Along with their 1/72 scale A-7A Corsair II, Hobby Boss have released a TA-7C 2-seater. As with its sister kit, this Corsair II packs in a surprising amount of detail for its scale. It arrives in a solid, conventional box and comprises:

184 x grey styrene parts
6 x clear styrene parts
Decals for 2 x colour schemes

The kit is obviously based closely on the single seater which Andy Brazier reviewed HERE, so I'll try not to cover too much of the same ground. The new version includes different fuselage and clear sprues for the 2-seater. As before, surface detail consists of finely engraved panel lines, some crisply raised details and embossed rivets. I'm sure the latter are overscale if you're honest, but the heavy-weathering brigade should love them, as they'll really pop out with a subtle wash. What is impressive is how Hobby Boss have extended the panel details right around the fuselage, with no sign of softening or ugly slide-mould marks.

A test fit of the new fuselage halves is encouraging. They are free from any warping and fit together very precisely, with the panel detail all lining up. The wings are a close fit to the contours of the upper fuselage, but there's a small gap at the leading edge root that will need a dab of filler.

The new cockpit consists of a simple tub into which fit bulkheads, seats and flying controls. The seats are a bit of a disappointment, being very basic, but I'm sure accurate aftermarket versions are available. The instrument panels and side consoles are blank - the details are represented by decals. This isn't everyone's favourite solution but, on the plus side, they are very well printed.

To go with the new fuselage halves, there's a new extended canopy. This is bagged separately to protect it and is thin and clear with well defined frames. There's a noticeable seam running down the centre which will need polishing off - this is an inevitable consequence of a 2-part mould needed to depict the bulged sides of the canopy correctly.

As with the single-seater, highlights of the kit include remarkably well detailed open avionics bays, an excellent main wheel well and undercarriage, plus a very comprehensive set of underwing stores, with 2 x sprues containing MK-82s, AIM-9Bs, FLIRs and drop tanks.

In his review, Andy voiced some concern about the shape of the nose. Well, the 2-seater is the same in this respect and, although I must stress that I don't have the necessary references to make an informed call on accuracy, it does seem a bit slim and pointed when compared to photos and a set of 3-view drawings that I found on-line. While it won't solve things completely, sanding the radome to make it blunter will help appearances somewhat.

The kit's instructions are excellent, with very well drawn illustrations of each stage. Gunze Sangyo paint numbers are keyed to most details and there's a very useful loading diagram to make sense of the plethora of underwing stores.

A separate sheet is provided with a full-colour painting guide for the following pair of schemes:

1. TA-7C No. 156767, VA-174
2. TA-7C No. 156757, also of VA-174

The schemes are basically identical with just the aircraft numbers changing. The decals are gloss finished and are very neatly printed in perfect register. The carrier film looks crystal clear and is kept pretty tight to the designs - and a nice touch is the inclusion of yellow edging for the canopy panels.

Conclusion

Hobby Boss's TA-7C will look fine sat alongside the single-seater and, as far as I know, is the only mainstream kit of this version available. Apart from the question over the nose contours, it looks a fine 1/72 scale kit and fans of Navy jets should be well pleased by it.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.