Hi Guys,

For the last 15 years I've been modelling AFV's, but in the last month I wanted to try some aircraft.

When I was very young I did only aircraft, I didn't even paint them!

So i bought the Tamiya F-16 block 25/32, went together quite well, except some problems with the fuselage, but I managed to arrange that. Sort of... And now I'm in the painting fase. I also bought Tamiya's F-117, still on the shelf.

For AFV's there are a lot of great reviews and I know what brands I have to look at. For aircraft, I find it much harder to find good reviews, and if I find any, like here, they aren't on the subject I'm looking for.

To make a long story short, what seems to be the best F-15 Eagle and F-18 (Super) Hornet in 1/48 scale?

A small paint question, what's so special with Tamiya's AS paint. The painting guide always refers to AS colours, where I'm used to paint with the X and XF colours. Can I find the AS in X or XF range? The AS colours are always in sprays, where I prefer to paint with my airbrush, can I get the paint out of the spray, and how to use it with my airbrush?

Thanks in advance for any answers and comments!

Dave

Hello Dave,
As for the best F-15 and 18, well hands down Hasegawa's makes a great F-18. I've built many aircraft modern jets and enjoy the Hasegawa kits. Hobby Boss has one out, never seen it yet but read great reviews. For the F-15, Revell is better and is pretty accurate out of the box.

There are many aftermarket set out for both aircraft kits, decals, resin and photoetch. Type in a google search "1/48th F-15 review" and the same for the 18, there you'll find plenty of sruff to look over.

As for the AS Tamiya paints, well those colors are matched to the cans, and no you won't find them in a jar. You could try to find a match in Model Master or Poly Scale paints, that's what I do.

To get the pait out of the can, here is what I do. Turn the can totally upside down in an old cardboard box, then push down on the can to let out all the air. You will have some paint come out at first (hence the box) Once all the air is depleted poke a hole in the can, then pour paint into a old paint jar with lid. It you need to thin it, thin it with the appropriate thinner.

Good luck with your project.
Happy Modeling,
Joe

Hello Joe,

Thanks for the reply.

Concerning the F-15, I found a lot about the Revell Strike Eagle, which seems to be, according to different reviews, a great kit. But I haven't found anything about an F-15...

I see that Tamiya has an F-15, I guess it's a bit old, but would it be any good? Academy also has an F-15, would it be up to par with their AFV offerings? I also saw they are coming out with an F-22 Raptor. But I haven't found any reviews on it.

Concerning the F-18, Hasegawa seems to be the way to go. They do have a lot of F-18 kits, are they all up to the same standards? Or are there some kits that are better left in the shop then on te shelf?

While I'm at it, F-14's. I read somewhere that the Hasegawa offer is the best on the market, correct?

Can I compare Hasegawa with Tamiya, Dragon or AFV Club, concerning fit, quality, etc. I have never build any Hasegawa kit, so I'm a bit in the blue here.

Thanks for the advice on the paints. What I did was using a pipet to spray in a jar. Then letting the paint outgas for an hour, after which I use it thinned with my airbrush.

The AS paint are lacquers, but do they have any other special quality? Like tamiya says, they are specially for aircraft, why?

Thanks again for any reply, advice or comments!

Greetz,

Dave

Here are a few links that may shed some light...

F-15 1

F-15 2

F-15 3

Tamiya F-15...well it's a bit of work around the intakes and nose cone. It is missing some soft detail detail work, however out of box it builds alright.

My F-15C

In order of the best, Hasegawa, Revell, Academy and Tamiya.

Here is a page on the F-22

F-22 Raptor




Their Kits (Hasegawa) have gotten better of the years, still hands down over the other offerings.

This is how I see it...if your looking for a contest entering build then you will need to spend money, or if your just looking at it as a hobby of having the fun of building, then it's what your willing to put into it.

As you may have noticed I won't bash any kit, I'm pleased that there's something out. Like I said Tamiya's F-15 was on the bottom of the list but I think it looks great once I finished it. If I wanted to go futher with it I would have bought resin cockpit, intakes and tail burner cans.




Yes that is correct, and back at the F-16...I just finished one last month, easy to build and little putty. That's pretty much the same for most of the Hasegawa offerings.




I pretty much never use lacquer paints, they take to much time to dry...but that's just me. I like the Acrylics thined with rubbing alcohol...dries with in 30 mins. and I'm back to modeling. "Why" are the specially designed for Tamiya aircraft, their matched to FS color of the aircraft...say like (as an example) Dark Ghost Gray or Gunship Gray. Tamiya does not have them in jars, but they can be found in acrylics from Model Masters, Poly Scale and a few others. It's really up to you and your prefence.

Happy Modeling,
Joe

Thanks Joe!

That was one hell of a helpful reply!

If I know a kit is quality, I don't mind paying a premium. Quality for me means fine details, accurate model, and good fit.

I'm building just for fun, on AFV's I sometimes used aftermarket kits, but that's a bit to soon for me on aircraft. I'll first try to make them decent OOB.

I know what to buy now!

Thanks again!

Dave

I'll throw in my two cents here. I've built both the Hasegawa and the Revell F/A-18 Superhornets and the Revell kit is the better kit in my opinion. The Revell kit actually goes together a little more seamlessly than the Hasegawa kit. Plus, the Revell cockpits are very well detailed and include a decal for the forward instument panel that looks as if the plane is powered up. It looks really good.

One major advantage the Revell kit has is that the intakes are alot cleaner. The seams are very well hidden. I had to do alot of filling/sanding to get the intakes to look seamless on the Hasegawa kit.

I'd only get the Hasegawa kit if you are determined to have the flaps in the down position. Otherwise, save $30 and get the Revell kit.

Here's the Revell kit that I did a few months ago (I don't have any pics of the Hasegawa kit):









As far tas F-15s go I just finished a Tamiya F-15C. Overall it was a good plane and it went together very well. Obviously the "turkey feather" exhaust nozzles are a bit of a dissapointment but I'm sure you can use the AM stuff for Academy or Hasegawa. The cockpit is also unspectacular but with a little effort you can make it look decent.

Here's a few photos:

Hi Fly :-)

Thanks for the comments and the pictures!

I haven't bought any new kits yet, as I'm still looking into the different options.

I'll surely take a look at the Revell kit.

Thanks!

Dave

Anytime!

Just for the record I'm not bashing the Hasegawa Superhornet or suggesting that its not worth getting...it's a nice kit for sure. But there are alot of little things that the Revell kit does better. And considering the money saved its very hard to argue with the Revell kit.

Like I said earlier, the only major plus that the Hasegawa kit offers is the ability to put the flaps in the down position...but I'm not sure that worth the extra $30. For that $30 you could find some after market weapons and a display base!

About the Tamiya F-15C...one thing that I forgot to mention was that I was really dissapointed about was the lack of intake trunks. The intakes themselves are nice but there is no detail inside of the fuselage. You're just looking into the hollow model. I ended up painting the intakes grey and fading them into black as I painted deeper into the model. That way you can't really see inside the model.

It was a fun kit but the Academy or Hasegawa are generally considered the better choices here. Infact, I just ordered the Academy F-15E with weapons and I'm pretty eager to get it started.