Military Illustrated Modeller – September 2019

 Military Illustrated Modeller - September 2019

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I

was fortunate to receive an early

test shot of Tamiya’s beautiful 1:48

scale Tomcat prior to its official

release in 2016.

The model was built straight from

the box. The only deviations were

the use of Eduard harness straps and

after-market decals.

Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement

was used for the larger assemblies,

while smaller pieces were secured

with Revell Contacta cement. Tamiya

masking tape and/or plastic clamps

were used to hold some of the major

sub-assemblies while the cement dried.

As always, familiarise yourself

thoroughly with the instructions before

you start cutting parts from the sprues.

In preparing the cockpit for

assembly, almost all of the parts may

be painted while they are still on

the sprues. This makes handling and

painting parts much easier, especially

smaller details.

Engineering of the main airframe,

the swing wings and the undercarriage

is clever and overall fit is superb.

From this point on I generally

followed the instructions but

there were a few exceptions

and notes that I will summarise

below:

UÊ œÃiÊÜiˆ}…ÌʈÃʘœÌʓi˜Ìˆœ˜i`ʈ˜Ê

the instructions. It is not required.

I tested the almost-complete model

with undercarriage legs and wheels

clicked into place. The nose wheel

remained securely on the ground

with the wings swept forward and

also with the wings swept back.

UʘÊ-Ìi«Ê£Î]ÊÊ>``i`Ê>ÊëœÌʜvÊÃÕ«iÀÊ

glue to each polythene cap inside

Parts B8 and B9. This stops the

poly caps from moving inside the

housings, and allows the horizontal

stabilisers to hold any pose but still

remain moveable.

UʘÊ-Ìi«Ê£{]Ê̅iÀiʈÃÊ>ÊÓ>ÊÃÌi«Ê

at the V-shaped join between the

upper forward and rear fuselage

sections. This is supposed to be

there, so don't try to fill it!

UÊ9œÕÊ`œ˜¿Ìʅ>ÛiÊ̜Ê}ÕiÊ̅iÊ܈˜}ÃÊ

ˆ˜Ê«>Viʈ˜Ê-Ìi«ÊÓ£°ÊʏivÌÊ̅iÊ܈˜}ÃÊ

off, which makes painting much

easier. If you choose to glue the

wings in place, you can do this at

the very end.

UʘÃÌÀÕV̈œ˜ÃÊܜՏ`ʅ>ÛiÊޜÕÊvˆÌÊ̅iÊ

undercarriage legs and doors in

-Ìi«ÃÊÓÇÊ>˜`ÊÓn°ÊÊÀiVœ““i˜`Ê

that these should only be fitted

until after the model is otherwise

complete. The fit of the gear legs is

excellent, so you'll have no troube

fitting the painted and weathering

undercarriage at the end.

UÊ-ˆ“ˆ>ÀÊ̜Ê̅iÊ܈˜}Ã]ÊޜÕÊ`œ˜¿ÌÊ

need to fit the horizontal stabilisers

ˆ˜Ê-Ìi«Êә°Ê*>ˆ˜ÌÊ̅i“ÊÃi«>À>ÌiÞÊ

and add them when the model is

finished.

UʘÊ-Ìi«ÊÎx]Ê`i>ÞÊvˆÌ̈˜}Ê̅iʓˆÃȏiÃÊ

until the model is completed and

painted. U

Thanks to Tamiya Japan for the

sample http://www.tamiya.com

Tamiya kits are distributed in

the UK by The Hobby Company

Limited http://www.hobbyco.net

The Editor detailed

construction and painting

of Tamiya’s terrific 1:48 scale

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The kit cockpit looks great straight from the box. The swing-wing mechanism.