Tamiya 61127 Lockheed-Martin F-35C Lightning II 1/48 Scale Plastic Model Kit

Tamiya ventured into the modeling business in 1948, with a scale wooden ship model kit. Since then, Tamiya has been striving to offer merchandise that can truly be called 'First in Quality Around the World.' Now Tamiya is offering more than 300 different products, both in the fields of precision static models and high performance radio control vehicles. These products are not only sold in Japan but also exported in vast quantities to the United States, Europe, South East Asia, and to many other parts of the world. The standard of excellence achieved by Tamiya is regarded as among the very finest in the world of model hobbies. This finely detailed plastic model kit requires assembly and painting. Item is brand new and in its original factory packaging. Listing images are stock pictures provided by the manufacturer or the distributor. The F-35 Lightning II is an ambitious 5th generation aircraft designed to meet the operational needs of multiple U.S. service branches through three specialized variants. Following the success of Tamiya’s model kits of the F-35A and F-35B—released in 2022 and 2023 respectively—this assembly kit completes the trio with the carrier-based F-35C. The F-35C is engineered for catapult-assisted take-offs and arrested landings from aircraft carriers. Compared to the F-35A, the F-35C features larger wings with foldable wingtips, expanded control surfaces for enhanced low-speed maneuverability, reinforced landing gear to withstand the impact of carrier landings, a twin-wheel nose gear, and a robust tailhook for engaging arrestor cables. The increased wing area also contributes to reduced landing speeds and improved range and payload capacity. This 1/48 scale kit features newly molded fuselage parts (excluding the canopy and weapons bay doors) with finely detailed Radar Absorbent Material (RAM) textures integrated into the surfaces. Builders can select between deployed or folded wingtips (interchangeable after assembly), open or closed arresting hook door, extended or stowed boarding ladder, and open or closed canopy and weapons bay doors—all with parts designed for interchangeability. Leading- and trailing-edge control surfaces are depicted in the down position, and wheel chocks are included. The model features realistic renderings of the cockpit, landing gear bays, engine nozzle (five-piece design), Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat, nose side details, Y-shaped air intakes, detailed weapons bay interiors with wiring, and F-35C-specific pylons and gun pod (omitted when using RCS enhancers). The kit can be built in stealth mode (no external ordnance), air-to-air mode (missiles only), or beast mode (full weapons loadout). Included ordnance comprises AIM-9X Sidewinder x2, AIM-120C AMRAAM x2, GBU-12 Paveway II x4, and GBU-31 JDAM x2. Additional components include canopy masking stickers, a seated pilot figure with Helmet-Mounted Display (HMD), and decals to represent six marking options—four from the United States Navy and two from the United States Marine Corps.