Convair XFY-1 VTO Pogo - 1:48 Lindberg

[Mike]

XFY-1 VTO Pogo
1:48 Lindberg

The Pogo was a dead-end offshoot on the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) family tree, which was designed almost immediately post WWII, perhaps with a little influence from the German Natter? It utilised the recently developed turbo-prop engine driving a contra-rotating pair of paddle-bladed props to remove the torque twist from the brute power of the engine, which would have had catastrophic results in the delicate task of landing the aircraft backwards.

The aircraft was a large delta-wing with substantial over-and-under stabilising fins, and four castor-type wheels at the tips to rest on once powered down. The theory was to house one on every warship under a dome, and use them as first-line defence against intruders. The fact that a very experienced and skilled pilot would be need to launch and recoup the vessel was a substantial drawback, and it also struggled to reduce speed once it had gained momentum. The biggest issue however was the art of landing the aircraft tail-first, looking over your shoulder whilst fine-tuning the throttle well before sophisticated computers came into being. Most of the early flights were tethered in order to prevent disaster, but later it converted to level flight and was flown for some time, where the braking issue became apparent. If the other factors has not conspired against it, perhaps air-brakes would have been added, but even with all the technical issues dealt with, it still would have been a very difficult aircraft to fly well.

It was put on hold until 1955 when further test flights sealed its fate, resulting in a closure of the programme, with the last flight occurring just a year later.

The Kit
This is a reissue of an old kit, and as such you should set your expectations accordingly. It is the only option in 1:48 injection styrene however, so its return to availability in the UK is a happy event. The kit arrives in a top-opening box that has one captive side to retain the lid, with a photo of the actual kit on the front and sides. Inside is a confusion of parts in a bag with only "sprue" of sorts the rest of the parts are either loose or attached to a runner on one side, which is conducive to chaffing in transit. Saying that, there is none evident in the review sample, although mould wear has resulted in a reasonable amount of flash around the fuselage intakes and the props, with a modicum present elsewhere. The original production details have been removed from the inside of the fuselage, but the raised panel lines, simplified detail and myriad of raised rivets dates it nicely. The rivet detail is however well done, and raised panels are also present, some of which will sadly be lost during sanding of the seams. Two small decal sheets are included, as well as a single clear canopy part, and a folded A3 instruction sheet, which consists of three exploded diagrams of the airframe, the working contra-prop and the boarding ladder that is also included.

The cockpit is bare save from simplified seat with pilot figure, so if you're looking at detailing it, you're going to have to scratch-build a cockpit yourself, as well as consigning the poorly defined pilot to landfill. The fuselage parts close around the pilot and his seat, as well as the prop, although this isn't mentioned in the pictorial instructions, so ensure you read the written section as well. The prop is actually quite interesting, as it includes a working set of gears to make one prop spin in the opposite direction when you push the other. You'll need to do a lot of clean-up to make all this work, as well as sorting out the exterior for cosmetic purposes, but it does look kind of fun to play with. With the fuselage closed, the wings slot into their roots, and as you'd expect they are made up from upper and lower halves, with the castor wheels sandwiched at the tips in bullet-shaped fairings. A pitot probe fits into the nose of the port wing-tip, and that's construction over with once you've added the quite nice clear part to cover up the absence of detail in the cockpit. The framework on the canopy is a little heavy, but not too bad in terms of shape and clarity for a model of this age.

You get a simple access ladder to go with the kit, which is made up from eight parts and is surprisingly tall. The tubes have a semi-circular profile, which might be incorrect, as is the shape when compared to some of the photos on the 'net, which show a little more complexity at the bottom, as well as a set of castors and diagonal cross-braces. The support tower that is sometimes seen under/behind the fuselage isn't present, and neither is the odd-looking dolly that it was transported around in the horizontal attitude, but that's a bit much to be expected of such an old kit.

What else is missing? Apart from the cockpit, the exhaust is completely hollow, so you can see straight through the aircraft to the back of the prop. There is also nothing behind the intakes on the wing roots, and in the chin-mounted bulge, which once you've cleaned out the flash, you'll be able to see straight through. The spinner cap seems a little snub-nosed, but that's a reasonably easy fix due to the thick plastic in that area.

Markings
There was only one prototype in natural metal with simple stars-and-bars plus the word NAVY on the wings and fuselage, plus Convair vertically/horizontally on the tails. A serial number is included on the sheet, but I've not seen it worn on any of the pictures I have found, so further digging will be required. The smaller sheet includes some stencils, intake warning triangles in red, and another pair of serials. Perhaps a modern addition to the old sheet? The decals appear to have a little yellowing to the white and the carrier film, which doesn't bode well for ten years down the line, so it might be worth sourcing replacements. Colour fidelity has been skewed as a result of this, although sharpness and register seem good.

Conclusion
You could describe this as a Curates Egg, but it is simply a product of its time. It is an interesting aeronautical dodo, and represents the total confusion and rapid advancement that was prevalent following the technological race during World War II. The kit is very old, a bit flashy, and basic, but it's the only one in 1:48, which means that it's worth picking up if you fancy a challenge. Afterall, who knows when a new tooling will be forthcoming from anywhere else?

There are more modern toolings in 1:72, but if your scale is 1:48, they would look a little silly on your shelves, so what do you do?

Recommended for fans of the aircraft who model in this scale.

Review sample courtesy of
UK distributors for

[Basosz]

Oh god... I've seen this one in the box a few years back and it was horrible, certainly when considering the price which was quite Hasegawian for what is a very, very basic kit. That being said... it would be a good starting point to go all out on some hyper-detailing.

[Mike]

That's pretty much a potted version of what I said

[Basosz]

yes... sorry

What's the price going to be this time? A bad/basic kit isn't really so bad but if it's expensive (as it was two years ago) then it's a no-no

[Mike]

I've just checked the spreadsheet we got back in May, and the RRP is £19.99. By the time you find it at a discounter's shop, the price should be a lot more palatable

[Chaotic Mike]

I've just checked the spreadsheet we got back in May, and the RRP is £19.99. By the time you find it at a discounter's shop, the price should be a lot easier to palette

You're planning on painting the money to pay for it? I reckon the Treasury might take a dim view! :-)

[Mike]

I've just checked the spreadsheet we got back in May, and the RRP is £19.99. By the time you find it at a discounter's shop, the price should be a lot more palatable

You're planning on painting the money to pay for it? I reckon the Treasury might take a dim view! :-)

Better?

[Caerbannog]

The 138649 serial was only on the left side of the vertical stabilizer - so all pictures taken of Pogos right side will not show it.

Rene

[SleeperService]

For those that want to have a go a good reference is the Steve Ginter Naval Fighter volume on this beast. If you're in the UK then Big H stock them as do some of the attendees at SMW.

For the amount of hours you'll get bringing it up to scratch it's pretty good value

[Caerbannog]

For those that want to have a go a good reference is the Steve Ginter Naval Fighter volume on this beast. If you're in the UK then Big H stock them as do some of the attendees at SMW.

For the amount of hours you'll get bringing it up to scratch it's pretty good value

There is lots of info in this book I will never be able to bring up from scratch... :-)

Rene

[Mike]

For those that want to have a go a good reference is the Steve Ginter Naval Fighter volume on this beast. If you're in the UK then Big H stock them as do some of the attendees at SMW.

For the amount of hours you'll get bringing it up to scratch it's pretty good value

Looks like the book is OOP at the moment Plenty available 2nd hand on Abebooks though

[EduM]

Back in 1958 Lindberg kit was one of my first kits. Assembled in a Sunday rainy morning and painted with blackboard black enamel and red nail paint stolen from my mother (the same as eyebrow pliers and nail instruments.