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...we have the wheel wells for the Tamiya F-4B in 1:48th scale. These are just the first decent test shots, and they are looking excellent. The main well shown below wasn't even cleaned up with any great care. Importantly, they confirm fit (which they do, like a glove) and that they are a single piece drop fit, as intended. These will, incidentally, accept Tamiya's landing gear legs, here and in the nose well, too. They will also accept our forthcoming landing gear HybridCAST legs, due out shortly after these wells. The next couple of months will be Phantom months at KAZAN...But hell....who doesn't love the Phantom?    A little about the release schedule with these. the F-4E set, designed for the Z-M (SWS) kits will be out shortly. Stupid little tweaks have taken seemingly forever, but they are done. the problem hasn't been so much in the fit or details, but rather the quality of the prints. See the posts below this one for more details. Seems to be solved now, and Wednesday, March 2nd should see delivery of the final production prints, and we'll post the item as available for sale in the store section.
The sets for the Tamiya F-4B are lagging a little bit, but these are now at a point that we can put them on market, as long as the printer can guarantee consistent quality. We will be keeping an eye on these before they go out the door. These should be ready about mid-March. These will be discussed with the printer this coming Wednesday as well. ...is going well, but slower and with more complications than anticipated. Nevertheless, the wheel well set for the SWS F-4E (48th) is soon to be released. These pics show some prototype pieces, and as such, are a little less refined than what the end product will look like, but they did confirm fit and look.    The set comprises 26 3D printed parts, 8 HybridCAST parts, 10 resin and one clear printed item. The HybridCAST items naturally contain stainless steel oleo and retraction pistons that look stunning. They are easy to use, because they need no masking for painting, and primers/paints/clear coats simply and effortlessly scrape off them with an appropriate knife. Unfortunately, it's tough to approach what these things look like in person on photographs. Below is the instruction sheet.  ...using our sets in the Hobby Boss F-14 (48th). This is good stuff....   These are the original Spine and Wing Box sets that were designed for the Hasegawa kits. The Spine set has since been updated and redesigned to fit the Tamiya kits, and to this has been added the new Avionic Bays set. A new Wing Box set will be coming to fit the Tamiya kits as well.
We are in the process of making a switch to 3D printed parts. In some cases, this can be construed as unnecessary with respect to cast resin equivalents, but in others, the switch carries major benefits. In developing the F-4 sets, a one-piece main wheel well was very difficult to remove from its casting block. As a 3D print, this became virtually effortless. So, the switch is on, representing a minor time delay in release. The first kit, covering the F-4E from SWS, should be out by the end of August. This will be followed on a monthly basis by the F-4J/S and F-4C/D, and the F-4B (TAM)....not necessarily in that order. The new F-4E set should contain 8 HybridCAST parts (with metal oleos and retraction pistons), ten cast resin parts, 26 3D printed parts, and a clear printed item, for a grand total of 45 components. but that depends on the success (both physical and economical) of the prints. See the illustration below of the Parts Index. The price of the set is looking like around $59.99US, and we would like to know your view on that price point for what you get, so, please, let us know. We know that the lower the better, but would you consider the price fair? Also in progress is design work on F-16 landing gear sets and wheel wells, covering the Hasegawa and Tamiya kits, and will include Light Weight and Heavy Weight gear versions, as well as the different intakes. Finally, the P-51 set is being brought up to our current standards. It's been better detailed, and the advantage of 3D printing (as opposed to casting) is being integrated in a major way that will be greatly appreciated by modellers. The advantage will be very noticeable in the torque links and their application, and the main gear covers and in the way they are attached to the landing gear struts. Also, a full wheel well will now be included.   The new sets will focus on the SWS line of 48th scale Phantom IIs, beginning with the F-4E. This will include the HybridCAST legs and other items with retraction pistons, and the rest is done and ready to go. The question, though, is whether or not to switch to printed items instead of castings, which we are planning to do. Right now, this will require a bit of testing, but should not represent a massive delay.
Sets are also being developed for the Tamiya F-4B, and, if demand is there, for the Academy kits, too. The photo above shows the nose gear strut, and what you see are two parts. Surprisingly (perhaps), the torque link is not a separate part, but is cast with the main strut. This idea ended up working surprisingly well. Details to follow....   A customer of ours, and now a friend with obvious modelling skills to spare from the Czech Republic, sent us these two build pics of his application of our sets to the Hobby Boss kit. He says the sets are 'perfect', but the installation into the HB kit is not entirely easy. Knowing the tolerances involved, especially with the outside edges of the photoetched framework corresponding to Tamiya's panel lines, I can see where any deviation between Tamiya and Hobby Boss F-14s would need to be handled carefully and thoroughly. Incredible work by this dude! Most importantly, though, he writes that he is enjoying the project immensely.
The Spine and Avionic Bay sets are now Available from our e-shop, and production has just begun.
....along with the F-14 avionic bay set will be a new Spine Set, tailored to the Tamiya kit. This set is a complete redesign of the set originally released for the Hasegawa kit that we did a couple of years back. It is more detailed and simplified. It is more detailed because of more information that we were able to get, and simplified based on the previous set's design. And it has been resized to fit the Tamiya kit specifically. We'll post some pics here soon...
If there is good interest in this revamped set, we'll do the same to the Wing Box set. |
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