thread is that the cockpit tub is too shallow and as I mentioned above, I could see that comparing it to the Hasegawa kit. What's interesting is that the ejection seat is not compressed to compensate, rather the bottom portion of the seat frame was eliminated. From the seat pan to the headrest, the height is right. Look here at the kit seat compared to the seat from True Details, TAC Scale Dynamics/CAM, and Verlinden. These all align with the kit seat but they also reveal that the survival seat pan and a few other areas need some work.

kh_32018_02.jpg

 

Interesting that the resin pilot from Kitty Hawk has his legs up a bit to compensate for the lower ejection seat. Here is the figure seated in the Verlinden seat, so the proportions are good. Aside from leg position, the backpack parachute extends down too low on the figure. The chute fits into the rear of the seat atop that bolster behind the seat pan. The instructions have you put the seat cushion for the survival kit in the back of the seat and is actually molded to fit back there. I relocated it and the seat looks better.

 

kh_32018_03.jpg

 

Here's the corrected KH seat cushion and I've also trimmed the backpack parachute of the pilot to fit over that rear bolster in the seat.

kh_32018_04.jpg

 

With the seat completed, the rest of the cockpit tub goes together with the usual test-trim-test-glue routine. There's a bit of flash on many of the parts, and some of the parts are molded quite thin, so care is required not to damage the assemblies. Here's the tub with pilot dry-fitted ready for paint.

kh_32018_12.jpg

Edited by HobbyZoneUSA
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking forward to your build. I have the hasegawa offering woth the verlinden cockpit and i am holding on to it. Another blooper from KH in molding the console backwards. I found many of those on their bronco kit like the parapacks on the ejection seats were on the same side etc etc. Well... let's see how this all goes!

K

Link to comment
Share on other sites

           adc.jpg

YAY !

 

 

looks like this one is like any other 1/32 jet kit ! you can build it OOB but it will be wrong but quite well detailed or you can stuff it full of PE/resin bits and it will be a great kit .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad to see one started, I have one en route. So far this is looking great!

Did you see Haagen's review of the kit on detail & scale? There are errors on the decal sheet including the full-tail rising sun, some other observations that may be worth noting as well depending how technical you want to be in the accuracy of the particular plane you're doing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad to see one started, I have one en route. So far this is looking great!

Did you see Haagen's review of the kit on detail & scale? There are errors on the decal sheet including the full-tail rising sun, some other observations that may be worth noting as well depending how technical you want to be in the accuracy of the particular plane you're doing.

No, didn't see that one. Since I'm still in the build stage, I'm consolidating and prioritizing the details that I want to fix between what I found and the extensive breakdown here in the forums on the kit. The instrument panel is circa 1970/80/90, so I won't be doing the F-5N this time around. That means I have some bodywork to do with the RHAW antenna removal and relocating the fuel fill points to the port side of the dorsal spine. Flipping the right-hand side console around was easy, but these parts are molded thin in many areas and are somewhat delicate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

           adc.jpg

YAY !

 

 

looks like this one is like any other 1/32 jet kit ! you can build it OOB but it will be wrong but quite well detailed or you can stuff it full of PE/resin bits and it will be a great kit .

 

Stop that! I had to break for a cigar after seeing this one...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking good.....on the progress......great work swooping the engine controls..........around........I am holding off on getting one.......The seat oob looks very out of scale and shape........

 

rgds

Link to comment
Share on other sites


So between painting sessions in the cockpit of the KH 1/32 F-5E, I started on the other fixes and backdates to render a 1970s era F-5E. Here is the central fuselage that sits behind the canopy. The fuel filler caps were molded on the right side of the spine rather than the left, and the antenna base in the center needs to go.



I dug out my trusty Waldron punch set and found a punch the same diameter as the fuel filler caps. I punched out four disks, two to fill in the right side holes, two to serve as new filler caps. I used a pin vise to drill out pilot holes for the new refueling points followed by a drill bit that matched the diameter of the Waldron punch that was just used. After opening up the two holes, I used a chamfering tool to bevel the edges of the holes, then glued the disks into place as the new filler caps. I also opened up the hole for the antenna, inserted sprue stock, and glued the hole closed. I used my Sujiborido course file to remove the excess plastic in the old filler holes and the antenna base, then applied Mr.Surfacer 500 to find any imperfections. When all of that is sanded and polished, the spine is now corrected and backdated.

kh_32018_13.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Progress continues with the Kitty Hawk 1/32 F-5E. I was going to really super-detail the cockpit, but I will save that effort for the next builds. First I want to get this one completed to sort out any issues before really getting into the AMS detail mode.

kh_32018_14.jpgkh_32018_15.jpgkh_32018_16.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The cockpit is touched-up, the nose gear well is assembled with the structure of the gun bays (which will remain empty for this build), and now to look at another backdating item. The RHAW antennas on the nose have large recesses on the insides of the nose which will leave holes when the RHAW blisters are removed. I filled the recesses with cyano, then used my Sujiborido course file to plane the surface smooth, removing the RHAW blister. You can see the cyano that fills the hole from the inside. The whole process took just a few minutes and the nose/radome are test-fitted before I go back and fill in the slide mold track on the lower sides of the nose.

kh_32018_18.jpg

kh_32018_20.jpg

Edited by HobbyZoneUSA
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...