Tamiya 1/72 F-35A Lightning (92)

This time we are going to take a closer look at Tamiya 1/72 F-35A Lightning (92). As you can guess, kit comes after its "bigger brother" in 1/48 scale. Some modelers didn't have space for such big model, and now they get a perfect chance to build something smaller. Well, price is also smaller two times, so it will be interesting to see what is offered at that level. Aircraft itself doesn't need a separate introducion as it is one of the famous modern types. Packaging is typical for Tamiya, so all frames come in separate plastic bags. Let's open them and take a closer look together.

By the way, here you can read review with another great jet kit in the same scale.
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Watch this video where I show all parts even closer.

We are going to start with sprues A and B. On the left one you can see some parts for the cockpit - pilot seat and pilot himself.

Yes, nose cone is divided into two halves, and lower one is molded together with nose wheel well. Premolded features look fine for this scale, you can see another good example on the photo below.

Main wheel wells come as single-piece part which will have to be installed into special slot. Here you can also take a better look at pilot seat parts.

Surprisingly for Tamiya, we get some external armament included. Those missiles can be installed on underwing pylons.

Next we see tail fins, engine nozzle and fans as well as air ducts. Those parts look fine out of the box and should be easy to assemble, but I have no doubt that we will see some aftermarket later.

Fuselage should be glued out of two halves. External features look good and deserve a nice paintwork.

Inside you will find guiding pins for easier alignment of such large part. Note that attachment points are quite thin here.

Last grey plastic sprue carries lower fuselage half. It also looks nice and the only thing I will have to be worried is the nose section fitment.

Clear frame looks good and should be easy to work with. You can also open cockpit on your model.

There are masks included, which can be used for nice paintwork. Note that they are not precut, so you will have to do it yourself.

There is no mention about manufacturer of decals, but overall quality looks good. Cockpit decals are also here and should look good for out of the box build.

Marking guide is printed in form of large poster, which is worth hanging on your wall. You can see both options on the photo below.

All other brochures are coming in black-and-white format.

I show all pages in the video-review as usual.

New aircraft kit should be already available for purchase. In my opinion it is an interesting choice for those who were waiting for the smaller size of this aircraft. Nevertheless, price is a bit tricky here, as you can get nice alternatives for less. Should I mention that the price difference can be spent on various add-ons? Well, this kit is more aimed at fans of the Japanese brand, and of course standard out of the box build would look nice without extra effort. Another thing that I am sure is that there will be plenty of different accessories for this kit. Well, if you are fine with the price tag and some design quirks, then definitely go for it. :)

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