Correcting Hasegawa's 1/72 Finnish Buffalo 239

[John Walker]

I was just recently told that Hasegawa got the front end of their 1/72 scale Finnish Buffalo 239 wrong in that it slopes down too much effecting both the fuselage and cowling. I'm told that it matches the F2-2 rather than the F2-1. I'm also told that the 239 had a different engine than the F2-1. I have tried to find a solution online, but no luck. Can anyone confirm that the front end is indeed incorrect in the kit, and if so, is there an article somewhere showing how to correct this?

Thanks, John

[Nick Filippone]

Without doing any research on this and, dangerously trusting my memory, I am pretty sure that the Hasegawa Buffalo was issued in two different forms- one being specifically- supposedly-  of the version used by the Finns. I have built the shorter nosed version in American pre- war markings. The kit is designed with separate fuselage parts forward of the wing roots. The Finnish version has different and longer forward fuselage parts. I do not know if the cowl differs.  I have always been fuzzy about the subtle differences between the various iterations of the  Buffalo. I will think your most reliable reference source would be the Squadron Publication on the Buffalo. This was written by a former chapter member of ours Jim Maas and is thorough and authoritative. The Buffalo was his passion and he was exhaustive and demanding in his research. Additionally, as with most Squadron Publications, they are a good source of variations through their drawings. Good luck. I am going to my library now to scope this out some more. Nick Filippone

 

[John Walker]

Thanks Nick,

You are correct in that Hasegawa did issue 2 variants with the front end separate. I have kit #AP46 which states that it is for the Finnish B-239. I got my information regarding the profile from a club member who is Finnish and does a lot of 1/72 scale Finnish A/C. I do have some info on the B-239, including some from Jim and the more I compare the kit to the drawings the more I am convinced that my friend must have the other Hasegawa kit (F2A-2?) which I do not have. I do have the Squadron book, but can't locate it at the moment. I am mostly an armor builder (as Art Loder and Bill Ellis will tell you), but occasionally I dabble in A/C, so I was not prepared to dispute my friend, or question him as to which kit he used.  I am just going to build what I have and use some decals I picked up at the Finnish Air Museum back in 1993.

Thanks for your help, and I wish Jim was still active with you guys in NENY as I always enjoyed talking to him.  Maybe some day.

Thanks again, John