Jump to content

Corsair F2G racer - Special Hobby, 1/72nd scale multimedia kit

fjaweijfopi4j48
 Share

Recommended Posts

fjaweijfopi4j48 Completely Obsessed Member

fjaweijfopi4j48

Posted
Posted (edited)

A model from 4 years ago:

 

I really enjoy and applaud every time a manufacturer ventures beyond the usual frontiers and presents something refreshing. In this case, Special Hobby offering started nevertheless as a war bird, as you can tell for the machine-gun holes and other clues. These exact molds were first released as such. But then, in a welcome turn of inspiration, Special Hobby went for the racers to which many of this military machines were converted after the war. The decal sheet offers no less than four choices!

The complete kit package is constituted by multiple resin parts nicely and cleanly cast, a small photoetched fret, a piece of printed film for the instrument panel, extensive decals as said before, two (!) vacuformed canopies and several pages of instructions. All of the items are neatly bagged and therefore protected, only to put them in one of those self-squashing, end-opening boxes. The model is not new now (2014) but it is still available for a reasonable price.

The price is reasonable, sure, because the moldings show the effects of a lesser molding technology, with no locating pins, thick gates and prominent seam lines. Very little flash is present, but to get out some of the parts is not easy, and I broke two -that I promptly repaired- even when I was extra careful and, err, have been doing this for a little while.

The surface detail is very good, and dry trials showed a not too precise fit, although not bad either. The masters for these parts were superb, but the technology for the fabrication of the kit traded low cost for some loss of quality. So be it.

This subject is a tad outside my usual choices' envelope and is the one portrayed in the box art, but bear in mind that the contemporary machine you see on the Net is not exactly like the original machine that participated in the races in the late 40's. You get parts for both, as well as others to cater for some little differences between the other subjects in the decal sheet.

Beware that in spite the abundant decals some areas still have to be painted, in this case white at the front of the nose and the vertical stabilizer tip.

Always study your photos (NOT drawings) and compare, then take notes and proceed.

The kit got an incorrect 9-cyl row engine, but the kit I am building has a 7-cyl row that came with later -corrected- releases, although it still has three magnetos instead of the seven needed.


And so it began:

As soon as I compared the "corrected" resin engine with the real thing I noticed that if it was true that the cylinder count was now correct, the cylinders themselves were not; being the shape, pushrods, configuration, all not accurate. So I ordered and Engine & Things P&W R-4360 aftermarket engine and to hell with the kit's one.

Then I turned my attention to the resin bits. There are three things I don't like about resin parts:

1) When they are bad (NOT this case)

2) When they do not have a good fit (more on this)

3) When they are ridden with flash, pinholes, bubbles, etc ( again, NOT this case)

4) When the pouring blocks are not intelligently or practically connected to the parts themselves (more on that)

5) That they are made of resin (more on that too)

Sorry, did I say I didn't like three things about resin parts? I guess they were more.

The resin parts as said are good, well detailed, and mine had no blemishes whatsoever. While most came out obediently from their pouring blocks, the wheel wells were cast in a way that made very difficult to remove the excess resin, and this is critical because these parts are trapped between the wing halves, and of course, like every other resin cockpit and wheel well in the universe, they do not fit, being too thick (point 2). But if you sand too much, you will come through the wheel well roof , ruining the part, so WHY was the pouring block located there (point 4)? Anyway, you will have to sand too the wing parts to allow for the part to fit. As you sand the resin parts you produce an interesting amount of harmful resin dust, a health hazard. So the more you have to sand away those pouring blocks and the parts for them to fit the more crap you generate. I use a mask and do it partially under running water, but the stuff surely gets somewhere else too (point 5).

The resin exhaust stubs are correct for the original racer (the two top on the sides being larger and the two lower ones shorter). The contemporary rebuilt plane has all four side stubs of the same length. The kit manufacturer omitted the ones that run underneath the fuselage, another three pairs of them, that you will have to scratch and add. 

The prop is too small for this variant,.

Another glitch that keeps you in "step 0" fixing things and thus unable to proceed with the building itself. It is good that the overall quality of this kit is so high, and that's a strong motivation to persist.
All these minor issues are not something terrible, and are relatively easily taken care off.

But I have one complaint: the fuselage is split in two halves as usual vertically, but all the way up to the front; no separate cowl, no separate lip. This for me is a mistake, because you trap the engine as you join the fuselage, therefore corrections on the joints inside the cowl's lip are very difficult. A separate front lip was all that was required, and as it is, is reminiscent of bad and old kits. I was tempted to cut the cowl off and assemble it separately, or at least cut the lips off and join them apart, but decided against it in order not to mount even more corrections and tidying ups.

The model shows the beautiful lines of the original now at the service of a more peaceful purpose.

I liked this one, especially for the well-cast resins, the crisp and sturdy vac canopies (2!) and the superb level of surface detail; although it is not -as any other kit- without its issues. The decals cover many subjects and the graphics and register are superb, but they are really fragile and shatter easily, and there are a few wrong calls in the numbers. The decals adapt to the surface detail superbly, but are a pain in the neck to handle.

There are, as you know, other good-looking racing colors and designs for this kit.

As I commented, there are some differences between the restored machines and the originals, so study your references. Although restorations and rebuilds of planes are commendable and deserve high praise, as a norm I never trust them as a source for information regarding the original machines, since invariably something is off. And it is in this case as usual. You could model, of course, the contemporary machine and be done with the issue, but I am a nostalgic and enjoy digging in the past to rescue as much as possible of the golden glory and charm of the vintage subjects.

As you may know, besides this Special Hobby kit, there is an Aviation Usk / Xotic-72 kit of the same plane, but I can't comment on it since I have never seen one.

This model requires care and attention, and for sure some skill, but the reward for your no little efforts is a stunning racer with lots of pizzazz.

71.JPG

 

72.JPG

 

74.JPG

 

75.JPG

 

78.JPG

 

79.JPG

 

80.JPG

 

82.JPG

 

83.JPG

 

84.JPG

 

85.JPG

 

86.JPG

 

87.JPG

 

88.JPG

 

89.JPG

 

90.JPG

 

91.JPG

 

 

 

Edited by Moa
  • Like 34
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dazey Obsessed Member

Dazey

Posted
Posted

Hi Moa,

 

That's a lovely model, and a refreshing change.

 

I'll have to keep an eye out for some of these kits (once I find a Gee Bee racer, that is).


Regards,

David

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
hsr Very Obsessed Member

hsr

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Moa said:

I just sent an email to E&T, asking if it would be possible to do a limited run of them.

You guys may like to write to show your interest, so it's worth for them to do it.

[email protected]

I tried that a while ago and exchanged emails with Linda.. Unfortunately she stopped because the molds kept tearing and she just couldn't make them work.

  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
72modeler Completely Obsessed Member

72modeler

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, hsr said:

Nice build. That Engines & Things r-4360 has been out of production for a while and impossible to find. I don't suppose you got 2 ❓

Aeroclub did a metal R-4360 front, which I have. It's OOP, but you might be able to find one and cast as many copies as you need. You're not going to see the other three rows anyway. I also have the Engines and Things resin engine- wish I had bought more when they were in production. They do have the accessory section at the back of the engine, for those insane types who want to expose it and scratchbuild the bundle of snakes that comprise the exhaust manifolds!

Mike 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Skymonster New Member

Skymonster

Posted
Posted (edited)

Sadly she doesn't race anymore, but having watched her at close quarters going round the pylons in Reno at <150ft and 350mph+ - along with as many as seven other former warbirds - she was a true sight (and sound) to behold, something I will never forget.  The model captures the essence of the Super Corsair very very well...

Edited by Skymonster
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
72modeler Completely Obsessed Member

72modeler

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Skymonster said:

Sadly she doesn't race anymore, but having watched her at close quarters going round the pylons in Reno at <150ft and 350mph+ - along with as many as seven other former warbirds - she was a true sight (and sound) to behold, something I will never forget.  The model captures the essence of the Super Corsair very very well...

Yep, nothing like seeing and hearing an R-4360 at full song with the air whistling through the oil coolers at a ridiculous speed around a pylon to get the juices flowing! I have never had the pleasure of watching one of the F2G's race, but have heard Unlimited racing Mustangs and Bearcats...that's what Depends were truly made for!

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...