Wanted to give it a crack ASAP to see if it clicks together as the reviews/builds say.
And since Jets are not my primary subject I build them OOB anyway (except Swedish planes).
So the little F-16 will be placed on the to-do list amongst (many) other projects and will fully focus on this one.
Since we love Tamiya kits in this GB lets focus on the kit...the F-14 Tomcat is so well known anyways. (we all seen TopGun right?
)However I highly recommend looking at Pauls great review as a complement to the pics below.
[youtube]h8Q8-C8kPmw[/youtube]
First of all is the kit as good as they say? Lets find out...
The box I quite heavy and the boxart is beautiful, one of the best I have seen on a Tamiya box.
It is absolutely crammed with plastic!
The clear parts are as we have come to expect from modern Tamiya kits, perfect! And with nice detail on the framing.
On the big one I had some scratches but I tested and they will hopefully go away with some polishing. There is a center mould seam that has to be polished anyway. But, cant understand why Tamiya don't protect their clear parts in Foam like Trumpeter, HobbyBoss and others...
First sprue. The quality is perfect and everything is extremely crisp. There is absolutely no flash on any part in the kit. Everything is perfectly moulded and with very fine surface detail.
Following each sprue there will be some detail shots. The camera hates the light plastic and it was a struggle to capture the very fine detailing.
Next, wings and the wing sweep mechanism. I have read some criticism on the kit due to not having moving/positionable Flaps, Slats, Ailerons etc.
Ok, I can buy that if Your an hardcore F-14 lover and scale modeller. But its pretty clear that Tamiya had the vast majority of modellers in mind when designing this kit. Perfect fit, enough detail and easy and enjoyable to build. I love it and perfect for me!
Next, air intakes and fins
To help the modeller Tamiya has moulded in part numbers on similar parts and also L/R.
Ejection pin mark free intakes.
Next horizontal stabilisers, seats and pilots, Tamiya have included two very nice pilot figures, one pilot and one RIO.
Next, engine detail, beautiful stuff
Cockpit
Lower fuse
Wheel bays and gear
Weapons, You get a full loadout of Sidewinders, Sparrows and Phoenix missiles
Instructions, Fact sheet, Paint guide, Decals and canopy masks (cut yourself kind)
And screws polycaps for the wings/fuse
Not fold out, a booklet!
3 pages of stencilling but not that many actually
Another help, showing the actual stencil and not just a number
There You have it...
My impression is that this is a very good kit!
The plastic is just perfect. The detailing is all there and exquisite, in fact its so fine I'm in doubt if to use a primer. I think a thin layer of paint will have to do. And then careful painting not to loose any detail the same for varnish.
The decal options are old classics except the Iranian one which is cool for those who want to do something different.
The kit is very complete and looks like its going to build up to a very impressive plane OOB.
Any faults? Not really! I have to be really really picky to find some things.
The protection of the clear parts could have been better in a state of the art kit like this. Agree with Paul and also hate the stapled bags.
And the detailing could have been just a tiny bit deeper to allow for normal painting and to take a wash better.
Ok now lets see if it fits as good as it looks...
):
