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Since Trumpeter
released their Grumman Wildcat kit I wanted to get my hands on it. After reading
lots of dreadful reviews on this kit I shelved my sample and though that
building some armour kits would get me in the mood to tackle my Wildcat. That
worked! After three Shermans and a Walker Bulldog the stubby Grumman fighter
looked very tempting (if you want to see the armor visit my website <www.freewebs.com/jaeamf>).
Many of the reviews I read did not do justice to this kit. It is not as bad! I
liked it as soon as I tackled the engine assembly. It has about 40 parts. It is
really nice once it is put together.
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Detail of the
cockpit is pretty good, a few bits of plastic and soft wire will dress it up
very nicely. The seat looks just like an upscaled Tamiya's 1/48th rendition, but
with the addition of seat belts it looks pretty good. Fit is not the greatest,
but it is workable. Where I have had the most trouble with was with the gun
sight. If assembled as recommended is a pain in the you know where. I modified
the sight to fit better. See Fig. 6. If you follow these recommendations you
will not have any assembly hassels.
So far this model has been the
equivalent to a best selling book to me, I have not been able to put it down
inspite the few flaws here and there (probably I overdosed myself with amour
kits). It is a very enjoyable build and captures the looks of the indomitable
Wildcat. I will use some of the kit's decals, but I am planning to paint all
national insignias. I will finish it as one of the Wildcats that Joe Foss flew
while serving in Guadalcanal with "The Cactus Air Force". Happy
modeling,
Ed
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