Twobobs Aviation Graphics

1/48 T-2C Buckeye Advanced Jet Trainer

Kit Number: TBK48-002

Reviewed by  Hub Plott, IPMS# 31328

MSRP: $62.35 Website: www.twobobs.net Even though I am predominantly a WWII modeler, I have always liked the T-2. Ever since I saw a privately- owned example perform at an airshow I have wanted to build one in 1/48. Several things have prevented this from happening in the past. There was no kit available for many years and then the resin kit from Collect-aire was more than I wanted to spend on a kit of a trainer. Add to this that the overall white/ international orange finish is one of the more difficult to pull off well and my personal loathing of the color orange due in no small part to it being the predominant color of our hated college football rivals the Clempson Tiggers ( Therefore, the likelihood of adding one to my collection was slim. ) Fast forward to 2010 and Two-Bobs rides to the rescue with a follow-on to their first kit; none other than a T-2C! Long known for their outstanding decals, Two-Bobs have only added to their well deserved reputation with this kit offering. The inclusion of a photo walkaround CD filled with outstanding pictures is a great bonus and will pay dividends to the casual modeler and super detailer alike. But before I get everyone to thinking everything went well, let me ask you. Have you ever felt that even when working with a very good kit that the modeling gods were conspiring against you? Read on and you will have my answer. The kit contains injected plastic, resin and vacu-formed parts. I found the plastic on the injection parts to be softer than that I have encountered in Special Hobby, MPM or Classic Airframes kits. The resin was very well cast and gives a nice representation of the T-2 front office. I do believe that Two Mikes will be offering a more detailed resin cockpit for those so inclined. I began with the cockpit assembly which is made up of a plastic floor, bulkheads and instrument panels and resin sidewalls, seats and some small detail parts. At first I was wondering why the instrument panel was injected and not resin, but once painted and assembled it really looked great. It would have been most helpful if there were some basic color callouts for the interior paint but none were offered in the instructions. Next came the bulkheads with the engine faces and outlets as well as intake and exhaust ducting and the injected wheel well. Next time I will replace the exhaust pipes with some plastic tubing of the same diameter. Also, don't forget to add nose weight or you will have a tail sitter! Having built a lot of limited run and resin kits, I had some concerns as to how all this would fit together and how much sanding and filling would be needed to close any resulting gaps. Surprisingly when all of this was offered up together, my example fit perfectly and there were no, I repeat, no gaps to deal with. Given the multi-media components, limited run nature of the kit and number of bulkheads and parts, this speaks very well to the quality of the mold design and finished parts! Points to Two-Bobs for this!! Assembly of the wheel wells, wings, and control surfaces all went well without any problems encountered, other than having to fill in some small blemishes in the leading edge that my sprue nippers had managed to cause. Construction of the sub-assemblies continued to move along with out any real trouble. The only real fit issue I had with the whole kit was when I went to offer up the cheek intakes to the fuselage. The intakes were between 1/16th and 1/8th of an inch larger than their mating point on the fuselage. After sanding them down and blending in with 3M Acryl Blue they looked presentable. The softness of the plastic really aided this. Also getting parts C16 and C9 to fit in the fuselage behind the exhaust took some gentle persuading. These were the only real fit issues I had on the whole kit. Next came joining the wings and tail. I chose to model my control surfaces in the raised position. There were some small gaps at the wing to fuselage joint and the same with the horizontal stabilizers. A little evergreen strip and Ambroid Pro Weld and these were taken care of in short order. The wing tip tanks went together fine, but the openings for the wings need to be enlarged just a little bit. As I was going to have my canopy closed, I did not follow the instructions to cut it into two pieces. I did have a minor fit issue with the one piece canopy and I don't know if I had followed the instructions to make it into two pieces I might have alleviated this. There was a small gap between the fuselage and front windscreen which was taken care of with 3M Acryl Blue. I confess I also wonder why Two-Bobs went with a vacu-formed canopy rather than an injected one. Now it was on to prime and paint! After a good priming with Mr. Surfacer 500 from the spray can followed with rubbing down with an old t-shirt I gave the kit an overall coating of Model Master Insignia White. After this dried for two days I began to mask it for the coat of International Orange. It was at this point that the modeling gods decided that I needed to be reminded that they were in charge. While masking I dropped the kit and one wing and the canopy broke free. So back to work to clean this up and get her back to the stage for adding the orange( did I mention that I hate orange) Once again I began to mask and yes, you guessed it, this time I knocked it off my bench and it went clattering to the floor knocking the other wing and both stabilizers off. Back into the repair shop, and then once again to the paint shop and masking for the orange. At this point I would like to add a recommendation for a product called Frog Tape. This is a painter's masking tape that has a paint activated micro barrier to stop any bleeding under the tape and I can say that it works as advertised and has become for me a must have modeling tool. It is available from Lowe's home improvement stores. Finally the orange was dry and masking was added to put the black on. When dry the tip tanks were installed and the landing gear sans tires. The instructions show cutting off the locating pins on the main gear legs, but you will also need to sand some more off to get them to fit. A good coat of Future and I was ready to decal. At this point I began to place some of the decals on the model. While concentrating on this I was not paying attention and my daughter's pet rabbit chose this time to come see me and lick my ankle (note to self, close the damn door next time). This made me jump and the T-2 got its first carrier launch. It flew beautifully but the landing was not so good. Off came the tip tanks, canopy, a wing and the landing gear. Back to the repair shop it went. After the repairs and repaint dried the modeling gods had one more parting shot for me as I spilled lacquer thinner on the starboard wing and fuselage and had to yet again repair, re-prime and repaint ( much cursing and an adult beverage or two were also involved before I resumed working a couple days later)! The one good thing was that through all the incidents not a single interior part came loose. As to the decals, what needs to be said other than they are by Two-Bobs! They are in perfect registry, perform flawlessly and look great! I was thankful that there were enough stencils for two aircraft so that those lost in the crashes and lacquer spill were easily replaced. In conclusion let me say that despite my trials and tribulations with this build, 98% of them were not due to problems with the kit. The only issues that I have with the kit are the fit of the cheek intakes and parts C16 and C9, the lack of interior color callouts and that on the extensive photo CD there were no shots of the intakes with the covers removed. It would have been nice to have a shot down the intake. I feel that even with the photo CD there should have been some basic interior color callouts for those less familiar with more modern aircraft in the instructions. And given how well the rest of the model went together, the poor fit of the cheek intakes was most perplexing! I can unequivocally state that this is a very good limited run kit! I enjoyed building it even with all the problems of my own making and given that due to the numerous accidents that befell this build, the finished model is not where I want it to be nor does it show the potential of the kit, I will probably tackle another one in the future. At $53 plus postage you get real value for your money, a great kit, detailed photo CD, and premium quality decals. There is a lot to be said for this model and the many pluses far outshine the few minor issues. I would rate it equal to kits such as the CA Wyvern and Gannet as well as offerings of MPM and Special Hobby from the same time. The more recent offerings by these companies are only slightly ahead of the T-2, it is a great kit that anyone with experience building limited run kits will enjoy building. I would like to thank Two-Bobs Aviation Graphics for providing this review sample and for producing a kit of a long desired subject.