1/48 F4F-3 Wildcat Early Type

Description

This is an injection-plastic aircraft model kit.

An all-new tooling of the Wildcat, but this time of the pre-war/early-war solid-wing -3 version! Of course, what everyone wants to know is, how does it compare to Big T’s kit? Well, it stacks up pretty well, to be honest. All surface detail is petite and recessed, including all the rivets, which seems to be the trend with recent Chinese kits. The panel lines on the wing look to be accurate for a -3. The cockpit doesn’t have a floor (which is correct), just foot troughs; however, the fuel tank under the cockpit is missing (Big T didn’t include one either). Easy enough to “fake” with a couple of pieces of sheet styrene to block off the “see through” effect through the lower windows. Both intercoolers are supplied, which is an improvement, although honestly they probably won’t be visible unless you really look. Underwing drop tanks are provided; however, as far as I know, they were never fitted to -3s — put them in the spares box and fill the holes in the lower wing. Markings are given for a colorful “yellow wing” Wildcat of VF-72 off the USS Wasp, and a gray aircraft of VMF-111 with red crosses applied during the 1941 war games. Highly recommended for fans of naval aviation.