Reviews : Atlantis F11F-1 Grumman Tiger Blue Angels

Atlantis is bringing the love with re-issuing old kits. What I like about this particular kit is that it's not just a reprinting from an old F-11F Tiger kit, it's that Atlantis worked to upgrade certain elements and make the kit even better. The kit itself is from a Revell 1956 tooling! And that means it comes with the good points and bad. The kit has limited detail compared to newer kits, and there are some inaccuracies. The kit, for example, is lacking a true cockpit; it's just a molded part with the top part of a pilot and the back of a seat. But the kit's low part count means it builds up fast and is not a bad kit for someone short on time or just starting in model building. There is some challenge; I had to so a bit of work on the seams, and the fit at the wings and elevators at the tail section needs filling. Atlantis did a good job designing the decals. They have multiple options for decorating the Tiger, which is good because the Blue Angel F11F went through some logo, shield, and lettering position changes, particularly in the early part of its time with the team. Atlantis also included enough decals to make any of the numbered six aircraft from the team, complete with pilot names. Unfortunately, the decals were challenging to put on the model. There are some long ones that represent the yellow accent color from the dorsal part of the aircraft to the nose, and those broke a couple times on me. Use care when applying these as they do add a lot to the look of the finished build. The Atlantis plane kits also often have a slot on the bottom of the plane so that if you want you can mount them on a stand in flying configuration. The B-25 Atlantis kit includes the stand, though this F11F kit does not, and you'll have to purchase the stand separately. If you can do a little scratch building, you can fix another of the kit's inaccuracies. The tailpipe in this kit is perfectly round, but reference photos show the bottom part of the F11F's tailpipe is flat. I fixed this by cutting a bit off the lower portion of the included tailpipe, and replacing it with a small flat styrene sheet, sanding and filling as I went. You'll need a blue paint for the main body of the aircraft, silver for the wing, elevator, and tail leading edges, and silver or a chrome for the tailpipe and the engine intake openings. Thankfully, the decals take care of the yellow accents on the body and wings, a great help from Atlantis since yellow is a challenging color to paint. The yellow decals are backed on the underside by opaque white so that their color shows strong even if put over a dark surface. I did use a bit of yellow paint for the pilot's helmet. Although I had some difficulties with the longer decals, and this old kit has some inaccuracies, it can make a very presentable build. And true to the Atlantis philosophy of making classic kits available affordably, the price is much friendlier than that of newer kits. I would recommend getting the Atlantis stand if you want to go wheels up.