Trumpeter 1/48 Vigilante RA-5C
Trumpeter's Vigilante was never on my list due to reports on shape and fit issues related to the kit. Nonetheless, I received this model from a friend and promptly built it.
In spite of the bad reputation, it builds to an impressive Vigilante. Thanks to the large size of parts the fit issues are resolved easily. As for the shape inaccuracies, I never noticed them anyway...
What shape issues? Looks damn good to me.
Thank you Marcello.
An excellent build, Rafi!
Looks damn good to me as well!
Thank you Spiros!
An old favorite of mine Rafi, and you've done a great job with it! 🤩 That plane always looked fast just sitting still! Excellent work, sir, @blackmopane 👍
Thank you Gary!
It turned out looking great !
Thank you Jay
Excellent result on this impressive aircraft, Rafi @blackmopane
The room for the co-pilot looks far from convenient.
Thank you kindly John
Looks great, Rafi, the shape issues often originate from “armchair modellers”.
Thank you George.
I guess that CAD left them speachless
Wow this looks great to me Rafi, I might have to put one of these the "to do" list, along with all the other hundreds of kits I want to build...
Great work.
Thank you Neil
Sure looks like a Vigilante, nicely done.
Thank you Robert.
This is what is so maddening about Trumpeter. You've done as well with this kit as can be done - maybe even better - but for someone who knows the Vigi, your excellent work only highlights the kit's deficiences, all of which could have been solved with even a little more research. As a friend commented about Trumpeter yesterday at our local club meeting, how come it is that people like us, using a desktop computer, can go out on the net and in a couple hours get all the information needed to do a project right, and most of their design teams can't? How come it is that their two best releases - the SBDs and now the TBD - had to copy the work of other design teams to achieve that level of accuracy?
Trumpeter is the perfect example of what a "legendary" director once said to me: "If you don't give a rat's posterior (not the word he used) what you're doing, why should anyone else?"
They even manage to do this on Soviet subjects where they can go to the local museum and measure the original object!
None of the above should detract from the fact you created an excellent model, Rafi. It's just too bad Trumpy couldn't provide you better raw material to work with.
Thank you Tom.
Over the years, you saved me from disappointment quite a few times concerning Trumpeter's products.
I built only a handful of Trumpeter's aircraft models, the majority being 32nd scale design of other manufacturers 48th scale products. Their panel texture pattern design on aircraft is best kept under thick layers of paint like in this model. So, even if the dimensions of Trumpeter (and Hobbyboss) aircraft models are correct surface texture is not up to scratch.
My favorite Trumpeter aircraft model is the 1/32nd Me 262A where the textures is significantly different from the traditional design.
The Me-262 series is their best 1/32 kit that doesn't appear to be upsized from someone else's 1/48 kit.
It is the same 1/48th Tamiya 262 design with added slats and nice riveting and panel lines, which makes it the best 262 model in the market (but not the 262B.)
Looks great, Rafi
Thank you Gary.
Nice work, Rafi. I need inspiration like this to finally build mine.
Thank you John
Hope to see your work here
Terrific build, Rafi (@blackmopane). This must be a beast in 1/48.
Thank you George.
Very cool! You did a great job on this despite the challenges presented by the kit. Major props for being brave enough to take this on and produce a stellar result in the end!
Thank you David!
Such an elegant bird.
My compliments for this beautiful rendition!
Thank you Alfred
Nice job! I've this kit, just need to get it to the table, great inspiration.
Thank you Duane
Enjoy you build.
A nice-looking Vigilante!
Thank you kindly Greg