1/48 KittyHawk FJ-2 Fury

[ghodges]

Just finished up my 1/48 Kittyhawk FJ-2 Fury. I'd built it when it was first released in NMF and in Marine markings, but I wanted a blue one in US Navy markings so I hunted another kit down (was out of production... soon to be rereleased). This time I incorporated some Hypersonic 3D printed correction parts and some Quinta resin decals for the interior. I also added a scratchbuilt intake cover just to avoid having to blend it all in to the lip!

Although KH gives you complete gun bays, I closed up their doors and omitted their parts inside as well. I also omitted the kit engine and glued the rear and front fuselage halves together. Though KH gives you some interior bulkheads, they're just for "show" and are of no help in joining the halves together so I added a thin strip of plastic inside that joint to strengthen it.

The gray parts are Hypersonic 3D printed parts. The KH FJ-2 kit has NO detail on the rear ledge behind the cockpit and Hypersonic corrects that as well as providing a better seat. KH also molded the kit tail planes and rudder with the later -3 corrugations along their trailing edges so the Hypersonic parts provide the earlier -2 non-corrugated trailing edge flying surfaces.

KH would have you trap and add the nose gear assembly when you glue the fuselage halves together which means it would be sticking out in the way. However, IF you grind off the front 3-4 raised ribs in the roof of the nose gear well the nose gear assembly can be slid into place late in the build. The nose gear assembly is fiddly and you need 3 hands to put it together, but its worth the effort so as not to have it in the way for most of the build. Note that this one includes the Hypersonic replacement nose gear leg that has better detail and also is wire reinforced.

No one makes a cockpit set for the KH Furys (yet). KH gives you decals for the cockpit consoles and main panel. The side console decals are quite nice. However, the main panel decal is atrocious by comparison. I decided to use a Quinta resin cockpit set for F-86 Saberjet (after all, the FJ-2 is essentially a navalized Saberjet!) in order to get a much better main panel and side panels than the kit could provide.

This build fought me a bit more than the first one I built, but I attribute that to "user error" in that my incorporating the Hypersonic cockpit parts may have caused the main intake to be positioned slightly lower, which interfered with the fit of the wings to the fuselage. Also, the decals I used were from a very old MicroScale set and they wanted to come apart if I left them wet for too long before sliding them on, causing much frustration and a lot of repairs to the markings. If I had to do it over, I'd paint the blue trim instead of using the decals. But, I stubbornly fought my way to the end and now have my "blue Fury" to accompany my NMF FJ-2 and gray and white FJ-3 on the shelf. On to the finished pics!

It's a shame the KittyHawk went out of business as they were releasing some long neglected subjects in 1/48 and getting better with each release, though they did tend to mold overly complicated kits. I was glad to hear that the molds were picked up and are being rereleased this summer (check Squadron for what's available). 

Critiques, questions, and comments are welcome as always! Cheers!

 

Gil 

Edited June 21, 2024 by ghodges

[StuartMont]

Very cool looking Gil.  The blue, red and green colors really catch my eye and the usual incredible finish is awesome. That is something that I am finding very hard to do right, it is quite impressive. 
 

12 hours ago, ghodges said:

after all, the FJ-2 is essentially a navalized Saberjet!

I have a 1/32 Sabrejet waiting that I would love to paint the same colors. Any chance you can share the specific colors you used and I can look for acrylic equivalents?  That would look really cool on my shelves.

Stuart

[ghodges]

Thanks for the very kind words! I used Model Master enamels overall, but the colors are very common: FS 15042- Dark Sea Blue (gloss); 31136- Insignia Red; and in the wheel wells and speed brake bays 34151- Interior Green. Those are common FS#s and should be available in acrylic from someone. The blue trim is decals.... but it's a common Sky Blue color with white edging. Cheers!

 

Gil 

Edited June 21, 2024 by ghodges

[dmorrissette]

Love it. And good news. Kitty hawk is back and issuing kits. Sold the molds to somebody. Squadron has a bunch now

 

Dave

[Jmarc]

LLLLLLLLLOOKING GREAT and well done also , way to go SIR and thank you for sharing it with us, it's quite appreciated !