Manufacturer: Classic Airframes, P.O. Box 577580, Chicago, IL 60657-7580, 773-665-7817
Kit: No. CF445
Scale: 1/48
Price:$44.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 107 parts (29 resin), decals
Pros: Excellent resin parts, excellent decals, good recessed panel lines
Cons: Poor fit, errors and omissions in the instructions, weak landing gear assembly, thick canopy can't be opened
The J2F Duck was used for photography, target towing, scouting, and rescue work throughout World War II and into the 1950s. The J2F-5 and -6 versions had more powerful engines, a longer streamlined cowling, and many internal upgrades compared to earlier versions.
Classic Airframes' J2F is well-molded in gray and clear styrene. The recessed panel lines are fine, but some of the parts had flash. Unfortunately, the molds were misaligned slightly, resulting in struts that were zigzag in cross-section. The kit also includes 29 well-cast resin parts for the cockpit, prop, and other small accessories.
The mostly resin cockpit has good detail, but there is nothing for the cabin below, and you can see that lack of detail through the large square windows. The plastic instrument panel is not as detailed as the rest of the cockpit. Removing the resin parts from their pour stubs requires care - I shattered my control stick and had to find a substitute in my spares box. I had to carefully trim the pilot's bulkhead (R3) so the canopy would fit properly.
After reviewing the instructions and doing some preliminary dry fitting, I decided to attach the forward fuselage parts (F6 and F7) to each fuselage half (A1 and A2) before closing the fuselage. This made it a lot easier to refine the fit and clean up the joints.
Next, I assembled the gear well but decided to leave off the delicate landing gear assembly until later. I spent a lot of time dry-fitting the cockpit and gear wells to achieve a good fit. Still, once they were in place, the two fuselage halves would not align properly. One side of the fuselage was just a bit longer than the other. I made up the difference where the engine attaches to the fuselage. The misalignment also played hob with the round intake at the base of the forward fuselage. I bored out an oversize hole and fashioned a new intake with styrene tubing.
I was worried about the strength of the undercarriage. Using either the kit retraction-arm parts or the recommended styrene rod replacements might not have provided sufficient strength. I recommend using brass rod cut to the lengths shown in the instructions.
The support struts for the horizontal stabilizers were too short, so I replaced them with styrene rod. The stabilizers and lower wings butt the fuselage with no tabs or alignment aids. Attachment was tricky, especially the lower wings which needed 5 degrees dihedral (not mentioned in the instructions). I made a simple jig to hold the model while the glue set.
The instructions err in the position of the cabane struts; the faired ends should mount to the upper wing. I left the upper wing off until the final assembly to simplify painting.
The engine is beautifully cast in resin, but it is too large to be enclosed in the cowl. All I could do was trim the top of the cylinder heads so the cowl would fit.
The kit decals are excellent, and offer three different marking schemes: A U.S. Coast Guard Duck in the mid-war tricolor scheme; an aluminum and red USAF OA-12 Duck from the 10th Air Rescue Squadron, and the early war blue-gray-over-light-gray scheme of Fleet Air Photographic Unit 3.
The kit's one-piece canopy is too thick to separate and open to show off the cockpit detail. When I mounted the propeller, I discovered that the blades were long enough to collide with the float. I snapped them off the hub, sanded them down at the roots, and reattached them.
My last step was to rig the Duck with a combination of steel wire and stretched sprue. I had already drilled holes in the wings and fuselage, which simplified the rigging.
This is a challenging kit, even for experienced modelers. I spent just over 50 hours building my Duck.