Academy 1/48 scale USN F4F-4 Wildcat “Battle of Midway” plastic model kit review

The Grumman F4F-F Wildcat was the mainstay fighter of US Naval aviation for the first two years of the Second World War. While it could not match the Japanese Zero in speed or agility, it was durable and easy to fly. Even after the combat debut of the Hellcat and Corsair, the Wildcat remained in production and combat service on escort carriers. Several kit manufacturers have produced the Wildcat, including this Academy 1/48 scale USN F4F-4 Wildcat “Battle of Midway” plastic model kit.

Cockpit construction starts off the build with sidewalls and an instrument panel decal. The seatbelts come as photo-etched parts, with shoulder and lap belts. The cockpit floor includes cutouts for the lower windows. Construction then moves to the landing gear and wheel bay. The landing gear assembly is very intricate, and care must be taken to align everything properly, or your model will not sit right.

At this point in the assembly, you have a choice whether or not to fold the wings! That’s right, this kit is the first in 1/48 scale to offer a wing fold option. Steps six, seven, and eight cover the folded wing option, which I chose for this build. Steps nine and ten cover the extended wings. The wings have internal bracing for the extended position. The fit of the wing joints is tight and should not require any filler.

Step 13 calls for the installation of the main landing gear. I left the main gear assembly off for ease of painting. The only external stores included are a pair of 58-gallon fuel tanks. The fourteen-cylinder Pratt & Whitney engine is well detailed, including two banks of seven cylinders each, a pushrod assembly, and the crankcase. The engine cowling includes both open and closed cowl flaps. The final assembly options offer an extended and retracted tail hook and open and closed canopies.

The painting options are all aircraft that participated in the Battle of Midway. I chose Lieutenant Commander J.S. Thach’s plane, the commander of VF-3 and inventor of the Thach Weave, which helped Wildcat pilots cope with the superior maneuverability of the Zero fighter. The decals performed well, but released very quickly from the backing paper. Be careful with the stars, as they like to roll up. The enclosed canopy mask set is a simple peel-and-stick, which makes prepping for paint a snap. The wheel masks are slightly undersized, so I recommend making your own mask with Tamiya tape or similar material.

I spent about twenty-five hours on this Academy 1/48 scale USN F4F-4 Wildcat “Battle of Midway” plastic model kit. The assembly was straightforward, with no pitfalls or problems. The inclusion of folding wings is carried out beautifully. The mask and PE coming standard with the kit is an excellent touch, one I hope more manufacturers will emulate. I used Gunze paints and decal solutions. My primary references were Squadron’s F4F Walk Around and Detail & Scale’s F4F and FM Wildcat in Detail and Scale.