Stefan buysse Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 (edited) Hi, This is the Hobbyboss FM-2 Wildcat. The kit comes with the beautiful markings of VC-93 aboard CVE-80 Petrof Bay. I find these some of the most attractive and easy to remember of the geometric markings of 1945. In this history http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/carriers/cve80.txt you can see what VC-93 did. These escort carriers may not be as famous as the big carriers, but VC-93 shot down 17 enemy aircraft during the Okinawa operation. The kit parts are well protected in the box. Construction should be easy, but there are a few things to change to make it into a real FM-2. The oil coolers (circled in red) should be removed and this small fairing (circled in yellow) too. According to the D&S book (Vol.65) the oil cooler of the FM-2 was behind the engine. Cheers, Stefan. Edited March 19, 2011 by Stefan buysse Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Nice subject Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stefan buysse Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Thanks for your interest, Wayne. There are some other things about the Hobbyboss 1/72 FM-2 that I haven't mentioned yet. The antenna on top of the spine should be vertical and not raked forward as on earlier Wildcat models: easy to fix. The FM-2 had only four machine guns in the wings, not six like the F4F-4: easy to fill the out muzzle on each wing and corresponding case ejector slots with putty. Most FM-2's had a different prop (uncuffed and paddle blade) than the earlier Wildcats. The kit contains a beautiful example of the earlier prop. I'm just going to attach it without glue until I find something suitable. There is a picture of FM-2's with the earlier props in the D&S book. But these aircraft are stateside trainers and I'm pretty sure that the FM-2's VC-93 had the late prop. Cheers, Stefan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DDC Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Very cool mate! Looking forward to seeing how she turns out Denzil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JasonW Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Stefan, how is the Wildcat coming along? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stefan buysse Posted April 24, 2011 Author Share Posted April 24, 2011 Hi, Denzil, thanks for the interest. Jason, I have the main parts (wing and fuselage) together... and applied the putty to hide the seams that left a bit. There is also putty where the underwing oil coolers were. With some sandpaper, I created the indented areas on the fuselage behind the exhausts. I'll give it a coat of primer to check it over. Cheers, Stefan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stefan buysse Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 Hi, As the 1st of September approaches fast, I got moving on this again. There are very few parts, but on most of them I needed some putty. By sunday night, I ought to have something worth showing a photograph of. Cheers, Stefan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Looking forward to seeing it! Cheers, Mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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