Hobby Boss

1/72 Grumman-General Motors FM-2 "Wildcat"

Kit Number: 80222

Reviewed by  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $9.99 US Distributor: MMD/Squadron Website: www.squadron.com Review kit courtesy of my wallet. History The Grumman Wildcat was the standard U.S. Navy carrier-based fighter at the beginning of World War II, and several major variants existed. The first production model, the F4F-3, featured non-folding wings, a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-79, -80, or -90 engine, and an armament of four .50 caliber machine guns. Some models had a scoop above the engine cowling. The later F4F-4 had folding wings and six machine guns in the wings. They also had the air scoop above the cowling, and some were equipped with drop tanks or bomb racks. British models were initially called Martlet, and some had Wright R-1820-G205A engines. Propeller type varied with each model, with Navy versions having cuffs for cooling, while the British versions did not. Grumman's development of the far-superior F6F "Hellcat" caused them to contract with General Motors Corp. to build a version of the F4F-4 designated FM-1. This was built at the General Motors Eastern Division plant at Linden, New Jersey, and these are sometimes called "Eastern" or "General Motors" FM-1's and -2's. The only difference between the F4F-4 and the FM-1 was that the FM-1 had only four wing guns. A total of 909 FM-1's was produced before a new development, the FM-2 , appeared. This was the production version of Grumman's XF4F-8 prototype, a lightweight version, with four guns and a taller fin and rudder, and 4,777 were produced, making it the major production version of the Wildcat. These were used by composite carrier air groups for such tasks as close support, anti-submarine patrol, and for combat air patrols over the invasion fleets. Some were equipped with rocket rails for the close support role, while others were also used for advanced training, and quite a few survived the war to be sold as surplus. Several were later used as sprayers, and a number of them are still flying as warbirds. Reference Material. You'll need reference material for this kit. Bert Kinzey's Detail in Scale series, Vol. 65 is good, and has excellent 1/72 scale drawings. The earlier Vol. 30 is also useful, but Vol. 65 had more up-to-date material. The Squadron "In Action" No. 84 issue on the Wildcat is also useful, but one of their profile side drawings of the FM-2 shows the wing oil coolers, which, of course, were not on the FM-2. In addition, Barrett Tillman's Osprey No. 3, Wildcat Aces of World War 2, also provides much valuable information. There is plenty of information available on the Wildcat. Instructions and Decals The instructions are printed in color on one sheet of high-gloss paper, showing some assembly symbols, a good sprue diagram, four exploded assembly drawings, and two sets of color three views of a sea blue aircraft from VC-93, and a Sea Search scheme from VC-36. These are typical for Hobby Boss kits. Decals are glossy but well done. The Kit Hobby boss began this series with a pair of early model Wildcats, the F4F-4 and the FM-1, which are reasonably accurate models with identical molds. These are 'easy build" kits that, while not perfectly detailed, will result in a perfectly acceptable 1/72 scale model of a famous aircraft. For the FM-1, you will have to remove the outer wing guns, but this is a very simple process. The undercarriage, which looks like a very complicated structure, is molded in two parts, and looks realistic when assembled. It is really quite simple and fairly convincing. The engine and propeller are nicely detailed, and you even get two canopies, one open and one closed, although there isn't a lot of cockpit detail to expose.

The FM-2 kit, however, is another story. It is also a good kit, but needs a lot of work, as is described below. Although HB included the tall fin and rudder and a new engine cowling without the air scoop, everything else is the same as the F4F-4 kit, meaning that there is a lot of work to do to convert this kit to an FM-2. The FM-2 fuselage has four exhaust indentations behind the cowling, which need to be cut out and filed to proper shape. The small teardrop shaped fairings just ahead of the wing root leading edges need to be removed. Since there is no clear window under the belly of the FM-2, this clear plastic unit needs to be filled in and painted over, and some putty is required here. Don't forget to remove the small radio mast, as it is not used on this version. The dorsal radio mast is correct, but slanted forward as it was on the F4F-4. This needs to be cut off and reinstalled in the vertical position. The prop is straight F4F-4, and should be replaced with a cuffless one. I used the prop from an Airfix FM-2, which is perfect. Some FM-2's had small spinners on the hubs, while others did not, so check your photos to be sure. Don't get rid of the kit prop, as it would work nicely on a Navy Brewster F2A Buffalo or another Wildcat kit. The trim tab on the left wing is OK, but the right aileron tab on the FM-2, and all other Wildcats for that matter, should be centered and it extends beyond the trailing edge of the wing. The outboard wing guns need to be removed, along with the underwing oil cooler housings, and this can be tricky if you don't want to destroy adjacent detail. The aileron ribbing it too pronounced, so it needs to be sanded down to realistic proportions. The elevators are nicely done, but they take some trimming to get them to line up correctly. Wing fit is reasonably good, but it is a pretty tight fit. In some ways, this kit would be easier to reconvert back to an F4F-4 or one of the British versions than it is to 'convert" it to an FM-2. Although no wing tanks are provided in the kit, I added these, using tanks from the spares box that must have been from some earlier Wildcat kit, probably Academy. These are easily attached under the wings. Painting and Finishing I have always liked the Navy's "Sea Search" white under light gull grey color scheme, as was usually seen on escort carriers engaged in anti-submarine patrol over the Atlantic, often in the company of SBD "Dauntlesses". My model was done from a photo in Kinsey's Wildcat in Scale series, Vol. 65, which is also one of the options given in the kit. This was an FM-2 of VC-35 operating from USS Core in the North Atlantic during 1944. FM-2's carried the traditional tri-color scheme, the overall sea blue, and the "sea search" schemes, and even a few were overall orange yellow, not to mention the Royal Navy camouflage finishes, so there is certainly no shortage of available color schemes for these models. Just be sure to check references and photos for authenticity. Photos of the model include comparison photos of a Hobby Boss F4F-4 from the USS Ranger, 1942, and an MPM-Academy FM-2 of VF-26, USS Santee, 1945, in sea blue. Recommendations Overall, this kit is a quick build, especially suitable for young modelers who want to get it finished NOW! For the serious modeler, it is still a fun build, but it won't be the snap-together built we are used to seeing from Hobby Boss. I enjoyed building the kit, and the research and corrections were fun too. It is worth getting, as the only other show in town, the old MPM-Academy conversion kit, may not be readily available. Recommended.