The T-33A was the advanced jet training workhorse for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy in the late 1940s. Based on the F-80 Shooting Star, it was a reliable design that kept it in active duty roles with many air forces into the 1980s.
This Special Hobby issue is a reprise of the kit originally issued under the Czech Model label for Squadron Products. This “Over Europe” edition has markings for five European aircraft. A 16-page color instruction book leads you through construction.
The kit is molded in neutral gray plastic. The surface texture varies from smooth to slightly grainy, about what I’d expect with a short-run kit. The kit also includes color photoetched-metal parts and cast-resin accessory parts, including the wheels and ejection seats.
Having built many short-run kits, I’ve learned to inspect the parts thoroughly and do plenty of test-fitting before starting construction. Most of the molded openings and part edges require cleanup. The engine intakes were complex and tricky to assemble. I was surprised to find the fuselage halves were different lengths – the left side is slightly shorter. Also, the upper-right wing panel is wider near the wingtip than the lower wing panel.
I started assembly with the cockpit — it has a plastic floor and side walls that are detailed with resin and photoetched-metal instrument panels and console sides. The resin ejection seats are neatly cast and feature seat-belt detail. Careful painting will bring out their details nicely. You’ll need to glue weight into the nose to keep the model from being a tail-sitter.
After installing the cockpit tub, the nose-wheel compartment, and the engine-exhaust nozzle to the right fuselage half, I dry-fitted the fuselage parts. They wouldn’t close properly, leaving a wide gap on the bottom of the model near the tail. The exhaust nozzle is too wide. I decided to remove the nozzle and install a modified part later.
This exposed another problem — the fuselage halves are different thicknesses, leaving a out-of-round opening at the tail. Sanding and filling evened things out eventually. I cut a small section off the kit’s engine exhaust and slid it into place from the outside. It looks OK, but if I were to do this again I’d make a replacement from metal tubing.
The intake trunk gets a bit complex. This multipart V-shaped assembly is attached to the lower wing and the fuselage fits over it. Test-fitting the complete assembly revealed things were extremely tight. I decided to leave the top wing panels off to give me more flexibility. This worked fine, and I attached the panels later without a problem.
After joining the fuselage and wings, a couple more fit issues came to light. The wing saddle would not conform to the fuselage profile; it’s not round enough. The wing-root joint at the intake junction is too tight, and it’s difficult to cement together. These areas needed a lot of sanding and filling to resolve the issues. Also, it was a challenge to get a smooth fit at the wing roots. Extra dry-fitting will really pay off as you build.
I painted my T-33 with a combination of Tamiya and Hobby Color acrylic paints. Decals are provided for five colorful schemes, and the ones I applied went on nicely with just a little setting solution.
My primary reference was F-80/T-33/F-94 in Action by Larry Davis (Squadron/Signal Publications, ISBN 978-0-89747-099-5). I also found several color photos of the aircraft on the Internet.
I completed my “T-Bird” in just under 50 hours — more than I anticipated. I found it was a difficult build, due to the poorly molded parts that created many fit issues. I can only recommend this kit to experienced modelers up for a challenge.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the March 2015 FineScale Modeler.