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Rare Kit?


Crossiant Oliver

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I was at a hobby shop near my house and I saw something I've never seen before: a Hawk 1/72 F4F Wildcat. It had everything except the canopy. I didn't buy it because it didn't have the canopy though. Is it a rare kit? I searched it up and I only found the box art. If a model collector can tell me 'tis that would be great!

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I'm not a collector, but I wouldn't have thought so particularly - it was around at the same time as the T-6/SNJ and SBD which dates it to the early 60s at the latest, but they kept coming out for a long time.  Also perhaps an F4U, but I don't recall seeing that.  The Spit 22 and Bf109G were around a few years later.

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Not particularly rare, and not particularly good. The range this kit belonged to was rather simplistic, IIRC they do not have undercarriages, no detail in the engine and cockpit areas, and around 10 to 15 parts only. If you want a legacy kit of the Wildcat, I suggest the Revell kit, but look for one of the later boxings which has the correct 14 cylinder twin row instead of a 9 cylinder single, which would only be applicable to the Martlets I and IV and FM-2, neither of which the kit represents. 

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3 hours ago, tempestfan said:

Not particularly rare, and not particularly good. The range this kit belonged to was rather simplistic, IIRC they do not have undercarriages, no detail in the engine and cockpit areas, and around 10 to 15 parts only. If you want a legacy kit of the Wildcat, I suggest the Revell kit, but look for one of the later boxings which has the correct 14 cylinder twin row instead of a 9 cylinder single, which would only be applicable to the Martlets I and IV and FM-2, neither of which the kit represents. 

For revell are you talking about the 1/72 or 1/32 wildcat?

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I believe this is the same kit marketed by Testors for many years.  It's actually a tall-tail FM-2.  Unless the molds were modified, the wheels are molded in the "up" position and no landing gear is included.  Also there's no cockpit, and the engine is a flat blank plate inside the cowl.  I had one ages ago, and as I recall the shape was OK, but it was covered with raised rivets (although it thankfully doesn't have the embossed markings that were all the rage in those days.)

 

As well as the Wildcat, Testors also reboxed the Hawk Zero, Bf-109, and bubble-top Spitfire.  All were in the same vein: solid wings with landing gear molded in the "up" position,  and onlya dozen parts at most.  For a number of years Testors provided the quartet of kits as part of their "make & take" program for kids.  

 

The kit itself isn't particularly rare, but the original Hawk boxing might have some collecter value, depending on condition. 

 

SN

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The F4F kit was released aroud 1967 along with the Zero, Bf-109G and Spit 22, but later than the SNJ, F4U and SBD. The kit is very basic, composed of only 11 parts including a display stand and it does not have U/C gears.

Here's a sprew shot from ebay.

$_57.JPG

 

Jun in Tokyo

https://www.flickr.com/photos/horaburo/albums

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I liked those Hawk kits. 1/72 desktop models which you could build and paint in an afternoon. The Hobby Boss of their era. The Zero wasn't bad for the time but suffered from an exaggerated dihedral difficult to correct as the whole wing was one piece, and a poorly shaped spinner. A surprising omission from their line-up was the P-40.   

 

Nick

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These are the Revell F4F-4 kits Tempestfan refers to,  originally boxed in the 60s, & reboxed right thru to the 80s. The Brit Wildcat I made up when I was about your age had a 9 cylinder motor & another I bought only a few year ago but an ancient kit had a 14 cyl motor as does one with US markings I have. They are quite a nice little kit.

Steve.

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18 hours ago, Junchan said:

The F4F kit was released aroud 1967 along with the Zero, Bf-109G and Spit 22, but later than the SNJ, F4U and SBD. The kit is very basic, composed of only 11 parts including a display stand and it does not have U/C gears.

Here's a sprew shot from ebay.

$_57.JPG

 

Jun in Tokyo

https://www.flickr.com/photos/horaburo/albums

 

The one I got way way back then was in a deep slightly translucent dark blue plastic. Brings back memories.

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Some years ago our club had several of the old Hawk/Testors fighter kits left over after a "Make & Take" event at our annual show, mostly Zeros.  So several of us decided to see just what we could do with it.  Here's mine.  As I recall, I added a simple scratchbuilt cockpit, brass tube cannon barrels, and a pilot and bomb from the spares bin.  Decals are also what I happened to have handy, with markings based on a profile in the old Squadron "In Action" book.  The display stand is just something I knocked together.  It's supposed to represent a Kamikaze aircraft, a second or so before meeting its fate.  As with the Wildcat, while very basic and covered with raised rivets, it's still surprisingly accurate for its age.  This was about the same time Aurora was turning out kits that only vaguely approximated the subject and had all the markings embossed into the plastic.

 

SN

 

01-05-09001.jpg

 

01-05-09002.jpg

 

Zero005.jpg

 

 

Edited by Steve N
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On ‎28‎.‎03‎.‎2017 at 1:06 AM, Crossiant Oliver said:

For revell are you talking about the 1/72 or 1/32 wildcat?

As Tim and Steve already pointed out, 1/72 (as the Hawk is 72nd, too). Though the 32nd kit is also quite nice, despite its Age.

Can anyone assist in pinpointing when Revell changed the engine ? I have the 1980 "eye" boxing which is 14 cyl., and the initial boxing, but nothing in between...

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8 minutes ago, tempestfan said:

As Tim and Steve already pointed out, 1/72 (as the Hawk is 72nd, too). Though the 32nd kit is also quite nice, despite its Age.

Can anyone assist in pinpointing when Revell changed the engine ? I have the 1980 "eye" boxing which is 14 cyl., and the initial boxing, but nothing in between...

 

I have a few different Revell Wildcats in the stash and will take a look but what do you mean by "eye" boxing? That's a new one to me!

 

Never noticed the engine thing before!

 

Nick

 

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On ‎28‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 10:07 AM, stevehnz said:

These are the Revell F4F-4 kits Tempestfan refers to,  originally boxed in the 60s, & reboxed right thru to the 80s. The Brit Wildcat I made up when I was about your age had a 9 cylinder motor & another I bought only a few year ago but an ancient kit had a 14 cyl motor as does one with US markings I have. They are quite a nice little kit.

Steve.

 

I have no recollection at all of either the Wildcat or the P40 in British markings, as I would certainly have saved the pocket money for them if I had.

 

I didn't even realise they existed at all until fairly recently.

 

J

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24 minutes ago, Nick Millman said:

 

I have a few different Revell Wildcats in the stash and will take a look but what do you mean by "eye" boxing? That's a new one to me!

 

Never noticed the engine thing before!

 

Nick

 

Eye, magnifying glass, call it what you will - the sixth (discounting the Congos) in the Scalemates timeline.

I noticed it purely by Chance... and suspect it may have been done by Revell Venice, as they apparently didn't like some moulds as tooled by Potter's Bar (Fokker Dr. I, for example).

And yes, I know I have some Pictures to take...:whistle:

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2 hours ago, John said:

 

I have no recollection at all of either the Wildcat or the P40 in British markings, as I would certainly have saved the pocket money for them if I had.

 

I didn't even realise they existed at all until fairly recently.

 

J

The shape is a bit off, the spine being too humpy but other than the inevitable rivets, they have nice detail, especially for the era.

Steve.

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There were some minor differences between Revell USA kits and those from Potters Bar. I seem to recall a sliding canopy on the F4U (?) not seen on the US kit and decal differences too.  Perhaps the Wildcat saw more of the same?

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Just in case anyone isn't aware, Round2 have reissued a range of Hawk Kits ( Hawk Models ) and continue to release more every few months

 

I like the fact that they still market the models in their original (50's, 60's etc.) packaging. That means (to me anyway) that I know what I'm getting - an older model with all it's inaccuracies, and no pretense of being the latest and greatest super detailed plastic kit as some manufacturers seem to hint at with their sometimes questionable repackaging methods. 

 

I recently built their Lysander which I got from ebay for 99 cents.  Despite their age, these models can still be built to a reasonable standard with a bit of care and imagination.  I deliberately avoided the Eduard and other later (more detailed) versions as I wanted a bit of a challenge in my build which can be seen over here

 

 

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3 hours ago, hendie said:

Just in case anyone isn't aware, Round2 have reissued a range of Hawk Kits ( Hawk Models ) and continue to release more every few months

 

I like the fact that they still market the models in their original (50's, 60's etc.) packaging. That means (to me anyway) that I know what I'm getting - an older model with all it's inaccuracies, and no pretense of being the latest and greatest super detailed plastic kit as some manufacturers seem to hint at with their sometimes questionable repackaging methods. 

 

I recently built their Lysander which I got from ebay for 99 cents.  Despite their age, these models can still be built to a reasonable standard with a bit of care and imagination.  I deliberately avoided the Eduard and other later (more detailed) versions as I wanted a bit of a challenge in my build which can be seen over here

 

 

I just got their lindberg B-58. I found out the mold is from 1959! 

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Way back in the mists of time I saved pocket money and wrote to an American model shop sending an International Money Order (remember them before credit cards and PayPal?), and bought a Hawk 1/48 scale V1 and Baka suicide plane.

 

Mention of the Hustler reminds me of the 1/121 scale from Monogram with opening detailed cockpits and a button to press to "drop" the nuclear store pod that Santa brought me after much hinting.  Santa wasn't very PC in the early sixties

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