Academy

1/48 F-22A Raptor Air Dominance Fighter

Kit Number: 12212

Reviewed by  Rod Lees, IPMS# 10821

MSRP: $69.00 Distributed by Model Rectifier Corporation: www.modelrec.com Editors Note- This is a late series test shot and came with no instructions or decals. It was built using Twobobs 48-123 F-22A Langley Raptors: MSRP $11.00, however currently not available. First off: Thanks to Academy and MRC for the kit. Talk about being giddy with opportunistic joy when learning I was the lucky B…… to build it. And the same hat off to Two Bobs. Not much to say here: Accurate, well researched, and they work great. Just follow the instructions! IPMS asked me if I'd be interested in doing this kit without instructions or kit decals. Silly question. I received a rather large box in the mail, with the kit and two sets of Two Bobs decals; one for Langley's birds, and one "Press to Test" Raptor set. The Langley decals won the coin toss. And at the end of five days, here's the finished kit. I did a "quick" build without trying to get too crazy on it. Reference came from Jay Miller's AEROFAX series on the F/A-22; it's a fairly recent title, which means there are operational aircraft pictures and details included. It was a godsend for this build, as some parts are not obvious as to locations when building without instructions. This was not easy without instructions, but I "figgered it out". I also did some online research with AF web, but they aren't into details like we model trolls are… First impressions: Very, very nice. Detailing is variable; Cockpit details are good but as usual, not resin aftermarket level. With a bit of painting and drybrushing, it looks good. Overall weapon bay detail is acceptably busy; difficult to paint because it's white, but a bit of time with a brush and a fine-line permanent marker, and its' fine.

I started by painting everything that needed to be white, white. Assembly began with the intakes; I know from past experience this is one of the more difficult areas to engineer; Academy did an excellent job of it; I was able to install them and only needed to put a bit of filler on the lower intake lip, at the construction join. I used white glue to blend in the interior joints; A few coats of primer for the inside and out, and final white coat, and it looks good. Forward engine intake faces are included; I painted them silver, then a black wash to bring out the details. The exhaust represents the ceramic-coated flame holder struts and sufficient exhaust depth to make it look good. The exhaust nozzles come as two-part items (internal/external) for each petal, and there are two sets; one in the closed position, and one in the open static position, which is how I chose to leave mine.

As I said, the cockpit interior is basic but paints up well. I have heard the kit will have decals for the appropriate areas. The CFT instrument panel is nicely molded; paint it black, dry brush white over the buttons on the perimeters, and it's done. The side stick and throttle are separately molded; the control stick looks good, but the throttle doesn't match what I've seen. The ACES II seat is one of the newer versions with bracing and drogue/parachute mortar design different than previous seats; no "horns" on the parachute/headrest box. I painted the upper portion of the cockpit flat black, with Light gunship gray for the lower half. (Less "glint" and ghosting against the canopy from the gray that way for the pilot in bright sunlight or nighttime operations). The after portion of the cockpit tub has almost imperceptible grillwork; dry brush a bit of white and it will pop out. The canopy is a two-part affair; the clear part is molded "edge on" so the cleanup after removal from the runner leaves a nice edge, ready for cementing on the framework. Mine was not tinted; I tried to spray it with Tamiya clear yellow and a touch of smoke, but it didn't adhere well. I then removed the aforementioned mixture, and Futured the part; I decided to leave it alone for now; I'm on a timeline! The frame fits well in the closed position, so that is an option. The kit includes the prominent white "boomerang" thruster on the front part of the framework interior; Academy is working hard to capture these details, which I appreciate. The pilot figure is a five-part representation without any feet. That doesn't matter because you can't see them anyway if you install it. The oxygen hose is a separate item, and the mask represents the new CPU with side delivery. I don't do "Men" so the dude/dudette is sidelined.

Before assembling the upper and lower body halves together, install the wing navigation lights from the inside. I used a drop of Tamiya clear green and red in the appropriate round areas; if this were an AMS build I would have also installed some internal wiring, because you can see through both wing lights. There is an option to have the refueling doors open, but I did not find an insert in the kit for the refueling receptacle; curious but not worth my time to try to scratch build this time. A closed door insert fits right into place from the INSIDE, so don't forget it. Also on the parts tree is what looks like a large soup can on a stalk. This should fit somewhere behind the intakes, based on pictures I've seen. What is it? I'm going on a limb and stating it could be a removable radar reflector to ensure the Air Traffic Control folks can see the jet in peacetime. I left it off. I installed a 1/2-ounce weight in the nose; I don't know if it was necessary, but with all that fin and tail section behind the main gear, I did not want to take the chance. The arresting hook is well molded and can be installed extended; that may ensure a non-tail sitting model, but I don't usually show tail hooks down on my aircraft because it's one more thing to break off. Assembly of the two upper and lower fuselage parts was easy, and the fit was excellent; no filler needed, just a touch with a couple of sanding sticks after the Tenax had dried. External tanks are the "Nested" War readiness Materials variety; so they have external framing all around them. (Nested tanks are designed to be stored in modular form, so they take up less space. Kind of like Dixie ® cups in a dispenser; pull them out, assemble, and there you have it). The wing racks include the attaching pad and sway braces; all went together nicely. The fins fit extremely well on the upper fuselage; one thing I noted was the use of slide molding technology to mold the horizontal stabilizers without the base pivot plate in place. This is a strong, effective, and well-engineered solution which avoids two-part stabs which don't fit well; see the photo for the oblong hole and the clearance spot on the runner. Cool design work! Landing gear is not too fussy; I was able to install it toward the end of construction. There are separate hinges for the doors, and appropriate actuators. I needed the gear on before I tackled the weapons bay. As stated before, the weapons bay looks appropriately "busy". I would assume the kit decal sheet will have panels for all the flat portions which signify control, circuit breaker, and LRU locations in the bays. This is a maintenance-friendly jet for the most part, so that's where everything is. Easy access! The armament consists of two AIM-9L or AIM-9X missiles on extended rails, six AIM-120C AMRAAM (with the correct size fins for F-22 bay use), or two JDAM smart bombs. I chose to leave the missiles in the retracted position; make sure you install the folded trapeze mounts so the nose points down (toward the bottom of the aircraft) or the missiles will not fit in the bay. Two sizes of mounting pins would have been handy here, as it could have prevented backwards assembly. (Guess who did THAT?) I painted the model using the Two Bobs' decal paint diagram and pictures from the AF web. Primer gray first, fix flaws; then FS26375 (Tamiya) Light Ghost gray for the edges of the aircraft, radome, etc.; mask, then overall ModelMaster "Navy Aggressor Gray", FS 36251; with ModelMaster camouflage pattern, FS36176 ("F-15 Dark Gray). I did not attempt to try the silver RAM effect; the last few F-22's I have seen up close and personal did not have that tint to them, although it was evident they looked slightly "different". Way I see it, I remember everyone arguing about how SR-71's were "Blue"… those were people who didn't understand reflectivity, etc., and this appears to be a similar situation for the F-22 and others. In any event, if you want a silver-tinted F-22, knock yourself out. The fun part; installing "all those doors". After installing the armament (I went for an Asymmetrical load (It's not a "LOADOUT"… that is a term for rock roadies, not BB stackers and jammers) to show how it fit in place. I would expect, given the fact Mud hens and lawn darts do all the iron delivery, that the F-22 will be used for what it was designed to do… air superiority. That means the JDAM is a "nice to have for PC reasons" load… and AMRAAM will be the preferred weapon of choice…but who knows what the future holds. Anyway, everything fits well.

Of course, in the photo shots I cleaned off the pitot tubes and zapped the doors with fat fingers at least twice. That's why the PT's are not in the pictures… This is not a model for office dog fighting. This is an excellent kit of an operational jet, which fills a void in our nations' war fighting lineup. The dimensions appear correct, and it looks like the Raptors that have visited us here at Tinker over the past couple of years. I am pleased with the final outcome. Will there be opportunities for AMS weapon bays, cockpits, and wheel wells? Certainly. I've already read complaints from other "Experts". Ignore them, buy the kit, and enjoy some modeling. The way I look at it, this kit fits a bill for the newest fighter in the USAF inventory, straight out of the box. It's mildly challenging, but can be built by anyone with patience. Well done Academy! Thanks again to Ed Sexton for the test shot. I'll buy another when it comes out with the decals, etc… and take my time with it.

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