1/32 Collect Aire T-38 talon.

I have been thinking about getting this kit but there is just something about the front fuselage that does not look correct. It looks like the fuselage is to tall just ahead of the intakes. The over-all front fuselage just looks odd. Any opinions on this? Steve

Reply to
Steve Jahn
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Kinda hard to tell from the photo's on the Collect Aire web site... But..yeah it appears the fuselage has a funny shape to it. The canopy a bit too tall...the fuselage a bit too deep. The front ejection seat should be lower than the rear one. But that could be from the way the kit was put together. What get's me are the wheels/tires....way to large. But overall for a 1/32 scale kit it's pretty neat looking. But for $200...sheesh. In my opinion the only accurate kit in any scale of the Talon was the Sword 1/48 kit. And while the Sword kit isn't perfect...its alot better than anything that came before it. Since it seems the Sword kit is not available any more....it could be possible to convert the Classic Airframes F-5B kit into a T-38 with a few modifications.

Chris Ft. Worth, Tx

Reply to
CCBlack

with a few modifications.

Not for the faint of heart! The T-38 has no wing LEXs, different intakes, different main l/g & tires, different cockpit details, and most importantly, a nice flat belly. Although superficially similar, T-38s are very different from F-5Bs.

Reply to
Al Superczynski

Just sand them off. And of course leave the tip tanks off.

Just cut and sand to right shape

The main wheels/tires on the Sword kit were too large anyway.

Just the ejection seats, and thats just in the form of the drag chute case around the head rest.

Yes on the real thing but since the two kits come from the same mold I don't think the belly is a problem. I've compared the two of them side by side.

You also forgot the T-38 doesn't have a drag chute housing at the bottom of the rudder ( easily sanded away ) and there is sheet of metel across the afterburner cans on the T-38 ( easily added. ) I think the hardest part might be the airbrakes. The Classic Airframe kit is just the Sword T-38 kit with different resin parts. It wouldn't be all that hard of a conversion I think. But this is all kind of off topic anyway. The main thing is that the Sword and Classic airframes kit get the right shape of the fuselage on the T-38 / F-5B like I've never seen before.

Chris

Reply to
CCBlack

I'm not sure I understand. If the belly is the same on both kits one or the other is inaccurate.

I didn't forget. I felt my point was made well enough with the differences I did list.

In the belly. Fancy that...

Then as I said above, one of them has an inaccurate fuselage.

Well, it's a real b*tch in 1/72. I would think it would be even more difficult in 1/48.

Not if both kits have the same fuselage parts...

Reply to
Al Superczynski

Al I'm just the messenger. I didn't realize the Classic Airframes kit and the Sword kit both originate out of The Czech Republic...until I saw the parts up close. Last time I was home I compared both kits quickly. I have one kit of each. I just compared the plastic forward fuselage...and it matched up perfectly...even the panel lines were exactly the same. Obviously they are using the same mold for many of the plastic parts. Maybe the resin belly parts for the F-5B ARE deeper. It's not a HUGE difference anyway. Just a slight bulge for the larger main gear. It's not a monumental task to separate the airbrakes since they are in the same location.

Here is a Sword T-38:

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Here is an Classic Airframes F-5B:
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Are they innacurate ? On Kelly's T-38, it looks like he stuck two Monogram pilots in the seats. I think the nose wheel is just about right...but the main tires are too wide.

Chris

Reply to
CCBlack

I know that, and so am I. I'm not trying to tell anybody how they should go about building a T-38 (see my sig file below!), I'm just pointing out the differences between the two airframes so builders can make intelligent and informed decisions for themselves.

Aha! What other reason could they have had to cast the bellies in resin other than that they're different? ;)

It's a pretty big difference to me but that's just my personal opinion. If it weren't a big deal to me I'd quit agitating for a 1/72 scale T-38 kit and be content to convert ESCI F-5Bs. That said, to each his own - I'd *never* belittle another modeler that was happy to paint an F-5B as a T-38.

Hard to tell from the pics in those articles as I can't see much of the bellies.

It looks like both kits have the same mainwheels in them. Strange if the manufacturer(s) went to the trouble of providing different resin bellies.

Do you still have both kits to do a detailed comparison?

Reply to
Al Superczynski

I've actually been on your side of the debate many times. =] Hey by the way Al...I won the auction for that Sword T-38 on Ebay a few weeks back ! Got it for $29 bucks.

Well...obviously the way they manufacture the kit is to sell different versions.

Look at these comparison photo's Al:

F-5B

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T-38
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Obviously the F-5B is set for higher gross weights....hard points...different tires..intakes...etc...but is it that radically different ?

I remember well reading Tom Black's article in Fine Scale modeler

10 years ( or so ) ago about how to convert a 1/72 scale F-5B into a T-38. I would never just paint an F-5B and call it a T-38. I would definatly cut and reshape many things.

Yeah...otherwise they did a pretty good job. The nose wheel is just about perfect.

Yes....but my job takes me on the road allot. I just did a quick comparison last time I was home. Next time I will compare the resin belly as well and I will let you know the results. You know after the PMP and AUP upgrades...the now T-38 " C " version is going to fly up until about 2020. That's about 60 years of service ! You would think that since just about every fighter jock that comes down the pike in the USAF flies the T-38....some model kit manufacture would come out with a nice T-38 kit. ( since the Sword kit is history ). Hey...you know. Forget the F-5B conversion. How bout converting the Sword T-38 to the " C " version. Intakes, Afterburner, multifunction displays in the cockpit. Whew !

Chris Ft. Worth, TX

Reply to
CCBlack

Well, the F-5B's belly in the link above is pretty much hidden by the wing and drop tank. OTOH the T-38 pic shows just how flat its belly is.

Thanks. It's more for the newsgroup than me, though, since I don't build 1/48... ;)

One would think so but then again we don't have a good kit of the T-37 either, and converting an A-37 is even *more* of a job than converting an F-5B to a T-38.

Heh. You 1/48 builders are spoiled. I'd love to have an accurate 1/72 scale T-38, period. ;-p

Reply to
Al Superczynski

I'm beginning to think the same thing about the 1/32nd guys.

WmB (1/48ther)

Reply to
WmB

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