The F-35 Lightning is a multi-role fighter that was developed based on a plan to consolidate various tactical aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps into one type of aircraft and its derivatives, and began deployment in 2011. II. Among the three types of F-35 developed, the F-35B for the Marine Corps is capable of short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) with a rotating engine duct nozzle and lift fan. In addition, it features a weapon bay that allows weapons to be stored within the fuselage, radar wave absorption technology, etc., and combines high-speed performance with a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and excellent stealth. Following the US, UK, and Italy, Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force also decided to introduce the F-35B in August 2019. As the world’s first supersonic STOVL aircraft, it is expected to demonstrate high responsiveness.
“1/48 F-35A Lightning II” released in December last year. The 5th generation state-of-the-art stealth fighter achieved a high level of reproducibility down to the details, from the fuselage shape to the details, and achieved a clear component configuration and exhilarating assembly through unitization, which created a great response. Inheriting this feature, we have already modeled the short takeoff/vertical landing stealth fighter “F-35B”, which is the most ambitious aircraft in the F-35 series. We approach its true form on a 1/48 scale.
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- You can choose one of three configurations to assemble: parked, short-distance takeoff, or vertical landing. The photo shows the vertical landing state with the exhibition stand
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- Faithfully models the “vertical landing state” in which the aircraft lands vertically while hovering.
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- All doors are divided into parts so that you can choose whether to open or close them, and three different forms can be reproduced exactly as in the actual machine.
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- The weapon bay, which is shorter in overall length than the F-35A, is completely newly developed as a part exclusively for the F-35B.
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- The parts in the red frame are common parts with 1/48 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
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- The parts in the red frame are common parts with 1/48 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
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- The parts in the red frame are common parts with 1/48 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
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- The parts in the red frame are common parts with 1/48 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
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- A set of 7 types of markings from 3 countries, including aircraft belonging to the US Marine Corps, and mask stickers for clear parts such as canopies.
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- The cockpit precisely reproduces the differences from the F-35A down to the smallest details. A pilot figure equipped with a Gen III HMD (helmet mount display) is included.
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- The characteristic rotating engine duct/nozzle can be assembled by selecting one from three types of angles: 0° (parked state), 30° (short takeoff state), and 84° (vertical landing state).
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- The front landing gear and main landing gear are available in ground contact and no-load states.
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- A clear parts structure that includes the lower nose, air intake, main spar, weapon bay, and engine nozzle units sandwiched between the upper and lower parts of the fuselage, which are integrally molded up to the main wings.
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- The nose unit has a Y-shaped air intake sandwiched between the bottom part, which is integrally molded using a slide mold.
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- The leading edge flap, trailing edge flaperon, and tailron can be assembled in the desired position, raising or lowering.
