What would you recommand as the best F4F Whildcat model/aftermarket combo in !/48? I am interested in folding wings but not if it means sacrificing detail.
I think only Tamiya has one in 1/48, no?
There are details sets availables from Airwaves, canopies from Squadron, wheels, decals from a few other places…
Unless you wanna go with the 'ole Monogram kit. But I wouldn’t refer to that one as “superior”. [:p]
Getcherself a Tamiya kit, you won’t be sorry!
Fade to Black…
i am currently working on a Tamiya Wildcat, and am very pleased w/ the kit.
i am somewhat pleased w/ what i am doing to it. 
i read some reviews complaining that the floor of the cockpit is wrong.
all i can say is i am more concerned w/ the much more visible ‘missing’ 3rd navigation light on the fuselage. missing because i carelessly sanded it off while getting a little too enthusiastic cleaning up the sprue stub!
it’s a very nice kit w/ a beuatiful fit. (what’s that blackwolf, you were unaware that i am a poet as well? )
i have many Tamiya kits in the closet, but this is the first one that i have attempted to cobble together.
it is making me look almost competent!
my opinion does not carry the weight of the heavyweight builders on the site (nor should it), but i recommend this kit unreservedly. beuatifully engineered.
ed.
I too am building this kit currently. Many of you are aware of my strong loyalty to Tamiya, so I won’t drone on about how great I think they are.
I chose to scratchbuild about 90% of the cockpit. I am also opening most of the inspection panels, gun bays and cowling. None of this is really needed, but I wanted to superdetail a wildcat and recreate a picture of one I found.
You can’t talk about this kit without mentioning the big flaw…the cockpit floor! That needs to be addressed in some way shape or form. An easy solution is to trim away some of the most obvious parts directly around the foot troughs. This will give it a more realistic appearence. Otherwise the kit is excellent.
There is no provision to fold the wings in the kit. I have seen an aftermarket set of resin wings. I forget who makes them, but its a complete set of wings that you glue in the folded positon. No need to modify the kit. I believe it cost around $40-$50 dollars. Aires makes a resin/pe engine for this kit that looks great. It contains about 100 parts and cost $40.
Definitely spend your money on this kit, you won’t be disappointed.
Darren
Thanks fellow members for your help. Knowing that Tamiya is the only game in town makes things easier. Having read a few follow up reviews I chose the Tamiya with the Lone star (Dangerboy) folding wing. I am going with the Aires cockpit set but I am not sure if it solves the floor problem or if it is compatible with the Lone Star wing. I understand the Tamiya decals are not so great. What would be a good choice?
Here’s what I’ve found, by manufacturer and item number:
Ministry of Small Aircraft MZ4834
Cam 48110 (F4F-3) and 48111
Cutting Edge 48120
Techmod 48018
Superscale (if you can find them!) 48457 (F4F-3), 48723 (F4F-3) and 48724.