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F-82 Twin Mustang |
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The F-82 was an outgrowth of the P-51 Mustang. Developed for the Pacific war as a very long range escort fighter, it never entered service prior to the end of that war. It did, however, live on to see some service in Korea as a night fighter.
This kit has been labelled under several manufacturers - Hobbycraft and Monogram among them. Unfortunately, it seems to have the bad luck all F-82 kits (such as the 1/48 Modelcraft kit) seem fated for - the fit of the parts are lousy at best. Hobbycraft's typically vague instructions don't do anything to help this, either.
Every single part in this kit was either warped, fit badly enough to need either a large amount of filler or a good amount of trimming. Flash was apparent on over half the parts. Mold seam lines abounded. And this, according to "Detail and Scale's" book on the P-51 (volume 2) is among the best fitting kits out there. Be afraid.
This is also one of the few kits I'll agree about disliking raised panel lines. With all the sanding, filling, and such, many lines disappeared. At this scale, sanding them all off would probably be best.
You'll notice in the photos of the model that one canopy is open, and one is closed. This is also due to the poor fit of the parts. Despite switching canopies, sanding, and fitting as best I could, the "open" canopy would not close without a large ridge or gap *somewhere.* I gave up.
The best I can say about this kit is, if you want a 1/72 Twin Mustang, and have a lot of patience, this is your kit. Otherwise, push Accurate Miniatures to complete their line of mustangs with a good F-82.