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Here is the 1/48 Italeri F-22A Raptor. As everyone has
read in reviews, it's a real dog. Soft plastic with even softer panel lines, nearly non-existent cockpit
detail, and poor fit made for a tough challenge. As I've not seen many of these kits built, I decided to
tackle it.
Some advice for builders contemplating building this kit, watch for the plastic not staying bonded. Because
of the fit, my seams popped loose many times. Next time I'll use more CA glue instead of
Tenax.
After adding some scratch built detail to the canopy, cockpit tub and side panels, I
adding a true details ACES II ejection seat. The Italeri seat is actually pretty good, but I already had a seat painted and
ready to go.
On the exterior, I dropped both the leading and
trailing edge flaps (the trailing flaps come with the option of up or down). I also closed up the ventral
weapons bay, as it was so low to the ground it really couldn't be seen well. The intake bays were left open
and SOL resin AIM-9Xs were installed.
I painted the jet as Raptor 4002 with it's patchy color scheme. Prior to painting I contacted
Lockheed-Martin for a paint match but didn't receive an answer by the time I was ready to start, so I went
with my best guesstimate. Added were many of the
different panels and chromate yellow strips on the wings and nose.
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All in all I'm happy with the end result and it makes
for a fine addition to my display. Did I mention that it's a large jet? The tailspan is approx the same as
the wingspan on the F-16, so make some room!!
In the future, maybe Hasagawa will do their own kit when the production jets are released and we can get a
better thought out release. The first F-22A is due at
Tyndall later this year, or early 2003, so......
Enjoy!!
Jeff
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