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1:48 AFV Club F-5E Tiger II Pics
Merlin
Staff MemberSenior Editor
AEROSCALE
#017
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United Kingdom
Joined: June 11, 2003
KitMaker: 17,582 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - 07:21 AM UTC


We've had to make do with a couple of pics and a boxtop... until now! AFV Club have realeased pics showing a test of their quarterscale Tiger II from every angle.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
skyhawk
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Florida, United States
Joined: June 03, 2003
KitMaker: 1,095 posts
AeroScale: 52 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - 08:10 AM UTC
man O MAN!!! cant wait....oh, how much I bet they already have a F-5F in the works. guess i better finish the monogram one soon.

they should get somebody to be a wee bit more careful on assembling thier test shots...the landing gear and one of those horz stabs look a bit out of alignment

no price yet eh?
Tojo72
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North Carolina, United States
Joined: June 06, 2006
KitMaker: 4,691 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - 09:57 AM UTC
I think I need one of those !!
ViperAtl
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Georgia, United States
Joined: August 22, 2005
KitMaker: 331 posts
AeroScale: 135 posts
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 06:42 AM UTC
So far so good, it's a nice looking model and I will certainly buy one. Maybe 2!

Also would be nice to have a T-38 too.

Finally, a T-38 and F-5E in 1/32 scale would be nice too.
litespeed
Staff MemberNews Reporter
AEROSCALE
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England - North West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 15, 2009
KitMaker: 1,976 posts
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Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 08:21 AM UTC
Is it me or are the undercarriage bays for the main wheels very shallow?
Yoni_Lev
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Washington, United States
Joined: September 20, 2007
KitMaker: 861 posts
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Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 12:05 PM UTC
My very first 1:48 aircraft build was Monogram's F-5E, way back in 1979 or so. Over the years I've developed a certain fondness for the Tiger II, and I'm glad to see that AFV Club is closer to getting this one on the shelves. All in all, the test shot pics look mighty promising.


Quoted Text

Is it me or are the undercarriage bays for the main wheels very shallow?



They look shallow to my eye, based on that one photo.

-YL
Samuca
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Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Joined: February 22, 2004
KitMaker: 65 posts
AeroScale: 6 posts
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 01:49 PM UTC
S!
Without a doubt, this is one of the most expected kits of the current/next year. Particularly by us, Brazilians.
VonCuda
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North Carolina, United States
Joined: November 28, 2005
KitMaker: 2,216 posts
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Posted: Friday, October 16, 2009 - 01:18 PM UTC
Shallow indeed. And the canopy appears a bit thick as well as milky. Other than that it's looking pretty nice.

Hermon
ludwig113
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: February 05, 2008
KitMaker: 1,381 posts
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Posted: Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 05:12 AM UTC
oh man,this is just so unfair,theres me trying to stop buying kits and they keep releasing stuff i really want
ted_hayward
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Taipei, Taiwan / 台灣
Joined: October 04, 2008
KitMaker: 453 posts
AeroScale: 4 posts
Posted: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 02:04 AM UTC
This kit is now available in Taiwan, so stay tuned for an in-depth review soon!
skyhawk
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Florida, United States
Joined: June 03, 2003
KitMaker: 1,095 posts
AeroScale: 52 posts
Posted: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 02:23 AM UTC

Quoted Text

This kit is now available in Taiwan, so stay tuned for an in-depth review soon!



Lucky Model has it on preorder for a mere $34 inc shipping to the US... do I dare???
alpha_tango
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Germany
Joined: September 07, 2005
KitMaker: 5,609 posts
AeroScale: 5,231 posts
Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 01:01 AM UTC
just found this

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/marinecorps-301/article?mid=1802&prev=-1&next=1783

strange music playing there ....

Steffen
skyhawk
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Florida, United States
Joined: June 03, 2003
KitMaker: 1,095 posts
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Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 06:57 AM UTC
well, from those sprue shots looks like we will definatly get a F-5F (note the seperate foward fuselage), and open gun bay, plus open engine vents. Also with the seperate nose and LEX parts, minimal extra sprue and can do several versions. I like the variety of decal options too...something for all.
cant wait to get one on hand!
andy


Quoted Text

just found this

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/marinecorps-301/article?mid=1802&prev=-1&next=1783

strange music playing there ....

Steffen

Yoni_Lev
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Washington, United States
Joined: September 20, 2007
KitMaker: 861 posts
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Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010 - 09:29 PM UTC

Quoted Text

well, from those sprue shots looks like we will definatly get a F-5F (note the seperate foward fuselage), and open gun bay, plus open engine vents.



Not to be a naysayer, Andy, but IIRC Hasegawa tooled their 1/32 F-5E the same way, and we haven't seen a -5F from them yet! It's true that molding the kit this way makes it much easier to do a two-seater version, but I don't think that a separate forward fuselage alone means that it's a sure thing.

Hey, I'm not saying I don't want an E and an F, mind you. I'll just be more excited about it if they announce one.

-YL
skyhawk
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Florida, United States
Joined: June 03, 2003
KitMaker: 1,095 posts
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Posted: Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 12:54 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

well, from those sprue shots looks like we will definatly get a F-5F (note the seperate foward fuselage), and open gun bay, plus open engine vents.



Not to be a naysayer, Andy, but IIRC Hasegawa tooled their 1/32 F-5E the same way, and we haven't seen a -5F from them yet! It's true that molding the kit this way makes it much easier to do a two-seater version, but I don't think that a separate forward fuselage alone means that it's a sure thing.

Hey, I'm not saying I don't want an E and an F, mind you. I'll just be more excited about it if they announce one.

-YL



Oh, i totaly see your point and agree. However AFV club does have a little better record of releasing different variants. It might just be a little while (like how long it took to see a late M5). Hasegawa tends to "forget" and rehash old subjects. Case in point is it took forever to get a RF-4B, and a TA-4J from them. Will we ever see a RF-8? you can see the breaks in the molds on the F-8 parts...

regardles, im just keeping my fingers crossed. Besides, I dont want them to release a F-5F untill I finish the one I started!
Littorio
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: September 15, 2004
KitMaker: 4,728 posts
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Posted: Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 02:21 AM UTC
Just after I've brought the Italeri F-5E, Wolfpack aggressor conversion and Two Bobs decals

Oh well may just have to get one and do another aggressor
ReccePhreak
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Florida, United States
Joined: February 18, 2010
KitMaker: 34 posts
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Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 10:22 AM UTC
They have already "previewed" an RF-5E Tigereye, which is what I am eagerly awaiting!

Larry
ViperEnforcer
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Alabama, United States
Joined: December 05, 2007
KitMaker: 204 posts
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Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 06:47 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Shallow indeed. And the canopy appears a bit thick as well as milky. Other than that it's looking pretty nice.

Hermon



There's a few more issues I found:

The first thing that stood out was the panel lines. The majority of the surface scribing was ok (still a bit heavy), but there are places it was overly deep and wide. One example of this was the spine, where it’s pretty bad. This is also quite evident on the small parts, like tanks and pylons. I would have also preferred that the vertical tail rivets been omitted, as they are over done (too deep, large, & too many) for the scale. There's also a raised ribbing effect with the rows of recessed rivets lines on the vertical tail.

The canopy is still a bit suspect and the intakes still too squared. I wish they would have not tooled the gun door as a separate part; man these guys need to get away from that!

The upper nose contours (from gun doors to the nose cone) are too rounded. The spine is too wide and is flattened at the aft section. There's also a strange pinch contour to the mid spine. This is right in the area of a sprue relief injection molded stub. It looks like the area was over heated and then distorted or shrank when it came out the mold. Both my copies and all other AFV F-5Es I've seen ahve this.

The raised rivets on the exhaust shroud are too tight in formation (too many) and bit over sized in height, though they can be sanded down to scale. Still, at least the boat tail fits well enough that most of the rivets will survive the joint process.

Cockpit is nice and certainly better than Monogram's effort, though that's comparing to a kit that’s over 30 years old. The instro and console panels are well done. However, The AFV seat leaves a lot to be desired. A much better one can be found in resin form.

The main LG is a not much of an improved over the Monogram kit, but the nose is. The NLG dual over torque links are open links (Monogram's were solid) and look nice. The detail on the nose strut is quite lacking and has the same chunky profile as the Monogram NS. AFV also includes an extended version of the 2 position nose strut, for those wishing to depict the F-5 prior to take off. The gear door and wheel well detail is much better than Monograms.

The exhaust is also improved over Monogram's, which were nothing more than a pair of short tubes opening up into the fuselage. AFV does include a turbine flame holder assembly of sorts, but absolutely no exhaust duct, so there’s total lack of depth. This problem will need to be addressed.

I am impressed with the fit thus far. The upper and lower mid fuselage halves and boat tails assembly fit rather well. The forward fuselage joint will need some work, but isn't bad.

Overall, the AFV F-5E is a nice kit, though does not trump the Monogram kit as fart as shape and profile accuracy are concerned. However, the cockpit and other details are much better. I doubt the shape inaccuracies and trenchy panel lines will be a deterrent for most modelers, as the detail is quite nice. It’s still remarkable though, that the old Monogram kit still holds its own in the shape department, even after some 30 years!

Mike V
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