Monogram 1/48 F-80 Shooting Star, Whats wrong with it? Options

[dahut]

I have always wanted this kit for the stash. I recently got the 1/48 Academy T-33 and the two seem a natural combination, only furthering my hopes of having the F-80.
Recently, my wish for a Shootiong Star was fulfilled when I landed one on ebay. I paid $10.46 USD plus $4.60 for shipping.

It came in the post today and I had a good look-over of the kit. Aside from the raised lines I cant see much to quibble over. In fact, it has some of the better wheel well, landing gear and flap detailing I've seen on any kit. Even the cockpit isn't too bad. It needs side wall detail in the office, but that can be cobbled up. It rivals many of the wonderkits and holds up well under my magnifier scrutiny.

And this is what baffles me. I've read a few reviews that pretty much pan the old Monogram.
If it's like any of the Monograms from the same time, it will surely have some issues in terms of fit. After all it comes with a removeable tail for viewing the engine. Peekaboo features like that invariably mean a less than ideal fit up. The wing join is likely to also take a bit of filling all 'round. There seems little in the way of surprises here. So what's up?

In the box, I like it. It appears at this stage that its one of those kits I'd be scouting up a second copy of. What does anyone here think of this old classic? Does it deserve the black eye some want to tag it wiht?

DECAL NOTE: The one thing I call suspect are the decals. They are old, for one, and both thick and glossy. On a NMF finish, these can be a dicey job. But worse, I highly suspect the colors. The main feature color is orange... not many planes were done up in orange.
For example, one of the options features a command bird which includes a fuselage flash of several international flags. You can see it there in the middle. The pre-1965 Canadian flag is in, as are the British, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch - all with orange where they should be red! Even the turbine warning stripe is orange. I'm pretty certain THAT was always red.
Here's a look at the kit provided markings:



What do you say? AM I right? Fortunately, I have a set of Microscale decals to replace these with, if needed. At least the stencils are extensive and look good - with luck they'll hold up.

This post has been edited by dahut: Apr 14 2008, 05:54 PM