Vought 1/72 Vought F6U-1 Pirate

PAVLA 1:72 F6U-1 VOUGHT PIRATE

Reviewer: Richard Stracey (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 28 July 2003

Kit Details:

PAVLA # 72010 1/72 -- CHANCE VOUGHT F6U – 1 PIRATE

Aircraft History:

The Chance Vought V340 was one of the first generation (along with the McDonnell FH-1 Phantom, Ryan FR-1 Fireball and Douglas F3D Skynight) US Navy jet fighters. The first F6U flew from Muroc (Edwards) Air Force Base on 2^nd. October 1946. It featured Metalite skin that was a sandwich of balsa between sheets of aluminium. Having a wingspan of only 32’ (and a length of 38’) meant that it didn’t require the added weight of folding wings. It proved to be underpowered, slow and had some dangerous handling qualities. A Westinghouse J34-WE-30 engine and Solar afterburner were fitted that increased power but caused cooling problems. To correct some of the handling problems auxiliary fins were fitted to the tailplane and air breaks either side of the fuselage. In the end only thirty production aircraft were delivered, none entering squadron service and they never went to sea. The F6U was armed with four 20mm M3 cannons.

The Kit:

This 1997 limited run kit consists of thirty two parts in fairly soft plastic, a photoetch sheet by Extratech and a vacform canopy (plus a spare). The instruction sheet has a few errors and omissions and quotes Agama and Humbrol numbers. The Propagteam decals are for two aircraft. The box is a bit flimsy and has end openings that can cause parts to be lost but Pavla do pack their parts safely and well.

Construction:

Unlike some other limited run manufactures Pavla don’t supply alternative plastic parts to the photoetch ones so, if you don’t like photoetch you had better think twice about making this one. The metal parts are very small, fiddley and complicated. The entire cockpit is photoetch and I don’t think that I got the seat assembly, in section one, correct. I did, however, use part # 6 (the seat and head rest padding) of which Pavla make no mention. I didn’t use the bit of paper (F). Rather I stuck a bit of white plascard behind the matt black painted dash board.

Pavla remind one to add weight to the nose. I used six air gun pellets. The blanking plate (M35) position is a bit vague. In section five Pavla show it to be 8 mm up the tail pipe. The fin and horizontal tail surfaces all need drilling and pinning and section six is a bit confusing but with a bit of thought and dry runs, can be figured out. The tip tanks need a bit of trimming to fit over the wing tips.

The slot for the arrester hook needs opening up. I cut the hook away from the triangular section and use only the hook. If you wanted the hook “down” you would use the complete part (21). Section eight and nine are totally confusing as they show the main wheels facing inwards not, as they should be, facing out. That then leaves the mounting “pip” for the doors on the wrong side. I didn’t think that the main wheel legs stood any chance of surviving using only butt joints so drilled them and added tiny lengths of piano wire. I then carefully drilled holes in the wheel well roof that being the underside of the top wing surfaces (11 & 12) that is quite thin. It did the trick and my undercarriage is quite sturdy. I left off the hinges (M11 & M14) because, tiny as they are, the wheel bay is simply not wide enough for them.

I didn’t use the step (M10) as it was too fragile and the pitot (M34) is a very good example of what photoetch is not suitable for. I replaced it with piano wire and a sliver of plascard for the “barb”. The only way to fit it was to saw a slot in the leading edge of the fin. The vac form canopy proved to be first class and no problem to fit and I am sure that the spare will come in useful sometime.

Colour Schemes & Decals:

The paint job could not be simpler, just ANA623 Glossy Sea Blue (FS15042) for which I used Humbrol 181 (or Testors 1717) and Testors 1420 Steel (not aluminium!) for the rear fuselage. The Propagteam decals proved to be a bit of a surprise. The quality was, as usual, first class and no one makes them thinner but they behaved like normal decals and went on with no drama or resorting to strong drink! I gave the whole machine a blow over with satin varnish as I find that Humbrol 181 too glossy.

Conclusion:

The decal option is for 122481 and 122499 and both are depicted in Aeroplane Monthly of December 1981. More information can be found in the Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aircraft V5 p.1135 and Ginther books “Naval Fighters #9” by Richard Koehnen ISBN 0-942612-09-4. The end result is a quality little model that fits nicely into my collection of Naval aircraft. All photos that I have seen are taken from the side and make the Pirate look very dumpy, like the SAAB J29 Tunan but, in model form, due to the very slim fuselage, it looks quite sleek!

RHS / 77

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