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Sword 1/72 F3H-2 Demon


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Fresh off the bench is the Sword 1/72 F3H-2 Demon.

 

This is my first completion for 2021, but I started it late 2020. 

This is a short-run kit, with resin seat and exhaust and some PE parts all included in the box. Installing the PE wing fences required hacking into the leading edge of both wings with a razor saw.

 

The fit of the kit is a bit tight, with minimal locating tabs and just small nubs for the wings. The main landing gear is delicately butt welded with super glue, and I was surprised it has handled the weight of the model so far. 

The cockpit is built up first, with the fuselage halves then joined around this section. I did not align the cockpit very well in this process, which required some forceful manhandling to straighten it up, which left some significant gaps between the fuselage halves. This was treated with melted sprue and sanded back to remove (most) seamlines.

 

The decals were excellent, and conformed well with the panel lines.

I was going to do add an external tank and weapons load, but lost focus and just wanted to get it finished. Overall, despite being a slow and sometimes frustrating build, I quite enjoyed the process and am happy with the end results.

 

Thanks for viewing, feedback/criticism always appreciated!

 

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Hat's off.  I've been a bit apprehensive to start on this kit, but you built it well.

 

It's fascinating to observe McDonnell's evolving jet design philosophy as the FH Phantom led to the Banshee, then went supersonic with the Demon, and culminated in the Phantom II.

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 I'm not really a jet man, but you have done a good job here - your model looks well put together despite the build issues.

 

Regards

 

Dave

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An impressive model of a jet that only had a quite brief history in USN service. I like your choice of markings since VF-31 has a long history and is still an active squadron flying the Super Hornet.

Edited by 112 Squadron
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Nice looking Demon.

As much as it's been overshadowed by the Crusader and the Phantom, i'd describe it as the indispensible forerunner, along with the F-101.

 

Considering it was only McDonnell's third Navy fighter design, it did well once the bugs were worked out.

 

-d-

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Superb model.  I can well imagine the pain building this kit - I have a Sword SkyKnight on the go and it is a PITA.

 

You can certainly see the family resemblance between this and the later Phantom.

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21 hours ago, 112 Squadron said:

An impressive model of a jet that only had a quite brief history in USN service. I like your choice of markings since VF-31 has a long history and is still an active squadron flying the Super Hornet.

I can understand why the F7U-3 has an undeserved reputation but not the F3H. It went out on carrier deployments from 1957 through early 1964, a little over seven years, 44 times in all, overlapping the F4H’s introduction by about two years. It deployed for a few more years and made a few more deployments than the F2H-3/4 Banshee that was the Navy’s first all-weather jet fighter to be deployed much (the F3D was relegated to shore-based Marine squadrons except for two or three deployments). The much heralded but ineffective F4D (not supersonic in level flight either, limited all-weather armament compared to the F3H armed with Sparrows, always carrying draggy drop tanks for barely adequate endurance, poor handling qualities on approach, etc.) was only deployed for a total of five years, 18 times, and replaced on carriers as the air group’s all-weather fighter as soon as the F4H was deployable. (At least one air group commander wanted to replace the squadron of F4Ds that had been assigned to him for an upcoming deployment with F2Hs.)

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20 hours ago, Booty003 said:

Superb model.  I can well imagine the pain building this kit - I have a Sword SkyKnight on the go and it is a PITA.

 

You can certainly see the family resemblance between this and the later Phantom.

I feel the pain of both of you. I have a sword AD-4W and I'm beginning to wonder if the company is actually called S-Word and not Sword, because I've uttered many an s-word during my build.

 

Be that as it may, your demon looks beautiful, and is an inspiration for me to finish my s-word project :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I built this kit and you are correct in your opinion regarding the Demon itself.  It is a challenging kit to build and you did it in outstanding fashion to make it look very nice.  Congratulations on the impressive results!!!!!!!! :clap2:

 

Mike

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  • 2 years later...

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