So, back this past summer I found this kit at the LHS estate sale. Opened it and discovered a Quickboost resin F4U-4 cockpit inside, which "sealed the deal" since the F2G cockpit was essentially the F4U-4 cockpit. Got home and discovered that both the vacuform canopies had been damaged. So I contacted Special Hobby and even though it was "officially" no longer their kit, they kindly replaced the canopy. In fact, they sent six on a sheet, of which it turns out I have needed to get to #4 to finally get it right.

While waiting for the US Mail "service" to deliver the canopies, I proceeded with the model. I decided to get the Obscureco resin cowling and air intake - far better than the kit - and their resin prop, also superior.

This is a serious limited-run kit. Lots of flash, lots of fit/modify/fit again/modify again to get the thing assembled. Fortunately this wasn't my first rodeo with the F2G, having done the Special Hobby "Sohio 57" release 6-7 years ago. There's nothing anyone who's done a limited run kit would find out of the ordinary, and the good news is the corncob radial R-4360 fits inside the cowling (which doesn't always happen with SH kits).

The Accurate Miniatures decals are very nice, so doing Ron Puckett's 1949 second-place winner in the Thompson Trophy, "Miss Port Columbus" will be (mostly) pretty easy. Having to cut off the vertical fin and cut away the secondary rudder, then get things to fit again, was the one serious problem. I took the opportunity to offset the fin to the left as it should be.

Once the canopy dries from its dip in Future and is attached, it will be time to head to the paint shop.

If you want an F2G, the Special Hobby kit is what you get. It's not horrible, it does fit, it takes a little extra effort.

6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Reading the WiP title on my cell, I knew it would be you, Tom @tcinla!
Great job on a very very attractive subject!
Special Hobby belonging "Group" are really nice guys (as every other hobby manufacturer should - and could - be, but that's another long story...)

Here it is with the canopy on. Thank goodness they sent six - two were damaged in transit, I screwed up one before even trying it, got the other one on and then when I applied primer, I saw how wrong it was - the fit was way off, due to the difficulty of cutting a canopy that is shaped like this one (it "tucks in" at the bottom). Fortunately, attaching vacuform canopies with white glue means removal was not a problem. #3 was Da Bomb - it fit perfectly. Now to mask it, apply primer, and proceed.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Really nice job, Tom (@tcinla). Vacuform canopies are my nemesis, and I avoid them at all costs. I got to see an F2G at the Champlin Museum when it was in Phoenix/Mesa.

Painted, gear attached and ready for decals.

I had the devil's time getting the paint to stick. I used Tamiya acrylic paint, which is always problem-free, yet even after letting the grey set up for 24 hours - more than enough - the paint lifted off even using ultra low-tack drafting tape. Which was a major pain, since that shade of grey was individually mixed! Repainting meant painting more than just the area, to get things to match.

I had no problem with the other F2G, since it was one color. I'm wondering if it wasn't the plastic. Anyone who knows more about such a phenomenon, please don't keep your knowledge a secret.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

That's bad luck, Tom.
Could it maybe be a too greasy composition of the plastic or a too smooth surface.
A nice blue color, is that the same blue as used by the 352nd fighter group

Here it is with the decals on. As you can see, the color Accurate Miniatures suggested for the blue doesn't quite match the decals. After the problem I had applying the paint to begin with, I decided to live with "close enough." This is another reason why Accurate Miniatures is no more - the people who bought the company in bankruptcy didn't have the kind of commitment Bill Bosworth had when he founded the company. Bill would have mixed up a blue that did match the decals, and provided it in the kit, like they did with the Gulfhawk III.

I'm thinking of dirtying it up to look like it did at the conclusion of the race. That would distract the viewer's eye from the color differences.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

I think the difference between the paint colors is negligible, Tom (@tcinla). As a casual observer, I think it looks fine. It is always great to see an unusual and striking color scheme on a plane like this. My paint adherence problems usually come from two causes: lack of preparation of the plastic (cleaning, etc) or when I smooth out a previous color with some very fine sanding and forget to clean off the sanding dust. Both are cured with a light cleaning of the previous layer. As you pointed out, some brands of paint don't stick as well as others, but Tamiya usually does fine. I have also sometimes had trouble when the previous layer was gloss. I have heard of problems when you apply two different types of paints, such a enamel and acrylic. In other words, painting is a mysterious process that sometimes doesn't work right. My problems got better when I built a small altar to the airbrush and paint gods (you gotta do both) next to my painting area.