The Little World

My friend Warren once pulled up a Hobby Boss kit of the F4F Wildcat in early colours and it set me investigating. This plane turned up in one of the profiles out of a modelling magazine – I can’t tell you if the kit makers made theirs from the illustration or if the illustrator drew it from the kit. No matter, I love yellow wing Navy planes so I’ve been on the lookout for the kit myself.

Today was the day. The standard low Hobby Boss price, standard Hobby Boss packaging, standard lurid box art. Slip casting and a masterly simple treatment of the complex Wildcat landing gear. Not as detailed as the Airfix Wildcat or Martlet but wholly adequate for the yellow wing Wing.

It’s not perfect as an early F4F, as another modeller noted on a forum. But instead of merely bitching about it, he set about correcting the faults with a little sanding, filling, and re-scribing. And then described it well enough to let me follow suit. This takes the kit past the point where it can only be built to its own limits, and puts it up to me to build it to my own limits.

Wish me well.

Note: no wing stripes on the decal sheet…but these should be easy enough to find on another basic sheet or to spray-paint. I have confidence.