Monogram 1/48 F-80 Shooting Star

[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.

Edited April 14, 2008 by dahut

[Barrovian]

From what I remember when I built mine .... The only iffy bits apart from the wing join is the canopy mechanism, the nose cover and the rear fuselage fit is abit off if you don't fix it in place, other than that it's a classic

Then my dog set about with his tail, one sweep and it took its maiden flight into the wall!!

[dahut]

From what I remember when I built mine .... The only iffy bits apart from the wing join is the canopy mechanism, the nose cover and the rear fuselage fit is abit off if you don't fix it in place, other than that it's a classic

Then my dog set about with his tail, one sweep and it took its maiden flight into the wall!!

While I would fix the rear in place and not display the engine, I do like the idea of the open gun bay. So that cures two of the items, right off. Wing join? There are ways to work with that. Only the canopy frame bit could be dicey, as it is so prominent.

Hopefully mine will fare better one day than being air launched by the dog. Sorry to hear of that.

[Smiffy]

No, you're right matey.

I love all the old Monogram kits, especially the 48th range. Generally speaking, they all seem to have pretty good outlines and a nice level of detail and for some subjects, they are still the only game in town.

I've never understood the criticism that they are bad kits. I built tons of 'em when I was younger and I've still got a big collection of 'em now. I wouldn't sell any of 'em.

[upnorth]

The F-80 is one of those kits from Monogram's glory days, like many Monogram kits from the time, it stands the test of time well.

A couple of notable others that still hold their own are Monogram's 1/48 P-39, which in the right hands is perfectly capable of giving the Eduard and Hasegawa kits of the same a run for their money.

I've also seen the old Monogram 1/48 MiG-15 steal the Tamiya kit's thunder at a few shows too.

I can't think of too many of those older Monogram kits that were truly unpleasant. Their 1/48 P-38 and 1/48 B-26 Marauder kits were both rather piggish to build, but they could be done.

[Ben Brown]

I finished mine about a year ago. It's not too bad, but has some fit issues. I had to use a little styrene strip to get a good fit between the wings & fuselage. If you build it with the flaps up, there is about a 1mm gap you'll need to fill between the flaps and the wings. As has been previously said, the gun bay door doesn't fit and needs some styrene, too. The worst probelm I had was with the front and rear fuselage sections. The engine is too wide and causes all sorts of problems, so I just cut the turbine section away from the engine, glued it to the exhaust, and left the rest of the engine out. This also allows you to adjust the exhaust because with the engine in place, the tube doesn't stick out of the fuselage far enough. You'll need to give the tabs that are supposed to hold the aft fuselage on a little trimming. They also cause fit problems.

Oh, and throw away the kit decals.

HTH.

Ben

[dahut]

Oh, and throw away the kit decals.

HTH.

Ben

Oh, please tell me I can use the stencils! Im gonna need those.

[Alan P]

The F-80 is one of those kits from Monogram's glory days, like many Monogram kits from the time, it stands the test of time well.

A couple of notable others that still hold their own are Monogram's 1/48 P-39, which in the right hands is perfectly capable of giving the Eduard and Hasegawa kits of the same a run for their money.

I can't think of too many of those older Monogram kits that were truly unpleasant. Their 1/48 P-38 and 1/48 B-26 Marauder kits were both rather piggish to build, but they could be done.

I totally agree. I still have a couple of their 1/48 bombers which i think must have been the absolute nuts of their day - the detail is still superb, and i would wonder if rescribing them would really make a huge difference. Also, in my (limited) experience something Monogram generally got right which still eludes our current Oriental super-manufacturers was getting the shape and dimensions of their kits spot on.

[Ben Brown]

Oh, please tell me I can use the stencils! Im gonna need those.

Give Gerry Asher, of Fox 3 Studios, a shout. He has a very nice set of ALPS-printed stencils for the F-80. He also has a line of resin for the kit, including a P-80A conversion. His e-mail is: gmasher(AT)netzero(DOT)net

Cheers!

Ben

[dahut]

Give Gerry Asher, of Fox 3 Studios, a shout. He has a very nice set of ALPS-printed stencils for the F-80. He also has a line of resin for the kit, including a P-80A conversion. His e-mail is: gmasher(AT)netzero(DOT)net

Cheers!

Ben

Oh, smashing! Thanks a ton.

[Jon Bryon]

I totally agree. I still have a couple of their 1/48 bombers which i think must have been the absolute nuts of their day - the detail is still superb, and i would wonder if rescribing them would really make a huge difference. Also, in my (limited) experience something Monogram generally got right which still eludes our current Oriental super-manufacturers was getting the shape and dimensions of their kits spot on.

Yep, I'm a fan of those old Monogram kits too, but I was very disappointed by their 1/48 F-105. The nose is completely wrong. So they weren't perfect

[Don McIntyre]

You may be able to use the stencilling, but on Monogram decals of that era, you don't want to use a decal solvent on them. They react quite badly to it.