This is the Revell F-89 Scorpion, 1/72 scale. I built the it stock,
straight out of the box.
Revell has a nice little kit here. It
features well-done recessed exterior panel lines. Cockpit detail is
reasonable, tho the instruments are represented by decals. You can build either
the "D" or a "J" version of the '89...and if you can track
down the relevant photos, you could also build a "D" model with
"J" fuel tanks.
The model goes together pretty well,
with only the 3-piece fuselage being particularly fiddly. Kit
decals allow for 2 options: a Maine-based 75th FIS F-89D done in the Arctic
scheme, and a North Dakota ANG "J"-bird . I believe the
latter is depicted
somewhat incorrectly. The instructions call for the Arctic scheme,
but the photos I have indicate a conventional NMF, with day-glo outer tip tanks.
In either scheme, the anti-glare panel decal is too big, but can be easily
trimmed to the right size.
It took me about 3 years of on-and-ff
work to finish this kit! At one time, I'd pitched the whole
thing--unfinished model, its still-unattached parts, the instructions and
box--in the kitchen wastebasket, I was so ticked off at how poorly I was doing
on it. But the next morning, I got everything back out and proceeded to
work on it at irregular intervals.
My F-89 was painted and buffed
with SNJ, then accented with Testors Metalizer paints, plus metal-finished bits
of decal. I painted the plane while it was still in
pieces--the fuselage, wings, tailplane, horizontal stab top, underwing pylons,
tip tanks. With careful sanding and some strategic "metal" decal
placement, these sections fitted
together pretty well afterwards. This was my 7th attempt at a
natural metal finish, and my first successfully completed effort.
Markings came via Skylancer Decals, a
company which makes an absolutely cool sheet for F-89Js--Sheet CW-7203.
They offer 3 schemes with this sheet, and all are tastefully sharp-looking.
One is for a "J"-bird from the 321st FIS in 1958, featuring a sky blue
vertical tail section with yellow stars. Another is a 58th FIS aircraft,
circa 1957,
tricked out with mint green-and-dark blue tip tanks, along with a
streamlined speed bird. The third option--the one I chose--is for
the 54th FIS, stationed at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota in June of 1958.
Besides the snazzy lightning bolts adorning the tip tanks, there's a colorful
squadron device on the tail.
Skylancer Decals are well printed,
sturdy and complete. If you're a '50s Jet Age or Big Bomber fan, check
them out on the Web.
Bill
|
|