Fujimi 1/72 F7U-3M/P Cutlass

FUJIMI 1:72 VOUGHT F7U-3M & F7U-3P CUTLASS

Reviewer: Richard Stracey (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 2 December 2001 (#31)

Aircraft:
The Chance Vought F4-U Corsair was one of the US Navy’s most important aircraft in WWII and Korea. At the same time as the F4-U’s were being produced the first and second generations of Navy jets were entering service but they never saw action. The F6-U Pirate was actually slower than the Corsair until an afterburner was added. Then came the radical F7-U Cutlass, much influenced by German design ideas. It was actually supersonic in a dive and was the first aircraft to release bombs at supersonic speed.

Fourteen F7U-1’s were built followed by one hundred and eighty F7U-3’s which had so many changes that it could almost be regarded as a new aircraft. The ninety eight F7U-3M’s had four pylons to carry missiles and only twelve F7U-3P reconnaissance airframes were produced. The Cutlass had no landing flaps but äilevators”, combined elevators and ailerons. Although it was popular with it’s pilots the Cutlass was not in service for long and was being replaced by F8U Crusaders by the end of 1957. In 55,000 flying hours the Cutlass was involved in seventy eight accidents, twenty one of them fatal, resulting in an accident rate of 17 per 10,000 hours compared to an average for Navy combat types of 9.81. Not really surprising considering how radical it was.

The Kit:
FUJIMI 1200 / H10 / H11 / H12 1/72

Fujimi, as is their custom, have made their molds cover a number of marks. In this case a F7U-3 of VF-124 (1200/H10), a F7U-3M of VX-4, VA-83 and VA-86 (1200/H11) and a F7U-3P of VX-3 or NPU (1200/H12). The parts are crisp and finely detailed and the large canopy is thin and clear.

Construction Notes:
The cockpit tub is beautifully made with raised detail on the dash and side consoles. Decals are also supplied but with a bit of dry brushing, a far more realistic effect can be obtained. For once an Aeroclub seat is not required but don’t forget weights in the nose. The wheel bays are equally detailed. The intake trunking halves, due no doubt , to their very complex shape, are not the best of fit but don’t worry, the joints can’t be seen.

The front fuselage to main fuselage/wing joint has a remarkably small surface area so take care lining it up and leave it to dry thoroughly. I found that the intakes were not the best of fit and it was better to line them up flush and worry about filling the bottom later. A refueling probe is supplied but nothing to say which aircraft it is for. I think that it was only used in conjunction with a belly tank which, as Fujimi don’t supply one, the probe isn’t required either.

There are numerous ariels and other very small parts that are just glued on to the surface. Take my word for it; leave them off till the last possible moment! The canopy can be fitted so as to slide. By cutting the rails the slats can be modelled in the closed position but I left them open so adding a bit of colour as the internals are painted red. I made the –3M and –3P. The –3M having four hard points and Sparrow missiles and the –3P having two hard points and drop tanks as well as a clear nose complete with cameras so that you simply mask up the various windows before painting.

As the –3P options are all bare metal I opted for the VX-4 Grey/White scheme for the –3M. I prefer photo evidence for a colour scheme but couldn’t find any in Grey/White. This proved to be a problem as the stunning box art doesn’t match the painting plans! I thought that all US Navy Grey/White schemes had all their moving surfaces, top and bottom, white as per box art. The instructions show the entire top side Grey. I went with the box art and this also shows the wing tips to be dark blue with red cheat lines the same as decal No.30 canopy decoration. Sounds logical and the artist must have got his ideas from somewhere.

I followed Fujimi’s instructions and painted the top surfaces Light Grey (H338) (FS 36495 Humbrol 147/ Testors 1732). It looked very pale. I thought that US Navy aircraft were FS 36440 Gull Grey (Humbrol 129/ Testors 1730).

I found that the canopy decoration decal (30) was a bit of a problem as it covers a compound curve. I cut away the blue area leaving just a sliver of blue and then, after the remaining red pinstripe was dry, painted in the blue area using Humbrol 181 (FS 15042). This was not only a perfect match but matched the wing tip decoration too. Although Fujimi don’t mention it, the tail decoration has optional methods, either decals 17 and 19 or 20 and 21. I didn’t check the details concerning the VA-83 and VA-86 colour scheme but some painting and/or touching up will be required. This is no problem if you use Gunze Sangyo paint No.H25 Sky Blue that is, presumably, matched to the decal colour. Unfortunately, Gunze Sangyo isn’t available in my area and I have not checked the Humbrol equivalent, No.48 Mediterranean Blue against the decals.

No such problems with the –3P as the decorations are much simpler. So far I haven’t fitted the Sparrow missiles as all Sparrows that I have photos of are white but Fujimi say red with black noses and silver tips. Again, the box art disagrees and shows them to be black! No doubt they were dummy or practice rounds. Any ideas? I didn’t do a good job with the decals. Not the decals fault, they were fine. I think that the answer is to use only water to soak and settle them down and only use setting solution to settle down any problems after the decals are dry. Decal setting solution really softens up these decals resulting in damage.

Overall:
Aeroplane Monthly of Jan.1975 has a good article on F7’s and Scale Aircraft Modelling and Scale Models International of Jan.1988 both review these kits. Aurora, many moons ago, made the F7U-1. It would be nice to see that again in the dark blue or Blue Angels paint job. These Fujimi kits come about as close to the perfect kit that I have seen and what a stunning looking aircraft! To think that it was flying nearly 50 years ago and yet, even today, it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie! Amazing!

Photo Credit: Richard Stracey 2002

Related Reviews:-

Testors/Fujimi 1/72 F7U-3 Cutlass

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