Since I am not a plane guy, I wonder which kit is the best to represent Luftwaffe F-104 G. Is the new Italeri kit good?
Not being an expert , but from the reviews I read… I think the Italeri is the best choice.
I don’t know about the Tamyia kit.
Hasegawa are really old molds
I’ve never heard of a Tamiya 1/32 F-104G. The only kits are/were made by Revell, Hasegawa, and Italeri. Both Revell and Italeri kis are quite old. Late 70’s for Hasegawa, about 1980 for Revell. Regardless of what they say on the box, both are essentially F-104J/CF-104s and only come with the Lockheed seat, flat MLG doors, and narrow wheels. German F-104s had the wide wheels and bulged MLG doors. Also, after a few years, the German F-104s were refitted with the MB GQ-7 seat. Finally in later years, they were fitted with a new engine that resulted in a different exhaust (similar to the exhaust differences between F-4 B/C/D and F-4E/J/S models). All of these are in the Italeri kit.
I wrote this review when the kit first came out.
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I would go with Italeri if you don’t mind the few extra $$ as it’s the best. Not perfect but the best out of 3.
So Italeri it will be. I wait for a book about Bundesluftwaffe Jagdbomber since I plan to build a FB with either Mk.82 or BL755.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UADwAAM-RoM
From scalemates,
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/tamiya-25176-f104-g-s-starfighter-with-pilot-figure--316911
I hadn’t seen that, but if it was actually released, it’s just a Tamiya reboxing of the Italeri kit with a pilot figure added for the Japanese market.
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If you plan to buy aftermarket stuff avoid the Aires cockpit, it does not fit the kit and you need to do some serious surgery to the kit and the resin in order for it to fit.
Be careful of the alignment of the fuselage parts. Test fit lots of times and avoid any possible gap or misalignemt.
The kit plastic is soft and easy to sand but this also means that you can damage details pretty easily.
Landing gear details is a bit crude and the fit is far from perfect.
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Hi Nikos,
thanks for the hints. I will take a while before getting the kit, I usually start with researching the theme.
H.-H.
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You can also leave the entire engine out of the fuselage if you have an exhaust tube and nozzle to spare
Some photos:
Size comparison Aires cockpit tub with kit tub
Ejection seats
Exhaust nozzle replacement so as to keep the entire engine out of the plane
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Thanks!