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MACH 2 Convair 440


CarLos

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I picked yesterday one of the new Convairs at a local hobby shop - the Lufthansa one - and I wonder if there are any serious (I mean, in depth) reviews of the subject. I know nothing about Convairs but, comparing with photos there may be some issues in the vertical size of the rear door and in the wing fillet.

Apart from that, and after only separating the main parts from the sprues, it's a typical Mach 2 kit - a great subject that needs care and love in the assembly. I found the €40 it costed me (about £33) a fair price for a kit of this size.

I've found a few books on the subject, which one you can advise as the best choice?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Convair-twins-240-640/dp/0354012401

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580070736/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/094699594X/

41t3zFPJcsL.jpg51HOaT0OwdL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg415PTbVUhsL._SL500_SX258_BO1,204,203,200

Carlos

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I'm sure someone will roast me for saying this, but I've seen about a dozen photos of the kit parts (from a friend who bought one) and several of a built up model, and that's all I needed to see. As with most Mach 2 kits, it only bears the most passing resemblance to the real airplane. No, I haven't taken micrometer calipers to it, but I don't need to. The entire forward end of the fuselage is grossly misshapen. Not that it's 'a little off' - it looks nothing like a real Convair, and unless you scratch built a new nose/cockpit area, it's not fixable. To me that right there is a deal breaker.

Others have pointed out other errors.

And to anyone who is about to type "Well it looks like a Convair to me" - that's fine - for you. You're not right or wrong, it's just your opinion. The above is my opinion, and it's not right or wrong either, it's just an opinion.

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Dear CarLos,

I have attempted to construct two Mach 2 kits in my life.

An He 114 floatplane that bore little resemblance to the Swedish aircraft that I wanted to reproduce.

The moulding was poor, the surface finish was.....variously textured and quite lumpy in odd places.

The fit was even worse than an old Merlin Osprey kit (that means really, really bad).

After some months of struggle, I gave in. it was binned.

Mach 2, 1 - me, Nil.

Foolishly I then tried their Vickers Valiant to make the one on which my godfather was a Crew Chief on 207 Squadron.

A lot of money for something horrendous. Little matched any drawings or plans, it was twisted and distorted and had a fascinating pebble-dash surface finish.

I tried, oh how I tried, but....

A second failure. Another terminal dive into the wheeliebin.

Mach 2, 2 - me, Nil.

I know my limitations, I was defeated.

CarLos, do not buy any of those books.

If you are happy that the kit looks like a Convair then keep that faith and do not challenge it with any other plans, pictures or sketches.

Just build it, good luck and I do hope that you get pleasure from both the construction and the finished model.

If you do then you will be a genuinely happy man!

John

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Hi CarLos,

my Convair is on order. I had only build one kit from Mach 2, the Vickers Viscount.

Here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/5326288543/

The biggest problem was for me the decals, so I used decals from twosix (!!highly recommended!!)

In my stash is a Caravelle and a DC-4 to.

All Mach 2 kits bring you a lot of work and the comes nearly to the exact plane.

So it is up to you, and Jennings Heilig says with the best words:

"Well it looks like a Convair to me" - that's fine - for you. You're not right or wrong, it's just your opinion.

For me it will a opinion.

BTW, I decide for the Luftwaffe version, it's easier when I have problems with the decals.

(Two Six has only a SAS, it's not my favourite.)

modelldoc

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Here are the main parts of the kit, to add to the discussion:

ConvairMach2Kit1.jpg

To be fair with Mach 2, it looks a Convair to me. However, I don't know Convairs very well and it is possible that after consulting plans and comparing more carefully with the real thing it may not look like a Convair any more. My main worry is if the errors can be fixed, as most kits have errors and some are fixable and others not (or would require too much effort to fix).

I know that Mach 2 kits are sometimes intimidating, but they released a lot of kits unavailable elsewhere. I have a lot of them, with a few going well after the first stages of cleaning, etc. Together with the Convair I get the Sputnik launcher, and I spent the best part of last Sunday cleaning and gluing the main parts but after all it was rewarding.

Here is something that is common to almost every Mach 2 kit and my put many aside:

Mach2Sputnik-1.jpg

However, it only takes a few seconds with a good file to get rid of it. Try to do the same with sanding sticks and you will loose your temper! (by the way, the file in the photo is one of my most useful tools. I received it already broken from my grandfather and despite its aggressive look it can be very gentle to plastic)

Who else would sell a rocket of this size for €36?

Mach2Sputnik-3.jpg

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I would love to have a Convair in my collection, and was very pleased to hear Mach2 were going to do one. I saw their stand at Telford and had a good look at the made up examples they had. I must say I was prepared to part with my money, but something about the kit just didn't grab me.

I'm afraid I didn't get one in the end, I think the jury is still out on this one. I hope this moves to a 'work in progress thread. I would love to see it turn out ok!

There are some great schemes to choose from, and I hope pays off for Mach2 for attempting these great subjects.

Good Luck.

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Aren`t you being just a bit unfair to ice cubes???? You can usually see thru an ice cube but not Mach Run Away clear parts!!!

We are into the season here in the Northern Colonies where your car windshield looks like a Mach clear piece in the morning, BUT, here we can scape it and it becomes clear again!!!

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I've never heard anything good said about any Mach 2 kit, and I can't imagine that their Convair is any better than any of the others. I have the Proteus Convair 440 and the Execuform 240 and 340, and I like them (but Jennings, whose opinion I respect, doesn't!).

I have the Airliner Tech volume on the Convair twins and I think it's a good reference at a reasonable price. I'm not familiar with the other two books but I guess I'm going to have to add them to my library.

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im a bit of a fan of Mach 2 ,(mostly due to their excellent subject matter) the thing to remember is that they are designed for modellers and not assemblers . (those of us who grew up on 70s issues of scale models magazine and can happilly crash mould new canopies for major manufacturers kits before breakfast ,and then spend the day as a lumberjack just to whittle new nosecones out of the mighty sequioa tree ! :) )

other kit manufacturers make equally bad errors in terms of accuracy and FWIW ild much rather build a Mach 2 than say the Airfix F105 , Defiant, or old Tiger Moth (sorry Airfix! ) . or a surprisingly large number of kits with worse shape issues than the average Mach2 kit (hello Trumpeter BAC Lightnings , Revell Halifax ,and the nose contours of dozens of Hasegawa aircraft i could name if i had a catalougue nearby ! ) oh and who can forget the Esci Backfire ! or their Blinder ! .....of the first Hasegawa F117 ..or the first italeri Havoc ! (the last two make Mach 2 look like Zoeki Mura ! )

so yeah go for it man and have fun while ya doing it.... :)

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oh and who can forget the Esci Backfire ! or their Blinder !

To be fair, there wasn't much information for Esci to work with at the time they made those kits. Don't forget that the Iron curtain was still up at the time and most models of Soviet made gear made by western model companies involved a lot of guesswork by neccesity.

Esci should be applauded for even having the guts to have attempted kits of the backfire at all. Artist concepts and grainy photos would likely have been all they had to work with at the time.

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  • 1 year later...

im a bit of a fan of Mach 2 ,(mostly due to their excellent subject matter) the thing to remember is that they are designed for modellers and not assemblers.

I am a bit late to this thread (was looking for info on the Mach 2 Caravelle and came across this) but I agree.
I have built the C-123 and made a start on the DC-4 and found them to be nowhere near as bad as internet forums would have us believe. In fact, I have wondered how many of the critics have actually built a Mach 2 kit? Sure enough, they look rough in the box, with huge sprue gates; commonly with plentiful flash, a rough surface and big ejector pin stubs; usually with foggy canopies; and often with small parts short shot or enclosed within a blob of plastic... but my experience has shown that once cleaned up (requires time and patience, so a job I achieved on a tray in front of the telly) the parts fit together quite well. A few details benefited from raiding the spares box but the typically thick plastic ensures a very sturdy model.
Obviously the C-123 has now been surpassed by the Roden kit and the DC-4 is now covered by Revell, both kits being light years ahead of Mach 2, but they were originally the only choice in injection moulded kits and I thought they deserved much less criticism than they were given.
I have several other Mach 2 kits in the stash (Seabee, Falcon 20, Coronado, Mariner, Convair and Viscount; plus a Caravelle and a couple of Squirrels on order) and I look forward to building them all. I know they will not fall together, they will present a few challenges and they will require more patience than a mainstream kit but to me, this is what the hobby is about - attaining enjoyment by using skill, patience, forethought, creativity and a little innovation to produce a model that satisfies me... and learn from my mistakes!
EDIT: PS: If any of the critics genuinely have Mach 2 kits in the stash and don't want them, feel free to send them to me.
Edited by James Venables
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I've their Caravelle to build at some point (or not build if all reviews are read). It's one of my favourite aircraft and whilst it does look a bit rough in the box, I'm sure it would build up quite well. Definitely a long term effort but I can't really see any other way of getting one in the scale. Difficult enough finding a decent version in 1/144!!

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I have their Amiot 351/354 largely assembled. The parts were chunky but well-shapen, rather like some recent Airfix kits but a little more so, and despite a fair amount of work modelling with them I am happy with the result. Yes, the transparencies would be better if clearer, but that's the one major flaw. Lacking high-quality decent references, I have to reserve judgement on the overall accuracy, but only for that reason. There's nothing that stands out as bad.

I have to agree that they aren't the greatest kits around, but from limited sampling (I've seen others) do feel with James that they are not as bad as made out.

PS However if you want a Convairliner in 1/72 I suggest you look at the Proteus model range on the Welshmodels site.

Edited by Graham Boak
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Years before I made the Viscount. Was not my best.

Fortunatelly, decals from 26 helps me with the (horrible) clear parts.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/5326288543/in/dateposted/

The Convair (Bundesluftwaffe) is in my stash - easy for other decals and

the Caravelle, unfortunately no good decal alternitives.

modelldoc

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