Ok this flew under my radar which is a rare thing… Looking at the over all kit I am getting mixed feelings. SInce this particualr site really gives no info, is it new, old or mixed with new and old molds(Classic Airframe/Monogram) LG more looks like Monogram’s F-5 family
Anywho from what I can see the molds look really good, engraved paneling and a mix of raised and engraved riviets but not sure of the office since there are no really good pix of it.
I am not a betting man but I’d say this is a new kit!!
Saw the add for it in this month’s FSM… AFV Club’s doing aircraft huh? Bet the price will be North of 40.00… Anyway, 'Druther do the Monogram kit… I love the look of the F-5, even though I’m not a jet guy these days… I still have that pilot figure from the Monogram kit though… One of the best they ever did…
Same here Hans, I too saw the addin FSM which totally got me…!! The retail is like $50… I have a few of the single as well as the two seat F-5’s that Monogram did…
Maybe I’ll see if my LHs can get one in and have a look see… It can’t hurt right?
Didn’t somebody do the black F-5-“MiG 28” from Top Gun in 1/48th? I seem to remeber seeing the kit, but don’t think it was Monograms… I’m thinking it was a Testor’s/Italeri kit…
Actually AFV club has done aircraft before remember their 1/35 scale AH-1 Cobra. And honestly I once built the Monogram F-5 once myself and actually have a couple Escii F-5 kits in my stash (I believe that may be the molding that Testors used for the Top Gun faux Mig-28).
AFV was news to me until I returned to the hobby about a year & half ago… I only saw their armor stuff in the LHS, and with the prices, bought only their M548 and M35 guntruck… That practically broke me so I kinda skim over AFV Club… Also, prior to my return I was only aware of the Revell 1/32 scale Cobra…
This is an entirely new mold & looks to be the best ever done in this scale. I was a crewchief on the F-5E in the 65th Aggressor Squadron back in the '80s, and this is the only kit I’ve ever seen that has replicated the drag chute door correctly. I really hate the solid anticollision light in the vertical fin, though-this is actually a hole clear through the fin with a transparent red lens on each side. It had a bulb above and a bulb below a motorized revolving mirror, which produced the “flashing effect”. So far no kit has correctly depicted this. Fixable by drilling out & squaring up the hole in the fin, though.
That is SO what I was was talking about in another thread about a difference that make no difference to 90% of modelers… Of the remaining 10%, one or two live for pointing out tiny errors in this shape or measurement or that panel line, and the rest just quietly FIX it without wanting a new or re-tooled kit at 4 times the cost of an existing one…
A difference that makes no difference IS no difference…
At four times the cost of an existing one, wouldn’t you expect a more accurate representation of the real thing? To be fair, it is easy to be biased in a situation like this-when the modeler has years of hand on experience with the real life counterpart of the subject being modeled, it is much easier to recognize and notice such details, as opposed to someone sitting in an armchair building a model of an aircraft he’s never actually seen. In this case, the problem encountered in this fix is not the hole in the fin-it is finding a way to accurately create the red lens on each side of the fin. It is not simply a flat piece of glass; it is actually beveled and protrudes slightly in the middle, like a faceted gemstone. There has never been-and never will there be-a 100% accurate and exact representation of any aircraft in 1/48 scale, but to anyone who’s ever actually been around this particular aircraft, this is literally a big red bright flashing detail visible from almost any angle-one of the most noticable and distinguishing features of this aircraft.
I’d bet real money that you could find a part that comes really close to what you describe in the model RR section of the LHS… Those guys have been dealing with needing “jewels” about 30-40 years longer than aircraft modelers… The local arts & crafts store may yield a part as well… Scratchbuilding and super-detailing is all about the hunt for the material(s) that best replicates a subject without paying much of anything for it, Zero…
I understand your bias… Mine’s directed at some howitzer-types I crewed and later Chiefed… I can point & pick out little details of current kits that ain’t right (HKShooter coined a term for that that I just LOVE-“Kit-pickers”), but I’ll never EVER pay the kind of money asked for by manufacturers these days when, for a couple hours and a couple of bucks, I can make the proper corrections m’self…
Addressing the F-5E itself, I’m perfectly happy with the Monogram version, warts & all… Plus, I’d bet that the “new” Tiger II doesn’t come with a pilot figure, much less one with the level of detail that the Monogram kt does… That, to me as a military modeler (I’m not just an “armor” or “aircraft” modeler. In fact, all my aircraft & armor go onto dioramas, not “shelfers”), is way more important than a light… Especially one that I might find in a model car kit…[B]
I loved the Monogram F-5E & F kits (and that awesome pilot figure) and even the Hasegawa 1/32 F-5E with all its faults because it was big, and these kits were what was available. I still have several of the Monogram F-5Es in my stash, & they’re fun to build because there are so many Aggressor color schemes to model. For its age, the Monogram F-5E & F are not bad kits at all, (much better than the ESCI kits), and with some work can be made into some real showstoppers. Can’t wait to see the AFV Club kit up close, though.
Digging up an old thread, but you can get the kit from luckymodel for $27 + $8 shipping. If you are buying $100 shipping is free. I’m going to pick one up, love the look of the F-5.
There was someone one the ARC forum that built it and the fit was so good some of it wasn’t even glued together. He said there wasn’t even any filler needed.
I got one! [:D] To me the kit is worth the price ($40 at greatmodels) simply because it has recessed panel lines. The detail is simply great. I also love the options to build the rear air intake open, the flaps droped and with a little scratchbuilding, the gun bay.
The Monogram is very good but I thank AFV for giving us this modern option. [<:o)]
