What an eye! I had to look at several pics of -2's & -3's to see any difference. Finally on some shots, the -3 NLG doors are above the tire, but on the -2 they tend to overlap the tire and reach almost to the top of the wheel. I was thinking that the increase in length just smoothed out the profile. I have a dim recollection that one of the F2H variants (-1?) had a set of kneeling wheels that hooked to the front of the NLG and allowed the gear to cycle up so that the nose could be tucked under the tail of another plane to reduce deck space. I wonder if the -2 kept that capability by shortening or adjusting the NLG.

I first noticed it when I put my Hobycraft -3 beside my Airfix -2 and immediately saw that something was terribly wrong. The -3 does not look at all proper with its tail in the air. I know for sure that the North American FJ-1 Fury was able to kneel. The nose gear had a tiny little hockey puck of a wheel near its upper end which could be extended out a little door after the leg was manually folded. This kicked the tail way up and allowed for stacking. I can't remember anything about Banshees having a similar capability. Perhaps it was the FH-1 Phantom?

Ah, saw it in a book, "In-Action" or "Detail & Scale", hopefully I still have access to it...

I should have looked in Wikipedia first. The aircraft incorporated a novel design feature: “kneeling” nose gear consisting of a pair of very small wheels forward of the regular nosewheel. The nosewheel could be retracted so the aircraft rested on the smaller wheels, allowing it to taxi with its tail high in the air. This was intended to ease hangaring and enhance safety by directing the hot jet blast upwards while taxiing. The feature was found to be of little use operationally, however, and was omitted from later Banshee variants...The “kneeling” nose gear was omitted from the F2H-2 and most other subsequent Banshee variants.

OK, so I'm crazy, not insane! I did some research while building the old MPC F2H-2P, still have the Hobbycraft F2H-3 somewhere in the stash..

Hi there Glen has sent us some more CAD images and I've added them to the News item. Looking at Jessie's linked shot of a -3, the top of the fuselage looks basically level with the horizon, whereas the CAD view will have a distinct tail-down sit when the wheels are set horizontal. Perhaps the mainwheels are too small? - they do look small compared with Jessie's photos... Does the cut-out for the arrestor hook look a bit big in the side view? All the best Rowan

Is anyone else as aggravated as I am that this isn't a -2??? In a time when I can get an injection molded Jet Provost/Stikemaster, my only choice for an F2H-2 is the 50+ year old Hawk kit. The -2 is a historically significant aircraft and deserves a new tool kit. I'm glad for the -3/4 but I sure would love the earlier version too. Thanks for listening.

Rowan I think you're right. It almost looks like they forgot to draw the rubber part (or forgot to turn on the layer in the drawing which has the rubber on it). Dan, If they don't do a -2 they'll be missing a golden opportunity. I hope they issue the whole series.

Hi again Word from Glen is that Kitty Hawk are working on the issues raised. Keep 'em coming - now's the chance to suggest changes while the kit's still in the early design stages. All the best Rowan