Anyone know a decent 1/72 F-15 and/or Mig-29?

[Penguin]

I'm just finishing up on my UN Spacy F-14, using Hasegawa's "Atlantic Fleet Squadrons" F-14A rather than the less accurately tooled kit that comes with Hasegawa's Macross Zero F-14. I was wondering if anyone knows of any F-15 and MiG-29 kits in the same scale and of similar quality to the aforementioned F-14 (lots of detail, insanely small parts, possibly with photo-etched accessories, etc.). I was cruising squadron.com and saw a couple of high-detail models from Airfix in England. Does anyone have any comments on the quality of Airfix' products? Thanks!

[David Hingtgen]

Don't even bother with Airfix. Their best is worse than Hasegawa's worst.

It's simple. Is is a plastic model of something? Then you want Hasegawa or Tamiya. Possibly Fujimi. That's about it, barring the rare really good Revell kit, or lately, Academy. (Academy tends to be of high quality, but questionable accuracy---sure, it may be cheap, 1/32, with ultra-fine engraving and 500 weapons, but be sure to see if they got the BASIC SHAPE right). I highly suspect Academy just follows line-art drawings extremely accurately for most of their molds--thus every "little engraved detail" is right, but they haven't actually crawled over a real one in a museum to see how the basic shapes and curves actually fit together in 3D. Their 1/48 F-15 is the best example of this.

And Hasegawa's specialty is modern jets, so go with their F-15. Tip: Anything that happens to actually be in Japan, is likely to have a VERY accurate kit from Hasegawa.

Of course, like almost all Hase kits, there's a new and an old version. And for some reasons, Hase keeps pumping out the old ones (like their M0 F-14 kit) alongside the far superior new ones.

I just snagged their 1/72 Sundowners F-4B/N reissue, and it's wonderfully accurate. Hase has F-4's down pat, no less than 4 v.stab tips.

Edited March 8, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[Penguin]

Thanks for the heads-up on Airfix, David. I had pretty much planned on a Hasegawa kit unless someone suggested something better - I've never had a bad experience with a Hasegawa kit so far (knock on wood).

[DARTHTODD]

The 1/72 Hase mig-29 MO kit is really good, I'd recommend that. But like David said, the tomcat version of this isn't very good.

[newca]

in 72 scale, I recommend Hasegawa and Italeri(Tamiya just rebox the Iteleri mold) for Mig-29, they are good, but neither is as best as Hasegawa 1/72 new tooling Tomcat! be free to pick any of them. Fujimi's Mig is acceptable also. wait, why don't you just buy a Zero version Mig-29 from Hasegawa?

for F-15, Hasegawa(the new tooling) and Academy are both good, avoid Italeri or Revell.

you can find them at www.hlj.com or www.greatmodels.com.

happy modelling

Edited March 8, 2004 by newca

[Damian]

OR!

You could buy the 1/72 Hase Macross Zero Mig-29, send the decals to Mike Grant of Mike Grant decals and have them blown up to 1/48th scale. Buy the Academy Mig-29,warning you will need at least a replacement seat, I'm using a SOL K-36D seat. Then build to your heart's content! Well thats what I'm planning to do anyways Once I'm done with my Prowling Red Devil Mig-29A...

[Neova]

I don't want to go OT but does anyone have scans of the the Mac Zero decals they could share with me? or other Hasegawa Macross scans? I want to blow some up to 1/48. 200 DPI or LPI and up would be perfect.

I searched and found that old thread about the 1/48 Hasegawa models and would like to convert my Atlantic Fleet F14A to Macross Zero F14. Then I can pass my 1/48 Jolly Rogers decals to Indigofx to work on his customs.

I'll scan that sheet too so I can have it re-done for others later.

[David Hingtgen]

You want to make an F-14A into Shin's F-14? That'd be an insane amount of work. Start with the rear fuselage, then new engines, and new nozzles, a new chinpod, modified wing glove, nose gear door, etc. Shin has basically an F-14D, with the cockpit of an A.

It'd be a LOT easier to start with an F-14D, and add the cockpit of an A. And hey--many of Revell's F-14D's are "screwed up" in that they have the cockpit of an A instead of a D. Just what you need. (Though the rear fuselage is still wrong, as it is in 90% of F-14B/D kits)

[Neova]

David,

Would another Hasegawa kit be a better base to start with? The last thread that was brought up by the seach referred mostly to 1/72s. I can't find many (any) revell kits here but Italeri and Fujimi kits abound.

I found 3 1/48 Hasegawa F14as which I could sell off the decals and convert. The only other kit in this size was the Italeri F-14as which are so so detail wise.

[Macross_Fanboy]

I want 1/48 Macross Zero decals for the F-14!!!!! I was thinking about it the other night when I frowned upon laying my eyes on my ruined 1/48 Tomcat.

Maybe someone here could also do a resin kit of a 1/48 MiG-29 and print 1/48 Anti-UN decals for it!!!!

[newca]

why resin MIG-29? Academy from Korea has 1/48 MIG-29 single/double seat plastic kits, and Revell from Germany has them in 1/32.

[Macross_Fanboy]

Really?? How much is the Academy?? I never knew there was a 1/48 MiG-29 out there.

[David Hingtgen]

The Revell 1/32 MiG-29's are popping up everywhere around here. If you can find them in Iowa, you can find them anywhere.

PS--I "lost" this thread, but in response to neova's question, an F-14D would give you all the parts you need, as would a Fujimi F-14D. (Except the prototype--never buy the demo-color white/red F-14B or D from anybody in any scale--they're almost always wrong for a production model--avoid the all-black ones as well) Most good F-14D kits just add in all the D parts, so all the A parts are still there. And that's what you need for Shin's, a D's body with an A's cockpit.

And there's always a ton of aftermarket resin cockpits and seats, so you could buy just about any D and then add in a really nice A cockpit if you want. (Make sure it's a D with the rear fuselage fairings though).

Edited April 7, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[Neova]

While model shopping today (see VF-11c, VF-2SS, MGS thread), I saw a bunch of Academy model kits. But I did not see any of their 1/48 F-14 kits or Mig 29. I did see a bunch of SU-27 A/B/Cs.

I was wondering about the quality of the Academy kits or even Tamiya kits since they both have a great selection of helicoptor kits great for UN Spacy support and such. The prices here are not bad. I just need to find time to work on them should I purchase them.

Also, I found Hasegawa's 1/48 Pacific Fleet, Bicentennial and Black Knights Special F-14A kits but no F-14Ds here. Very hard to find as David had mentioned.

[Macross_Fanboy]

While model shopping today (see VF-11c, VF-2SS, MGS thread), I saw a bunch of Academy model kits. But I did not see any of their 1/48 F-14 kits or Mig 29. I did see a bunch of SU-27 A/B/Cs.

I was wondering about the quality of the Academy kits or even Tamiya kits since they both have a great selection of helicoptor kits great for UN Spacy support and such. The prices here are not bad. I just need to find time to work on them should I purchase them.

Also, I found Hasegawa's 1/48 Pacific Fleet, Bicentennial and Black Knights Special F-14A kits but no F-14Ds here. Very hard to find as David had mentioned.

Just settle for the Revell 1/48 F-14D. It's a good kit, I have two, one is a wreck so I stopped building it, the other is still fresh in its original packaging.

[David Hingtgen]

Except that, like all-non Hasegawa F-14D's ever, in any scale, it's missing one of the key "I'm not an F-14A" features. The rear fuselage. Revell did something that's still "incredulous" to most of us modelers. It's clear they intended to do accurate F-14A/B/D's, based on parts breakdown/options. And like Hasegawa, they split the rear fuselage to allow for completely different back ends, rather than just "nozzle-swapping" like most kits. However, on the "F-14D-specific" sprue, they included the back end parts of an F-14A! And so it's just like most F-14D kits. We hope that when they come out with the new F-14A they include an F-14D back end with the F-14A nozzles, so you can buy 2 kits, swap parts, and everything's fine. Or they might "correct" the F-14A, and give an F-14A back-end with F-14A nozzles.

Or in summary: if you're going with a Revell F-14D, you might as well just buy whatever F-14A you want, and swap nozzles with an F-16 kit. It'd be just as accurate, and nicer-looking, if you use all-Hasegawa parts. (If you're going for Shin's) I still don't know why most every review says it's accurate, when it's just as inaccurate as nearly every other kit out there. More like "accurate, except for 1 of the 3 main F-14D features".

PS--most Hase 1/48 F-14D's come with VF-11 Red Rippers low-vis markings. Just to help you look. In 1/72, the current release is VF-2 Bounty Hunters---easy enough to find on-line, rare in shops. Basically--if you find a Hase F-14D, buy it. 90% of what they release is A's, then D's, with B's being the rarest. (I *so* should have bought that VF-101 F-14B I saw like 2 years ago at my local shop--now I'm desperately looking for that exact release, I want those decals)

PPS--this is a great chance to correct an earlier statement. I had never actually owned a Fujimi F-14D, and just went by the 2 top F-14 sites and 3 best modeling sites. Well, they're all wrong. While Fujimi F-14D's DO include new rear fuselage parts. they're for the F-14B prototype, with F101 engines, not F110's. So it's still wrong for any real F-14A+, F-14B, F-14D. Closer than an A, but for the amount of work it takes to add in the new parts, totally not worth it.

My current plan: Fujimi includes nice deeply scribed lines inside to slice off the entire back end of the engines. Exactly where the Hasegawa F-14D parts start. Yes, it'll be expensive, but I plan to make most of my F-14B's and D's by combining Hase engines and rear fuselages, with the other 90% of the plane from Fujimi kits. I will however try a 100% Hase F-14D, and see just how bad the fit really is on Hase's. If it's not "headache inducing" I'll probably build a few, to keep cost/waste down.

Also, the pile of Fujimi F-14 kits I have is a factor. (Hey, Fuji F-14A's are cheap on Ebay--and I plan to order a few sprues of "replacement" parts from HLJ---I'm going to see how much I can order--if I can, I'll order like a half-dozen Hase F-14D "rear fuselage parts" sprues, and just do it like that)

Edited April 18, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[Neova]

Or in summary: if you're going with a Revell F-14D, you might as well just buy whatever F-14A you want, and swap nozzles with an F-16 kit. It'd be just as accurate, and nicer-looking, if you use all-Hasegawa parts. (If you're going for Shin's) I still don't know why most every review says it's accurate, when it's just as inaccurate as nearly every other kit out there. More like "accurate, except for 1 of the 3 main F-14D features".

David,

So you're saying if I have a Hasegawa F-14A kit and get the sprues for their F-16 Nozzles, then I will have an accurate F-14D to make into Shin's from M0? That's it? If thats true, I'll jump on that right away.

[David Hingtgen]

No, I'm saying that the Revell F-14D is inaccurate enough, that that is what it would be like (using a Hase w/F-16 engines). It'd be like every other inaccurate attempt at a GE-engined F-14.

If you want an F-14 with GE engines (like Shin's), a Hasegawa B or D is the only way to go, period. (Though I do plan to graft on the back end of a Hase D onto a Fujimi A to make a "Fujigawa" F-14B--don't know if it'll work, but I'm sure going to try)

If you want Shin's F-14, you have two options if you want the "major external features" to be accurate:

1. Take an F-14D, but use an F-14A/B cockpit/seats.

2. Take an F-14B, but remove the ECM bumps from under the wing gloves, and add the F-14D's dual chinpod under the nose.

Other late F-14 features are basically squadron or aircraft-specific, like the ECM bumps on the glove shoulder, and dorsal antenna configuration. (B's and D's tend to have a noticeably larger, more triangular forward dorsal antenna, just behind the cockpit) The "shoulder" ECM bumps are very common, but not guaranteed. (They are often listed as a B vs D thing, but it's untrue, I've personally checked at airshows)

Edited April 20, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[Macross_Fanboy]

DAMN DAVID!!!!! You're the man!!!!! How old are you?! SHEESH! Everytime you post about aircraft I get the impression that you're a retired fighter pilot or a private pilot!

[David Hingtgen]

Sorry, just finished college a few months ago. If only Iowa taught aeronautics.....

[bsu legato]

Perhaps we should commission Anasazi to make us a set of reproduction Macross Zero markings, in either 1/72 or 1/48 scale. Then we can just build the kit of our choice without having to buy the M:Zero kits just for the decals.

[Macross_Fanboy]

Hey, I'd buy 1/48 decals for an Anti-UN MiG-29 and 1/48 UN F-14 or any other UN and Anti-UN aircraft. And maybe some one can do a resin recast of UN fighter pilots during the Unity War so we don't have to use the regular pilot figures that come with the kits. Just an idea.

[David Hingtgen]

Go for it. Then I'll make a nice long illustrated "F-14 variants" guide to put up here (along with kit reviews/comments) so everyone can make an accurate Shin's F-14, or whatever F-14 they may want in whatever scale they want. (I do this often, but usually for airliners, not fighters--but I do know my F-14's)

Yeesh, not only did Hase release the totally wrong type of F-14 for Shin, they did it with their older raised-line mold.

[bsu legato]

Well if we're going to do it, then we should DO IT.

First, I'd imagine we should see if Anasazi is even interested in the job. From what I've seen, he's extrememly busy in his offline life.

Secondly, we'd have to see how much interest there is. I have no idea how many orders he'd want before he'd consider doing this.

[Neova]

Really, how much interests are there for these decals? I don't have the kits in hand so I don't have the decals now but if someone can give me HI RES SCANS, then I might be able to do something by leveraging other decal projects. Cost is extremely high to start production but if there are really a lot of interests, I can foot the initial bill.

If there are only a few interests, we can save cost by printing a lot of different decals on the same sheet to makeup for the costs. I'm talking about every Hasegawa Macross, F-14 squadron and other decals you want all in one run and all scaled to 1/48 properly. Scans would be required of course.

PS: This is all talk for now but I do have the means to make this if there is enough interest. Quality will need to be checked before any orders will be offered.

[bsu legato]

Personally, I'd be in for a set of each. However, I'm leaning towards 1/72 scale so that they'd be in scale with the rest of my Macross models.

Perhaps this is worth starting a new topic. We could have it pinned for all to see, and we can work on the details together.

[David Hingtgen]

I'm also a 1/72 guy, and would take plenty of F-14 markings. And can advise on the exact colors to print for low-vis.

[bsu legato]

Just bumping this to see if there's still any interest in the Macross Zero reproduction decal project?. Anybody who's interested, say "Aye."

And a'ight is NOT an acceptable reply.

[Macross_Fanboy]

Aye! 1/48 please!