North American FJ-2 Fury

[Tailspin Turtle]

3 hours ago, jpk said:

Just a little thing. Didn't the shape of the catapult attachment hook recess change between the -2 and -3? I don't recall which way it went, rectangle to trapezoid or the other way. A very minor thing overall. It certainly would not affect my buying the kit. Over on Cybermodeler they have the FJ-3 listed as a 4Q 19 release so maybe they will both be released in sequence fairly quickly before the end of the year. 

https://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2019/10/fj-23-catapult-hook.html

[Sabrejet]

I did a thread about the FJ-3 that explains it all....

[Tailspin Turtle]

On 10/27/2019 at 9:52 PM, Sabrejet said:

Tommy,

 

Those views show the production one (mounted on the fwd centre wing box web), but the XFJ seems to have it as the aft part of the barrier guard. Do you have any better shots than the one with Bob Hoover (above)?

You are correct. The XFJ-2 had a fixed catapult hook (as stated in a Navy flight test report) located directly behind the barrier pickup. I've added two pictures here: https://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2019/10/fj-23-catapult-hook.html

[jpk]

It appears the Kitty Hawk FJ-2 Fury is finally released. It is available on eBay from China. I have ordered one and it is supposed to arrive by Dec 7th.

 

An addendum: I ordered the Fury around 7pm on the 13th and my shipping notice arrived yesterday evening. The kit is being shipped FedEx and is scheduled to be here Monday the 18th, not Dec 7th. Now that is fast. If it shows up.

Edited November 15, 2019 by jpk

[72modeler]

12 hours ago, jpk said:

It appears the Kitty Hawk FJ-2 Fury is finally released

Wrong scale, but I am very happy for you 1/48 modelers! The FJ2 was such a pretty golden age jet! (Can you say VMF-235  in natural metal?)

Mike

[Gene K]

On 11/13/2019 at 9:57 PM, jpk said:

It appears the Kitty Hawk FJ-2 Fury is finally released. It is available on eBay from China.

Could you provide a link, please?

 

Gene K

[jpk]

1 hour ago, Gene K said:

Could you provide a link, please?

 

Gene K

Just go to eBay and enter "Kitty Hawk 1/48 FJ-2 Fury" in the search window. 

[Sabrejet]

Mine's due next week: I'll do a review as soon as I get it.

[jpk]

On 11/16/2019 at 8:12 AM, Sabrejet said:

Mine's due next week: I'll do a review as soon as I get it.

Got mine today. You will love it Sabrejet. I did a short in box review on Hyper Scale.

[Sabrejet]

Emailed the seller for an update but no reply yet. Mine still showing as 22Nov delivery.

[jpk]

8 hours ago, Sabrejet said:

Emailed the seller for an update but no reply yet. Mine still showing as 22Nov delivery.

My very minor nits. The short oleo on the nose strut, The ribbed horizontal stabs (not really incorrect just late production addition for both the -2 and -3), the incorrectly shaped catapult bridle hook recess(correct for a -3), the engine looks to be for a -3. There may be more that you will find but I feel KH did an excellent job overall here with the Fury.  One last thing. The instructions show to install the Sidewinders and pylons on the last page. To my understanding the FJ-2 was not Sidewinder capable. Nor was the slat wing FJ-3 so to be correct these should not be mounted.

Edited November 19, 2019 by jpk

[Gene K]

On 11/16/2019 at 7:04 AM, jpk said:

Just go to eBay and enter "Kitty Hawk 1/48 FJ-2 Fury" in the search window. 

Would be nice if sometimes you could provide appropriate links in your informative posts ... . 

 

I did go to US eBay to this expired listing, and having no idea of a reasonable price, ordered the kit as I had been anxiously awaiting its release. Unbelievably, the well packed kit showed up at my door here in Florida, USA this morning -- FEDEX delivery from China to the US in four (4!) days.

Kit looks excellent in all respects, with only very minor sink marks on the nose wheel door, and in the nose wheel bay molded onto the intake trunk. These sink marks are caused by ejection towers in the insides of the intake pieces, and will be an easy fix, as will be the ejection marks on the inside of both the top and bottom intake pieces.  Other than that, there is a minuscule trace of flash on a few parts --very little.  All in all impressive plastic! The molding is first rate all the way, as is the packaging and presentation -- the best I've seen from Kitty Hawk.

 

The fit is very good -- I taped together the major components with no problems at all. Really looks the part, and hopefully the experts like Sabrejet will give accuracy a big thumbs up.

 

Bring on the FJ-3!!!!

 

Gene K

 

Add: I had to smile at the well sculpted resin figures ... who look like tall, emaciated basketball players, especially the pilot. He certainly can't have much body fat under his G Suit and other flight gear.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Gene K

[Sabrejet]

Well I have received mine and it looks good. I will do a quick in-box review later, but for now here is what I've discovered.

 

 

Kitty Hawk’s new FJ-2 comprises three light grey sprues with 173 plastic parts plus another clear sprue with 9 parts. There are two crew figures in resin and a small brass etched fret with mainly seat harness. The decal sheet gives marking for five US Marine Corps aircraft (of six VMF units to operate the FJ-2). The options on this kit are well thought-out, with separate gear doors, speed brake panels, tail bumper, barrier guard and tail hook. The 2-piece canopy allows it to be posed open and there is full cannon bay detail; the ammo bin/steps are also included as fully-detailed areas and the obligatory wing fold is also rendered, as are separate flaps, slats and rudder. All in all, a great start even if in real life a number of these items would usually be closed on the ground. KH also provides an engine and the rear fuselage can be posed in its ‘engine removal’ configuration but no engine dolly is provided.

 

It is obvious that it’s a kit with a lot of thought put into it. 

 

Take a look: Sprue A with FJ-2-specific parts:

 

 

Sprue B and C will be generic:

 

 

 

Clear:

 

 

PE fret:

 

 

Resin figures:

 

 

And the decal sheet:

 

 

Review to follow.

[Sabrejet]

Detail looks very nicely done:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[seadog]

"I have a little list..." and an FJ-2 is at the top of it. Has to be with this brilliant thread for reference! Keep it coming

 

[Sabrejet]

OK so here goes. Kitty Hawk’s 1/48 scale FJ-2 is Item No. KH80155.

 

Based on photos of various kit configurations, KH has rendered the distinct differences in engine intake size between FJ-2 and FJ-3/3M, as well as other variations such as wing configuration, fuselage intakes etc. Aircraft and kit intakes compared:

 

 

 

 

Fuselage length is 429.75 inches, measured from the tip of the intake lip to the aft end of the jet pipe fairing. This equates to 10915.65mm. Converting to 1/48 scale this equals 227.4094mm. I scaled the FJ-2 fuselage station diagram to 1/48 and placed the fuselage parts together; I’d say it’s spot-on in length and also frame spacing.

 

 

 

 

Fin is a tad short, but since it looks like the issue is only related to the tip being a bit short, it should be easy to fix without losing detail:

 

 

Span of the FJ-2 wing equates to 11313.16mm. In 1/48 scale that equals 235.7mm. Sweep of the wing is 35 degrees, measured at the 25% chord line. Again, the kit matches perfectly with the rib locations and also for span.

 

 

 

If anything, the trailing edge sweep (no ailerons or flaps on kit wing or diagram) is a bit too shallow:

 

 

Other:

 

The forward nose gear door is one of the most obvious inaccuracies with this kit; the original door is around 24 inches long (12.7mm in 1/48), whereas the kit version is 14 and a bit; it looks more. This also means that the corresponding part of the main nose gear door is too short, though it’s less apparent. Kitty Hawk has provided the forward nose door with a landing light – you’ll need to fill the hole and omit the light for an early FJ-2.

 

 

 

As mentioned above, Kitty Hawk has provided an engine with this kit, but unfortunately the engine is incorrect for an FJ-2; this type was fitted with a J47-GE-2 (similar to the F-86A/E/F series engines) and the J47 is characterised by having eight individual combustion chamber ‘cans’. But KH appears to have supplied the FJ-3 engine with this kit, which is a J65-W-2 or -4B, which has an annular combustion chamber and no individual cans; it looks a great deal simpler by comparison. The different engines (and their different air flow requirements) are the reason for the larger engine intake on the FJ-3.

 

 

FJ-2 engine:

 

 

FJ-3 engine:

 

 

The better news is that, as mentioned above, KH have modelled the smaller FJ-2 intake correctly.

 

Minor niggles: 

1.    KH hasn’t included the radio compass loop antenna (the domed, glass-covered item visible under the sliding canopy of F-86s and FJs), but it wouldn’t be a massive stretch to make from a piece of clear sprue.
2.    The kit only includes the splitter rudder, which is only really applicable to aircraft after VMF service. It would seem that one or two VMF FJ-2s had the later rudder but the vast majority had a smooth-sided version. Again, it wouldn’t take much to swipe some filler over the rudder to correct that. And if you model a Reserve machine it will be OK as-is. The horizontal stabilizers are also the splitter type, for which the same applies; again, easy to fix.

3. KH suggests in the instructions that 'sugar scoop' fuselage intakes are an option for FJ-2; ditto the Sidewinder missiles. Neither are fitted on FJ-2. 

 

Decal Options:

In terms of decal/colour scheme accuracy, there are issues with all of the aircraft depicted;

1. BuAer No. 132055 13/MX of VMF-334 ‘Falcons’, MCAS Cherry Point. This aircraft was with the squadron from 16May55 to 01May56. My main issue with this scheme is that the stylised ‘falcon’ motifs on the fuselage and tail fin are mid-blue and it’s debatable whether they should be black or dark blue. My feeling (lacking a period colour photo) is that the falcon motif was black (as was the case on the unit’s FJ-4s), but whether blue or black, the shade was much darker than depicted in the kit decals.

 

 

 

 

2. BuAer No. “131975” 22/WU, VMF-235 ‘Death Angels’, MCAS El Toro and Atsugi, Japan. The serial number of this aircraft should be 131979, which was one of four FJ-2s detailed for Operation Steam (often referred to as Project Steam) aboard the USS Hancock in September 1954. The operation took place in the waters off San Diego as an at-sea evaluation of its new steam catapults. BuAer No. 131979 served with VMF-235 from 23Apr54 until written off on 10Mar55. For info, BuAer No. 131975 was also a VMF-235 aircraft, and was with the squadron from 08Mar54 to 03Jul56, but was not numbered ‘22’. The kit decals have seven stars on each tail stripe: there should in fact be five per side, with a further one positioned on the leading edge of the fin (so 11 in total, not 14 as shown in the decal sheet). The number ‘22’ should also appear beneath the aircraft type/serial number block on the rear fuselage and this is not included in the kit decals.

 

 

 

 

 

3. BuAer No. “130257” 5/WR, VMF-312 ‘Checkerboards’, MCAS Cherry Point. The serial number of this aircraft is wrong (130257 isn’t an FJ-2); it should be 132057, which served with VMF-312 from 19Oct54 to 12Feb56. This aircraft should have the number ‘5’ repeated below the unit number on the aft fuselage but it’s missing from the kit. Note that some or all of this unit’s FJ-2s had the checkers repeated on the horizontal tail surfaces and these are not included in the kit. 

 

 

 

4. BuAer No. “131987” 12/AM, VMF-451 ‘Warlords’, MCAS El Toro and Atsugi, Japan circa Oct 54 to Nov56. This serial number is incorrect: 131987 was not a VMF-451 machine. This scheme lacks the small ‘12’ which should be positioned beneath the tail serial number. Also the kit decals have nine stars and each fuselage band where there should only be seven. The blue band extends below the fuselage but not the stars.

 

 

 

 

5. BuAer No. “132000” 318/LC, VMF-122 ‘Candystripers’, aboard USS Coral Sea 23 March to 29 September 1955. This serial number is incorrect: 132000 was not a VMF-122 machine. I’m not 100% sure what the correct serial number of this machine should be, but photographs show what looks like ‘13xxx9’, which from aircraft on the Coral Sea cruise would make it one of BuAer Nos. 131939, 131949, 131959, 131969 or 132049. Note: the 3-digit modex numbers only applied to the Coral Sea cruise; when not aboard, they carried two-digit modex numbers, minus the prefix ‘3’. Note that the tail stripes and 3-digit number should be on a slope, not as depicted in the kit instructions.

 

 

 

Note also the different ways of representing the letters/numbers on the wing between these two aircraft:

 

 

A few stencils are included in the decal sheets and should suffice for most modellers; there were in reality many more. Notably not included in the sheet is the prominent red disc that was painted around the angle-of-attack sensor to stop folks using it as a hand hold or step. KH have instead suggested that the red circle fuel filler decal (23) should go there instead. They should be positioned as shown in the photo:

 

 

In general the blue used on the sheet (star & bar decals in particular) is too bright.

 

In summary.

 

No massive issues with this kit. OK the engine is incorrect – that one is annoying. But the other issues are minor and won’t take much to fix. With luck a few aftermarket decal sheets will appear for these kits as well as correction/detail sets for the cockpit etc. But the important thing to note is that this is BY FAR the best kit of an FJ-2 in 1/48 and the same will be true of the FJ-3 when it arrives (and I’m assuming the engine will be correct for that kit too!). Irrespective of that, it’s a really nice-looking, well-detailed offering and doesn’t deserve some of the generic KH-bashing that it’s received prior to issue.

 

My comments above are purely there to enable a full appraisal and hopefully to assist the perfectionist if he/she wants to go a bit further. But built OOB it will build into a really good rendition of its subject: I can't wait to build it and will certainly be buying the FJ-3 kit based on what I've seen. 🍻
 

Edited November 21, 2019 by Sabrejet
spelling!

[Sabrejet]

Might need that stencil set too:

 

 

[Tailspin Turtle]

Duncan - excellent out-of-the box review, particularly the illustrations. With respect to the forward facing nose landing gear door, it looks like the person who built the test shots didn’t know that the door was attached to the nose gear strut and therefore when the gear is extended, the forward/upper end of the door was actually up inside the gear well.

[Sabrejet]

26 minutes ago, Tailspin Turtle said:

Duncan - excellent out-of-the box review, particularly the illustrations. With respect to the forward facing nose landing gear door, it looks like the person who built the test shots didn’t know that the door was attached to the nose gear strut and therefore when the gear is extended, the forward/upper end of the door was actually up inside the gear well.

I think that's it: the kit door doesn't look too bad so I think we can cross that one off.

[Tailspin Turtle]

Kit manufacturers have a similar problem with the forward facing door on the F4U landing gear. They either make it too small for the opening when the gear is retracted or the same size as the opening (too big when the extended gear is extended), not realizing that Vought used a bit of leather or canvas to close the forward end of the opening when the gear was retracted. See https://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2012/10/f4u-main-landing-gear-door-attachment.html

[28ZComeback]

FJ-2 nose looks off. I bought two of them. Hey it looks like a Fury. 

[72modeler]

Sniff, sniff- "I am sooo happy for all you 1/48 FJ-2, FJ-3 modelers!" (Said with tears  streaming down the face)

 

BTW- awesome reference photos and comments, Duncan!

Mike

[Masinissa]

It's correct in frame spacing and length. But what about the height? Is the plastic centered over the drawing? Because here the fuselage looks to be short in height.   

 

 

This carries over into the shape of the nose here.

 

 

Yes I know this kit looks good and will be better than what's already on offer, but it's nice to know how it stacks up to the realz aircraft. 

[Sabrejet]

Diagram above is correct for frame spacing and length; ditto for the wing rib spacing, span and sweep angles. I couldn't be fully confident to use it for other dimensions (fuselage depth for example) unless I had similarly scaleable figures. 

[Gene K]

On 11/21/2019 at 8:16 AM, Sabrejet said:

OK so here goes. Kitty Hawk’s 1/48 scale FJ-2 ... .

Duncan,

 

WOW, what an outstanding post!! Thanks very much - you are unquestionably the Doyen of Sabre Modeling.

 

We modelers are so fortunate (blessed??) to have folks like you and Tailspin Tommy  who have the knowledge and willingness to share it. Makes me wonder (again) how Kitty Hawk won't make the effort to avail themselves of such expertise -- after all, it's not like the US KH rep isn't aware of both you and Tommy. 

 

Quote

jpk pointed out: ... the incorrectly shaped catapult bridle hook recess (correct for a -3) ... .

 

Is there a significant error?

 

Gene K

Edited November 25, 2019 by Gene K