Looks like Revellogram, Tamiya and Hobbycraft are it. I’ve built, gotten frustrated with, and destroyed the Revellogram one (it crashed and burned this evening) so I’d like to try the Tamiya one. Anyone have any opinions on the kit? Are the available aftermarket PE & resin stuff needed? What’s fit like, etc?
Well, from what I have read on here from the Warthog experts, you destroyed the best 1/48 kit out there.
They all seem of the same opinion that it is the best example of the production A-10. As far as the others? I can’t help you. I had problems with the Monogram kit also but, whenever I got to the point of destruction, I put it up and worked on something else for awhile.
Sorry I couldn’t be of anymore help than that.
The Tamiya kit is a pretty old one I think. It has raised panel lines and all. From what I’ve heard, the Revell/monogram kit is the best out there. Don’t know about hobbycraft though.
HTH
[#ditto] I was told the Revell/Monogram was the best too, and it does indeed look very much like the bird in question to me. It has DREADFUL fit issues, and you’ll need a whole host of filler, but there are updates out there to help you along. The Verlinden cockpit update is fine, but curiously doesn’t include the instrument panel. The Flightpath PE update is awesome, and provides a lot of detail that is otherwise lacking in the OOB thing.
The most annoying of all the model’s foibles is the fact that the air-brakes are moulded in the open position, which almost NEVER happens on the ground. I had to cut-n-shut mine with copious filler & styrene half-round to finish the leading edges.
I re-scribed mine from stem to stern, but drew the line at re-doing all the rivets. It’s still in progress, and is a “long-term” project, as it is so frustrating. It will build up into a fine model though, and I’ve seen a few that are awesome on here.
The real answer to your question is there isn’t really a quality kit out there in 1/48. Revell/monogram, tamiya, and hobbycraft all have fit issues, detail issues, and with the exception of the hobbycraft are quite vintage when it comes to the new technology…The tamiya kit looks the most appealing, but reviews say she’s a dog…
Anyway…I was in the market for an A-10 but was discouraged by the overall lack of interest in the subject by manufacturers…Maybe hasegawa will try its hand at the mold when their done pumping out F-4 s and A-4 s.
Good luck with that… you might find out some more about Hobbycraft…however they generally lack the overall detail of the better kts…
Tank
I’d have to agree with most everyone else. The (now destroyed) Monogram kit was the best one out there.
Eric
I dont know about the others but I didn’t care for the Tamiya kit.
Jerry
When I got back into scale modeling about 15 years ago, the first kit I bought was the Monogram A-10. It took me several months to build and my modeling skills were quite rusty to say the least. I can’t recall any specific fit issues; I guess I just plowed on through them when they arouse. When I finished the plane, I thought I had done a pretty fair job. Until I bought my first issue of FSM, January 1989 I believe. That issue had Bob Steinbrun’s YP-80. Wow! Then I realized just how far I had to go…still not there yet and probably never will, lol. That A-10 is still fun to look at as a gauge of just how far my 'planes have come. Good luck on whatever kit you choose, Gary.
i’ve built 3 revellogram A-10’s without a hitch…
only used filler one time, and that was in the front landing gear bay.
I think it’s a fine model
Thanks for all the responses!
The reason it got destroyed: my wife and I were in the workshop, just about done for the evening and I was commenting on everything I’ve got to complete and pointed at my A-10 (which has been on the bench since October '04). I complained about the finish on it (my first attempt at Future and I buggered it up nicely) and how I’d rushed through it, not filling and sanding where I should have, etc. She said “Are you enjoying it anymore?” and that was the kicker. I snapped the wings off and away it went. Partially satisfying, partially depressing. [xx(]
Due to all the responses, I’ll be getting my hands on another Revellogram kit soon and I’ll take my time this time. Maybe I’ll get some after market decals and stuff to spruse (sp?) it up a bit.
If anyone else has anything to say about the Tamiya kit, please add it…I’m still very curious (why is their armor so great and this kit so poor?).
Well, as for Tamiya kit, I always believed they had cut their engine nacelles out of … sausages ( green sausages ? ) and please note there is an old Revell, even older than the Monogram , which is rather crude . I have one and use it to try scribing, or a paint mix, or…
I call it my martyr model.
I think the Tamiya kit is just an old mould… nothing more or less. It was probably fine back in the day, but showing it’s age badly now.
I can recommend the Verlinden cockpit & the Flightpath PE/Resin update. Well worth the money, and you might want to invest in a scriber too… LOTS of work to keep you busy on those dark winter nights [;)]
I’ve gathered quite a few pics in my research, so if you want any help with specific bits, just say the word & I’ll email them over. I actually had a crew chief take a few of the decelerons & landing gear specifically for me, which was really great of him. [:)]
One small correction mike, the speedbrakes are open every time an A-10 lands and pulls into his/her parking spot. The reason is the Crew Chief must check “roll-pins” inside of them for migration during the last flight. Well to be 100% correct it’s in the BOP/Pre/ tru flight workcards to check these items and the easest way is with the engine running and full hydro power so, we do it when it lands.
I have lots of refrence if you need any help. Trevor M
[
Jeff, that A-10 you showed us may not have been worth it to you, but it is to me. What a outstanding piece of work!
As for that Tamiya Hog, when I returned to modeling in the early '80s after several years away to pursue SD&R…er, my education, the Tamiya kit was an incredibly steep 20 bucks! It was also, along with their F-15A (the first engraved panel lines I’d ever seen), the top of the Tamiya line. Both kits are primitive and clunky and thick by any standard today and stayed in the Tamiya catalogue way past their retirement age.
Sometimes I think if we could represent scale model technology on a graph, the line would gently rise from their general appearance on the market, about 1952, before most of us were born, until about 1982, then a little steeper for five years and once it hit 1988 the line would soar almost straight up. That was when moldmaking and AM accessories blossomed.
And to think, we have good old Mr. Computer to thank, because that was the time cheap and smart ones exploded onto the scene as well, coupled with the fact that the first generation of Baby Boomers who had grown up making plastic models (as opposed to wooden ones like our fathers) reached the age where they had Disposable Income. Before the late 80s, there were AM items on the market (mostly white metal and crude, crumbly resin), but they were expensive and arcane and used by a small number of “cult” modelers, sort of like virtual modeling on computers is now.
I can’t wait to see what’s the Next Big Thing for us scale modelers (I mean, besides this ridiculous – IMHO – trend toward huge models of single engine planes).
As for the Hog, I have at least six or seven PE sets in all three major scales for this thing, from color cockpit parts to armament, and sheets of AM decals and dry transfers, but I work in 1:48 pretty pretty exclusively, which is why I’ve never built an A-10. No decent kit to start from. And I wanna Warthog on my shelf.
TOM
Hobbycraft’s A-10 is NOT the way to go. There are some terrible fit issues, and the overall detail is soft and poor in many places. I’ve got one sitting on the bench, waiting on paint for the “What If” GB…I went the route of the cheapest kit and it shows in what I got in the box. Sounds like the Revellogram kit is the way to go the next time I decide to build a tank killer.
Hey, John?
As for decal options, I believe that ‘Two Bob’s’ had a sheet or two from Desert Storm.
Good luck with the next Hog. I think I may build another myself.
HI Tom. Tom I didnt mean to offend anyone but given the choice I would have built a different kit. My A-10 means a tremendous amount to me and Im VERY prowdof it. Its only my third model and a Huge learning step in model building. I agree that modelers of past time were probly far better than most today becouse of the lack of variety and eccessories they had back then, But I have nothing but the Tamiya a-10 kit to compare to todays kits. Kits that a far superior. I mearly didnt want Knight66 to choose a kit that he might end up being dissapointed in. I totally respect your point of veiw and understand what it is you are trying to say.
Thanks for the reply. Trevor M
I think my next one will be a “what-if” bird in a green/gray/white “snow scheme”. Not sure what markings I’ll use, probably get some stuff out of the spares box. Already got my next one on order; it’s the Revellogram kit. 
Thanks for all the replies, they’re most appreciated!! [:D]
This might help you with that scheme, John.
Here’s the link, in case you want to see a little larger pic.
http://www.jpsmodell.de/dc/shemes/a10snow.jpg