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Cactus Air Force Deluxe Set (70049) F4F-4 Wildcat & P-400/P-39D Airacobra 1:72 Arma Hobby The Cactus Air Force was the name given to the Allied air power that was stationed in the area around Guadalcanal during the latter part of 1942 at the beginning of the Allied campaign there, predominantly stationed at Henderson field. The name came from the Allied code for the island, and they were later subsumed by the Solomon Islands Air Command. At this stage of the war, the US forces were using a lot of Wildcats and Airacobras, as the more advanced designs had not yet reached scale production. The Set This is a combined boxed set containing two kits plus new decal options, and some new 3D printed parts. It arrives in an end-opening box with a lower tray inside that pulls straight out, revealing separately bagged kits totalling four sprues in grey styrene, two sprues of clear parts, a bag of 3D printed parts, a bag of three ball-bearings, two sheets of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material (not pictured), a decal sheet, and a glossy A5 instruction booklet that covers the building of both models with colour profiles at the end of each build process. In addition, there is a sheet of instructions for the new 3D printed parts that are applicable to both aircraft, again printed in spot colour. P-400/P-39D Airacobra The P-39 was the result of Bell’s response to a specification for a fighter from the USAAC, which was to be a high-altitude interceptor. With Bell’s usual left-field approach to aircraft design, the team produced the world’s first tricycle landing geared prop-driven aircraft, as well as the first aircraft to site the engine behind the pilot, while the airscrew remained at the front. The prop was driven by a long drive shaft that ran under the pilot’s floor, with a coaxial 37mm cannon firing through the centre of the spinner, in a quest for high penetration and accuracy. Ancillary armament varied depending on model, from nose mounted .50cals to four 7.62mm machine guns in the wings. The Airacobra had limited internal space for fuel thanks in part to its tapered nose, and the lack of a supercharger substantially limited its abilities at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks, and the likelihood of engine failure after hits from a rear attack, the Airacobra flew in most arenas of combat, but distinguished itself best on the Eastern Front in Soviet service, where almost 5,000 were flown with some notable aces racking up victories whilst flying them. The N model started life as a G model, but due to changes on the production line, were designated N instead, with around 500 made. In fact, no G models ever left the factory, being superseded and re-engineered as later marks. The final variant was the Q, which ceased production in 1944 after a variety of sub-variants and one-offs were created. The Kit This is a reboxing of their recent kit, and detail is exceptional, especially for the scale, with finely engraved panel lines, raised and recessed details, and gorgeously crisp details within the gear bays and cockpit. Add the extra 3D parts, and the result should be even better. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the footwell, which has the rear of the breeches for the nose machine guns, and the rudder pedals fixed to the front, then the instrument panel with decals and gunsight added to the top half. The rear of the cockpit has a horseshoe-shaped frame glued to the front to hang the new 3D printed pilot’s seat from, which has decals to depict the four-point seatbelts. The two assemblies are fixed to the floor at either end along with the control column, the location of two more small 3D parts, and a V-shaped part under the floor. A scrap diagram shows the location of the instrument panel, and the fact that the drive-shaft is painted a brass colour. The V-shaped part is actually a cross-member within the nose gear bay, which is beneath the forward end of the cockpit, and is completed by adding the side walls, which also have two scrap diagrams to show their orientation, and that they taper toward the front. The forward roof of the nose gear bay is installed over this, and here’s where the ball bearings come in handy. There are three hemispherical depressions in this part that you glue the ball bearings into with super glue or epoxy, and this acts as the model’s nose weight. It’s always nice when a company includes the nose weight to take the guesswork out of the process, so it’s appreciated. The cockpit still isn’t finished, as there is a complex side console on the port side, plus a small detail part on the sidewall that even has its own decal. The fuselage halves have a circle of neatly positioned ejector-towers inside, and the instructions advise removing them before proceeding. Then it's time to put the cockpit in position within the fuselage, along with a long, ribbed shelf behind the pilot’s position, which should have two holes drilled out to receive the radio before it is glued in place. A bobbin is trapped between the two halves as they are brought together, which will allow the prop to spin if you don’t glue it together. There is a small inspection panel under the nose on the starboard side, which should be removed for this edition, which is ringed in red to assist with its location. The Airacobra is a low-wing monoplane, so the lower wing half is full span, with some optional holes drilled first if you are using the centreline bomb or fuel tank. The upper halves are glued over the top with a small inverted T-shaped stiffener in the centre, first installing the 3D printed gun barrels, which are mounted in pairs on a support. Four raised bulges under the centre section need to be removed for this version, shown in red on a scrap diagram. The tail is a separate assembly that begins with the elevator fins, which have the fin fillet moulded-in, and has a separate elevator fitted across the span before it is glued in place at the rear, plugging the fin into the top, and a separate rudder panel glued into the rear. The wings are also added at this point, filling the three engraved recognition lights in the starboard tip, taking care to avoid marring the detail around it. There’s a 3D printed nose insert appropriate to this mark placed in the gap above the prop, and the radio unit is installed for just one. The Airacobra’s ground-breaking landing gear format revolved around the nose gear, and that starts with you bending a triangular frame and locking it into position with another strut to form the retraction strut for the front leg. The long leg itself is moulded with a separate oleo-scissor and wheel, and inserts into the front of the bay, supported by the cranked strut that fixes to the rear on four raised pips that give it additional strength. The main gear legs are comparatively short and have separate wheels and captive gear bay doors. Unusually, the inner main bay doors and their actuators are added first at the same time as the three cooling flaps under the engine, slotting the legs into the outer ends in the following step. While the model is inverted, a front nose gear door is inserted in front of the strut. With the model back on its wheels, probably for the first time, the canopy is dealt with. The Airacobra had weird car-doors on the sides of the canopy, with the rest of the glazing fixed in place, so the main part covers the whole cockpit aperture. The two side doors are painted inside and have a few decals added inside to detail them further, so you can choose to leave them closed, leave one open, or both open at your whim. There is a choice of two styles of 3D printed exhausts for the mid-engined Airacobra that fit into slots midway down the sides of the fuselage, but the prop is still in the front, so don’t worry. The blades are moulded as one, with the spinner fitted over it and the assembly glued to the bobbin you trapped between the fuselage halves earlier. In the centre of the spinner is a choice of two styles of cannon muzzle, which differs between decal options and both are 3D printed. There are two long bay doors to be added to the nose bay, a recessed landing light under the port wing, and you also get to choose what to hang on the centreline pylon. You have a choice of a two-part fuel tank, a three-part 250lb or 500lb bomb, both of which have a tiny spinner inserted in the rear. F4F-4 Wildcat Grumman began development work on a new carrier-based fighter in the mid-30s, starting with the F2F, which was a biplane, but it and the successor F3F led to the basic shape of the Wildcat, minus two of the wings. Initially, the new aircraft was outpaced by the Brewster Buffalo, and Grumman had to redesign their progeny to carry a supercharged version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine, and later on, new flying surfaces that gave it the required improvement, receiving orders from the US Navy as a very sensible and prophetic backup-plan in case the Buffalo was a let-down. Initial orders from France were delivered instead to the British Royal Navy after France fell before they could be delivered, where it was initially designated as the Marlet. The US Navy would adopt the type in late 1941 after the Buffalo turned out to be an unanticipated disappointment, although it was quite a manoeuvrable little aircraft that saw some service elsewhere. Originally armed with 4 x 0.50 cal machine guns, the F4F-4 was introduced in 1941 with an increased 6 guns to improve the aircraft's punching power. Although the armament was increased to 6 guns, the ammunition capacity was not, giving pilots less time with their fingers on the trigger, which was generally disliked by the pilots for obvious reasons. The extra weight from two more guns and the new wing fold gear also reduced performance, which could keep the pilot in harm’s way longer than with the early mark. It was the primary US Carrier fighter during the early years of America’s war, with production continuing until 1943 when they switched over to building the replacement Hellcat, but one factory continued to make Wildcats for the British Fleet Air Arm (FAA). The Wildcat’s smaller size and slower landing speed was a boon on the typically smaller carrier that the British Navy operated in large numbers as escort carriers. The Kit This kit too is a recent tooling of this important early WWII US fighter, and it too is finely engraved and well-detailed, so much so that it makes this 1:48 modeller a little jealous. It also has added 3D printed parts to improve the detail further. Construction begins with the cockpit, replacing the kit seat with a new 3D part and adding decal seatbelts before installing it on the rear bulkhead. The front bulkhead incorporates the instrument panel and rudder pedals, with decals depicting the dials, installing in the front of the floor section with a control column and side consoles in between them. More decals are included for the consoles, and additional 3D detail parts are supplied too. The completed cockpit and firewall bulkhead are glued into the starboard fuselage half, adding more 3D printed parts to portray the gear retraction pulleys. The mechanism is inserted between the bulkhead and the front of the gear bay cut-out, then the engine and its mount needs to be made up before it can be installed in the front of the gear bay. Both banks of pistons are depicted as separate layers, adding the bell-housing, 3D ignition harness, two-part push-rod ring and intake ring at the rear, then applying a number of stencils to the bell-housing after painting to further enhance the detail. The engine mounts and air intakes/scrubbers are made up using scrap diagrams and differing colours to guide you, then inserting it into the front of the fuselage before closing it up. The engine is then added at the front and cowled over with two half cowlings and the intake lip. At the rear of the fuselage, the elevator fin is slotted in from behind, followed by the elevator panel, closing them in by installing the rudder panel behind it and fixing a choice of faired and un-faired tail-wheels underneath. The wings are relatively simple due to the fuselage mounted landing gear, each one made from two halves and drilling holes under the inner section before closing them up if you intend to hang drop tanks under there. The landing gear legs are a mass of struts, starting with a pair of A-frames glued underneath the central divider in a diamond shape, bending the struts down slightly according to the accompanying drawing. A jig is supplied to make up the top frame that mirrors the lowers, and is made from front and rear sections, glued together while laid on the jig, then glued over the top of the bay divider and bracketed by the main struts, which have a short ‘strut-let’ added to the top. The captive bay doors are fixed along the centreline of the assembly, and another 3D drawing shows you how it should look. The completed assembly is lowered into the inverted gear bays with the model inverted and adding a wheel to each axle. More diagrams show the correct location of the top ends of the struts in the bay to assist you. A fairing is installed behind the bay divider, and the two lower windows for the pilot are inserted from outside at the same time. Two 3D printed exhaust stubs are included for under the nose, plus more 3D parts that consist of a pair of gun barrels and optional 100lb bombs, stencils and their pylons for the outer wings. The optional fuel tanks under the inner wings are made from two halves plus anti-sway braces, taking care to put the short brace in the front. A clear lens is popped over the landing light under the wing with the pitot probe at the tip, then it’s a case of installing the gunsight and two-part canopy over the cockpit, the forward-raked aerial mast, and the single part prop to finish it off. Markings There are four decal options for each kit, all of which are contained on the one sheet. The masks of course are on separate sheets, and although they aren’t documented, they should be simple to locate on the sheets. The stencils for the Airacobra are covered on the page before the profiles to avoid overly complex diagrams, while the Wildcat has very few markings, and no stencils to speak of. From the box you can build one of each from the following two lists: P-400/P-39D Airacobra P-400 Airacobra, White 13, ‘Hells Bell’, BW151, 67FS/347FG, pilot Lt. Robert M Ferguson, Guadalcanal, August-November 1942 P-39D-2 Airacobra, White 12, ‘Beth’, Cpt. Paul Bechtel, 12FS Commander, Guadalcanal, December 1942 P-400 Airacobra, White 12, ‘Fancy Nancy’, BW156, Pilot Lt. Richard Johnson, 67FS/347FG, Guadalcanal, August-September 1942 P-39D-1 Airacobra, Yellow 56, 41-38400, 68FS/347FG, Lt. Vernon Head, Guadalcanal, December 1942 F4F-4 Wildcat F4F-4 Wildcat, Black 29, Pilot Lt. Samuel Folsom, VMF-121, Guadalcanal, shot down two Betty bombers on 12th November 1942 F4F-4 Wildcat, White 2, Pilot Mjr. Marion E Carl, VMF-223, Guadalcanal, February 1943 F4F-4 Wildcat, Black F-12, BuNo.5192, Pilot Lt. James ‘Pug’ Southerland II, VF-5/USS Saratoga who shot down the first Japanese bomber on 7th August 1942 F4F-4 Wildcat, White 19, BuNo.03417, Pilot Lt. Stanley W ‘Swede’ Vejtasa, VF-10/USS Enterprise, shot down two dive-bombers and five torpedo bombers in one sortie 26th October 1942 Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. It includes seatbelt, instrument panel and stencil decals where appropriate. Conclusion A great tribute to a lesser-known area of conflict during WWII, and two of the Allied combatants that took part. Two great kits in one box with appropriate decal options make a compelling argument to open your wallet. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I haven't done build thread for awhile, so I thought I would start this year with something hopefully straightforward. I've had the Airfix Wildcat in my stash for awhile. Very enjoyable build, up to the last stage when I made a bit of hash of the canopy. I overcompensated by making her a bit grubbier than intended. Anyway, external colours are brush painted Italeri Acrylics, internal Tamiya Acrylics. Some oil washes to make it look grubby and a combination of rattle can Tamiya Flat Clear and brushed on Tamiya Acrylic Flat Clear. Markings are straight out of the box for an aircraft flown by Captain Marian Carl, VMF-223, USMC, Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, 1942. Build thread can be found here. Thanks for looking! And here is what it looks like in black and white. Comparing it to the photos I can find on the web, the surface finish looks not bad after all

Hi folks, Hope everyone has had a good Christmas and that Santa brought you all some nice goodies. I must have been very good as I was delivered the massive box of plastic that is the new Airfix Victor from my fair lady who I think has given up trying to reason with me over the number of kits I have Anyway as promised I said I would post my completed Wildcat on here for you. Box art below: This is my last kit for 2016 but I have plenty more in the pipeline for 2017 including (hopefully) the Airfix Victor which I think will take me ages. This kit was absolutely fantastic and I cannot fault anything about it. It was built completely OOB with only the addition of the aerial wires. I decided to pop the pilot in this one too so hopefully you'll spot him in the pics below. So if anyone has this kit still in their stash, I guarantee you'll enjoy it. As always, please find pics below and your feedback is always very welcome. Oh, also before I go, Happy New Year for 2017 to all my like minded modellers and I wish you well for the year ahead