Kit: No. KT003
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Grand Phoenix Model Products, available from Eagle Strike Productions, 12982 S.W. 132 Ave., Miami, FL 33186, fax 786-293-9286, www.eaglestrikeproductions.com
Price: $49.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 119 parts (28 resin, 20 photoetched-metal, 1 cast white-metal), painting masks, decals, photo-film instruments
Pros: Well-cast resin details, good recessed panel lines, beautifully printed decals
Cons: Resin landing gear wells fit poorly, photoetched parts difficult to work with, two of three markings choices are for the earlier FJ-4 version, decals silvered
The North American FJ-4’s uprated engine, new wing, and deeper fuselage made the last Fury look like a Sabre on steroids. The FJ-4B was optimized for strike, but by the time it came along in the late 1950s, Douglas A4D Skyhawks took much of the light attack duty.
Grand Phoenix’s gray and clear plastic, cast resin, photoetched-brass, and white-metal parts are bagged separately. The scribed panel lines on the plastic parts are delicate and consistent. The clear parts are adequately thin, but an application of Future enhances clarity. With paint and marking instructions on a separate color sheet, the instruction booklet includes a brief history, exploded assembly drawings, some paint color suggestions, and a parts map.
Options include an open or closed canopy, deployed or retracted tail hook, and under-wing fuel tanks. No ordnance is included, and only two under-wing weapons pylons are provided. The inboard and outboard pylons are absent.
The finely cast-resin components are for the cockpit, wheels, wheel bays, and exhaust cone. The seat harness, instrument panel, rudder pedals, and ejection handles are photoetched-brass. An interesting feature is a pre-cut vinyl sheet with masks for the canopy and wheels for easy painting.
The decal sheet is beautifully printed, and has markings for the Navy’s VA-116 “Roadrunners,” and Marine squadrons VMF-232 “Red Devils” and VMF-451 “Warlords.” However, according to photos in the best reference on the Fury, Steve Ginter’s North American FJ-4/4B Fury, these Marine aircraft are FJ-4s, not FJ-4Bs. The differences are the externally mounted radar altimeter behind the nose gear and the extra set of dive flaps near the jet exhaust. If you are handy with filling and filing, you can easily convert the kit to the FJ-4.
The canopy masks provide only the outside edges; I had to fill the central portions with my own tape. Moving on to the cockpit, the bottom edges of the seat frame must sit flush with the floor so the seat will clear the canopy.
Dry-fitting the fuselage revealed the engine intake would not leave room for the resin nose-gear well. Since most photos show the wheel cover closed, I cut that section of the bay out and kept the door closed. Then I worked on fitting the strut mount to the remaining opening and squeezed in BBs to keep the nose down.
I had similar problems with the resin main-gear wells inside the plastic wings – not enough room. Usually, only the small outboard gear doors are open when the aircraft is on the ground, so I used only the outboard ends of the gear bays and worked them in to fit.
Even though I painted the model with glossy enamels and tried Micro Set and Sol, the decals silvered. I had to use Solvaset and careful prodding with a brush to get them down. The fuselage national insignias and “NAVY” decals were a bit too big and crowd each other when compared with photos.
My sample’s windshield fit perfectly, but the canopy was too long when closed. Without rails, the canopy is difficult to attach in the fully open position. None of the electronic gear that sits on the canopy deck behind the seat is given.
The finished model is about 1/8″ too long and the span about 1/4″ short. It sits a little tail high, probably due to the main gear struts being a bit long – an easy fix.
All the fiddling added to the 37 hours to finish my model, more than I usually spend on a fighter in this scale. However, the cockpit is beautiful, and it is a pretty airplane. It’s not a kit for beginners. If you intend to include all of the resin gear wells, add pylons and ordnance, and devote more time, you’ll have a fine model.
– Allan F. Jones