Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Kit: F-22 Raptor and Photo Etched Set
Reviewed by Dave Coward
Our thanks to Hannants for the review sample – get this kit here now at: www.hannants.co.uk
(Check out the full build review in Build Now – coming very soon from Dave Coward – Ed)
Initial assessment…
The kit (No.PT-45) comes packed in a large box with Hasegawa`s usual beautiful art work on the front. Upon opening the box the first thing you notice are the two large mouldings that make up the upper and lower fuselages. Below this are 6 sprues of grey plastic along with a clear sprue and another `smoked` sprue. There is a large decals sheet and an instruction booklet.
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Accuracy and Quality…
The fuselage halves are very nicely moulded but the surface detail is somewhat over done in places as it seems too prominent. This is in direct contrast to the Academy F-22 where the detail is very soft – a comprise between the two would be ideal. The first area where the Hasegawa kit scores over its Academy rival is the shape of the nose which is a lot more accurate in profile. The cockpit is nicely detailed and the new moulding means a new pilot figure is included whose moulding is much crisper than those found in some of the older Hasegawa kits. The ejection seat is nicely done but you need to buy the separate Photo Etched set (No.QG39) for the seat belts which is a bit of a shame as this is an expensive kit on its own.
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The sprues contain some very detailed parts that will need care when being removed in order not to damage them. Another observation is the large number of sprue gates attached to all the parts – once again this increases the chances of scaring the plastic when removing them so care will need to be taken.
As already said there are two transparent sprues – one clear and one tinted – this is a nice touch that allows the modeller to have the tinted canopy but it also allows you to use the spare one as a readymade mask.
The kit has full length intakes which are a big improvement over the cut down academy ones – not that you can see that far up them anyhow due to their stealth shaping in order to hide the compressor blades.
The detail in the weapon and wheel bays is very nicely done and a lot of thought has gone into supporting the two fuselage halves with lots of internal bracing. The extra photo etch gives replacement weapon bay doors and some plates for around the engines. This photo etch will defiantly give that bit extra to the finished kit but you have to question its cost as the kit parts they replace are actually very good in the first place.
There is a selection of AMRAAMS and AIM-9Xs which is a nice change for a Hasegawa kit where you usually had to buy the weapons separately. One point to note though are the 9X Sidewinders are not yet cleared for operational use on F-22`s so 9L`s or 9M`s would be a better choice.
Instructions and Decals…
The kit decals are well produced and give you the choice for several aircraft (all grey of course!!!!) but they are not as comprehensive as the Academy one. The instruction sheet is well produced but there is the occasional instruction that has been left in Japanese without any translation.
One challenge with this kit will be painting it. The paint on the real aircraft has a metallic sheen to it and the instructions recommend mixing Mr Color acrylics (available through MDC) with Mr Color Super Metallic paints – these are not so readily available so some though will have to go into how I’m going to achieve this effect – watch out for the in progress build to see how I get on.
Initial Conclusion…
A very big and impressive kit that has been well thought out. The wheel and weapon bays are especially well done and along with the full length intake trunking and nose profile this kit stands out over the Academy one. The only two issues I have with the kit is the rather over done surface detailing and the price of the additional photo etch set but that said this is a quality kit and most new kits of this size and quality are going to cost you irrelevant of manufacturer. I am really looking forward to this build and it’s next on my list so keep watching the Build Now section for updates.
Dave C.