Aviation Usk 1/72 F2G Super Corsair (Racer)

AVIATION USK 1:72 F2G SUPER CORSAIR

Reviewer: Gavin King (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted 8 October 2002

Aircraft:
The F2G Corsair is effectively the air racer version or conversion of the F4U-5 Corsair. In 1949 the type won the first three positions (or a "full podium finish") in the 1949 Thompson Trophy. The US Navy also used F2G Super Corsair in service under designation F2G-1 and F2G-2.

The Kit:
Limited run injection molded parts in grey, resin cowl intakes and white metal landing gear make up most of this kit. A vacform canopy is also included and is very clear. The box says that this kit is designed for experienced modellers only; they're not wrong! Let those who venture take heed of this note.

Construction:
For limited run kits this is about as limited as you will get and you need to have all your wits about you during construction. The cockpit, which is a little on the spartan side of things, needs a series of dry runs and trims before it will fit into the fuselage halves okay.

The fuselage looks nice and the scribing detail matches the photos I have in a reference book and represents the F2G-2 version which I assume will match those geared up in the Navy of this variant. There is a short style tailwheel well and a tailhook cutout in the rear fuselage which I believe is incorrect in this version because only the long style were found on the F2G Super Corsair Navy birds and racers, at least on the -2 version which I am more accustomed to anyway.

Fit of the major components is not bad as far as limited run technology goes but definitely still for the more experienced modeller as you need to be attentive to what you are doing and complete your dry runs first to work out where problems are going to occur and make adjustments accordingly. Filler is needed in a variety of little gaps around the place such as wing roots and tailplane roots, and the join lines need smoothing out, but nothing unusual for this type of kit. The wings are of the metal skin type which is unique I think to the Racer variety and is well defined in detail.

The propeller is well molded and I found it best to fix this on the model rather than attempting to have it moveable. It certainly matches the reference photos I have. The landing gear is very fiddly and best to use super glue and have plenty of patience while parts dry.

In the main as I said assembly was pretty straight forward, a little time consuming because extra attention had to be given than you would normally would to a more mainstream type manufactured kit. Be careful when detaching parts from the sprue and do a series of dry runs before affixing the parts together. In some cases super glue is the only real viable option, even on a couple of plastic parts just so that you get a good bond and the mating surfaces can certainly benefit from a bit of sanding first which will aid the adhesion process.

Versions & Decals:
The kit provides for a number of different F2G racer examples to be shown including a C-51 from 1946 era; R.Puckett's #18 racer which finished second in Thompson Trophy 1949; Cook Cleland's #57 which finished third in the same race and the winning racer #94 which is the F2G-1 without guns. The decals are in excellent register but needed a bit of solvent to bed them down on the model.

Accuracy:
In the main the kit seems pretty accurate for the F2G racer examples. If you want to do a Navy example then there are several alterations and conversions you need to make, such as including armament etc because they are not reflected in the racer kit. The dimensions are captured accurately and about the only real notiecable flaws that appear in this kit are the shape around the Oil cooler exhaust and the resultant error in the intakes. The Oil cooler exit doors are depicted in the kit as bulged fairings on the underside of the wings, but the photos I have suggest these exited along the fuselage centreline. The oil coolers were located closer to the wing roots like those on the AU-1. This also means that the intakes at the wing roots are wrong as well, having to be more oval in shape to match the oil cooler change. Small but nevertheless incorrect especially when you consider the wings have been otherwise corrected for the F2G version. I already mentioned in the construction article about the tailwheel well which will need changing. On the plus side the rear fuselage, canopy and nose conversions to the F2G standard are captured convincingly on the kit.

Overall:
The box says it all - experienced modellers only! If you must have an F2G racer in your collection and have the experience and nouse to whack one of these limited multimedia kits together then I can heartily recommend this to you. I did enjoy the project but will probably not get another kit of this type unless it is a subject I must have or my skills have improved to a degree where I can scratchbuild my own parts and get around some limited run fit issues.

web hosting • domain names • video sharing
free online games • photo sharing
free blog • short URLs