Hey all - you may or may not know about my total weak spot for the P-47. Of all the various aircraft of World War II (and honestly, of all time), it’s my favorite. Since coming back to the hobby, I haven’t touched one yet. I’m working up to it. [:D]
I’ve got the old Monogram P-47D in the stash, and I’m hoping to tackle Tamiya’s bubbletop sometime. But I’ve been thinking. Once I’m at a point where I feel I can do the Jug justice, it might be nice to break out of 1/48 and build a 1/32nd kit. Something to put on the Christmas list.
But which one? I’ve read some phenomenal reviews of the Trumpeter and Hasegawa kits, and I’m looking for opinions from anyone who’s built either, or preferably both.
Trumpeter (in my limited experience) includes all the parts to build one plane without all the variant options that Hasegawa includes in the instructions and extra sprues for future releases.
If price is the same and both include the same options (detailed motor, PE goodies) then I would favor the Hasegawa kit if for nothing else they have been manufacturing kits longer & the Japanese dedication to quality.
I have only built the Hasegawa Kit myself. I have heard that the Trumpy Kit was a great kit as well.
The reason I went with the Hasegawa Kit is one reason alone…Cost…
The Hasegawa Kit is outstanding…You get all Different Types of the prop blades… Two Different types of Drop Tanks and Bombs to hang under her. I also believe you get the 2 different styles of flaps as well.
With that said When I got mine I found it on sale for $57.00. I was then able to pick up the Big Ed PE set for her and some after market decals… When all was said and done I still spent less than what some sites were selling the Trumpy kit for.
The kit itself doesn’t really need the Big Ed set but I figured if I was going to buy a Trumpy Kit for that Price why not sink the money into the Hase Kit and really dress her out.
I built the Hasegawa kit and it was one of the finest builds ever for me. It went together flawlessly and I won first place at a show…I really enjoyed that build.
Wow, thanks guys! I’ve also been looking and the AM accessories seem much thicker on the ground for the Hasegawa. Since everyone’s had such positive experiences with it, I think I’ll try to go that route…
Revell! LOL! I’ve got the Monogram P-47 and Kingfisher kits in my stash…but I’m only planning (and only have room for) one 1/32nd kit. So I definitely want to make it count.
Also…I’m now 110% sold on the Hasegawa, after reading that the Trumpeter kit includes the full supercharger plumbing system, which you can’t see once the fuselage is closed, and which is integral for cockpit support and such. I’m all for detail…but geez.
I’ll have to retrieve it from my office at work. I forgot I stored it with another kit during our recent move. I display some of my kits in my office. I forgot to bring it home. The C-17 is incomplete. I tried something different for the panel lines. I used a drafting pencil and sharpened it to a fine point. I used it for all the panel lines. And well, it looks like I penciled in panel lines. Not too bad, but not exactly what I was looking for. I’ll bring it home, take a few pics and then post, in the next few days.
I wish i had a stash of kits just sitting around waiting to be built. My girl friend would flip on me though. lol. My shift leader at work said tonight that i should open up my own hobby shop, just dont know what kind of interest their would be around me. The closest store is probably 40 mins away. So who knows, then i could go to work at the hobby store and work on my models in between customers wouldnt that be the life… HAHA I only wish.
Doogs, I had unfortunate luck with the Hasegawa. It was warped. I bought the old Revell razorback at a hobby shop and it built up real nice. The Jug is awesome in 32 scale.
Heh… Actually, I wasn’t joking… If you can find it, the 1/32 Revell Razorback D is really a good kit, with plenty of work to do in the cockpit and a more or less complete engine that just begs for super detailing… Price-wise, it can’t be beat by either Hasegawa or Trumpeter…
The rivet detail is a bit pronounced, but smoothing the rivets over with a piece of steel wool or a Scotch-Brite pad prior to assembly will bring them right in line with a scale appearance… The only other real drawback is that it needs a 1/16-1/8-inch styrenespacer inserted into wheel-halves to get them to scale thickness, but that’s a pretty simple job…