The Kit

This kit is cleanly molded in the standard multicolored plastic offered by MiniArt. Using the same parts as with the other kits, there are no surprises; all parts are cleanly molded with crisp detail and free of flash.

Construction

Assembly was followed in the same manner as the Townhouse kit, building the corners first and then attaching the walls. Once again, I feel as if this is the preferred method for a better construction. All parts went together without issue on the main structure. Next, it was time to tackle my bane/failure from one of the previous kits…the stairs. I honestly cannot give a whole lot of complements to the stairs due to lack of alignment/attachment points for the entire assembly. I ended up just making the stairs look close to correct and moving on. The manner in which the railings attach on the balcony and stairs is not very sturdy. I found that my cement melted the holes closed in no time.

Kitty Hawk is a newcomer on the scene and seems to be filling a niche by releasing subjects not kitted before and new kits of older subjects previously kitted. The only previous kitting of the Mirage F.1B in 1/48 was the Fonderie Miniatures limited run multi-media kit. That is why, as a fan of the Armee de l’Air, I was pleased to see Kitty Hawk release this kit, especially in two colorful anniversary schemes, including the D-Day 60^th anniversary scheme from 2004. Kitty Hawk has started to release single seat variants of the F.1 as an option to the elderly ESCI/Italeri Mirage F.1.

History Brief

F4U-4: The last variant to see combat during WWII, the Navy took deliveries in late 1944 and had two fully operational squadrons by the end of the war. The type incorporated a lot of changes over the F4U-1D. Most notable is that it had a more powerful engine with a new four bladed prop.

F4U-4B: Designation for F4U-4s to be delivered to the British Fleet Air Arm but were retained by U.S. for its own use. The British received no F4U-4s.

The Product

My sample came packaged in a large, sturdy corrugated box. The box art is very nice depicting a Marine Corsair circling the USS Point Cruz.

History

The Do-335, like many German aircraft of World War II, had a checkered development. It began its life, at Hitler’s insistence, as a high speed bomber, and only later, when Hitler was told that the Me-262 would be a better high speed bomber, was the plane’s basic mission changed to that of heavy fighter and reconnaissance.

First, Dornier used a scaled down (1/2.5) Do-17Z airframe (Goppingen Go.9) to test the feasibility of the rear mounted engine with a prop behind the tail unit. Tests showed the usefulness of the arrangement, so design began on the full size airplane. Featuring a tandem engine arrangement (which was not new to Dornier), the aircraft was a large, single seat, twin engine aircraft with two DB-603 liquid-cooled engines. The type began as a high speed bomber (Nov. 1943), reconnaissance fighter and night fighter (Jan. 1944), and ended finally as a heavy fighter (Mar. 1944). In July, 1944, the first prototypes were delivered as bombers.

Review

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is so ugly, it’s beautiful. It is clearly an example of function over form. The A-10 is designed to maximize the pilot protection with a titanium bathtub cockpit and heavily armored cockpit glass. The airframe design has redundant control systems and high mounted engines to provide maximum survivability when damaged, and also to reduce the risk of engine damage. The book starts with the fly-offs between manufacturers and the selection of Fairchild Republic as the design winner. In response to pilots’ feedback for a big gun, the General Electric GAU-8 Avenger 30 mm cannon was selected, with a rate of fire at 3900 rpm.