[Hickory Shampoo]

Still a novice to 1:72 and after a brief search through the forums turned up zilch, I pose the question: Who makes the best 1:72 scale Bug? Any on par with Century Wings efforts with the Tomcat?

Thanks.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Dragon's "Fist of the Fleet" VF-25 is a good one..
I also have the F/A-18F Super Hornet U.S. NAVY VF-103 "Jolly Rogers" Sp by Dragon
it's a nice one as well.
Dragon's USN VFA-195 Dambusters, "Chippy Ho", USS Kitty Hawk DW50056 is sweet looking to
because it's weathered...Dragon made two kinds of these by the way there is another Chippy Ho DW50024 that is the
clean version.
Then you have Witty Wings who makes a great looking F/A-18F Super Hornet VFA-102 Diamondbacks NF102 USS Kittyhawk, but your stuck with gears down only with the Witty's..
These will have to do for me until Century Wings decides to make them in the future....
JP

[SaorsaDaonnan]

I was browsing around this forum yesterday trying to figure out the exact same thing. There was a lot less discussion of it than you might expect-much less thorough than the F-14 discussions- but the main message was that it depends on what sort of Hornet you want. If you want legacy Hornets, the Dragon F/A-18A/B/C/D molds seem to be the most highly thought of. For Super Hornets, though, apparently some company called Witty makes one that is, so far, superior to the alternatives. (Note: these rankings are based on the accuracy of the mold, not coolness of paintjobs.)

[trex0770]

Originally Posted by SaorsaDaonnan

I was browsing around this forum yesterday trying to figure out the exact same thing. There was a lot less discussion of it than you might expect-much less thorough than the F-14 discussions- but the main message was that it depends on what sort of Hornet you want. If you want legacy Hornets, the Dragon F/A-18A/B/C/D molds seem to be the most highly thought of. For Super Hornets, though, apparently some company called Witty makes one that is, so far, superior to the alternatives. (Note: these rankings are based on the accuracy of the mold, not coolness of paintjobs.)

Hi SaorsaDaonnan,
I don't know if I agree with you on the Witty be far superior. It used to be somewhat true because Dragon's Super Hornet had issues (i.e. the rear airbrake) but Witty also had it's issues at the time too. For example, the white missiles and missing avionics box in the nose. I had a Bounty Hunters from Witty but gave it away because it just didn't look right without the avionics box up front.

I think both companies have corrected these problems (weapons loads/colors not-withstanding). IMO they both look pretty decent now with Witty's QC being a little better than Dragon's.

[djjeffhall]

Hickory Shampoo,
Hey there.

I can't speak for or against Witty. I like my birds to have gear up and down options.

However, I can speak for Dragon's birds. (Or at least, their single seat versions.) Their diecast are very nice. They look and "feel" sharp. To me, they really have the, "I could climb in and fire up," vibe.

I will also say that I am NOT a rivet counter. (Rivet counter is NOT meant aa negative folks. Just a reflection of how I view birds.) It looks like a F-18, which is enough for me.

Just keep in mind, as with all Dragon diecast birds, there is a lot of putting together (aka fiddly bits) so be prepared for that. If putting on gear, ordinance and the like is not your bag, then skip the Dragon's. I like spending the time with my birds, so it's nto an issue, but it can be exasperating if you have had one too many cups of coffee that morning.

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

Dragon's "Fist of the Fleet" VF-25 is a good one..

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

I also have the F/A-18F Super Hornet U.S. NAVY VF-103 "Jolly Rogers" Sp by Dragon

it's a nice one as well.

Dragon's USN VFA-195 Dambusters, "Chippy Ho", USS Kitty Hawk DW50056 is sweet looking to

because it's weathered...Dragon made two kinds of these by the way there is another Chippy Ho DW50024 that is the

clean version.

Then you have Witty Wings who makes a great looking F/A-18F Super Hornet VFA-102 Diamondbacks NF102 USS Kittyhawk, but your stuck with gears down only with the Witty's..

These will have to do for me until Century Wings decides to make them in the future....

JP

I have the same stuff (Dragon's Legacy Hornets and Witty's Supebugs) that Starman has above. I also redeemed the the black "TOP GUN" F/A-18 dual-seater from Dragon USA a

couple of years ago. The Witty Superbugs that I own does have the avionics box added on the nose, that's why I bought them. I'm not so much bothered by the 'fixed' under carriage

on the Witty birds as I prefer to display mine sitting on the tarmac anyway. I'm pretty much done with collecting anymore Hornets/Super Hornets as I've all the variants single/dual

seaters...unless, as JP states, Century Wings decides to spit them out down the road.

[SaorsaDaonnan]

Originally Posted by trex0770

Hi SaorsaDaonnan,
I don't know if I agree with you on the Witty be far superior. It used to be somewhat true because Dragon's Super Hornet had issues (i.e. the rear airbrake) but Witty also had it's issues at the time too. For example, the white missiles and missing avionics box in the nose. I had a Bounty Hunters from Witty but gave it away because it just didn't look right without the avionics box up front.

I think both companies have corrected these problems (weapons loads/colors not-withstanding). IMO they both look pretty decent now with Witty's QC being a little better than Dragon's.

Hi

I didn't write my earlier post very well, sorry about that.

To clarify: I don't own any Hornets of any kind, and in fact have never even seen a diecast Hornet in person. So, I don't really have an opinion on what is good.

The goal of my post was just to save Hickory Shampoo a little time by summarizing for him the things I've heard others say on this board. I spent a couple hours reading through people's opinions on various legacy fighters, including the F/A-18, and the Super Hornet. I did read about the Dragon airbrake situation on the early Supers, but the opinions I wanted to repeat for H.S. concerned, I think, the latest versions of the Dragon molds and the latest versions of the Witty molds. It would have been better if I had mentioned that problem and stated that it wasn't a factor in the reviews I was forwarding. Comments, I guess, are like diecast aircraft--they must be well-crafted and detailed. Sorry for messing things up...

[Cavtanker]

I received the Dragon F/A-18E VFA-14 "Tophatters" last week. There's a small seam behind the cockpit area, but other than that, I really do like the model. It does not have very much for ordnance, but the wing tanks have the faded 'Tophat' on them. I considered that to be a nice touch. Considering the $25 price, it was well-worth it. I'm not a rivet counter, but that's just my way of collecting. If it looks like a F/A-18, and has the F/A-18 label on the box, then it's a F/A-18 to me.

[Hickory Shampoo]

Thanks for the replies thusfar. The gear up/down thing isn't all that critical for me, as I tend to display my models sitting on the gear. I'll give a couple of the above-listed examples a shot in the near future.

More opinions are certainly welcome...

[STARMAN 352ND]

You know another a friend of mine has a Witty Sky Guardians F/A-18E Super Hornet Diecast Model
USN VFA-27 Royal Maces, NF200 (WTW72007-06) and he loves it and recommened me getting one...
But i have not seen this in person yet ...But from the picture i have seen on The Flying Mule
it does look nice.
JP