Just arrived on my porch: Kitty Hawk 1/48 FJ-2 Fury
Big announcement: Kitty Hawk is no longer S-h-itty Hawk here at Le Chateau du Chat.
I took the plunge last week and picked up a new FJ-2 kit ($50 included delivery from Shenzen China), since the computer views I had seen looked better than previous kits and I am a Fury fan who has long wished to have an accurate one to completely fill out my Sabre collection, which will now be complete (totally complete with an FJ-3).
Opening the box, the kit lived up to my hopes. Looking it over, the only single nit I can come up with is that the rudder and elevators have the ribs of the FJ-3. Five minutes with Mr. Surfacer and a sanding stick will solve that easily.
The kit is the first Sabre with the dropped slats, and they’re done well. Could someone please please please do an OOB F-86A and E with these?
The cockpit could be more detailed, but what is there is OK, with decal instrument panels. The resin guys have an opportunity here.
I couldn’t restrain myself and cut the two parts of the left upper wing off and test-fitted them. It’s not going to be a problem to assemble it wing up or down.
Decals are nice, and cover all five Marine squadrons that flew the airplane. It’s NMF-only, since they were produced overpainted with the clear anti-corrosion paint, which turned out to be not so good. It’s certainly possible to do the airplane in gull grey/white in its final service, which I think might solve the control surface problem since they could have been re-equipped with FJ-3 controls by then – I’m not that much of a Fury experte to know that for sure. (Update: looking at photos, it appears that late-career FJ-2s do have the ribbed rudder and elevators)
Overall: this is definitely Kitty Hawk’s best yet. We’ll find out if it’s made of plastic that responds to Tamiya Extra-Thin (the fact the Cougar was made of something that didn’t was its major problem). As of this point, I can conclude: Buy. In. Confidence. Coming from a professional Kitty Hawk basher, that’s good news indeed.
I’l take some pix later today.
UPDATE: the plastic responds to Tamiya Extra-Thin. I’m likely going to do a WIP on this one.
Gary Wiley said on November 18, 2019
Tom, thanks for the quickie review. I’ve been interested in this kit, and the review is going to help me go broke. 🙂
Tom Cleaver said on November 18, 2019
I’m getting close to “Let me up! I’ve had enough!”
Just over the past six months or so: Eduard P-51D, Airfix Spitfire XIV, AMG Hawker Demon, Freedom Models Hawk III (going to be a BF2C-1), ICM B-26 Invader, ICM He-111, Kitty Hawk FJ-2, Modelsvit XP-55, Tamiya P-38F/G, H-K B-17G…. and each one “definitive.”
Yes, indeed – the hobby is dying! (/snark)
Gary Wiley said on November 19, 2019
Yes sir. I agree. My bench time is more limited than yours and I will need about 225 years to finish my stash at my current rate. That being said, with all the new “definitive” kits coming out I will have to cull the stash if I want to keep purchasing the greatest of the latest.
If the hobby was dying I don’t think we’d have to wait for backorders to get filled. 🙂 Checking daily in November for a known December delivery is lunacy, but I find myself doing that very thing. 🙂
Tom Cleaver said on November 19, 2019
LOL
Josh Patterson said on November 18, 2019
I’ve been waiting on KH’s Furies for some time! Thanks for the heads up, I just put my order in. Hopefully the FJ-3 won’t be far behind!
George Henderson said on November 21, 2019
Always liked the look of this aircraft. I could never bring myself to purchase the Grand Phoenix versions. Looking forward to the W.I.P
Tom Cleaver said on November 21, 2019
WIP in progress! It’s so easy if you blink you;ll miss it George!
Dan Lee said on November 22, 2019
You’re lucky you missed out. I kinda wish I didn’t buy and build the Grand Phoenix Fury. It was as terrible as advertised. It is one of those kits that can break a modeler’s sanity if they aren’t prepared.
However, I am now a member of the Grand Phoenix Fury Completed Build Club. It’s not a very big club from what I understand.
Dan Lee said on November 22, 2019
Glad to hear that it’s not a Sh*tty Hawk kit. So I’ve been mostly disappointed with reading the feedback on the Kitty Hawk kits.
If only they could redo the Cougar and Banshee.