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Dan Lee
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1/72 Arma Hobbies FM-2 Wildcat

July 1, 2022 · in Aviation · · 17 · 0.9K

I bought one of these kits at a local hobby store because I was curious about the 's line of kits. I heard a lot of the hype and was curious if they actually lived up to the hype. Also, I wanted a decent that wouldn't be a massive headache and take a long time to build (glances at the Hobby Boss 1/48 FM-2 with Vektor Upgrade set.)

I get the hype around these kits. They're fun easy builds with sharp detail that can almost be mistaken for 1/48 scale. Easy simple build even with the PE. Arma provides two level of kits, the standard kit with just plastic and the Expert kit which includes masks and PE parts (I purchased the Expert.)

The Glossy Sea Blue (GSB) and interior green were from Xtracrylix sprayed on with a Iwata Eclipse airbrush. The tires were sprayed using Tamiya XF-63 German Grey. The underside of the fuel tanks were sprayed Tamiya XF-80 Light Grey

The decals were decent and easy to add.

I weathered the GSB using the Tamiya pigment weathering set for exhaust/cordite streaks, but they don't show up that well in the photos. I had better luck spraying various thinned gloss, semi-gloss and flat clears to emulate the wear on the tough GSB coat.

I look forward to buying a few more kits from Arma Hobbies

Reader reactions:
14  Awesome

14 additional images. Click to enlarge.


17 responses

  1. Amazing result, Dan! A nice kit for sure, the result of which, tackled with your excellent skills, can easily be mistaken for a beautifully made 1/48!

  2. Nice work Dan.
    I’m into small models lately as well. Gotta post my Martlet sometime soon.

  3. This is really nice work Dan, with a great result.

    And in about 2 years, Eduard should give us the kit in 1/48 (mybe faster, depends on sales of the coming F4F-3 and F4F-4)

  4. Excellent result, Dan @dbdlee
    You surely did great work to make it look like a 1/48 scaler.

  5. Nice work, Dan (@dbdlee). The interior looks terrific. I have a couple of Arma kits floating around, and they are especially attractive when you get the masks and photoetch with them.

  6. Nicely done Dan, my scale.

  7. These Arma kits are a real treat. Simple parts brake down, loads of detail mixed with accuracy . Shaken but, not stirred is the perfect cocktail for modeling. Now all they have to do is scale up or partner up with Eduard.

    Lookin good Dan.

  8. Great look FM !

  9. Sharp-looking little Wildcat - I may have to pick up one of those Arma Hobby kits, I keep hearing such good things about them!

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