Best 1/48 F-22 kit?

Aircraft Modern
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Title says it all. What’s the best Raptor kit out there preferably in 1/48 scale?

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Hasegawa, from what I’ve heard. Academy has some misshapen nose issues. The only downside of the Hasegawa is the rather aggressive RAM tape detail.

I have that kit and the Big Ed detail set…looking forward to it. It’ll build up into a really nice model.

And it’s a BIG jet!

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in my book, the Hasegawa has to be avoided at all cost. The raised panel lines, that in real life do not exist, make it a joke.

I would go for the Academy

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You have some choices: Academy, Hasegawa, I Love Kit, Italeri (also boxed by Revell).

Hasegawa and Academy comparison was discussed on other forums not too long ago, for example,

ARC: Hasegawa 1/48 F-22A Raptor vs Academy F-22A Raptor - Jet Modeling - ARC Discussion Forums
BritModeller: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/65872-which-f-22-raptor-kit/

Both kits have issues that may or may not matter to you. Modelers who have built the kits often disagree which is the better kit and tend to have a personal favorite for different reasons.

I Love Kit and Italeri also produce a 1/48 Raptor.

Which kit best meets your desires may come down to which issue you bothers you the least and how big your F-22 budget is.

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Hasegawa " Blue Nose " . The Ram’s are thick and will need work to thin them down .

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@Model_Monkey is right…everyone will have an opinion.

For me, the nose and tail of the 1/48 Academy kit are noticeably wrong, which is why I prefer the Hasegawa. And honestly unless you put a really dark wash on the RAM panels, you’ll be fine. Again, in my opinion, modelers make too big a deal about the panels on these stealth jets. There are a million other things keeping our creations from being mistaken for the real thing. :slightly_smiling_face: This shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

But if you absolutely hate raised RAM panels, then get the Academy 1/72 Raptor. They corrected the shape issues and the panels aren’t raised.

I have the academy 1/72 and Hasegawa 1/48 and would be happy to dig them out for pictures if you need it.

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I appreciate that but you don’t have to go through the trouble.
I guess I’m leaning towards the Hasegawa kit as I’m having trouble finding the Academy kit at a reasonable price.
So the I Love Kit offering is definitely a no go?

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They’re easily accessible so it’s no big deal if you need it. Just message me.

I don’t know anything about the I Love Kit offering, unfortunately.

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Hasegawa is beautifully engineered,fits like a dream.

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I agree with that for sure. I didn’t expect to find that level of engineering outside Tamiya.

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It may be. Just a pity they ruined it with the raised panels that would have been much better with stencils. And worst of all they seem to have started a trend followed by other manufacturers

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