KIT #:	61310
PRICE:	$30.00
DECALS:	Two options
REVIEWER:	H Davis Gandees
NOTES:

HISTORY

In 1939, the Brewster Buffalo along with the Grumman Wildcat were the Navy’s first monoplane fighters. Although obsolete by WWII, the Buffalo’s last U.S. combat was at Midway Island. The remaining Buffalos were sent stateside as advanced trainers. They were flown night and day when not being serviced and repaired. This particular aircraft is a patchwork of various parts from wrecked aircraft and is very weathered from the S. Florida sun. It has been ground looped at least once as both wing tips and ailerons have been replaced. Note the rear green house has been painted over to reduce cockpit heat. Unfortunately, #21’s BuNo is unknown as it was lost when the rudder was replaced.

The kit was released in 1993. Tamiya released several versions of the Buffalo until 2004 when Classic Airframes released the F2A-3 in 2005 until a final release in 2017. The Kit consists of 3 gray sprues and a clear sprue and a decal sheet with 2 options. There are excellent instructions of 8 pages and 12 clear illustrations steps including color call outs for Tamiya XF acrylics.

At the time this model was built there was no kit available for the late model F2A-3, so I decided to convert the Tamiya F2A-2. This required stretching the nose ahead of the firewall 10 scale inches with formed sheet styrene and the area re-scribed. The engine also had to be moved forward to match the lengthened fuselage. The prop spinner was deleted and a correct prop hub was made from styrene tubing. Barely visible in the photo is a gunnery camera mounted on the starboard side of the fuselage that I constructed from sheet styrene, round and square tube with a wire connection and data plate. A rear-view mirror was also constructed from shaped sprue and attached to the upper windscreen.

The model was painted with various mixed hues of Model Master enamel gray and blue that was applied over aluminum and zinc chromate that was worn by light wet sanding exposing the layers of paint. From the firewall aft, washes and powdered graphite were used to match the photo.

Note that the sliding canopy for the F2A-3 has no metal framework other than the overlapping clear panels.

Right after finishing this model, Special Hobby released an F2A-3. Isn’t that the way it always happens! The kit is the classic older Tamiya product that is a simple but an accurate rendition of the Buffalo. I would recommend the kit to new modelers as it is simple and has excellent instructions. Still readily available online for $25-$40.

Squadron Signal F2A Buffalo in Action No. 81