The Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk was the last US Navy catapult floatplane. Developed in 1942 following the failure of the SO3C Seamew, it was a "self-defending" single-seatscout-observation plane, powered by an R-1830 that gave it better performance than the Rufe floatplane fighter. it didn't arrive in the fleet until just before the Philippines invasion, when it replaced the Kingfishers on the battlecruiser USS Guam (CB-1). It saw action in the final campaigns of the war, spotting for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and for Task Force 34 when the battleships began the bombardment missions against Honshu in late July 1945. It served post war until 1948, when it was replaced in the spotter role by the Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter. Ship's aviation departments called their charges "Quarterdeck Messerschmitts."
I was really surprised when Halberd Models announced their first original complete kit would be the Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk. But it makes sense since only one 1/48 resin kit was ever released of this, and it is made of unobtainium. If you've used any of their resin aftermarket parts, or done one of the Cavalier Mustangs or their other conversions, you know Halberd is maybe the best resin model manufacturing company on the planet. Beautiful surface detail that equals any recent Eduard kit, excellent fit, etc.
Their first announcement was a production run of 100 models, which I missed since the kit costs $100. Then I heard that after they sold out they realized there was still demand, so they are now taking orders at their website, and when they get ten, they do a production run. So you can get it, but you have to be willing to wait since it is Production On Demand, plus they're doing all that in the middle of a war. But wow, is it worth the wait. And the price.
I ordered this earlier this month after receiving a nice fat royalty check from Osprey (thank you all you book buyers), and it got here on Thursday. I had to take off from clearing out and rearranging the house this week after tests on Monday revealed the reason I was getting short of breath hauling things around was that I had contracted a case of "walking pneumonia." So the kit arrived the week I have time on my hands, and one look in the box told me it had just gone to the top of the to-do pile, with a Top Priority designation.
The kit is relatively simple in production design, there are a total of 64 parts. I've been working on it since 30 minutes after I opened the box and will be painting it this weekend.It's not a "slammer." You have to test-fit everything; I had to dig out the slots in the fuselage halves to slide the wings in and get them properly aligned, and also had to sand down the engine so it fit inside the cowling. It's a good idea if you have a couple previous all-resin kits in your resume before starting this one.
The instructions tell you to attach the wings and horizontal stabilizers to the fuselage halves, and to attach the outer floats to the wings at this point. Not a good idea! The pylons those floats hang from are nice, thin, brittle resin, and guess what? They will break off while you're handling things (ask me how I know). Fortunately the resin responds very well to Zap CA. But the best thing to do, should you decide to get one, is to leave the outer floats off till you have the rest of it glued together.
So, here are photos of the major sub-assemblies, and shots of the airframe held together with two pieces of tape and the main pontoon that holds on a tab that is from both fuselage halves.
11 attached images. Click to enlarge.
