Brewster F2A-3, "Buffalo"
Next, is the 1/48th scale Tamiya kit. This model represents the aircraft flown by Major Floyd B. "Red" Parks, C.O. of VMF-221.
Major Parks led the young pilots of VMF-221 against the incoming Japanese strike force. The inital attack came as a rude surprize to the Japanese, as they lost several attackers to the guns of the diving VMF-221 pilots. However, the Marines were shot out of the sky by the enemy A6M2 fighters in the ensuing dogfights, as the "Buffalo proved to be no match against it. Major Parks and ten of his pilots were killed in action.
Nice build, Freddie...I like it.
Excellent build of an underdog. Man. you really were busy with these builds!,
Nice work Freddie !
Good job Freddie.
Lovely build Freddie, good to see the Buffalo and its pilots represented here.
Another great build Freddie! I like the finish on this as well.
Freddie, great to see one built, and done so well. I've always had a soft spot for her, quite the aircraft when it came out, but quickly overtaken by events and technology. Snakebit by the outfit that produced it, eventually the Navy took them over.(!) Poor management, and supposed sabotage.
Another good one Freddie. I often wonder how the Buffalo would have faired at Midway if it had been in the hands of the Flying Chiefs of VF-2. The -3 certainly wasn't as sporty as the -1/2, but in the hands of pilots truly familiar with its strengths who knows.
Very true, Rick. Many of those "kids" were barely out of flight school, and the aircraft was pretty new to everyone, including the veteran pilots. Unfortunately, most were killed before they would learn to fight the F2A... Still, they accounted themselves well during the initial bounce, but in the end they were not enough to stop the Japanese.
Rick, just before Midway a bunch of the experienced fighter pilots got pulled out and sent stateside to train and form new outfits. Their replacements didn't have their time or experience in the aircraft, as the results showed. Up against the japanese first team, veterans of China and the rigorous IJN prewar training program, flying the finest naval fighter of its time. Agree the -2 was a good deal lighter, and with the NAPs flying it, the results wouldn't have been so lopsided.
Link to the Finnish Buffalo survivor, thanks to Jim Maas. http;//ilmavoimamuseo.fi/virtualmuseum/ Put your cursor on the Buffalo outline on the overview diagram of the museum floor layout.
Beautiful! What is not to like?! Great photos of a real "Underdog" aircraft. The crews that flew them had the odds stacked against them. But they soldiered on.
Great looking F2A-3! You said you used the Tamiya kit, did you use a conversion set, or just scratchbuild to get the fuselage extended? Did you scratchbuild the prop or use one from another kit?
Been learning a lot about Buffaloes hoping to build a decent Midway version from the Tamiya kit. One surprising thing I learned was that the -3 had a really good range (900+ miles).