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F-5E Tiger II

First look at Kittyhawk 1/32 F-5E Tiger II

I

t has always surprised me that

the F-5 family has not been

more popular in 1/32 scale, and

in fact, the 1970s Hasegawa kit is

the only one I can think off. This is

surprising as the F-5 is not a large

aircraft, even in this scale, and

has been used by a large number

of countries over the last 50 years.

And of course it’s a mainstay of

the US Aggressor squadrons with

their attractive colour schemes.

On first opening the box you

cannot fail to be impressed with

the quality of the detail in the kit.

Certainly, the detail supplied in the

gun bay and cockpit will be more

than adequate for most modellers.

The decal sheet provides no less

than nine marking options in a

varied selection of colour schemes:

• F-5E, 50-521, Republic of Korea
  Air Force, light grey overall.


• F-5E, 70-1431, Islamic Republic
  Iranian Air Force, three-
  colour desert camouflage.


• F-5E, 873, Royal Singapore Air
  Force, two greys camouflage.
  
  
  • F-5E, 4605, FAM (Mexican Air
    Force), SEA camouflage.
  
  
  • F-5E, 70-1401, 425 TFTS,
    Williams AFB, USAF, overall
    silver with yellow bands.
  
  
  • F-5E, 70-1405, 425 TFTS, Williams
    AFB, USAF, SEA camouflage.
  
  
  • F-5E, 4835, FAB (Brazilian AF), two
    greens and light tan camouflage.
  
  
  • F-5N, 76-1543, VFC-111, AF/101,
    NAS Key West, USN, skipper’s
    aircraft, ghost scheme with
    full Sundowner tail.
  
  
  • F-5N, 76-1557, VFC-111, AF/106,
    NAS Key West, USN, desert
    scheme with Sundowner rudder.
  
  
  
  

As well as the unit markings the

decals also supply full stencil detail,

as well as an instrument panel

and side walls that you can overlay

on the kit’s raised mouldings.

The instructions give clear

placement guidance for the

decals, but they are less clear

as to the placement of all the

aerials and RWR lumps. Some

further research will be needed

to make sure this is correct for

the marking option you choose.

Fortunately, SAM Publications

still have their inexpensive

F-5E Mini Data File available.

This boxing also receives

some nice unexpected extras

in the shape of a pair of resin

nozzles, which are superior

to the kit’s injection moulded

parts. You also have two pilot

figures, one standing with his

helmet under his arm, and the

second in a standing position.

The only real issue I can see is

that Kittyhawk have not supplied

the trunking to join the intakes to

the front of the engine. This is a

surprising omission as the intakes

can be blanked off to prevent a

see-through look, but they are a bit

short for this not to be obvious. And

I do wish they

had included a set

of foreign object

damage (FOD)

guards to blank

off the intake, but

now we will have

to hope the aftermarket step in.

CONCLUSION

Out of the box this is probably the

best Kittyhawk kit to date. Yes, it

does have some minor issues, but

most modellers will be more than

happy with what is supplied. The

decal sheet is superb; with so many

interesting options I suspect many

1/32 modellers will not be able to

stop buying at least a couple of

examples to lay down for future

use. And of course, the two-seat

F-5F will be available later this

year, no doubt with even more

intresting marking schemes.

Our thanks to Kittyhawk for

supplying the review kit, which will

be widely available from your normal

stockist by the time you read this.

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44 • JULY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

FIRST LOOK!

040-45-FirstLooks-0718.indd 44 11/06/2018 13:59