Saw this kit on Sprue Brothers:
and thought it looked like a very cool build. But after searching through 6 pages of the forum I still have a question.
How is the quality of Academy 1/48 A/C kits?
Scott
Scott,
Academy are like all other manufacturers, some are really good, some not so good. My biggest problem with them are panel lines are either too shallow or cavernous. Can’t answer you specifically about the Tomahawk IIIb. Others will know.
Dean
I just got myself an Academy F15E Strike Eagle recently and I was amazed by the quality of the kit (parts). I had an Acad F-15E before but this is an entirely new tooling. Details are sharp and the italian made decal set (Cartograf) is simply fantastic. I hate Academy before because or the lousy decals but I guess they had to improve. Looking at the box of this Tomahawk, I would say tha this is part of thier new series. So go for it!
I just got that kit on friday, I wont start it for a bit but everything looks pretty nice inside the bags. I can test fit the Fusalage and let you know about that.
Academy 1/48th Su-27B kit from the 1990’s …you be the judge .
In my (albeit limited) experience, Acaedmy kits are hit and miss.
I was not thrilled at all with their P-38F. It’s not a bad kit, just felt lazily engineered and didn’t really add anything over the decades-old Monogram Lightning.
Their P-47N isn’t in the same league as Tamiya’s Jugs, but few 1/48 kits are, and on whole it seems like an mostly worthwhile kit.
Their 1/32 Nieuport 17 looks surprisingly good and I can’t wait to build it.
But I also bought one of their armor accessories sets (guns, jerry cans, etc) and basically tossed it in the trash. The detail was just laughably awful.
From what I’ve read of the Tomahawk, it appears to be similar to the P-47N. Overall, solid kit. Somewhat lacking on the cockpit detail.
i just test fit the fusalage halves and wings, the the fit is really nice. Just looking at the pieces for the cockpit I can tell the detail isnt high standards but Its good enough for me. Im not an after market person right now so I take what the kits give me.
academy has their good N bad kits like any other company. they are awesome for the price. great fit also. their P-47N was a pain though. thats there only kit that gave me problems. their 72scale F-22 is a BEAUTY!
i also do a search before buying a kit. hyperscale and cybermodeler have awesome reviews on lots of kits.
http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/aca/kit_aca_12235.shtml
I have several Academy kits and they are great bargains compared to the Hasegawa/Tamiya stuff. You get what you pay for, though, Simple, quick build, not a lot of interior detail but good platforms for a nice weekend build or super detail sets.
My experience with 1/48 Academy kits have all been good. Good kits for OOB with room for aftermarket or scratchbuilt details. The F4U-4 is exactly the same as the Hasegawa release, except the Academy kit has recessed panel lines. The F-86 is a good kit, almost the same as the Hasegawa also. The P-47N was a fun build too. I’ve built most of the P-38 lineup, and enjoyed every one of them (My F-5 photo recon bird won @ a local contest) For those who can’t justify the cost of the Tamaya & Hasegawa kits, Academy kits are usually more affordable. Some people complain about the quality of the decals in some Academy kits. I’ve never had a problem with any that I have used, and there are usually aftermarket sheets available anyway.
great setup for aftermarket goodies. low price with a great fit. with the added $$ on a resin cockpit N decals your at a tam or hase price.
I recently picked up their 1/48 F8F Bearcat at a local model show for $3! The kit is very nice with recessed panel lines and good fit. The cockpit is very simple but was lucky to find an Eduard set for $5 at the same show. The kit decals look pretty good too.
Just be advised that this is originally a Hobbycraft mold. It is not a bad kit, and I have one of their boxings of this kit in my stash. I have built their P-36 which is “related” so to speak, and enjoyed that build.
Stick brings up a good point. Some Academy kits are reboxed HobbyCraft kits. While these are not bad kits, just older molds and tech. Some of the newer Academy kits are molded as well as the more expensive ones, just not as many parts.
[dto:] Doesn’t have near the fine interior detail (P-36) but is one of the better fitting kits I’ve put together.
I’m currently building my first Academy kit, a Mig 29UB, and I have some pros & cons about it. On the plus side it was an inexpensive purchase, eBayed for about half of the going online/catalog vendor price, so I thought I should try one. I don’t mind discovering a really incredible cheap wine!
Other positives are the relatively good fit of the parts, and no warps, sinks or ejector pin marks to deal with. The quality of the plastic is great and the surface detail looks appropriate in scale.
Negatives, in my view, are the incredible lack of detail in the cockpit and seat, and the hit or miss instructions. Were it not for other references, knowing what color(s) to paint things would be sheer guesswork. There were some annoying mold alignment issues with the ordinance, tanks and other small parts that required more cleanup time than I appreciate. As for the cockpit, my first impulse was to just blackout the canopy - as it is I’ll still be tinting it pretty dark to avoid having to “double-down” my purchase price in AM goodies to make it compare to other contemporary kit detail.
That’s one person’s take on one kit. For what it’s worth, I’ve read great reviews of Academy’s 1/32 scale jets, so I’ll probably buy into one to see if they do better in bigger scale.
Mike
[snWow]
That looks great!
Somehow though, I suspect the modeler’s abilities had more to do with the results than the quality of the kit!
[Y]
Electric Blues , could be . Look here /forums/t/141628.aspx
I believe that holds true for any kit. But overall I have been pleased with the few Academy original mold aircraft kits that I have built. My only beef with them is when they re issue Hobbycraft kits under their own label, they increase the price as well. But even so most of the time you are still getting your money’s worth.
Agreed, wholeheartedly.
My experience is 72nd only, generally the Academy kits are very easy to build, look good, have good detail, seem decently engineered, but if put next to an accurately shaped, similar subject they just look wrong. Example is their Spitfire XIVc. As long as it’s by itself it looks great. Sit it next to a well built Fujimi Spitfire XIVc and it’s fat looking, almost stocky. But the Fujimi kit is hard to build and the cockpit is inaccurate (except for the stick maybe).
Tim