Anyone done a build on this plane? If so please post pictures
You didn’t mention scale, so I will. Unless you want a merely half good one in 1/72, or one of the big wallet busters in 1/32, you’ll have to settle for a 1/48 T-38 in only one flavor - Testors. They have their 1/48 re-lease of the old Fujimi Talon, and that’s it. It’s not current but they can still be had, if you hunt around. But, it’s more like 1/50 scale and something of a dog, by all accounts. As important as the T-38 is in aviations grand scheme, it has been sadly forgotten by the makers of kits.
Here’s one builders comments on the Testors kit. He likes it; to him 2% scale difference is trivial. You might agree:
If you are a stickler, you COULD convert a 1/48 F-5B/F, I suppose, and I would think someone makes a conversion set for this. But, I dont recall seeing one. It’s really only the intakes that need changing, so you could easily manage it.
However, there are precious few accurate 1/48 F-5B/F kits available to work with. The Monogram kit is it and it’s long OOP - and hideously expensive. Classic Airframes has their new F-5B, so maybe they will do a Talon. But, it would need a separate sprue of parts (ore resin intakes, etc.) and you’ll need a fat wallet for that, too.
What really is missing is an affordable, modern toolup for the T-38 Talon in 1/48. I’d get in line for one. For now, it’s the Testors/Fujimi box-up.
NOTE: SWORD from China has come out with a short-run injected/resin 1/48 T-38 (MSRP-$34)that is getting some good comments. It is reputed to be a fidldy build, but is said to be ahead of the vintage Fujimi/Testors version in terms of detail and accuracy. Getting one in the US is the question - I haven’t seen one for sale in a web search. The only one I did find was sold on the Belgian Ebay, for 30EU’s, last week. You CAN get them from foreign sellers and HS’s, but it’s gonna cost you to get one home!
Thanks for the input, I will have to figure out what to do, I like the 1:48 size, and im not sure that the 2% scale difference makes a difference to me.
Im a stickler in my heart, but my wallet doesn’t always support that desire. I have several F-5’s in the stash, one of which is the Fujimi/Academy re-issue F-5A. You guessed it… it scales at 1:50 and shares the same problems as their T-38.
I’ll add fiddly bits where I can to improve the “busy” look of the cockpit and landing gear and call it good.
I’d go with the Sword kit and even though it is a limited run kit, I have seen them all over the on-line shops as wel las the Local Hobby Shop scene…!!
They may be a little fiddily to assemble but the over all kit is sweet and they look great built up… Got two of em in my stash and hope to build one up shortly…!!
Flaps up,
Mike
Rangers Lead The Way
I knew as soon as I said I couldn’t find one, someone would come out and say they were everywhere. I guess my little ruse worked. [:D]
I did another google at your prodding Mike, and found two, both in the $30-40 range. One fellow builder had little good to say, here: Not So Hot Sword review
And another was being diplomatic in his review, using phrases like “the problems arent THAAAT bad,” a lot: It’ll do Sword review
Here’s another. Again, he quibbles over the little things that aren’t right: Glad To Have ANY new T-38, Sword review
Keep in mind, these are guys who build a lot of models. Their voice matters. It seems that for the $30-40 price tag on these Sword kits, you could expect things to be without big errors. I can live without a few antenna’s, but landing gear that are unequally matched? I guess I expect too much… c’mon Hasegawa, get with the program.
Ive got a couple of the Sword and Testors/Fujimi kits in my stash waiting till I get some practice working with multi media kits… I havent built the Sword kit so I cant comment on that but just looking in the boxes the Sword kit is the only real choice you have in 1/48. The Testots/Fujimi kits are horrible and would require huge amounts of scratch building/ kit bashing to make it even decent to say nothing of the fact that I thing its not even a T-38 but an F-5A. If you check out aircraftresourcecenter.com in the gallery section some builders have submitted some really nice builds of both kits… and some have good write ups of the kits…
The Testors kit is possibly an F-5B, but it can’t be an “A” model by default - the “A” model was a single seater. Honestly, just between you and me, there is very little difference anyway, since they spring from the same line. The intakes have changed over time and of course, the detail fiddlies and cockpits vary. But you could call one the other and few would know the difference.
The latest T-38C? There are a few striking differences on that one for the trained eye. But again, F-5B/T-38…pretty danged close when sitting on the shelf collecting dust.
Here’s a notion you don’t hear much about anymore, with all the super detailed Mega-Kits out there. It used to be common: you could just polish up the canopy on the old Testors kit, coat it in Future and paint it black from the inside. Then do a cracking job on the exterior with good detail additions, a little basic restructuring around the intakes and a nice finish. Me, I like the modern two-grey or blue/grey “Aggressor” patterns. Finally, mount it as an in-flight piece (my plan). This would solve many of the problems with the Testors kit:
-
No fooling with a crummy, non-existent cockpit.
-
No fooling with a crummy, basic undercarriage.
You’d have 'er done quickly, and the wife might actually be impressed at your cleverness, for once. Who knows?
This gets me onto one other thing: It still rankles me to pay $40+ for a kit, period. Ouch! Am I the only one who feels this way? That’s 2 x $20 bills, weeks of gas for my truck, dinner out for me, Lori AND one of the kids… well, you get the idea. Seems everybody thinks nothing of this sort of price. Isn’t there, like, a 16th Commandment that says, “Thou shalt not pay excessively for a plastic model.” This is a hobby, after all.
Ah well, if that is the state of things, so be it. I’ll stop ranting now and go back to the ‘old modelers room’ with the other geezers. I’ll give the Swords and other Mega-kits to the fat-wallet crowd.
sorry about that Dahut… you are correct. F-5B. My fingers were moving faster than my brain. I still have an F-5F kit in my stash that I was planning on cutting the cockpit and making it fit into the testors kit. Not at all acurate but I thought it would have been better than that nothing that comes with the testsors kit. Now I need to find a way to kit bash a pit for testors 1/48 OV-10 Bronco. That or win the lottery and find someone whos got the paragon detail set for sail.
Can I suggest something? Leave that Monogram F5F alone. THAT thing has increased n value something awful in the past few years. I got one once on clearance for $5. I built it, tore it apart and then gave it away. Last one I saw on ebay went for around $50.
Instead, get the Fujimi/Testors T-38 and cobble up a 'pit. Some plastic sheet, a few fiddly bits and the pilots included in the kit will do a lot on their own. What I did once was draw a series of cockpit panels with a black pen on a sheet of paper - super big. Then I began reducing them on a copier until they were the size I wanted. They looked pretty good in the 'pit, were a LOT better than decals and it was both simple and cheap. Try it.
The classic Airframe F-5B is a nice kit and with modifications would be a good replica of a T-38. Given the cost of a kit and the time/materials to convert the Sword kit is a better way to go. There was an old IPMS chapter article on doing a conversion of an F-5 to a T-38, but I have not seen this article for ages. Anybody?
Google T-38 Talon and then click on “NASA Dreydon Research Center Photo Collection”. You will fing an aray of photos of your airplane and a sister ship. I thought I saw one of these aircraft operated as an agressor in the CAF. Anybody know?
I worked for NASA JSC in the mid 90s and got to spend quite a bit of time out at Ellington Field. The NASA T-38s (at least the ones assigned to manned space flight) were block 1 airframes. They had mods such as a glass cockpit and were maintained beautifully by DynCorp contractors. Most would carry center-line travel pods for use as personal transportation for astronauts.
Thanks guys for the info and ensuing additional dialoge, I will keep on doing the research, and let eveyone know what I decide