[STARMAN 352ND]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

One thing about Carousel that I don't care for much...On some of their planes such as the Wildcat and P-40, they advertise 'removable canopy'...I don't want a removable canopy, I want one that either slides (nicely) or give me two canopies- one in 'open' position and one 'closed'. What are ya s'pose to do with a 'removable' canopy???...Not too much to ask I think, for what Carousel is charging for their product.

That would be the way to go since Eagles has their canopies like that.
Two different type of canopies per model be great.
JP

[mustangdriver]

Yeah, I think that the Wildcat would look cool with it's canopy open. Other than that, I think they do a pretty good job.

[SKUNKY]

I wan't you to know that I agree with you for once....

I knew it was bound to happen some day.....

[planenutsfrog]

Simply great !!!

The removable canopy is necessary for the pilot to be removable too, though it would be better if it could be displayed open or closed...

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by mikeb1958

Yes, I was doing the same thing and I agree! The Easy Model version wins hands down!

I also did the same thing today. I notice more detail in some areas on the 1/48 scale Carousel, then greater detail on the 1/72 Easy Model (I think Carousel wins however). However, here is the most critical difference: the Carousel Model is an F4F-3; the Easy Model is not, it appears to be an F4F-4. In this critical detail, Carousel appears to have it right. Also, the colors on the Easy model appear off and the cowling appears to be painted incorrectly. Check out this site:
http://www.kitparade.com/features00/wildcattc_1.htm
I am not a Wildcat expert--just some observations I made. Any Wildcat expert out there care to offer 2 cents worth?

[Elmer]

Review
Carousel 1 #6182
Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, USN Bureau No. 1850
Lt. Charles Shields, VF-41, USS Ranger, January 1941

I delayed making this purchase until FM/A brought out its Wildcat castings. The pictures I could find of the FM/A models didn’t completely convince me (although I did not see great pictures), so I decided to go ahead with C1’s pre-war Wildcat (as I am a complete sucker for this colorful scheme); I received the model over the week-end.

C1’s packaging for this bird is typical: same box with molded Styrofoam pieces that you will find with their other models. The model is secured into the Styrofoam with two screw mounts into the fuselage’s undersides (the typical plugs are provided to conceal the holes; also no visible screw heads). The overall paint and finish work is first rate, just as you would expect from a C1 release. The graphics are pad printed, sharp and eye-appealing.

Overall fit is good, though not as solid as HM’s recent Buffalo release for example. There are seams on the fuselage, one on each side of the fuselage, aft of the trailing wing edge, running horizontally toward the tail; the seams join each other as they wrap underneath the fuselage in the tail area. The starboard seam is tight with no gap; the port seam is not as tight with a relatively slight gap (although acceptable to me). Look at Mark’s pictures and you will see the seam on the port side; I believe this seam fits tighter on my model than the one Mark photographed (the starboard seam is definitely tighter – no gap at all). There are also two short seams in front of the leading wing edge (one on each side of the fuselage) that end where the cowling is joined to the fuselage. Again, starboard is tighter than port (still acceptable to me). The model Mark photographed shows this seam tighter than the model I received. I like the cowling join line and am happy this was not molded as one piece with the rest of the fuselage. In sum, I don’t believe there are any glaring gaps or seams.

Now the details: the prop feels like metal, it is definitely heavy. It spins beautifully and is detailed/molded nicely. The red, yellow, and blue bands on the tips are perfectly applied (no overspray at all with crisp lines). The intakes at the front are nicely recessed. The engine is relatively detailed with two-toned paint: the front of the crankcase is painted light blue (although I am a bit color-blind, perhaps bluish gray?) with the remainder (cylinder heads, coils, etc.) painted black. You can see bolt detail on the crankcase, cylinder head detail, and depth. The engine looks like it has separately molded parts. In sum, it is nicely done. I wish HM would have given its Buffalo a metal prop with this level of engine detail. As you can see in Mark’s picture, there is rivet detail in the cowling area and on top of the fuselage in front of the windscreen. My guess is this simulates panel fasteners for engine access. There is also some underside rivet detail in the center of the fuselage between the two clear windows. There is no rivet detailing on the wings, tail, or on the fuselage aft of the wings. The panel lines are OK; they are not too deep but I would prefer them a bit less wide. Nice mold detail has been given to ailerons, flaps, rudder, and elevator (the flap hinges on the underside look especially fantastic). Exhaust stacks on the underside appear to be separately molded, slightly recessed, and nicely painted. The mold detail inside the gear well is great: there is bulk head molded detail aft of the gear and engine molded / bulk head molded (I am not sure which) detail in front of the gear (again, I wish HM would have provided this kind of detail on its Buffalo. The gear is put together in one piece and feels heavy (has to have some metal in the struts). It fits in with two prongs and a centerline magnet. This is C1’s first WWII bird without the glaring gear well plug. The main wheels are rubber and roll nicely. The gear is well done and the bird sits firmly on its legs. As I mentioned previously, there are clear windows (not painted) on the underside below the cockpit. The cockpit detail is typical of C1’s attention to detail in this area. The canopy is one piece – no open option (but removable). The pilot is rubber and needs to spend more time in the sun (perhaps a dirty wash applied might improve Lt. Shields?). The guns, pitot tube, and antennae are rubber; I got lucky – mine are not wonky (except the outboard port gun). You may be similarly lucky on yours or not. I wish C1 would replace these rubber parts with photo etched metal. Overall, I am more impressed with detail that I thought I would be when examining Mark’s great pictures. Oh, there is also a clear plastic light on the underside of the port wing.

The yellow wings, bands, green tail and white cowl are glossy. If this bothers you, be forewarned. I believe I read somewhere that these colorful pre-war birds were given a glossy finish and kept in more pristine looking condition than war-time era birds (anyone know more about this?).

Overall, I am happy with this model, more so than I anticipated. If I could improve it I would: replace the rubber parts with photo etched metal; give it a two piece canopy with open / closed options; replace the display base with an in-flight display stand; and provide for some positionable control surface (I love dropped flaps best when parked).

It is curious that FM/A poured rivet detail into its Wildcat castings while C1 did not. If you look closely at FM/A’s model you will also notice they did not give rivet detail where C1 did: in the cowling area. To me, this is curious in the extreme. In the end, I decided that FM/A perhaps attempted to mold the tiny rivet detail throughout while omitting the larger fastener screws on the cowling? Perhaps C1 did the reverse? I guess you have to judge which is more correct and which you prefer. I prefer the larger panel access fasteners to be molded while tiny rivets to be (for the most part) omitted.

Now if you made it this far, I hope this was helpful for you. If it was, it served its purpose. If it wasn’t, I am sorry you had to read all this babble.

Oh... and fly, sorry I couldn't post pics (re-read my earlier post). I am working on this, so someday. But my feeble attempt at pics wouldn't do the model any justice like Mark's did! If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask or PM me.

[chiefs70]

Excellent review, Elmer. Thanks for the time, effort and opinion. I thinking of ordering the Foss Wildcat so but the Shields has been on my mind as well.

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by chiefs70

Excellent review, Elmer. Thanks for the time, effort and opinion. I thinking of ordering the Foss Wildcat so but the Shields has been on my mind as well.

Yes, I heartily concur with the Chief on this one!