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Hasegawa 1/72 Brewster F2A-3 and B339C


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I've had this in the stash for a little while now:

 

DSCN5797.jpg

 

Here are the main sprues, there are two sets of these:

 

DSCN5800.jpg

 

Clear parts, the resin replacement forward engine section for the F2A-3 variant, instructions and decals:

 

DSCN5798.jpg

 

I'll be using the resin nose and building the USMC aircraft shown on the box cover, MF-15 of the Marine's VMF-221 squadron which was flown by Captain William Humberd in defence of Midway Island on 4th June 1942 in the course of which he claimed a Zero and a Kate destroyed and a second Kate as damaged. VMF-221's losses were terrible as their F2A-3's were underpowered, overweight and lacking in manoeuverability compared to the Zeroes that they faced. Most of the Marine pilots had little or no combat experience, but Captain Humberd survived the day and was awarded the Navy Cross; I haven't been able to find any reference to his subsequent career or later life.

 

I was quite tempted to build the other box-art aircraft as I believe it was flown by Jimmy Thach and I have already built an Airfix Wildcat in the markings of the aircraft he flew, but I wanted to build a Dutch ML-KNIL (Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force) - I had originally bought the Special Hobby boxing for this purpose:

 

DSCN5802.jpg

 

...but having read that it is something of a challenging build (this being the politest way I can think of putting it) I chickened out; Bill 'Navy Bird' built a really lovely RAAF Buffalo I from the basically same kit, but I am no Navy Bird... I shall keep the kit and perhaps one day will be man enough to take it on, but in the meantime I will use some of the transfers to complete the second Hasegawa kit as a B-339C No.3100 as flown by Lt. August 'Guus' Diebel of 2-VLG-V based in Java in early December 1941. This unit was later moved to Singapore where the Dutch B-339's flew alongside the RAF and RAAF Buffaloes. Lt. Diebel claimed 2 Nate fighters in a Japanese raid on Singapore on 12th January 1942, though he was subsequently wounded and forced to bail out. He survived the war with three credited kills and in 1948 was awarded the Military William Order (the highest honour awarded by the Netherlands) but died in 1951 when the Gloster Meteor he was flying crashed at Uithuizen in the Netherlands. The aircraft in question is the top one shown on the back of the box:

 

DSCN5804.jpg

 

To build the kit as a B-339 I will need to replace the naval tailcone with the land-based version featuring a larger tailwheel - this is not provided by the kit but at some point I had bought the Quickboost replacement along with a couple of Eduard mask sets - good work, Past Me, your foresight is appreciated:

 

DSCN5806.jpg

 

The paint scheme for the USMC F2A-3 is USN Blue Gray over USN Light Gray, the interior will be Bronze Green, all by Sovereign Hobbies Colourcoats:

 

DSCN5816.jpg

 

For the Dutch aircraft the scheme was Oudblad (old leaf) and Jongblad (young leaf) with Aluminium-painted undersides. If I understand correctly Oudblad and Jongblad were Olive Drab 41 and what would become Medium Green 42 but I can't swear to it - fortunately for me Jamie of Sovereign Hobbies is a near-neighbour of my folks up in Aberdeen and some time ago as a result of some persistent wheedling, cajoling, whining and snivelling he got me a couple of samples of the colours in question:

 

DSCN5811.jpg

 

Close to a brownish OD and Medium Green, as it happens. These colours and the European Dutch LVA colours are not currently available but I think Sovereign will get a new batch made up at some point in the future.

 

As noted above, the F2A-3 kit has a resin extended lenght nose to represent the 10-inch extension added to this variant to include additional fuel tankage... this requires some surgery to some of the kit parts, which I shall start with as if I am given the opportunity to mess something up I will usually take it and if I am to ruin everything I would rather do so before I have invested too much time and effort into the rest of the kit...

 

Sorry for all the blurb and congratulations if you have made it this far :D 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

 

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Hi Stew,

 

Since the Buffalo is one of my all time favourite aircraft, I'm looking forward to your builds. :thumbsup:

 

Some links that might be of use?

F2A-3 belly windows

Belly window detail

 

F2A-3 Cockpit Detail

Cockpit photos

 

Couple of Colour exterior photos

Colour film

 

F2A-3 Interior colours

Interior colours

 

Look forward to build photos (of both aircraft)............:D

 

Regards

 

Alan

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Glad I am in early with this one stew! 

 

Great choice in subject, love the tubby little buffalo! I'm really keen to see the Dutch one done, something a bit different and reminds me I have a couple of Dutch aircraft options I could build.... hmmm... anyway looking forward to this one.

 

happy new year mate, hope you had a good one.

 

Rob

 

p.s. need to get my backside into gear and finish my hellcat/buffalo build!! Great foresight 'past you' as masking the glazing stalled me on my one!

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I've read somewhere that the actual colors used by Brewster were dark olive drab and light olive drab, I am not sure about the correct designations tho.

 

This would conform to a color photo of a Buffalo in flight

 

Cheers

Martin

 

Edit:

Sorry couldn't find a higher resolution pic:

brew-b439.jpg

 

 

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7 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

I'll be using the resin nose and building the USMC aircraft shown on the box cover, MF-15 of the Marine's VMF-221 squadron which was flown by Captain William Humberd in defence of Midway Island on 4th June 1942 in the course of which he claimed a Zero and a Kate destroyed and a second Kate as damaged. VMF-221's losses were terrible as their F2A-3's were underpowered, overweight and lacking in manoeuverability compared to the Zeroes that they faced. Most of the Marine pilots had little or no combat experience, but Captain Humberd survived the day and was awarded the Navy Cross; I haven't been able to find any reference to his subsequent career or later life.

 

Looks like he survived the war and retired a Colonel, as this is the obituary for his wife, who only died in 2014: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-weymouth/obituary.aspx?pid=171381728. In 1947, he was the CO of VMFA-323, "The Death Rattlers". He flew Corsairs as CO of VMO-251 in the Philippines during the later war period.

 

This looks like an interesting pair of builds, Stew, and I'm eager to see how you tackle them. I have not one, but two Special Hobby Buffalos (!!!), the second purchased after reading Navy Bird's Iliad-esque build thread on them (!!!!!!!!), because I'm not very smart (and I have a soft spot for the mighty Beefaloo, as we called them when my friends and I played IL-2).

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9 hours ago, LDSModeller said:

...Look forward to build photos (of both aircraft)............:D

 

Regards

 

Alan

 

Thanks Alan, there are some interesting links there and some useful information, especially regarding the interior colours :) 

 

9 hours ago, CedB said:

I'm in Stew :popcorn:

 

Nice to have you along Ced :)

 

9 hours ago, rob85 said:

Glad I am in early with this one stew! 

 

Great choice in subject, love the tubby little buffalo! I'm really keen to see the Dutch one done, something a bit different and reminds me I have a couple of Dutch aircraft options I could build.... hmmm... anyway looking forward to this one.

 

happy new year mate, hope you had a good one.

 

Rob

 

p.s. need to get my backside into gear and finish my hellcat/buffalo build!! Great foresight 'past you' as masking the glazing stalled me on my one!

 

i hope you will get on and finish the Hellcat and Buffalo Rob, I thought you might have done already and that I had just missed it! Yes it was a good move by Past Me, usually he is just an idiot but occasionally he does something good for me :D 

 

4 hours ago, occa said:

I've read somewhere that the actual colors used by Brewster were dark olive drab and light olive drab, I am not sure about the correct designations tho.

 

This would conform to a color photo if a Buffalo in flight

 

Cheers

Martin

 

Edit:

Sorry couldn't find a higher resolution pic:

brew-b439.jpg

 

 

 

Nice pic Martin, thanks - I don't know, that could be OD and Medium Green, it's hard to say with old pictures (and more so pictures on my laptop), but it's a lovely photo and it does confirm that I need to get a cranked pitot tube for mine... I might have a spare from the Airfix P-40b which ought to suffice... :) 

 

3 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

Love the Buffalo so I am looking forward to this build! :popcorn:

 

Martian

 

I know what you mean Martian, it's not a beautiful aircraft but it is strangely attractive :D 

 

3 hours ago, Procopius said:

 

Looks like he survived the war and retired a Colonel, as this is the obituary for his wife, who only died in 2014: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-weymouth/obituary.aspx?pid=171381728. In 1947, he was the CO of VMFA-323, "The Death Rattlers". He flew Corsairs as CO of VMO-251 in the Philippines during the later war period.

 

This looks like an interesting pair of builds, Stew, and I'm eager to see how you tackle them. I have not one, but two Special Hobby Buffalos (!!!), the second purchased after reading Navy Bird's Iliad-esque build thread on them (!!!!!!!!), because I'm not very smart (and I have a soft spot for the mighty Beefaloo, as we called them when my friends and I played IL-2).

 

Ah thanks for that Edward, it's always nice to know a bit more about the men who flew the aircraft... Bill's build was epic, but I don't really see how it functioned as an advertisement in such a way that it led you to buy a second Special Hobby kit - then again you are, I think, sufficiently doggedly determined to actually complete them.

 

I pressed on with the engine replacement - the shaded sections of C5, C7 and C8 are the parts to be cut off and the remaining parts attached to the resin extended cowling:

 

DSCN5820.jpg

 

Uh, okay...

 

DSCN5818.jpg

 

The top sprue contains the unadulterated parts for the B-339C, the lower parts are the chopped-off cowling sections and the resin replacement. They get stuck together like this:

 

DSCN5821.jpg

 

At first I thought that join was a panel line but in fact there is no panel line there, so the join should be invisible. Not sure if it will be but I have filled and sanded as best as I am able, I'll have to see what it looks like when it is primed.

 

Meanwhile I have started on the cockpits...

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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No not missed it, I just got side tracked! I had a go at them last night only to find out I have lost the bloody transfers for the buffalo!! Now hunting for them.... I should imagine I have enough spares to cobble them together... but that's not the point!

 

cowel looks good, and I hope the seam turns out ok after a primer coat

 

Rob

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Following this with interest. I remember building one of these as a kid, but a quick inventory reveals that I don't currently have one in the stash pile... I think I shall have to remedy that soon :)

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Happy New Year Stew!

 

I have a few of these in my stash which will ultimately end up as RAF variants I am sure. I will watch your build with interest. The Hasegawa interior appears somewhat basic to my eyes and the canopy is rather large so I guess you will have to work some of your magic?

 

Regards

 

Jim

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22 hours ago, caseyjones said:

Nice to see some Buffaloes being built.  I have 6 or 7 to build so I will be interested in how you get on.

 

Stephen

 

Thanks Stephen - 6 or 7? So that's where they all went! :D 

 

20 hours ago, rob85 said:

No not missed it, I just got side tracked! I had a go at them last night only to find out I have lost the bloody transfers for the buffalo!! Now hunting for them.... I should imagine I have enough spares to cobble them together... but that's not the point!

 

cowel looks good, and I hope the seam turns out ok after a primer coat

 

Rob

 

Thanks Rob, yes I am hopeful that the seam won't be too noticeable, but it's probably one of those things; it looks fine until you put the primer on... :D 

 

20 hours ago, clive_t said:

Following this with interest. I remember building one of these as a kid, but a quick inventory reveals that I don't currently have one in the stash pile... I think I shall have to remedy that soon :)

 

Thanks Clive, nice to have you along, the Hasegawa kits are a bit thin on the ground but it's worth keeping an eye out for them, you can pick them up occasionally at a reasonable price :)  

 

20 hours ago, JimHead23 said:

Happy New Year Stew!

 

I have a few of these in my stash which will ultimately end up as RAF variants I am sure. I will watch your build with interest. The Hasegawa interior appears somewhat basic to my eyes and the canopy is rather large so I guess you will have to work some of your magic?

 

Regards

 

Jim

 

Happy New Year Jim :) 

 

The interior is actually pretty good - see below. It does lack any sidewall detail but I am not sure that will be an issue - the canopy itself is pretty large but the actual cockpit opening much less so. Pavla do a cockpit and vac canopy set for the kit and I think if you were on commission or building for a competition you would probably want to give it a go with that, but for 'normal' modelling purposes I think the kit is adequate - see what you think anyway...

 

The main spar, rudder pedals, heel boards, joystick and seat - I added lap-straps from the Eduard Microfibre USAF/USN set but didn't use the shoulder harness - I think it is inappropriate for the USMC aircraft and I'm not sure about the Dutch one:

 

DSCN5825.jpg

 

The interiors painted and the cockpit fittings installed - Bronze Green 9 for the USMC, Aluminium paint for the Dutch. The instrument panels are provided as a transfer:

 

DSCN5828.jpg

 

Fuselage halves joined:

 

DSCN5829.jpg

 

... and the roll-cage and life-raft container added to the USMC aircraft - the Dutch and RAF/RAAF versions do not have the life-raft container fitted:

 

DSCN5831.jpg

 

Back to work again today, but off tomorrow as I am rostered to work Saturday this week so I might get an update done later on...

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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Nice work getting them closed up stew. the internal detail looks fine to me, as you have said you would be hard pressed to see anything in there anyway even if it was there!

 

didnt know about the canister not being on RAF version, nice to learn these things.

 

Rob

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1 hour ago, Beard said:

I'm a late arrival Stew but I'd like to tag along as I have the same boxing and a soft spot for the Buffalo.

 

Nice to have you along Simon :) - a lot of modellers seem to have a certain fondness for the Buffalo which is more than can be said for a lot of the men who flew it... 

 

13 minutes ago, rob85 said:

Nice work getting them closed up stew. the internal detail looks fine to me, as you have said you would be hard pressed to see anything in there anyway even if it was there!

 

didnt know about the canister not being on RAF version, nice to learn these things.

 

Rob

 

The interior of the Dutch aircraft will be a bit more visible, being painted Aluminium, but even so I think it will suffice - it will need to anyway, as I wanted a nice reasonably straightforward build to kick off the new year :D 

 

3 minutes ago, CedB said:

Coming together nicely Stew with your usual attention to detail - nice, very nice.

 

Thanks very much Ced :D 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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Ahhh! So that's what the thingymabob is behind the pilots seat. Interesting to see what the cockpit should look like too! Sorry Stew I should have started by saying I am currently finishing an Airfix Buffalo, and it doesn't, have some of the nice bits your kits have. Great work so far. All the best, Greg :D

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2 hours ago, GREG DESTEC said:

Ahhh! So that's what the thingymabob is behind the pilots seat. Interesting to see what the cockpit should look like too! Sorry Stew I should have started by saying I am currently finishing an Airfix Buffalo, and it doesn't, have some of the nice bits your kits have. Great work so far. All the best, Greg :D

Some? Any!

 

Rob

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On 1/1/2017 at 0:13 AM, Stew Dapple said:

good work, Past Me, your foresight is appreciated:

I can attest that Past Stew is a trustworthy and insightful fellow.

 

On 1/1/2017 at 0:13 AM, Stew Dapple said:

Sorry for all the blurb and congratulations if you have made it this far :D 

Thanks Present Stew!

 

This looks like a great project Stew; two Buffaloes from the early days of the Pacific War. I can't wait to see what Future Stew comes up with.

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Thanks gents :)

 

The Airfix Buff isn't at all bad - for a long time it was all we had as far as I remember - it is a product of it's time (which was in my early years), and is a bit rivetty but it can build into a good representation of the real thing. Also the pilot figure is good, far better than the one not provided by Hasegawa :D I don't think the Airfix kit is in their current range but when their new-tool one comes out in 2018* that won't really be an issue any more.

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

*40% joke, 60% wishful thinking

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On 1/4/2017 at 9:51 AM, Beard said:

You're forgetting the Matchbox Buffalo Stew. 

 

Good catch Simon, though I think the Airfix kit still pre-dated it by a few years - that said, on reflection I think it's likely the ancient Revell USA kit might have been the first*

 

After a prolonged period of laziness or just being generally knackered the whole time, I got the fuselages closed and cleaned up, and the resin tail-plug fitted to the Dutch Buffalo:

 

DSCN5838.jpg

 

I also got the wings assembled, and deleted the landing light from the starboard wing of the Dutch Buffalo, which, like its RAF and RAAF counterparts only had the light under the port wing:

 

DSCN5841.jpg

 

The instructions go a bit weird now, Hasegawa show the wings and tailplanes being fitted before the nose section is attached... I shall go along with it, but I have to say I have my reservations... :hmmm:

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

* Edit - checked on Scalemates, Revell sort-of wins (1964, never seen it), tied with Aoshima (1964, never even heard of it). Airfix 3rd (1972), Matchbox 4th (1974) and Hasegawa bringing up the rear (1996) - in addition there are a slew of re-boxings and a couple from other manufacturers which I believe are from the toolings listed above. In any case with even the Hasegawa kit now 21 years old I would argue that there is a case to be made for a new tool F2A given the continued popularity of the aircraft.

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