Small Scale Military Headquarters

Since I am VERY new at collecting 1/32 scale 21C airplanes, and many of you fellow members really know your "stuff", please give me some input as to the F4U Big Hog; good/bad/must have, etc., and the upcoming British F4U (harder to give an opinion, I know, since it is not out yet); also the pick of the Bf-109's...already have the JG27 North Africa and the Ohly is almost in my household, but the other '109's. Lastly, am considering the "Snake" Stuka (always a favorite of mine); but what about the Balkans/Bulgaria and the Helmut Bode offering? Basically, what do all of you think is the "primo" or pick of the litter? THANK you for any input, as usual.

dV

I like the "Big Hog" Corsair, but personally, my favorite is the S1 "Devil Dogs" version. Both have similar paintschemes and are a close tie, IMHO, but my S1 Corsair does not have the blue blotch on the side of the fuselage that is present on the "Big Hog" version. (Other boardmembers have reported the blue splotch as well and I also saw it on a second "Big Hog" Corsair I bought, so it is a factory mistake). The only drawback to the S1 Corsair is that the bombs & rockets are painted a solid white, whereas on the other two Corsair releases, they are correctly painted.

As for the Bf-109s, I would recommend any of the new Bf-109Fs or 109Gs. Those are a vast improvement over the 32x ME-109E, which is a scaled-down version of the S1 1:18 ME-109, and has fat wings and an incorrect canopy. I do have a couple of the 32x 109Es and like the paintschemes, but the new 109Fs & Gs are superior. The new 109s are very accurate and between the four that are out, have slight variations between each aircraft, making each unique in its moulding and paintscheme. My favorites of the new 109F & 109Gs are the "Muthrich, JG 54" Bf-109F and the "Hackl" Bf-109G. The other two paintschemes in the series also look fantastic (even the silver 109G), but I'm only alotting myself one of each type...

As for the Stukas, I think the "Snake" version looks the best, or at least it has the most striking paintscheme. The "Snake" version also has the most accurate depiction of that famous paint scheme, based on new research. Alot of other members have praised the "Helmut Bode" Stuka, and it is the most standard looking and has the dive sirens, but I personally like the Bulgaria "Yellow Nose" Stuka.

In short, my favorites are the "VMF 111, Devil Dogs" Corsair, the "Muthrich, JG 54" ME-109F, the "Hackl, JG 11" Bf-109G, and the "Snake" Stuka.

Hope this review helps

TMTG....

Thanks for the detailed report.....just what I was looking for. As usual, thanks for the direction.

dV

Those blue splotches, are you talking about those right by the "1" on the port side of the fuselage? I've seen those splotches on illustrations of that particular plane, so I don't think they're a paint error. I just don't know the story behind them...

EDIT: here you go:

*The four dark blue patches on the left side of the plane represent battle damage accidentally inflicted on "Big Hog" on November 11, 1943 by VF-17's second in command Lt. Commander Roger Hedrick. (Hedrick later went on to become commander of VF-84 on U.S.S. Bunkerhill and his plane is represented in the Spec Cast Corsair #176 being released in the Fall 1998.)

On this mission, Hedrick and his wingman were pursuing a single Japanese Zero, which continued to elude them by flying in and out of clouds. Meanwhile, Commander Blackburn had been jumped by four and five Zeros. During his encounter, his windshield fogged over. since Blackburn was unable to see, he ducked into a cloud to avoid the pursuit and to give his windshield time to clear. As he came out of the cloud to reengage the Zeros, Hedrick who had been waiting for his lone Zero to reemerge, saw the plane emerge from the cloud, dove, fired a a burst and instantly realized he was firing at another Corsair. Hedrick was unaware whether or not he had hit Blackburn's plane until after they returned to base.

It has been reported that upon landing after the mission that commander Blackburn chastised Lt. Commander Hedrick by saying "You lousy shot, Roger. When those six .50's hit me, it moved the plane sideways". Nothing more was ever said.

nooker21 wrote:Those blue splotches, are you talking about those right by the "1" on the port side of the fuselage? I've seen those splotches on illustrations of that particular plane, so I don't think they're a paint error. I just don't know the story behind them...

EDIT: here you go:

*The four dark blue patches on the left side of the plane represent battle damage accidentally inflicted on "Big Hog" on November 11, 1943 by VF-17's second in command Lt. Commander Roger Hedrick. (Hedrick later went on to become commander of VF-84 on U.S.S. Bunkerhill and his plane is represented in the Spec Cast Corsair #176 being released in the Fall 1998.)

On this mission, Hedrick and his wingman were pursuing a single Japanese Zero, which continued to elude them by flying in and out of clouds. Meanwhile, Commander Blackburn had been jumped by four and five Zeros. During his encounter, his windshield fogged over. since Blackburn was unable to see, he ducked into a cloud to avoid the pursuit and to give his windshield time to clear. As he came out of the cloud to reengage the Zeros, Hedrick who had been waiting for his lone Zero to reemerge, saw the plane emerge from the cloud, dove, fired a a burst and instantly realized he was firing at another Corsair. Hedrick was unaware whether or not he had hit Blackburn's plane until after they returned to base.

It has been reported that upon landing after the mission that commander Blackburn chastised Lt. Commander Hedrick by saying "You lousy shot, Roger. When those six .50's hit me, it moved the plane sideways". Nothing more was ever said.

The historical background makes this a "must have" for me, now. Thanks nooker21 for the information,

dV

Awesome! Here I was thinking it was some sort of error, now I like the plane all the more knowing the blue splotch is not a misprint

It is sort of funny as I went and bought another "Big Hog" Corsair, after assembling the first to see if it didn't have the spot, figuring I'd switch fuselages and return the "defective" plane. The second plane had the exact same spot! You can also see it in the 21c promo picture for the "Big Hog" Corsair, and every profile I found of it on the site http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/571/3/3 also had the spot, so it should be there

What's funny is that I was rereading that history, and was hoping for a 32x repaint of the Bunker Hill corsair, and then realising that the 1/18 version is of Hedrick's later plane.