Hi guys!
Has anyone every built Revell’s F-7 Cutlass? I know it’s an older kit from the '60s or something like that. I was just wondering if it still built up into a nice model. What are your thoughts on it?
Thanks!
Eric
never built but imho i’ll never get one, see the link under
LOL! I can’t read German (thanks to our fighting boys in WW2). As far as I know, the review could be saying this is simply an amazing kit with no gaps and flawless fit. Good looking pilot figure though! I’d lightly sand and tone down the rivet details but, aside from that, it seems like an alright kit to me of a very under-represented cold war era fighter.
Eric
Glancing through the review it’s pretty much as i expected to read… Nice and easy build but expect plastic residue on the sprues, spartan detail, outdated mold (1953 the reviewer says!)…sink marks…etc. etc.
The revell classics i have built reflect this too. Don’t expect a kit that falls together or without flaws. These kits are old and have been reissued for nostalgic reasons. Best regard it as such and you will most likely have a good time with it.
Richard
Thank you, Richard, for the translation and summation! It would certainly be an interesting addition to my collection. My favorite subject is U.S. WW2 aircraft. My second favorite are all the early jets from the late '40s and into the '50s. I think they were designed with such grace and beauty while the jets of today leave me feeling cold and with a hospital-like sterility. There’s just no “style” anymore.
Anyway, thank you for the insight! I’m tempted to pick up this kit and have it sitting on my desk at work after it’s done.
Eric
As mentioned, the old Revell kit is pretty good as far as shapes are concerned, but pretty bad when it comes to the detail and fit we are used to today. If you are more interested in the Cutlass than just having an old kit, I recommend the Fujimi (also boxed by Testor) 1/72 F7U-3 Cutlass as the best plastic kit out there. If you need 1/48 scale, the HobbyCraft Canada kit is OK, kinduva scale-up of the Fujimi without an increase in scale fidelity. Then of course, there is the great 1/32 scale Fisher resin kit if you want one big time!
it’s in 1/72 scale but the fujimi kit is good as alternative, never me stand german but spuers pics talk itself [whstl]
The one thing i can put in defence of this kit and speaking from my own experience is that i would very much enjoy doing the revell classics Hawker Hurrican again. For 25 euro’s you get an outdated kit that has lots of filling and sanding demands, an almost non existant cockpit and the odd shape flaw.
But yet,… you couldnt find a 1/32nd scale hurricane for that money anywhere and both times i have built it i had the greatest fun ever.
Richard
It is a re box of the old Hawk kit, the type that fit the box scale. No detail at all. I would go with the Hobby Craft kit in 1/48 scale. I built one and still have one in my stash. It isn’t a shake and bake kit but isn’t that hard to assemble for an experienced builder.
Sorry, Berny13, but the Revell kit was not a rebox of a Hawk kit. Hawk did not make a Cutlass. The Revell kit dated from the mid-1950s, and I believe was first issued without landing gear, along with a Cougar and the F-94C. These were the first Revell aircraft kits. They were later upgraded with landing gear parts, and some of them continue to be produced (old molds or not) today!
Aurora made a Cutlass with a -3 on the box art, but with a rather poor -1 in the box. The neat thing about it was that it was almost exactly 1/72 scale. Lindberg produced a 1/48ish kit of the F7U-1, and like most Lindberg kits, it is still generally available.
My one and only encounter with the “Gutless” in kit form was a brace of them in a very small scale that came as a part of the deck load on a now forgotten 1950’s aircraft carrier model, probably Aurora, and probably a Forrestal class. I don’t really care enough to dig back and find it. I think it also had Furies.
Tamiya made a really swell Skyray in 1/72 and I wish they’d do this one too.
Kind of in the same league as Sea Venoms and Sea Vixens. A fascinating period in av history.
Just to note, the Fujimi Cutlass kits are about a mid-80’s vintage with recessed panel lines. There are three flavours (in separate kits), F7U-3, F7U-3M (with a quartet of early Sparrow missiles) or the F7U-3P recon bird prototype with a camera pack under the nose. All very nice kits. [:D]
Once again showing my age, I originally built this kit back in the mid 60’s. It was an odd box scale w/ detail that was typical of the time. It had a one-piece cockpit with the pilot molded to the seat, raised panel lines (including decal locations), ‘see through’ engine intake & exhaust, landing gear that could be built extended or retracted & four pylons with sparrows.
I enjoyed building it and don’t recall and major fit problems. Like most kits of that era, it presents a great opportunity to work on your scratch-building skills if you want to add detail.
Mark
I know this’ll sound funny…I went to the the Hobby Town yesterday after I picked my two girls (ages 4 and 8) up from school. Since they have been such good little girls, I surprised them with the trip to the shop. My oldest one is fascinated by the Titanic and I thought her eyes were going to pop out when she saw the kit on the shelves. But she and her little sister both decided they wanted to build their own cars. Lilly picked out a '73 Monte Carlo snap-tite kit while my youngest one, Sophie, picked out a 2010 Shelby Mustang GT. That one is a glue kit so we’ll work on it together.
Bottom line, I ended up spending enough on those two kits that I never did get the Cutlass from ANY of the manufacturers! LOL! You know how it is…family of four, single breadwinner, watching the bills, etc…
But my birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks so I know what I’ll be asking for from relatives. [:D]
Eric
I’m showing my age by stating it was the Aurora Forrestal carrier kit; I built it and still have the Cutlass and Furies from a second, later build.
My German vocabulary is more limited than Kermit, but his translation of the website matches my understanding of the kit review.
I somewhat regret not having the old Revell kit as I missed owning it as a child.
Thanks to kermit for the Revell Hurricane kit.review. I’ve been considering the kit for the same reason; cost.
Hans von Hammer’s build thread is really responsible for prompting my interest in the 1/32 kit.
echolmberg :
Very happy to read that the youngest family members were seduced by the dark side of the plastic industry.
A great time for dad to bond with the kids.[:D]
Just got one for my “Blue Angels in Transition” diorama… It’s a big one as my dioramas go… All 1/48 from the F6F to the F-18… So far, only the Hellcat, Bearcat, "Beetle Bomb SNJ and Bearcat, and the F-4 are finished… Having trouble locating a couple of the others (for what I’m willing to pay)…
Last time I bought that Lindy Cutlass, it was .69 cents, IIRC lol…
I’ve seen the Lindberg offering but, judging solely on how the built-up models look on the box, I’ve never been impressed much by what Lindberg has to offer. I like their subjects, but they appear to be sorely lacking in detail and off in their basic shape. I have never built a Linberg kit before though so maybe I’m making the mistake of judging a book (or model) by its cover.
Eric
The best Lindberg kit I’ve built is the VTO Pogo.
No interior, but the internet can probably provide info on that.
Worst part is the lack of a decal for the aircraft manufacturer:
/forums/t/93551.aspx
…and for some reason I’m unable to make the link work.
Pasting into the web browser will work.
Slightly off topic [prte], but, who makes the 73 Monte and what scale is it?
Mike
No, in this case you’re right…
Lindberg kits are only for experienced modelers… Definately not for those who can only glue, paint, and apply decals…[:P]
No Lindberg kit would EVER win at a contest…
Right Fermis?[;)]