Background

To suit the special requirements of the United States Navy, the Mk. 5 seat was introduced in 1957 and its production paralleled to that of the Mk. 4. In general the Mk. 5 seats conformed to the same basic pattern of the Mk. 4 and included the standard 80 feet per second gun, 1¼ second time delay with g switch and barostatic control, duplex drogue system plus all the other features necessary for their use at all speeds and heights. To meet specific American crash requirements however, the seat structure and harness were strengthened to withstand deceleration loads of 40g, instead of the 25 g British specification, resulting in a slight increase in weight.

The seats were provided with special canopy breaker peaks on the head box to provide for the eventuality of having to eject through the canopy. On the majority of the other Mk. 5 seats the American system of jettisoning the canopy was linked up with the face blind firing handle. The low level capabilities of the Mk. 5 seat was successfully demonstrated in August 1957, when Flying Officer Sidney Hughes RAF ejected from a Grumman Cougar at the U.S. Naval Air Test Centre, Patuxent River, before a group of high ranking U.S. Navy Officers. The two seat Cougar was traveling at 120 knots on the runway when Hughes activated the seat during the staged demonstration. Subsequently, the decision was made to standardise the Martin-Baker Mk. 5 seats for all United States Navy jet fighters and trainers.

Contents

This new 1/48 release from Pavla provides a very detailed resin Martin Baker MB Mk. Z5A ejection seat as fitted to the F3H-2 Demon. The single seat is packed in a transparent resealable bag. There is no damage at all to the seat. The seat is one piece and has the harnesses cast onto the seat and back cushions. Attention to detail is very good with crisp detail including oxygen bottle, pipe work, seat adjustment handle, harnesses and buckles. The drape of the harnesses looks very realistic and the subtle undercut around the edges of the harnesses will make painting a lot easier. The double overhead activation cord is nicely reproduced. Pavla have captured the busy look of the seat very well
There are no painting details so either use the kit instructions that the seat is intended for or have a look at the excellent martin baker website for further details.
The seat is attached to a casting block, which needs to be removed.

Conclusion

This is an excellent rendition of the Martin Baker MB Mk. Z5A Ejection Seat and anyone thinking of building the Hobby Boss F3H-2 Demon should consider acquiring one. As good as the Hobby Boss seat is, there is no harness detail and there is none included on the kits photo etched fret.