Tamiya 1/48 F2A2 Buffalo

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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Well, here it is, my first “Yellow Wings” build in well over 40 years. This is the classic Tamiya 1975 vintage kit, in a later rebox, finished in the markings of VF-2 “Flying Chiefs” circa 1940. This was the first monoplane fighter plane taken into service by the USN. Paints are Tamiya for the aluminum lacquer & Lemon Yellow, Model Master Acrylics for the Chrome Yellow wing upper surface, and Testors enamel square bottle for the True Blue 3rd Section markings. Decals are a mix of kit decals, Microscale & SuperScale, and Yellow Wings Decals. Aside from adding a 3-D decal harness in the cockpit, everything else is OOB for assembly.

Posed on an Eduard US Carrier Flight Deck base that I painted into pre war colors

“Pilots… Man your planes.”

Thanks for looking, comments and critiques are welcome.

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Stik-Very nice build. weathering is subtle & effective and a subject not seen often here.

Question-was your MM Acrylic Chrome Yellow a recent purchase? I thought Testors had dropped the MM Acrylic line…however, I have a lot of 10+ year old bottles in the stash.

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Excellent work, Stik, she’s a beauty!! I love the little buffalo.

BK

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Great build Stik! You just gotta love a pre-war yellow winged plane, especially this little “pugnacious” little fighter. They weren’t too successful for the USN but the Finns sure used them effectively. Once again awesome build!

tjs

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Great job Stik - motivated me to start looking for a yellow wing subject

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Very cool,I had in mind the British Markings when I saw your heading,great job on the yellow

7

Hi,

Your build looks great. I’ve always liked the looks of the Buffalo.

Pat

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Excellent work Stik. Nailed the yellow perfectly.

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Comment removed.

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Nicely done, Stik. I’ve always liked the Yellow-Wing Navy aircraft. I have this Tamiya kit and the Special Hobby F2A-3 Buffalo in the closet. I think they’ll be on the bench sometime this winter. A build as nice as this one is a great motivator.

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That is great. The flightdeck is the best touch to add. The pilot helps also. Overall its just fantastic.

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My understanding is the Navy’s beef was not the plane itself, but with the company, which could not put out aircraft to the Navy’s schedule.

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A little of both. The Navy required modifications to the Buffalo to bring it up to its requirements for combat-ready, that increased the weight of the aircraft and made it slower and less maneuverable. And Brewster was beset with logistical and organizational deficiencies that meant it couldn’t fulfill its contracts successfully. The Navy even took over the company in 1942 and put the head of the Naval Aircraft Factory in charge.

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And that’s a beautiful model, Stik! Outstanding finish!

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Bob, Brandon, Tom, John, Tony, Pat, Lawdog, Damouav, Frank, Lurch, Baron, and Missilman, thanks one and all guys for your kind feedback on this build!

@bobbailey, the Model Master yellows are old purchases from when the paint line was at every hobby shop. I just don’t use the color that much to use it all up over the years.

@brandon, I’m with you on the Buffalo. I love those underdog aircraft types

@tom, the between the wars yellow wings markings are so attractive! Not attempt at concealment. Here we are! Lol! The F2A was a snappy aircraft in its original form, but the Navy kept adding weight to the design, and it couldn’t handle the weight.

@John, there are plenty of Yellow Wings subjects to be had. I sure want to do more now.

@Tony, the RAF camo looks good on these too. As do the Dutch and Finnish schemes [;)]

@Pat, the Buffalo does have it visual charm, doesn’t it?

@Lawdog, that yellow is such a beast of a color to get on properly. I actually did flat yellow over white primer under the final gloss yellow top coat to get the proper coverage.

@Frank, I’m with you on the Yellow Wings type. After this one I am planning several more, both Navy and Army [;)]

@Lurch, the flight deck was a fun little side project to tie in with this. And you gotta love those old Monogram pilot figures, this one being from their TBD kit that I built a few years back.

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Hi, Stik -

Hey, great job on the little flying beer barrel, as nice a Buffalo model as I’ve seen. It’s obvious you’ve become well acquainted with your 105 Patriot airbrush, excellent finish all around.

A very well built and detailed model, thanks for the post and photos. BTW, did you use a mask set for the canopy, or just use tape?

Patrick

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Thank you Pat. Yes, the 105 and I are well acquainted nowadays. Thank you once again for your kind gift of the airbrush!
I used good old Tamiya masking tape and a new xacto blade to mask the canopy and underside glass. And a bit of Microscale liquid mask on the bottom oval windows. It was time consuming with all that framework! I bought some True Details Fast Frames, but opted not to use them and save them for one of the other Buffalos in my stash.

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Great work, Stik! Like others, love the yellow wings. I finally got the old Monogram TBD Devastator last year, after years of looking on Ebay.(for the right price…I’m cheap) I really need to get off my ass and get back on my ass and finish some shelf queens…

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Thanks Beav. I hear ya about trying to score a Monogram TBD on eBay for a reasonable price. Good to hear that you were successful with that hunt.

And yes, get back to the bench, finish up some shelf queens and share 'em on here!

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Oh, wow…that turned out great, Stik. [Y]

As already mentioned, I too like your subtle weathering, and your overall work is outstanding as usual.

I’ve never paid any attention to this neat aircraft before. Sure has a chunky fuselage. I like it.