Tamiya (Italeri) 1/72 Lockheed X-35 JSF

TAMIYA (ITALERI) 1:72 LOCKHEED-MARTIN X-35 JSF
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Myself (rec.models.scale)

Kit Details: 1/72 Scale war bird collection #67 - Lockheed X-35 JSF (kit number 60767) - reissued Italeri kit

Aircraft History: The Lockheed-Martin was developed in a rivalry competition with the Boeing X-32 ultimately as a replacement for the F-16. One of its main benefits - other than its performance and abilities beyond the current generation of fighters - is that it can more or less offer stealth characteristics and avionics, similar to the F-22, but at F-16 prices, and requires a smidgeon of maintenance needs than most fighters flying today.

In 1996 both Lockheed-Martin and Boeing were awarded contracts to develop their respective JSF's (Joint Strike Fighter) further with construction of demonstrator aircraft. The X-35 essentially came out the winner a few years ago although speculation about developing the X-32 further still hasn't been totally squashed.

As its name implies the JSF is a multi-service program aiming to provide a land-based fighter for the USAF, a carrier based strike fighter for the US Navy and a STOVL option for the US Marines. The X-35A was designed as a conventional take off aircraft and the X-35C for US Navy STOVL. A third version, which was simply the X-35A converted, was the X-35B (presumably what this Italeri kit really represents), which was equipped with a special vectoring exhaust to show the STOVL possibilities for the USMC.

This aircraft employed a lift-fan arrangement - a counter rotating fan installed in a bay behind the cockpit - and doors above and underneath essentially to allow the air to be vectored through the aircraft to allow smooth transition from conventional flight to a hover.

Production of the X-35s which will be redesignated F-35 has been ordered for the end of the decade with customers including the US armed services and Royal Australian Air Force.

Kit Parts: This is yet another Tamiya reboxing of an Italeri kit for the Asian market so what you get inside the box is certainly not the engineering quality we have come to anticipate from Tamiya releases. Other than the box, boxart, instructions and presentation of the parts inside the box, you are really buying an Italeri kit - probably at a much higher price. The two grey sprues come inside their own plastic bag and the single clear canopy and HUD is also bagged separately. The surface detail is restrained but that is not surprising for a kit that covers an aircraft which is supposed to be very stealthy! Parts count is about 50 and are crisply molded but also look Italeri soft-like with only the most minor of flash that needs a quick scrape to remove on some of the parts. The level of detail in engines etc is quite good and all the panel lines are engraved.

The Italeri boxing - I will add the Tamiya one, once I get it off my camera!

Instructions: The Tamiya instructions are entirely in Japanese on my example but pictures tell a thousand words so you don't need to read anything to assemble a kit, if you get my drift! It is essentially a fold out 6 page booklet with each page being larger than A5 size. Presumably the front page covers modelling tips and a history spiel. The three centrespread pages provide the six assembly steps with Tamiya paints called upon through construction by their code (eg: XF-53) - and so with a handy reference chart beside you like the one on IPMS Stockholm's web site, you shouldn't have too many problems converting to your range. On the back pages you have a four view diagram for painting and decalling of the only demonstrator version the kit produces, followed by a sprue map.

Colour Options: The prototype X-35 is all that this kit provides for in its all-over low-viz grey scheme. I am not sure whether Tamiya simply converted Italeri's painting information to their own, as I thought there might be an additional grey mixed in with the overall scheme. I will look at that when I build the kit, so best to check your references.

Decals: Produced by Zanchetti which give away its Italeri heritage - including the Italeri kit number! It's a small sheet printed almost entirely in dark grey to contrast against the low viz grey scheme and looks relatively thin, matt and easy to apply from its appearance. It is hard to read the warning triangles and apart from these and some wing walks there is virtually no stencilling provided nor is there the unit stripes or badges which appear on the X-35A/B aircraft provided in this kit. A poor showing for those who like historical replicas. Aside from the inaccuracies, shouldn't have too many problems placing these on the model.

Cockpit/Wheel Bay Detail: The cockpit consists of a tub with some side console detail molded in raised detail into which goes a similarly detailed instrument panel, a very simplistic and unrealistic looking ejection seat made up of the usual separate side arms and a throttle for the side console. Wheel wells are nicely detailed with some structural and hydraulic plumbing detail provided.

Optional components: Nothing really. Canopy is one-piece. The kit is even only marketed really for a wheels down version as only one engine (in the vectored down position) is provided. Perhaps the only options are having the various engine compressor and inlet doors open or closed.

On the Sprue Impressions: A nice looking kit on the sprue it has to be said. As with most kitted stealth fighters nowadays the fuselage halves are broken into upper and lower portions and have the wings already molded on them. Only the tailfins and tailplanes really need to be added as far as finishing off the main airframe components goes.

The most disappointing aspect of this kit for me (being a wheels up modeller) is that the engines are provided only in the L-shaped vectored down position, which means the kit is for displaying in a static fashion. The gear and engine doors are all molded in one piece, so you have to cut them to have wheels down/static display which will annoy some. I guess my only option is to carefully and surgically cut the engines and work out a way to stick them together so they can be deployed in-flight mode (or perhaps just have them deployed downward resignedly?).

Overall it has all the traits of typical Italeri kits, I recall building their Rafale M recently and that almost fell together by itself. No doubt though there will be the usual gap problems of the overhang with the wings but that isn't too hard to fix with Mr Surfacer or putty.

Accuracy: As always there are several accuracy issues with Italeri kits of very modern aircraft, the decals, door shapes and intake mounted exhausts being obvious problems. One [presumably] easily corrected inaccuracy is that Italeri ask you to place the doors to the air intake on top of the fuselage on the "outside" of the openings, whereas on the aircraft they are on the inside of the openings - if that makes sense. The underfuselage exhaust is not at all accurate in the way it is depicted, and one of the major omissions in the kit are the exhaust outlets on the fuselage sides behind the air intakes. From this kit you will only get a reasonable replica of the shape outline of the X-35. As always I applaud Italeri for bringing out kits of these newly developed aircraft for us to model, but sometimes in their haste to be the first mainstream manufacturer to do so, there are several accuracy issues which result.

Conclusion: As discussed above it looks pretty simple to put together, no real major hassles are forecasted and should build into a nice enjoyable model. Apart from the usual accuracy issues it is otherwise recommended!

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