Tamiya 1/48 F-35C Lightning II (61127)

Today I am going to tell you more about Tamiya 1/48 F-35C Lightning II (61127).

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

First frame surprises with relatively large parts for the main bay. It should be possible to assemble in open or closed position.

Note also amount of premolded features here. This thing definitely deserves a careful paintwork with pointed brush.

Next we see another large element as well as some cockpit parts. Yes, pilot figurine is also here, what might be useful for some build ideas.

Again the large section with wheel bays details features a lot of things in place. This is definitely a good thing for 1/48 scale, but paintwork will take a bit of time.

Overall molding quality and parts division looks great out of the box. Note that amount of attachment points is also reduced to possible minimum.

I was surprised to see missiles and bombs included here. Those look good for standard build, but professionals will probably replace those with aftermarket.

Nose wheel bay also looks great in terms of details which are premolded on panels. Note also landing gear legs here.

Landing gear wheels look fine,but Tamiya divided them into two halves, so it might be worth getting resin replacement. Note the folded position hinges which should be visible on the finished model.

Engine nozzle will be glued out of several parts, so be sure to think through on how to properly paint it. Moreover, external section can be completely replaced with aftermarket, but it will require some additional money from you.

Fuselage panels are molded in large sections, so it is important to keep track of their fitment. Surface details look impressive in person.

Unfortunately, Tamiya decided to mold both top and bottom halves with nose cone. Such design might be a bit more tricky to get into a smooth assembly.

Guiding elements inside should help you in assembly, but I still wonder why nose cone was decided to be split into two halves.

Metal rods will come handy for the folded wings position.

Clear parts come on several frames. On the first one you can see fuselage elements.

Canopy is molded separately as one-piece part with amber color. Overall molding quality looks great.

Yes, masks are also supplied, so you just need to cut them out. The is very useful thing for a nice paintwork on your aircraft.

Kit features two decals sheets. On the first one you will find stencils and some cockpit decals. Such thing might be more than enough for some modelers.

Second sheet is busy with external symbols and sections. Printing quality looks good, so I don't think you will have any issues here.

I like that marking guides are supplied as large-format posters. Those look cool and might be worth framing on the wall.

Two markings can be seen on the photo above. There is also a "background information" brochure with some facts about real aircraft.

Assembly manual is typical for this brand. I show all pages in the video-review.

New kit should be available for some time. In my opinion it is one of the best offers for those who would like to copy the famous F-35. It is visible that Tamiya did a lot of work in order to keep as many features as possible. Moreover, you get almost all necessary things straight out of the box. Yes, there is still some space for aftermarket, but I think that even standard build should look impressive.

THANK YOU FOR DONATIONS WHICH MADE THIS REVIEW POSSIBLE!