1/72 Special Hobby F2G Corsair 

by Rodney Williams

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Mark Davies of New Zealand has his Special Hobbies 1/72 scale F2G model posted on this site.  Thanks to Mark, I was able to locate the kit at Squadron Mail Order here in the U.S.A, in early 2005.  Mark mentioned that there were a few things wrong with the kit.  I prepared myself for the worst, but the good things outweigh the bad. 
 

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The kit contains excellent cast resin wheel wells.  The cast resin wing air inlets are the right size and style.  The engine is real bad.  The prop is too small in diameter.  All F2G's had a 14' 0" diameter propeller.  The cockpit is A-OK, and contains some photo etched parts and a nice instrument panel.  There is no rear deck. aft of the cockpit, so it should be built in. 
 

 
The clear one piece windscreen and canopy is "EXCELLENT."   It fits almost to perfection on my "bondo" mold I made several years ago for my 1/72 scale Aviation Usk F2G kits.  I have to admit that I am not sure if my "bondo" mold is 100% accurate. 
 
Last, but not least, Special Hobbies left out the six exhaust stacks that come out of the engine, just aft of the cowling on the bottom of the fuselage. 
 
The overall shape of the fuselage, wings and tail plane seem to be next to perfection, including the measurements.  After I made all the necessary revisions, the kit went together quit well. 
 

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What will the finished model have on it for markings?  I could use all of the kit markings, but then I would just duplicate Mark's model.  Should I make another racer, "No 'cause I have five of them!"  Looking at my F2G photos, I could finish it with one of more than 15 different paint jobs and markings.
 
I have one photo in black and white of a F2G with "C51" applied to the fuselage and to the top of the right wing.  This is the only known published photo of said F2G.  I tried for years to find out if there were other photos of it, and especially a "B.U." Navy number, but came up short.
 

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Alas, I got out my left over decals from my Aviation Usk kits, and used their yellow "C51"decals for my model.  I used the kit insignias, which were very thin, and laid down on the model really nice.
 
Here's a few "in progress" building photos along with the finished model. 
 

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I contacted the company that makes the model.  They are aware of the production mistakes, so I hope they correct the necessary items, so that someone out there will finally make a whole accurate F2G. 
Rodney 
 

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Photos and text © by Rodney Williams