The Hobby Boss 1/72 F4F-4 Wildcat / Martlet Mk.V

The Hobby Boss 1/72 Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, "Easy Assemble Authentic Kit".

I got this as a christmas gift from my in-laws back in 2008 & though I don't normally do 1/72 scale I thought it would be a simple project to get back into the hobby after a long break.

My 1/48 Tamiya Wildcat was still parked up on the shelf of doom awaiting my attention, & not wishing to do a similar scheme I elected to represent this model as a Mk.V Martlet in Fleet Air Arm colours.

To convert it to a Royal Navy machine all I did was fill the outer gun ports & straighten the radio mast, though there is conflicting information out there as to whether this was correct or not.

So sometime in 2009 I started this, managed to get it completed by 2010.

It was supposed to be a basic no thrills beginners kit, however there is one challenging fit issue for something with less than two dozen parts namely the fitting of the wing / fuselage tab into the corresponding slot in the lower fuselage.

It required a lot of test fitting & sanding back to get it looking right. Not sure how someone new to the hobby would have coped, without leaving a rather unsightly & ill fitting ridge of plastic in that area.

Undercarriage & cockpit details were also simplified, however once put together & with a coat of paint it scrubbed up OK.

I chose to represent a plane from No.822 Squadron aboard HMS Searcher whilst supporting the Allied invasion of Southern France in August of 1944. Decals sourced from a Techmod sheet & some spares donated by a friend.

One other stuff up which was purely my fault & the keen FAA aficionado's would have already spotted it, was that I managed to reversed the camo pattern; so the green should have been where the grey was & vice versa.