History

According to Wikipedia:

“he Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design, which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Piper Aircraft’s second most produced model after the PA-28 Cherokee series (more than 32,000 produced) with over 20,000 built in the United States. Its simplicity, affordability and popularity invoke comparisons to the Ford Model T automobile.

As modelers, through researching our projects in preparation for a build, we learn new things about the subjects we are attempting to replicate. Sometimes we learn something about ourselves as well. On this build I discovered that a Piper Cub was the first American plane shot down during WW II. The pilot survived by taking to his parachute after being attacked by a Japanese plane on the way to attack Pearl Harbor. A Stearman stands in for the J-3 in a less than historically accurate humorous scene portraying the encounter in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!. Another interesting story is how the Cub was developed and created as an affordable light plane for the hobbyist aviator. More about what I learned about myself later.

The Kit

Special hobby first released this kit in 2022 with new parts being added in 2023 but mostly unchanged from that original boxing. Three marking options are provided in this boxing. The first is an olive drab and neutral gray J-3 Cub designated O-59A after being purchased by the US Army in 1941, next a J-3C-65 pressed into service on loan to the military for trials during 1941 maneuvers, over-sprayed on upper surfaces irregularly with olive drab and undersurfaces remaining in standard yellow, and finally a J-3C-65 from 1941 at Midwest Airfield, Fort Worth, Texas in standard yellow overall. The standard yellow referred to is actually Chrome Yellow, widely known as “Cub Yellow” or “Lock Haven Yellow” named after the location of the factory in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.

The kit consists of two gray plastic sprues, one lighter gray than the other, a sprue of clear parts, a small photo etched brass sheet, one 3D printed part, a small acetate sheet for the instruments, a sheet of decals, and a color instruction booklet. Gunze paint numbers are the only brand designated in the instructions. The sprue gates for the parts are rather large so you may want to remove the parts carefully to avoid divots or fractures as the parts are separated from the trees. Clear parts are mostly distortion free, which is welcome since the windows are so prominent. Instructions include a parts map, but they create some confusion since parts marked as not needed are not completely accurate.

The Build

Construction begins with the cockpit, and some of the parts are quite tiny. Magnification or tweezers may be helpful at this stage. I had chosen to complete the third marking option in overall yellow since a previous venerable IPMS reviewer had accomplished marking number 1. With this overall yellow, some planning ahead was required. I decided to mask the interior and exterior clear parts and primed and color finished them before assembly, as this would be more difficult after final assembly. On this build I primed subassemblies with Tamiya rattle can white primer, then color primed with X-17 Pink to accent and enrich the yellow hue of XF-3 Flat Yellow. Note that most photos of the actual aircraft indicate that the rudder pedals, parts B32, B33, should be painted black, but this was missed in the color callouts.

Design of this plane dictates the creation of what is essentially a box as the cockpit, very different from most aircraft kits. I completed the required assembly and painting up to step 12 and was ready to close the fuselage, but this is where I had fit problems. The fuselage halves lined up perfectly when they were empty, but after slipping the engine and cockpit floor into place, there was a big gap at the top front over the engine. I trimmed, test fitted and re-trimmed many times and finally reached a workable compromise which still required some firm clamping to close the seam. I advise waiting to install the seat backs until step 16 since there are some tight fits, and it is best to have both seat backs set at the same angle. The builder has the option to choose the clear film or a decal under the photo etched instrument panel. I chose the decal, but it mattered little since not much of it can be seen in the completed cockpit. In step 18 there is another construction choice in the form of an opened cockpit (clear part E3) or closed cockpit (clear part E4). I chose the opened cockpit and was glad as you will learn later in this build.

It is important to follow the instruction steps 19 through 21 because if you jump ahead and glue the wing tops and bottoms you may have trouble slipping them over the somewhat fragile main spar (B4). Masking and protecting the front windscreen (E2) was also a challenge, particularly when maintaining alignment in three planes simultaneously. Patience, a steady hand and filler putty are required.

Step 22 sees the addition of the main landing gear and although the individual parts are flimsy and flexible, once glued in place and dry, they are quite strong and more than adequate to support the weight of the completed model. I assembled the underwing struts but could never determine the use or location of photo etched part PP13. This was only one of the mysteries of this kit and its instructions. Part B1 is indicated in the parts map as used in this version but obviously B23 and B26 are adequate and highly visible through the canopy glass. Steps 29 through 32 require adding stretched sprue or other very thin material as stabilizer wires and aileron actuators. In Step 36 the entrance doors are added along with the footstep which is photo etched brass. I attempted to bend and attach this part and found I could depict this part more realistically by fabricating one from stretched sprue.

I saved the prop and wheels until after final painting which included Tamiya white primer, Tamiya pink and XF3 and when completely dry, a liberal coat of Future or whatever it is being sold as now. Prep for painting required masking of the cockpit opening. This is where I failed to perfectly seal the cockpit, resulting in primer fouling the interior clear parts. If you look closely at the photos, you can see this fogging that very much mimics superglue fogging, but I assure you I only used superglue for the PE parts and the wheels. This mistake was not discovered until after final painting and the masking was removed. A word about the main wheels; the mounting point is very small and due to the limited surface area, I advise using a fast setting superglue and careful placement to get a good solid join.

Decals and Final Assembly

I applied the fuselage decals first and worked outward. The characteristic black stripe on the left or port side of the aircraft is of adequate length and applied well with lots of water to float it into place and get it straight and aligned. The stripe for the starboard side seems too long for the open door option and too short for the closed door option. Since I am depicting the door open version, I measured the decal on the model and made a cut that would fit between the opening and the tail and trimmed the front portion to accomplish proper placement on the nose behind the exhaust pipe. Note that with the door in the open position, some of the black stripe will be hidden from view. I applied the red number three over the black stripe and was disappointed that it was somewhat translucent, and a hint of the black stripe could be seen underneath. I also had some silvering of the registration numbers on the top and bottom of the wings. It’s nothing terrible, but noticeable on close examination.

It is rumored that Special Hobby decals are similar to Eduard’s new style of decals which allow the removal of the clear film after they have dried. I did not attempt peeling away the carrier film because I could not confirm this and did not want to mar the finish. The decals also resisted sealing with Future, which seemed to bead up on the surface. I hand painted the propeller with Vallejo acrylics but given the opportunity to repeat this build I would revert to my usual use of airbrush due to the small and delicate nature of that part. While evaluating the photos for inclusion in this review I discovered that I failed to add the red fuel cap on top of the engine compartment.

Conclusions

This build was a challenge for me, and I learned that being more thorough and methodical will result in a more satisfactory result. Rushing ahead never seems to pay off, particularly with an unfamiliar kit. My hope is that my foibles and mistakes contribute to other modelers constructing an award-winning J-3 Cub that I can appreciate on a contest table sometime in the future.

Thank you to IPMS for the opportunity to test my skills through this review and much gratitude to Special Hobby for generously providing this kit.