Kinetic’s 1/48 Republic F-84F has been repackaged with two new colour schemes. CHRIS CLIFFORD inspects the contents.
For many years we had to soldier on with ageing 1/48 kits of the Republic’s imposing Thunderstreak, until a new tooling from Kinetic hit the shelves in 2007. It was, in general, a major leap ahead as it had recessed panel lines and relatively sharp detail throughout. The original boxing even provided ball-bearing nose weights to combat tail-sitting.
Having been re-released with new markings several times, by Italeri and Kinetic, the tooling now gets another outing and offers fresh decals for two USAF machines from 1957. For the uninitiated, there are many pleasing features on this kit (K48113), which make it a desirable option… but it’s not perfect.
The panel lines vary in thickness; those on the wings and horizontal stabilisers are admirably fine, but those on the fuselage halves are slightly thicker and deeper. Not horrendously so, but it is noticeable. Once paint is applied, for those who usually do so, it might be prudent to forego any panel line wash and let the bare engraving speak for itself. There’s also the fact that the gun ports are too small.
On the subject of finish, the fuselage, wings and tails all…
