1:72 F-35 Lightning II by Hobby Master

[tmanthegreat]

I picked one of these up from my local Hobbytown USA store a week or so ago when the plane was released. I have a HM F-22, which I really like, and figured the F-35 would compliment that nicely as a collection of 5th-generation jets in 1:72. I don't intend to post pictures, but there are excellent ones on the Flying Mule website: http://www.flyingmule.com/products/HM-HA4401

The Pros:
First, its an F-35 in 1:72 diecast (the first I believe) and its not in the prototype's markings, looking more like a standard production version, though its still attached to an testing/evaluations unit at Edwards AFB. Lots of options for display: in-flight with or without the wing ordinance; in-flight with the weapons bays open, with them shut, on ground with all ordinance and bays open, with the canopy in the opened position, and well you get the idea. Again, I like that it has lots of ordinance options from the 1500lb JDAM bombs and sidewinders on the wings to the internal ordinance of two more 1500lb bombs and two AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles.

The Cons:
This is one of the first Hobby Master "diecast" pieces that I can recall which has a significant portion constructed of plastic - the entire lower half of the fuselage is plastic with the upper surfaces being diecast. The HM F-22, by comparison, is nearly all diecast. Cockpit detail is minimal. Then there are the fit issues. It seems the pieces for the retracted gears and weapons bay doors have slight fit issues in that they do not close flush with the fuselage in places. (You can clearly see this in the Flying Mule photos). I display my plane in flight with the weapons bays open because they just didn't look right when displayed closed. Also, some of the details on the fuselage (panel lines, etc) appear to be raised, not recessed. If you look in the pictures, particularly on the surfaces near the aircraft's tails, you can see this. I'm not sure if its accurate, but stealth surfaces are generally smooth... There are also no moving surfaces like the horizontal stabilizers. That doesn't bother me as much, but other HM jets have such features (including the F-22) so its sort of a bummer. I think the plane overall displays well looking down on it rather than from underneath.

General Opinion:
I purchased this locally, so avoided the shipping charges and also used a couple coupons that took about $10 off the price. That made the purchase more worth it to me. The model has some neat display features and it goes well with the F-22 for a modern fighter display. Still, it has a lot of drawbacks, namely the extensive use of plastic and the fit issues. Hopefully at least the fit issues will be corrected on later releases. In the end, I can't help seeing this HM release as sort of an analogy to the actual F-35 program - high cost for something not as good as it should be...

[Berkut]

I don't think the JSF is a good plane at all, but I will buy this one after reading your post. Thanks for your review!

[snake]

A terrible effort from HM, and a huge disappointment.

Think it is really a POS, to be honest.

I wouldn't even display it for free. Harsh, yes, but it is terrible.

[aferguson]

FOV has an F-35 coming out his year. It's the Marine 'B' model, which is rather unique in my view. Too bad HM didn't do a good job on theirs.