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Not only a F2H-3/-4 "Big Banjo" - ref. KH80130 - (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234946848-148th-mcdonnell-f2h-3-4-banshee-by-kittyhawk-in-2014) but also a McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee in 1/48th by Kitty Hawk -ref. KH80131. V.P.

This is my 1/72 Hobbycraft F2H-3 Banshee. The F2H-3 was the all-weather fighter version of the F2H with a nose radar, increased size and fuel load, and horizontal stabilizer relocated to the fuselage from the rudder. I was pleasantly surprised by fit on this kit and while not a Hasegawa or Tamiya it was certainly better than Italeri. The only after marked part used was an Obsureco seat left over from my last build The kit came with decals for a all blue, anodized aluminum or gray over white finish. After much vacillating I went with the anodized aluminum. This is my first NMF in almost a year, so it is not as perfect as I would like, but still it came out nice. The quality of the decals was excellent, but since they tried to share as much between the different finished they were overly complicated. For example for the blue finish the red flashes get a while out line while for the others they get a black one. So all the red flashes came with separate outline that has to be overlaid with a separate outline. Still the worked well. On to the pictures Here it is with my old Airfix F2H-2 Next up is the Sword FJ-2 Fury. Enjoy.

F2H-2 / F2H-2P Banshee 1:48 Kittyhawk The McDonnell F2H Banshee was a single seat carrier capable Jet Fighter developed by McDonell from their FH Phantom aircraft. The new aircraft was to use the newly developed Westinghouse J34 turbojet. The J34 would have 3000lbf thrust compared to the J30’s 1600lbf. It was originally the idea that the Banshee would use much of the Phantom design, however due to changes in required fuel and armament loads this was not to be the case. At this time the US Navy recognised they would have to move away from the WWII .50 Cal Machine gun round to the heavier 20mm Cannon round (Something that took the USAF longer to realise). Even though the Banshee was not to use the Phantom structure there were enough similarities that a prototype of the Banshee was available in August 1948, a staggering 3 months after Phantom production finished. The Banshee would be produced in three versions, The Nightfighter (F2H-2N), Photo-recon (F2H-2P), and the day fighter (F2H-2B, later F2H-3). The nightfighter had a 2’10” nose extension to house an AN/APS-19 radar units, and the Phot-recon version had a 2’5” nose extension to house 6 cameras. The Day fighter version would also feature eight underwing/stub pylons allowing for 1580Lbs of bombs/rockets to be carried. The aircraft also had a specially strengthened inner port pylon to allow carriage of either a MK 7 or Mk 8 nuclear store. In total upto 1953 895 aircraft would be delivered. The main users were the US Navy & Marine Corps. Overseas use would be only the Royal Canadian Navy. The Banshee being the only Jet Aircraft operated by them. The Banshee would see extensive use in the Korean War by the US. I was realised that straight winged aircraft we no match to North Korean MiG-15’s and the aircraft operated primarily in ground attack and interdiction roles. No Banshees were lost to enemy aircraft in the Korean War due to this decision. The photo-recon aircraft with the ability to operate at 48000 ft generally stayed out of the range of AAA fire. The aircraft were in high demand for their pictures often being escorted by USAF fighters. Again there were no Air 2 Air losses with only 2 being lost to radar laid AAA fire. The last use of the Banshee would be in 1955 and again for the photo birds with secret overflights of Chinese positions for a suspected invasion of Taiwan taking place. The Kit This new tool kit from Kittyhawk arrives on three large sprues of grey plastic, a clear sprue, a small sheet of photo-etch and a decal sheet. The parts are finely moulded with fine engraved panel line and rivet details. The kit can be built as the fighter or photo-recon Banshee, with the option of having the wings folded if needed. Construction starts conventionally in the cockpit. The ejection seat is built up from 6 parts with PE belts being provided. The seat is then installed into the cockpit floor with the sides and rear bulkhead being added. Decals are provided for the side instrument panels. The rear decking behind the cockpit is then added to the rear of the bulkhead. The next step is construction of the front gear well, and leg. The leg is a less than straightforward affair with 6 parts and the one piece nose wheel . The front gear well is 6 parts and is built up around the gear leg. Once the cockpit and front gear well are complete they can be added into the main fuselage. Also added in at this time is the rear mounted arrestor hook and its recess. Once all these parts are in the main fuselage is closed up. The modeller now has to decide which nose is going on the aircraft. If the fighter nose is chosen then a full complement of cannons are provided along with their ammunition boxes and feed chutes. These are built up and the nose parts closed up around them. Two panels are provide (one each side) which can be modelled open to show off the gun bay. Once the complete gun nose is attached to the main fuselage the nose cap can be put in place. If the modeller is going with the recon nose then a full camera fit is provided along with the mounting brackets and screens between cameras. Unfortunately they are no open panels to display the cameras but you will be able to see some of the detail through the camera windows. Now that the main fuselage and nose assembly is completed construction moves to the main body/wing area. First up two complete engines are made up along with their intakes and exhausts. These are then installed into the low main wing centre section along with other structural parts and then end plates for the main inner wing. The top two sections can then be added to the lower wing. Flaps are then added to the lower section. The main centre section of the wing can then be joined to the fuselage. Also at this stage the instrument coaming and instrument panel are added, with a decal being provided for the instruments. The canopy and tail planes are then added. The other wing sections are now built up. These can be attached either down or folded up as the modeller wishes. Each out wing has an upper and lower part and once together the wing tip tanks can be assembled and added. Flaps are added to each outboard section and dive brakes can also be added in the open position if needed. If the wings are to be attached straight then they can just be added on at this stage. If the modeller wishes to make them in the folded position then the folding mechanism and hinges need to be added. There are six small parts each side for this. The instructions then have you make up the main wheel units and undercarriage legs and add them after the wings, though I suspect most will do this before if adding the wings in the folded position. Lastly the gear doors are added and if needed the weapons load can be added. There are two pylons on each outer wing and four under the centre section, with bombs and rockets supplied. The holes for these are in the parts which means if you are doing the photo-recon Banshee you will have to sand these. It seems odd these were not flashed over and the modeller left to open them if needed? Decals Decals are provided for 4 examples; F2H-2P - Bu No. 125687 USMC VMJ-1 (Overall Gloss Sea Blue). F2H-2P - Bu No. 128870 USMC VMJ-1 (Grey over white). F2H-2 - Bu No. 124978 USMC El Toro. (Grey over white + large red areas). F2H-2 - Bu No. 125068 USN VF-11 - Korean War (Overall Gloss Sea Blue). Conclusion This is a welcome new tool of an important Korean War era aircraft for the 1:48th scale modeller. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of and available soon from major hobby shops.

F2H-2 Banshee Update sets & masks - For Kittyhawk Kit 1:48 Eduard The new Kittyhawk kit is a good one, however Eduard are along as always offering their update sets for the kit. Here we have 3 sets; Update, flaps and seatbelts. Update Set (49809) This is one brass fret and one nickel one. The coloured parts on the nickel fret are mainly for the cockpit including the main instrument panels, side panels and controls, and cockpit sils. Inside the canopy new rails are provided. Other parts in the set include new back plate and foot rest for the ejection seat. New links are provided for the landing gear legs. New door are provided for the main gear. Flaps(48912) This is one large brass fret which provides flaps, airbrakes and wells for the kit. These are split on the kit with part on the straight wing, and part on the engine nacelle. The ribs are those already attached which need to be bent into position. Some work on kit parts is needed. Seatbelts(49810) This small fret provides a full set of coloured seatbelts for the aircraft. These are the new Steel belts from Eduard. They are etched from 0.1mm sheet, which looks like stainless steel because it doesn't rust, these new belts combine the best of both worlds. The resulting etch is thin at around 0.06mm, and the paint that has been applied after etching is included in that thickness. The paint itself seems to be more flexible too, and the designs have added details such as shadows printed near buckles and joints to give an added depth to the design. They appear less susceptible to fatigue and will stand up to repeated movements, and can be posed much more realistically due to the ease of bending of the surface. The paint is also a lot less likely to flake off at a sharp bend, which is a worry for standard PE belts. Masks(EX543) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. Wheel Masks, and camera window masks are also supplied. Conclusion These sets will enhance your Banshee model. Recommended. Review samples courtesy of