Model 239 Buffalo "Taivaan Helmi over Findland" - 1:48 Special Hobby

[Julien]

Model 239 Buffalo "Taivaan Helmi over Findland"
1:48 Special Hobby

 

 

The Buffalo was designed by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation in 1935 a US Navy requirement for a carrier based fighter to replace the Grumman F3F Biplane. As such it was one of the first US monoplane fighters. The prototype first flew in 1937 with deliveries commencing in 1939. Brewster had production difficulties and only 11 of the early F2A-1 aircraft were delivered to the USN with the remainder of the order being diverted to the Finnish Air Force. The US Navy and Marine Corps would order and receive the later F2A-2 and F2A-3 models although it was realised by this time that the Buffalo was no match for more modern fighters. It had been suggested that the later orders were just to keep the Brewster factories running, in fact they would later go on to produce Corsairs and other aircraft for the USN.

Overseas Finland ordered the aircraft in 1939, the aircraft being assembled by SAAB in Sweden. The Finnish after initial doubts liked the aircraft. The cooler weather in Finland solved overheating problems with the engine, and the aircraft went on to become a success with 477 Soviet aircraft being destroyed for only 19 Buffalos. Belgium had ordered the aircraft but only one was delivered before the country fell to the advancing Germans. Their order was subsequently transferred to the British. The British facing a shortage of combat aircraft purchased the Buffalo. The original assessment by the RAF was not brilliant. The aircraft lacked pilot armour, was under gunned, had poor altitude performance and there were issues with overheating, maintenance and controls. The UK still ordered 170 aircraft which were sent to Australia, New Zealand and the RAF. The aircraft were initially sent out to the Far East. The aircraft were plagued with reliability problems in the hot climate, performance was poor, and the pilots did not have adequate training on the aircraft. Given all these problems and the superior numbers of Japanese aircraft the Buffalos did not fair that well. Some did escape to the Dutch East Indies where they would join those operated by the Netherlands East Indian Army.

In Finnish service the aircraft arrived too late for the winter war but did take oart in the continuation war. The Finnish pilots like the Buffalo and called it Taivaan Heli "The Haven Pearl". Many pilots would become aces flying it with H Wind scoring 39 of his total 75 victories flying the Buffalo. With the arrival of Bf 109s the Buffalos were considered obselete but they fought untill the end of the continuation war, with the last battles being against their former allay of Germany. They were retired from service in 1948.

The Kit
Even in 1:48 this is a small aircraft. The kit is the original Classic Airframes molding and so is mixed media with injected plastic, resin and photo etched parts. In a break from tradition construction starts not with the cockpit but with the wheel wells inside the wings. The resin wells are placed inside the wings before they can be assembled. Luckily tradition resurfaces with the wings as the are conventional single part lower, and left & right uppers. A ventral pnael is also installed under the main wings at this time.

 

 

The gun front gunbay/wheelbay is then made up, this sits between the cockpit and the engine. The rear bulkhead forms the front of the cockpit, and the front bulkhead the engine firewall. The top of the compartment forms the gun bay with the guns and ammo boxes, and the lower part the main gear retraction parts. Once made up it can be installed in the completed wing section. The cockpit fllor is then installed on the rear, and the engine and its mounts on the front. The cockpit floor parts are then installed on this section as well.

 

 

Moving on to the main fuselage the rear cockpit bulkhead, rear shelf behind the pilot and the tail wheel area are all installed into the right fuselage. This is then installed onto the wing section. All the cockpit parts including the seat, instrument panel, controls etc are then installed onto the cockpit. The main fuselage can then be closed up. The tail cone, tail planes and engine cowl front can then be added. The framing for the area behind the cockpit is then added.

 

 

The modeller can now move onto the landing gear. The tailwheel needs the moulded wheel removing from the housing and the correct wheel added on. The left & right main gear weels are added to the legs, the retraction struts added and then they can go into the fuselage.  The outer doors are then added. To finish off the canopies and propeller are added along with the a few aerial and other small parts.

 

 

 

Markings
Markings for 4 aircraft are provided. The decals are by Cartograf so should post no problems. The Finnish markings are in two parts for obvious reasons.

 

• BW-393, Pilot Hans Wind, Finlands Top scoring ace with 75 victories, 39 in Buffalos,  1/LLv.24,  Suulajarvi, April 1943
• BW-393, Pilot Kni Eino Luukhanen, He marked his victories with Lahden Erikois beer bottle labels stuck to the fin. 1/LLv.24, Suulajarvi, Nov 1942
• BW-378, Pilot Kni Per-Erik Sovellius, Otto Werde was painted under the canopy for Swedish Baron Hugo Hamilton who raised funds for the aircraft.  4/LLv.24, Lunkula, Herbst/Winter 1941

 

 

 

Conclusion
Even though this kit is an older one now the parts are still good and the model should build up to a good looking aircraft in markings you dont see to often. Recomended.

 

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[jimmaas]

Very nice review!  Just a couple of building notes to add:

- the fit of the firewall (bulkhead at the rear of the landing gear well) needs to be watched - without some fettling, the one piece lower wing will be bent and dihedral will be lost (which looks very odd!).

- the inner faces of the horizontal tailplanes need some scraping to insure that the elevator hinge lines are a straight line, left to right, when viewed from above.

- the smaller bumps on the wing upper surface are actually covers for the wing gun rounds counter dial.  There's a rectangular glass face on the inboard face (facing the pilot, of course).  In this case, a small rectangle of black decal would probably do, but for the ridiculously ambitious, the dial is black with three digits displayed horizontally.

- Since the Finns fitted a Revi gunsight at the top center of the instrument panel, the compass (which had been at the top center) had to be moved.  It was relocated to a little doghouse scabbed onto the starboard side of the instrument panel coaming side.  If you attempt this, be very careful to insure the doghouse will allow the windscreen piece to fit!  A great reference for the interior is a 360 degree tour of the sole surviving Buffalo at http://ilmavoimamuseo.fi/virtualmuseum/ (the Buffalo is the upper icon on the right hand side of the floor plan).

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Yep definitely in my future