Kitty Hawk have released fresh images of their forthcoming Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II.

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Thanks!

It looks like the panel lines will be raised (or sunk) very stronlgy as is tha case for the f-22 model in 1/48 of Hasegawa (?).

This would be a real pity because on the real thing this is not the case

Even I will admit it does look a bit cartoony

I suspect that's an artifact of the way it's rendered. They probably overemphasised that panel lines so they would be visible in the rendering.

And even if it turns out the plastic looks like that, it can be corrected. After all, are we modellers or are we mice?





Well, squeak up!

Anything can be fixed but that's a full re scribe

Precisely. It's a "rendering". Basically a CAD drawing of what the kit will look like built. The problem is renderings and the final product doesn't always match up, for better or worse; though usually the later.

If the panel lines and raised LO areas are as heavy handed as in they are in rendering, it's going to be a disappointment; not to mention any major shape inaccuracies that may occur.

If it does indeed turn out bad, there will be no excuse for that. This day and age of the industry, a "competent" model kit manufacture should be well beyond such mistakes and oversights. Sure, we’re all modelers and can fix most “trivial issues/errors, but for the asking price of new kits these days there should be very little wrong with them; point blank.

Mike V

You are right.

But let's not kill this bird before it flies. this manufacturer takes the initiative to bring a brand new model on the market and we should primarily cheer for that effort.

Let's hope that it is a beautiful model having less "issues" than the real thing

In fact, there may be an airforce of plastic F-35 before the real thing is entering mass production

And the model does makes me wonder if i should buy it (once availabel) and use the many pictures available on the web to build a model of a green/gray painted plane somewhere on an assembly line

The reason why I said "if"; as we'll all have to wait until there is plastic in hand.


Let's not forget that Kinetic also took the initiative (or rather got in over their head) to bring a brand new 48th F-16 model line on the market (albeit one of the most popular Jet subjects) and it ended up being quite the disappointment. It missed the bar Tamiya set; not even coming close to the shape accuracy, quality, fit, and instructions clarity.


The reason why I don’t cheer for what's not been established. I do looking forward to it though; just hope it's a good kit and priced reasonably. At any rate, it's got to be better than those Panda X-35 atrocities

Mike V

That's the good point of someone defining tha absolute 0 level. It's impossible to do worse

Hi all

I certainly wouldn't jump to too many conclusions on the final surface detailing on account of rendered CAD images.

Anyway... word's come through today from Glen Coleman of the confirmed r.r.p for the F-35B - that's $59.95. As of now, Pacific Coast Models are taking pre-orders and the kit should be available by mid-July.

All the best

Rowan

Any word on some actual sprue shots?

Here are sprue shots+built model
http://www.themodellingnews.com/2012/07/constructed-engine-sprue-shots-markings.html#more

Looks much better in plastic

Oh no, they repeated Hasegawa’s mistake of over exaggerating the LO surface detail. Man, these companies just DO NOT pay attention sometimes. Be ready for some sanding….

Overall the detail looks decent, especially the Allison fan. The exterior of the Exhaust nozzle looks ok, though there doesn’t look like much in the form of the interior convergent and divergent detail. A shame, as this is yet another area most companies cut corners on.

Nice job and the main wheels wells, though some components and structure looks to be missing. They did capture both the Hydraulics reservoirs, but these look molded in “half-drummed”. The nose wheel well is missing more detail than the main.

Full run intakes, though you can’t (actually shouldn’t) be able to look do to the fan; unless the kit does not follow true to the real jet. The Allison fan detail is nice.

The Landing Gear looks quite generic and will definitely need some attention. It also looks too thin, but will have to gauge more closely when I get a sample in hand. The wheels are totally wrong, so that will the first thing that will need to be replaced.

So far the overall kit looks ok, but will need some improvements. I’ll have to take it by the F-35 CTF and gauge the shape accuracy, once I have one in hand. Still better than the Panda kits though.

Mike V