F-84F by HobbyBoss in 1/48. Kit number 81726. This box art appeared on the Trumpeter/HobbyBoss fan page on Facebook. No details on the release date, content or price.

It would be nice if HobbyBooBoo got it correct, but I am not really expecting that, based on their past performance. A new 1/48 RF-84F would be even nicer.

Larry

Thanks Dimitar. If only I may live long enough to build all these great models.

I just got two of these kits a week ago today. Have one nearly completed "from the box": here is my "view" so far.

OVERVIEW:
This Hobby Boss Thunderstreak kit is similar in many ways to the Fonderie F-84 fuselage and Heller parts. The plastic is somewhat soft, will require care to align wings and tail without warps. The finish is smooth, not "grainy" or "matte" like the Kinetic/Italeri. The panel lines are finely engraved. The grey trees are A, B, C, Dx2, and E, clear tree F, two decal sheets, and on PE fret. I observed only two or three very small instances of flash and no offsets in any parts; all sprues are very well molded. Instructions consist of ten pages, two of which are color for the two versions represented by the decal sheets which are for F-84F-30-GK 51-9432 and F-84F-45-RE 52-6675.

FUSELAGE:
The Hobby Boss fuselage profile is correct which is good, as only the Fonderie "Heller replacement" fuselage of the previous F-84F kits available was correct in profile. The Hobby Boss fuselage is the correct shape in plan view; none of the other previous F-84F kits available was correct in plan view, especially aft of the speed brake location. Unlike the Kinetic/Italeri kit, the shape of the nose intake is correct. The canopy glazing is furnished as five parts for posing both closed and open, with the extra parts furnished for posing an open canopy. The speed brake size and location is correct with the bay as a separate part and PE detail is used on the brake for exterior detail. The intake splitter is a separate part that is very short and does not include the intake runners behind the intake splitter which leaves a gap where the sides of the intake should cover the nose gear well. At the least, a "from the box" build should include filling these gaps with sheet stock. The drogue chute housing is a separate part, thus no seam line; perhaps this means another release with the ventral fairing as on early blocks. The tailpipe is two pieces plus internal fore and aft turbine faces; detail is decent but missing the four "sugar scoop" vents. The gun bay is not opened.

COCKPIT:
Cockpit details, including pan, side panels, instrument panel, and seat, are minimal. The main instrument panel is generic, not specific to the F-84F, and the auxiliary panels are not angled from the main panel as they should be. The side consoles are not representative of the aircraft, and the hydraulic equipment is non-existent. The seat is too wide for the scale; generic PE seatbelts are included.

WINGS:
The wings are generally correct, the flaps are separate parts, and "wells" for the PE spoilers are molded, a welcome feature which is not included in any of the other Thunderstreak kits. There are a couple incorrect panel lines, but they otherwise look to be correct. The outer drop tanks are nicely detailed and, without measuring, appear to be correct the correct dimensions in scale. The inner drop tanks, in contrast, have minimal detail and are the earlier small tanks. Two bombs are included as an alternate to the outer drop tanks. The pylons are correctly shaped and nicely detailed. The horizontal tail parts represent the early blocks which had traditional fixed stabilizers with elevators; all late blocks had flying tails; all the other F-84F kits have flying tail parts.

LANDING GEAR:
The nose details, including well, gear, and wheels, are equivalent to Heller/Fonderie; the well is not even close to correct. The nose gear well is one part with no seam line and is too shallow. The nose gear and wheel are molded as one part. The main gear details, including well, gear, and wheels, are equivalent to Heller/Fonderie; the wells are molded with the ventral wing halves, thus are to shallow and detail is minimal, barely a representation, and should have been molded with the dorsal wing halves as, for example, done by Monogram; the gear has minimal detail that is short of correct. The wheels are severely lacking in detail and the tires are incorrectly shaped. The gear doors are a mixed bag, some with decent details, some with incorrect or no detail.

DECALS:
There are two sheets, nicely printed, and (having commenced the build), are thin but durable and conform nicely using Testors Decal Solvent.

PHOTO ETCH:
The PE fret has nicely done spoilers, speed brake (external), and seat belt parts. Unfortunately, no parts for the instrument panels are included; they would have been a welcome addition.

FIT:
I did a parts cleanup and dry fit of the fuselage; six alignment pins aid alignment, and the parts fit perfectly (and see ADDENDUM below).

ERRORS:
The fuselage includes the incorrect RF-84F panel line, and the starboard wing has a refueling door represented; the refueling door was only on the port wing. The tail skid under the drouge chute housing is missing. The “sugar scoops” inside the “ejector” (tailpipe) are missing. The “suck in” doors and the openings are shaped incorrectly. The counter balance weight on the tip of the fin isn't represented though there is a scribed rectangle for it. Several small scoops and vents are missing from the fuselage sides. There is a very prominent panel line missing for the wing root fairing, especially at the rear. The seat seams to be an odd combination of the early “G” seat and the later AMI seat.

VALUE:
The cost of this kit is within the range of the costs of other 48th scale Thunderstreak kits, and is a good value for the money, especially as it is now the best kit of this subject available.

ADDENDUM:
Some of the following information is "enhanced" from the foregoing "look-see" as I have completed most of the build as of this review; only paint and final assembly remains to be done.

BUILDING:
I got two of these kits from Lucky Hobby. I am currently building one FTB; I have the fuselage buttoned up, and have all the other parts assembled (modeling with the four drop tanks, no bombs) and am ready to commence bare metal finish (Testors Metalizer). The instrument panel has raised details; now that I've completed the cockpit I can report that it is mostly good, except the auxiliary panels on each side of the main instrument panel are not angled relative to the center panel as they should be. The decal is very nicely done, settles right in with Testors Decal Solvent. In contrast, the side consoles are not even close to accurate, are poorly detailed (if detailed can be claimed ...), and no decals or PE. The kit intake splitter/nose gear well combo does not fit without some sanding and hobby knife modification. The aft part of the canopy does not settle in without some careful sanding of both the aft section of the part and the aft cockpit bulkhead. I was unable to get the separate flap and aileron halves to cement together without leaving a noticable gap at the trailing edges; much sanding of the inner surfaces helped but didn't eliminate the gap. There is almost no flash, no ejector pins in bad places, no sink marks, and the alignment of the mold is such that parting lines are almost not noticable. One recurring issue is the "tits" (to prevent short shots) on many of the parts that are on external surfaces and which require careful clean up.

AFTERMARKET:
Fortunately, since the exterior is very good, the cockpit, intake, ejector, landing gear, etc., can be updated with aftermarket parts. Hairoldcut/AMS Resin is in the throes of making masters for this kit as I write, I expect to have some in hand soon for building the second kit as FTB-Enhanced. His parts for this kit will be available from Sprue Brothers.

CONCLUSION:
In general, the exterior is the strong point of this kit; it is the most accurate in shape, and the best detailed, of the available kits. In contrast, many of the intrior details are lacking details or are incorrect. From the box, this kit can be built as a model that, for exterior appearance, is closest to the late-block Thunderstreaks. To upgrade the build, the Hobby Boss kit begs for aftermarket details to "correct" what isn't right.

RECOMMENDED!
This F-84F kit by Hobby Boss is the most accurate of any of the Thunderstreak in this scale so far. They just missed the mark on the small details. But that is no deal breaker...all the “niggles” can be overcome to make this kit the absolute best rendition of the F-84F.

PHOTOS:
I will post photos to my site when build is completed.
www[dot]craigphoto[dot]smugmug[dot]com

Bruce, thanks so much for that very informative review. I've been very slowly collecting 1sgt & 2nd generation jets as I periodically need a break from WW11 subjects. The Hobby Boss F84F will be a welcome addition to my fold, especially with those AM parts.

1/48th scale jets are just to big for a barren &/or incorrect front office.

Joel

Bruce, that's a very comprehensive review. I'd really love to publish it in our reviews section, so when you have your pictures together, please consider submitting it to us as a package.