Classic Airframes has filled another modeling gap with
their series of early variants of the widely used Northrop F-5. Limited
run kits such as this can be a challenge to build, but in this instance
Classic Airframes has produced a small gem, with few problems and no major
glitches.The kit comprises 58 injection molded parts in soft gray
plastic, 13 nicely cast resin parts, and separate windscreen and canopy
molded in clear. All panel lines are recessed, but I found it necessary
to deepen them here and there. Stores provided include under wing drop
tanks, the tear drop shaped tip tanks, napalm canisters, two bombs and a
pair of nicely done AIM-9B Sidewinders with launch rails. The finished
kit compares well in overall dimensions to my references, and has that
‘right’ look. The clear parts are thicker than the typical Hasegawa or
Tamiya offerings, but a good polishing brought out the clarity and they
fit quite well.
The cockpit is entirely done in resin, and matches my references very
closely. The instrument panel in particular is quite nice. I punched out
individual decal instrument faces and finished them off with clear gloss
for a very convincing looking panel. The sidewall detail is also well
done, and could be a lesson for the bigger manufacturers, who tend to
neglect this area. The only major omission is the canopy control handle
mounted on the starboard sidewall, which is pretty prominent in the actual
cockpit. This item can be easily scratch built and added if you are the
fastidious sort. The cockpit tub casting includes the rear decking behind
the seat with the complex F-5 canopy operating gear and plumbing details.
The ejection seat is again nicely done, and includes the oxygen and g-suit
hoses, but no harness. I scrounged some belts from an old photoetch set.
Everything fits neatly into the fuselage with virtually no fuss, but the
resin cast nose gear well requires careful fitting; I got mine off center
just a bit, but not enough to be a problem. Fit of the fuselage halves
is also quite acceptable, but I had some gaps around the separate resin
piece which comprises the inner main gear wells and speedbrake well. This
latter resin item, by the way, contains really comprehensive detail and
looks great painted and weathered. No fit issues were present with the
rest of the airframe parts, aside from some small gaps between the wing
undersides and that pesky gear well piece. These were easily addressed.
The separate tailplanes are molded in one piece, but without any mounting
or locating provisions. I drilled the tailplanes and inserted small
lengths of brass rod, and match drilled the fuselage.
The smaller parts also had few problems with fit. The biggest glitch I
found was that when the resin exhaust assembly was mated to the fuselage a
very large open area remained, through which I could peer into the
fuselage interior. This oversight was really puzzling given the overall
quality of the kit. I cut a scrap of .005 sheet to fit and that problem
was solved. I also drilled all three gear struts for plastic rod locators
to reinforce the butt joints. The wheel mounting pins on the main struts
were very short, and made attaching the wheels more difficult than
necessary. When I build this kit again I will probably replace them.
The clear parts, as mentioned, fit well, but attaching an F-5 canopy in
the raised position is no picnic in any kit. I covered the canopy
interior with a small piece cut from a Post-It note and used CA glue to
fix the canopy. After the glue had time to cure I gently peeled the paper
mask off, and avoided the dreaded fogging monster. The installed canopy
with its resin inner piece and the busy looking canopy mechanism gives a
good impression of the real thing.
Three decal options are provided, a Greek example in gray and aluminum,
an overall aluminum Norwegian aircraft, and a Dutch bird in NATO
camouflage of gray and green over gray. I chose the latter, using Tamiya
acrylics. The Microscale decals went on as usual with no difficulties.
The result is a good looking F-5A with minimal effort. If you have any
interest in the F-5A, get one of these kits while you can. The price may
be seem a bit high, but if this were a mainline kit and you bought the
equivalent aftermarket resin bits the final cost likely would be about the
same.