Antoine Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 (edited) Don't makes me wrong, to me it seems to be a nice little kit. But if the general shape and dimensions seems good, the cowling looks like 3 to 4 mm short, quite noticeable at this scale. No rivet counter here, but I'm willing to correct it if I find a good solution, just to practice my scratch skills. But before, I'd like to confirm the fact with another set of 1/48 plans. So far I used J.L. Couston's book, and I remember that SAMI has something for me (got the mags somewhere). Any opinions on this kit accuracy??? Edited August 1, 2010 by Antoine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Don't makes me wrong, to me it seems to be a nice little kit.But if the general shape and dimensions seems good, the cowling looks like 3 to 4 mm short, quite noticeable at this scale. No rivet counter here, but I'm willing to correct it if I find a good solution, just to practice my scratch skills. But before, I'd like to confirm the fact with another set of 1/48 plans. So far I used J.L. Couston's book, and I remember that SAMI has something for me (got the mags somewhere). Any opinions on this kit accuracy??? Hi Antoine , I'd always thought the tamiya model to be pretty good accuracy wise for a Buffalo Mk 1 or F2A-2. If memory serves the F2A-3 had a longer nose - is this what you are thinking of? Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 1, 2010 Author Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hi Jonner, nice to see you here. Indeed, the F2A-2/B 339E has the shortest nose, but the kit compared to my set of plan seems still a bit short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hi Jonner, nice to see you here.Indeed, the F2A-2/B 339E has the shortest nose, but the kit compared to my set of plan seems still a bit short. Hmmm interesting, I'll have to get mine out of the stash and have a look now!! ( which will be tricky as I'm on holiday till friday) What we need is Jim Maas to chip in here Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hi Jonner, nice to see you here.Indeed, the F2A-2/B 339E has the shortest nose, but the kit compared to my set of plan seems still a bit short. It is indeed short around the cowling - any decent photograph will show it (it's in front of the wing. You need to splice in about 2mm here and another 1mm between the cowl and cowl ring (this is vital if you use the splendid Vector engine replacement as I did). Other than that, it's a good idea (but not vital) to replace the flying surfaces. There's a set made for the Classic Airframes kit (by CMK I think) - this needs some adjustment of the Tamiya kit to fit. Eduard make a cheap Zoom etched set which is also worthwhile. Other than that, it's a great little kit. Oddly, the original box art may have been the most accurate rendering of the camouflage (Sky/Night undersurfaces, Sky Blue fuselage band). As it came out in the 1970s, maybe some Japanese soldier who saw the real thing advised the artist?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 1, 2010 Author Share Posted August 1, 2010 I've just found the SAMI article, with mr. Caruana's drawing, and... This time the cowling is just a bit less than only 1mm short, which suits me well. A review I found in an old wingmaster didn't even mention the fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 I've just found the SAMI article, with mr. Caruana's drawing, and... This time the cowling is just a bit less than only 1mm short, which suits me well.A review I found in an old wingmaster didn't even mention the fact. Don't EVER trust SAMI drawings!! You need to get the Kagero book on the Buffalo. It has 1/72nd and 1/48th drawings in it that actually look like the real thing. Just concentrate on how it looks in front of the wing!! On the Tamiya kit there's barely room for the exhaust pipe! It ever comes with free decals for a variety of aircraft in both scales. The mods are relatively easy and make a huge difference to the look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 1, 2010 Author Share Posted August 1, 2010 I know about the reputation of SAMI's profiles, but Kagero, if better, is not really good too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 I know about the reputation of SAMI's profiles, but Kagero, if better, is not really good too... It's up to you really, Antoine. As I say, just look at photos of the real thing - then decide........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 1, 2010 Author Share Posted August 1, 2010 I'll see, I might try the correction if I find a good solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 2, 2010 Author Share Posted August 2, 2010 At first I thought that it would not work, but the solution with thin plastic sheets seems feasible, as the engine is far enough forward, I've just checked it. So, I'm on my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prop Duster Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 At first I thought that it would not work, but the solution with thin plastic sheets seems feasible, as the engine is far enough forward, I've just checked it.So, I'm on my way. post some photos as you progress, it will be interesting to see how your project developes good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 3, 2010 Author Share Posted August 3, 2010 Sorry, no more step by step for me, and anyway I can't for the moment. But I'm taking pics, and I'll see in the end if there's enough interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McIntyre Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 A profile shot would have been better, but maybe this will help you determine whether you want to lengthen the nose or not: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmaas Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 This is Brewster drawing 12-31501, F2A-2 Cowl Assembly, which may help. Since in reduced size the Station locations are almost invisible, I've annotated it with four Station locations. As with most 1940's aircraft drawings, the firewall is Station 0; anything forward of the firewall is a negative number, so the front of the cowling is Station -40.5 inches. The rear of the engine cowling is Station -14.25 (actually, -14 and 3/16 inches but I rounded off!). By my measurements the width of the real cowling (Sta -40.5 minus -14.25) is 26.25 inches and the Tamiya kit measures a scale 26.5 inches. That's spot on as far as I'm concerned, especially since measuring a kit around curved surfaces has some built in error. The problem comes with the distance from the firewall (Sta 0) to the rear of the cowling. The real thing is 14.25 inches. The Tamiya kit measures a scale 11 inches. So it appears short by a scale 3 inches, a shade more than a millimeter. Hope this helps - Jim Maas WKBS, DBVW* *Defender of Belgian Ventral Windows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Defender of Belgian Ventral Windows Try saying that 10 times quickly! Man the barricades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 This is Brewster drawing 12-31501, F2A-2 Cowl Assembly, which may help. Since in reduced size the Station locations are almost invisible, I've annotated it with four Station locations.As with most 1940's aircraft drawings, the firewall is Station 0; anything forward of the firewall is a negative number, so the front of the cowling is Station -40.5 inches. The rear of the engine cowling is Station -14.25 (actually, -14 and 3/16 inches but I rounded off!). By my measurements the width of the real cowling (Sta -40.5 minus -14.25) is 26.25 inches and the Tamiya kit measures a scale 26.5 inches. That's spot on as far as I'm concerned, especially since measuring a kit around curved surfaces has some built in error. The problem comes with the distance from the firewall (Sta 0) to the rear of the cowling. The real thing is 14.25 inches. The Tamiya kit measures a scale 11 inches. So it appears short by a scale 3 inches, a shade more than a millimeter. Hope this helps - Jim Maas WKBS, DBVW* *Defender of Belgian Ventral Windows Thanks for the post, Jim - I'm a fellow fan of this maybe unfairly maligned aircraft. I based my model on the Kagero drawings inserting 'hoops' of plastic card between the front of the wing and the cowling. I also put a thin shim behind the cowling front ring but I think I had been fiddling with that area before. It was done again to match the drawing and make the Vector engine fit. My model measures a scale 14.17 inches from the firewall to the cowling which I'm happy with. I used a 2mm thick piece of card - the difference being made up by the width of the saw cuts. On my model, the cowling width matched to the Kagero drawing is 14.21 inches. Close enough for jazz!! Some have commented on the dark paint applied to the undercarriage legs. Could this have been a heat-resistant finish as the legs folded into an area immediately behind the engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 3, 2010 Author Share Posted August 3, 2010 Thanks Jim, so mr Couston's drawings are a bit overlenght. I've already added 1mm to the cowling, I'll see if I add 1 more after comparison with your own drawing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmaas Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Thanks Jim, so mr Couston's drawings are a bit overlenght.I've already added 1mm to the cowling, I'll see if I add 1 more after comparison with your own drawing. Maybe 1.5 mm, I think 2 mm would be too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted August 22, 2010 Author Share Posted August 22, 2010 A poor shot of my comparison with Mr Couston's profile in his book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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