History

Ordered in 1943, the first F8F flew in 1944. The XF8F-1 had a speed of 424 mph was armed with four .50 caliber guns in the wings and could carry two 1000lb bombs. Deliveries of the F8F-1 began in May 1945 but due to the end of the war the order was cut to 770 from 2900. Later Grumman received a contract for 126 F8F-1Bs which had four 20mm cannons instead of the .50 guns. The F8F-2 was introduced in 1948 and 293 of the -2 Bearcats were built by Grumman with the biggest differences being a taller fin & rudder and a revised cowling. Besides the U.S. Navy & Marine Corps F8Fs were used by Thailand, South Vietnam and France.

Summary

Hasagawa has re-released their previously out-of-production Tamago Plane Series Egg Plane caricature of the venerable TBF/TBM Avenger, this issue sporting two sets of new markings, including the popular set for USS Mission Bay (Code E16).
The small, sturdy box contains two sprues of relatively hard, blue plastic, a clear plastic canopy packaged separately, one medium sheet of decals which are thin and in perfect register, and one instruction sheet totaling 6 pages with 2 steps, printed in black and white.

The markings in the kit cover two schemes: TBF-1C: U.S. Navy USS Mission Bay Code: E16 and TBM-1C: U.S. Navy VC-42 Code 21.

Background

This is Airfix’s second boxing of its new-tool F4F-4 Wildcat. This is the same plastic that comes in the first Airfix release, but this release is marketed under the “Starter Set,” meaning it comes with some paints, glue, and two paintbrushes. The paints are Humbrol acrylic and include: Trainer Yellow Matt (No 24), Sea Grey Matt (No 27), Black Matt (No 33), White Matt (No 34), Gunmetal metallic (No 53), and US Light Green Matt (No 117). I tried the paints with the supplied paintbrushes, and although the brushes are not very fine, they did work well with the paint once mixed. Therefore, for someone new to the hobby, this kind of a starter set should actually be useful.

History

The Bristol Beaufighter was a British long range heavy fighter, developed from the earlier Beaufort design. Featuring two Bristol Hercules engines, the aircraft gained a fearsome reputation for being both fast and able to deliver a powerful blow from its four 20mm cannons and a choice of either Torpedo or Rocket projectiles. Although developed to be a fighter, and used successfully as a night fighter, it was the Mk.X Coastal Command version that was most successful; its range and power enabling it to take a heavy toll of Axis shipping. The Royal Australian Air Force also used the type, finding it to be very suitable for the Pacific war, where the Japanese called it ‘Whispering Death’ due to its quiet engines. After the war Beaufighters continued to serve until the early 1950s.

Hasegawa’s 1/48th scale F-104 kit has been around for a while and it is a very nice kit making the grade at many shows all over the world. One thing missing from the standard kit is any underwing pylons. Granted, there are a lot of pictures of F-104’s with any pylons attached but they were able to carry one under each wing and also a centerline pylon also. Eduard gives that option in spades with this newest release- a complete set of pylons for the entire airframe.

Inside the package, you’ll find 25 beautiful resin cast parts, a photoetch fret with 25 detail parts for the pylons and also a full set of decals. This is a very comprehensive set for $14.95.

Let’s take a little more detailed look at what the pylons are and what they are used for: