Raptor

HI nsclcctl, try http://www.f22fighter.com/ good sight for the Raptor. You'll get alot of debait on kits. Check back through this forum a couple of months. As far as the stealths, the B-2 bomber is available in 1/144 and I believe it's Testor or Italieri make it in 1/72. The F-117 is available from 1/144 to 1/32. Happy Holidays Bob

hey nsclcctl;
well the F-22 is the newest fighter for the USAF, and it's very Stealthy and has super cruise ( flys mach 1.5 without afterburner ) and is very manuable in combat engagments, there are a few kits out there but they are more based on the prototype YF-22 that had a fly off against the YF-23 back in 1980's, they range from 1/144 scale to 1/32 scale Italeri has them in 1/32, 1/48, 1/72, Revell/Monogram has the kit in 1/48 & desktop scales, and Dragon/DML has it in 1/72 & 1/44 scales, I'd wait for Hasegawa's if you want a very correct version like their F-16's

The F-22 has been in development for about 10 years, I'm surprised there's still anyone who doesn't know about it!

You can lots of photos at the Air Force website's photo section:
http://www.af.mil/photos.html
or the manufacturer:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

As for kits, the only ones I know of (of the production airplane) are the Testors/Italeri (Svezda) kits. One is 1/72 and one is 1/48, but they seem to be pantographed off the same masters. It's a mediocre kit with a big-ass seam across the back that needn't be there and is hard to get rid of, and truly TERRIBLE fit on the intake lip parts. Revell releases the same kit in their own box, so don't be fooled.

I'm still hoping Hasegawa steps up with a new F/A-22 kit in 1/48 now that the first production airplane has been delivered.

I have been waiting for a Hasegawa kit myself..or maybe Tamiya will make one some day. You would think that since production has started that they would think about a new kit soon. As for the other stealth aircraft, I have built kits for pretty much all of them. None were very good. I build a 1/72 "B-2"... it wasn't really a B-2, I guess it was designed before the the real thing was shown to the public. There are probably more kits for the F-117 than any other stealth today. As for the prototypes, I am working on a collection...I have Italeri's X-32 finished and and am finishing the X-35 JSF right now. Next step will be the YF-23 and then the YF-22. None are very good kits, but at least they look good from a distance.

So to anybody who works at a model company... it is about time we get a respectable F-22 kit!