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Cold War (1950-1974)
Discuss the aircraft modeling subjects during the Cold War period.
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KittyHawk F2H-2 Banshee build
betheyn
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#019
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Posted: Friday, November 04, 2016 - 02:27 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Well, rats. I just noticed another Kitty Hawk error that is in the gun bay. They misinterpreted a photo and in effect added a third ammo can as a "block" on the aft bulkhead of the bay. See today's update here: http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2016/09/kitty-hawk-148-f2h-22p-banshee.html

This post also includes illustrations of the gun sight needed for the fighter version.

Hi Tommy,
Good spot, I didn't notice that, but I was really looking at any inaccuracies as you technically cant use the gun nose out of the box.
It does seem strange that KH would add that block in there when no photos show it. Also it means the two ammo boxes have been moved forward as well to incorporate the third box.
Andy
betheyn
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Posted: Friday, November 04, 2016 - 02:32 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Andy,
The fit of the outer wings once again adds another major issue to this already very disappointing release by Kitty Hawk. As you said, it's clearly the intention to have the wings in a folded position, then why offer the choice half heartedly?

Did you opt to fill those seems with some homemade plastic goop? You've once again managed to over come another glaring issue. One question, are you planning on trying to fill in the gap inside the wheel wells?

Joel

The join is a pain but not too difficult to fix, one way to avoid it would be to glue the top half of the wing to the inner wing then glue the bottom half to the lower inner wing (if you can work that sentence out lol).
The "goop" is Vallejo plastic filler, which isn't bad and dries quite quickly.
The join in the bay won't really need fixing as the large wheel bay door covers it, as it stays closed when not in use. The only time that bit opens is when the undercarriage is in the process of being lowered and raised.
Andy
betheyn
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Posted: Saturday, November 05, 2016 - 03:06 AM UTC
Last part of the build before I start painting.
The kit comes with some nice Photo etch speed brakes for the wings, which I will fit after painting and decaling.

The tail planes are on and fit well. None of the surfaces are moveable.

The canopy is crystal clear, but it doesn't actually show the canopy in the open position in the instructions.
The canopy will need a lot of work to show it open as KH doesn't include the mechanism that lifts the canopy off the fuselage.
There is also a few bits missing and oversized on the rear decking (as highlighted in Tommy's blog).


Andy
Jessie_C
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Posted: Saturday, November 05, 2016 - 04:10 AM UTC
It looks as if it wouldn't be terribly difficult to build those canopy levers. They're not a complicated shape. Doing the tracks inside the cockpit might be a trifle more challenging.
betheyn
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Posted: Saturday, November 05, 2016 - 04:41 PM UTC

Quoted Text

It looks as if it wouldn't be terribly difficult to build those canopy levers. They're not a complicated shape. Doing the tracks inside the cockpit might be a trifle more challenging.

The arms would be easy but as you state the runners with the rollers would be awkward and would need pre planning and careful thought when building the cockpit.
Hopefully some A.M company will endeavour to address the problem.
Andy
betheyn
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Posted: Saturday, November 05, 2016 - 04:44 PM UTC
Well its painted.
The blue was Humbrol's Midnight Blue from a rattle can. The silver was Model Air Silver. Red was Tamiya XF-7 Red.
It has now been Gloss coated ready for the decals.

Andy
P.S As you can see the tail pitot tube has been knocked off.
Redhand
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Posted: Saturday, November 05, 2016 - 06:22 PM UTC
Looking at this kit so far I have to say that it'a a real dog's breakfast. It "resembles" the real thing but there are so many details that are wrong -- flaps, nose gear, canopy opening device, gaps in wings at lower fuselage join, and at the bottom of wing folds, no gunsight, and that humpback engine nacelle, etc. etc. -- that to me it's already in the "more trouble than it's worth" category.

In short, I think you're doing the best job you can with a very flawed product. I thought I had ordered two of these, but no: thank goodness!

Are all their kits this messed up?
Jessie_C
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Posted: Sunday, November 06, 2016 - 02:23 AM UTC
This one seems to be the worst for major shape errors. Their other kits are all pretty much good; any inaccuracies can easily be corrected without major surgery.
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, November 06, 2016 - 08:31 PM UTC
Brian,
I have KH's Cougar, it's just a horrendous kit. Each Fuselage half is comprised of 4 sections which makes for major alignment issues. There are other issues as well that I honestly didn't care to deal with for the time being, so that's as far as I got. A real disappointment.

I've been sitting on the fence about their 1/32 scale Kingfisher, and the reviews from a few trusted builders are as I feared. Over engineered, fiddly fit, especially the engine and engine mount. Still, I've got to eventually have one.

Their F-101 Voodoos both have part alignment issues, details that they copied from the old Monogram kit rather then taking a look at the real aircraft such as starboard side vents, and the list goes on. With a lot of extra work a decent F-101 can be built.

As I alluded to before, Kitty Hawk seems to prefer quantity over quality. If they cut back on the number of new kits, and put more time, effort,and funds in their R&D, the kits would be sure winners. But they rather look to maximize their bottom line with offering of dubious quality.

Joel
litespeed
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Posted: Thursday, November 10, 2016 - 01:44 AM UTC
Accuracy aside, you are doing a fine job with the construction and painting Andy.
tim
betheyn
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Posted: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 06:08 PM UTC
Thanks guys.
Finished pics.





One last inaccuracy by Kitty Hawk is the position of the nose wheel, wrong angle and too far back compared to the real aircraft.

Decals are for this aircraft of an F2H-2P of VMJ-1 in Korea.


So how do you sum up a kit that has numerous inaccuracies and a few fit problems.
Well its a nice kit of the Banshee as long as you don't put it next to any photos of the real aircraft, has some good options and some nice decal schemes in the box.
A nice kit that could have been a world beater, but failed due to poor research.
Andy
P.S Kit is now in the bin as it didn't survive the journey to Telford Scale Model World, both wings fell off, and I really couldn't be bothered to fix it.
Joel_W
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Posted: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 11:39 PM UTC
Andy,
Nicely done, and congrats on crossing the finish line.
Joel
litespeed
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Posted: Monday, November 21, 2016 - 01:30 AM UTC
That's a shame to read of the demise of your Banshee after all that effort Andy. Nicely done anyway and thanks for an entertaining build log
tim
Joel_W
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Posted: Monday, November 21, 2016 - 10:14 PM UTC
Andy,
I somehow missed your binning of the Banshee. Sorry it didn't make the journey.

As I said before, you did a great job on a kit that just plain didn't measure up to today's standards, which is entirely Kitty Hawk's issue not yours.

Joel
betheyn
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Posted: Monday, November 21, 2016 - 10:47 PM UTC
Thanks for the kind words guys, the kit could have been so good, but it was a let down in the end.
I probably could have salvaged the kit, but I would have had to strip down the wing, refill the join and repaint it, as well as re-align the other wing, but in the end it was to much trouble, and I have better things to do .
Andy
Redhand
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Posted: Thursday, December 01, 2016 - 03:39 AM UTC
What happened!? Did you trash it in frustration?
Redhand
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Posted: Friday, December 02, 2016 - 12:48 AM UTC

Quoted Text

What happened!? Did you trash it in frustration?


Never mind. Saw this: "P.S Kit is now in the bin as it didn't survive the journey to Telford Scale Model World, both wings fell off, and I really couldn't be bothered to fix it."

It'll live forever here on the net.
betheyn
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Posted: Friday, December 02, 2016 - 02:33 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

What happened!? Did you trash it in frustration?


Never mind. Saw this: "P.S Kit is now in the bin as it didn't survive the journey to Telford Scale Model World, both wings fell off, and I really couldn't be bothered to fix it."

It'll live forever here on the net.

Sorry Brian, only just spotted this.
It didn't even make it out of the box for the Telford show, so the only place it has been seen is here .
I might even buy another one if I see it dirt cheap, and do the gun version.
Andy
Redhand
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Posted: Saturday, December 03, 2016 - 09:01 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Sorry Brian, only just spotted this.
It didn't even make it out of the box for the Telford show, so the only place it has been seen is here .
I might even buy another one if I see it dirt cheap, and do the gun version.
Andy


I was thinking of buying a couple of these to make both versions (someday, maybe, perhaps) until I got into this build you put together. I thought you did a really good job on a badly engineered kit.

By far the worst, an unfixable element in it is the extended hump in the engine nacelle where it joins the fuselage, but I also duly noted some of the gaps in the wings, the errors in the nose bay, and the inaccurate nose wheel strut. Still, except for the ancient Hawk kit it's the only game in town, other than Collectaire (sp?) which I would recommend to no one.

The one thing that surprised me in your build, and this is not a criticism, was the tint of the blue paint in the pictures. I've always understood this dark navy blue to be almost black, or at least much darker.

Anyway, I enjoyed the build and thought that the final product looked good given what you had to work with. The pictures of the real thing were really impressive too.

If you build another one, I'll definitely follow along!
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