1/32 Wildcat

[Axis Nightmare]

First time I've seen one of these. Is it fairly obscure?

https://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/E ... 29690.html

There are several more 21stC. and FOV items listed this week out of Waco Texas.

[[CAT]CplSlade]

Not that I'm aware of; I have one.

[tmanthegreat]

That is the BBI Wildcat, which they released 10 years ago in 2007 on the heels of their 1/32 F-4 Phantom and SBD-5 Dauntless. The Wildcats are a bit harder to find now, especially as there was only ever the one release. The plane is in the markings of Colonel James Swett, USMC, during the Guadalcanal campaign when he shot down 5 Japanese Val dive bombers on April 7, 1943; an action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The BBI Wildcat is very sturdy in construction and highly detailed inside and out. It has pop-in-place parts for the extended and retracted landing gear. The canopy slides open and closed. There are no movable control surfaces. The pilot figure looks good, but it is a tight squeeze to get it into the cockpit. There was a lot of complaining around here when BBI released the Wildcat as it cost about twice what the 21c 1/32 planes were going for at Walmart, but the higher cost meant a better-quality model.

I've included some photos of my plane below for reference. If you can get one at a good price, it is definitely worth it!







Cockpit Details


Extended Landing Gear Details


Wildcat Pilot Figure


With the BBI SBD Dauntless


And just for kicks, some pictures of the excellent BBI SBD-5 Dauntless. Back in the day, this was an affordable alternative to the Hobbymaster 1/32 Dauntless and nearly just as good

[cnq]

Very nice. I have the BBI Dauntless too.

[Axis Nightmare]

Shopgoodwill.com:

https://www.shopgoodwill.com/search/Sea ... llerStore=

https://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/F ... 30054.html

[ketelone]

BBI's WWII aircraft are great. I wish they would have made more. The F-4s are great too. I'd welcome more modern aircraft as well.

[dragon53]

TMANTHEGREAT:

I see your Wildcat lost its belly antenna, too.
One area where the BBI Dauntless is far better than the Hobby Master Dauntless (other than its lower price) are the crew figures---Hobby Master pilots look like the bodies recovered at Roswell.
I wished BBI had released a 1/32 TBF Avenger.

[tmanthegreat]

Oh, I still have the belly antenna I just have it removed due to the Corgi stand I display the Wildcat on. Its stored safely in a box where I keep other small parts and accessories for my 1/32 aircraft.

And I completely agree about the poor quality of the Hobby Master 1/32 pilot figures... I know their first few Dauntless repaints had figures that are way under-scaled for 1/32, though later repaints had larger figures. The figure for their 1/32 Hellcat is little better... I was able to get a spare set of BBI Dauntless crew figures from a board member and have those in my Hobby Master Dauntless. They really improve the look of that otherwise excellent model!