F-80C Shooting Star

Czech Model, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Czech Model's 1/32 scale F-80C Shooting Star is available online from Squadron.com
 

The Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star represented a major milestone in US military aviation.

Although it was preceded by the Bell P-59 Airacomet as the first American jet fighter to take to the skies, the F-80C became the first American jet fighter to see front line service.

In fact, despite being overshadowed by the reputations of the MiG-15 and the F-86 Sabre during the Korean War, the F-80C Shooting Star flew more than 100,000 sorties - more than any other aircraft type.

For such an important aircraft, models of the F-80 Shooting Star have been relatively rare.

In fact, Czech Models' 1/32 scale F-80C is the first time that we have seen an injection moulded Shooting Star kit in this large scale.

Czech Models' 1/32 scale F-80C Shooting Star comprises 78 parts in grey coloured plastic, 12 parts in clear, 24 cream-coloured resin parts, a colour photo-etched fret plus a large decal sheet with three Korean War marking options.

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Thumbnail panels:

The plastic is smooth and features crisply recessed panel lines, plus selected rivets and vents. The tail has some raised panels too. The overall effect is restrained and impressive.

There are a few raised ejector pins inside the wing halves that may interfere with fit. These should be cut off prior to assembly. There is also some flash on the fuselage and in the wheel well openings that will need to be cleaned up with a sharp hobby knife.

The cockpit is nicely detailed with a beautiful coloured photo-etched "sandwich" for the instrument panel, a resin seat with a busy jumble of harness straps, and basic side console detail moulded to the plastic tub. It looks like, with care, the ejection seat may be made to slide along the vertical rails too.

The intakes ducting is a three-part assembly that is installed between the wing and the fuselage.

Wheel wells are boxed in with separate parts. Don't forget to drill out the locating holes for the bombs and / or drop tanks if you decide to install them.

Control surfaces are moulded in neutral positions, but the separate air brakes may be posed open if desired.

Two styles of resin wheels are supplied with different hubs and tread patterns, but the instructions do not indicate which wheels apply to which marking option. Check your references. A third set of wheels is also attached to the plastic sprues.

Two styles of drop tanks are offered - the 165 Gallon Lockheed tanks (similar to those carried by the Lockheed Lightning in WWII), and the more cylindrical Misawa 265 Gallon tank.

Clear parts include a thin and distortion-free canopy, plus several alternate styles of wing tip navigation lights. Once again, the modeller is left to his own devices to work out which style applies to their particular model.

Instructions are called out over 31 steps in a 12 page booklet. The construction illustrations are presented as exploded CAD diagrams.

Markings are provided for three colourful Korean War options:

• "Saggin Dragon" of the 16th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, Suwon, Korea, March 1951.

• Serial 49-423, 8th Fighter Bomb Group, Wing Commander's aircraf, Suwon, Korea, March 1952

• "Li'l Dottie", 80th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter Bomber Group, Taagu, Korea, December 1950.

The decals have been printed by Cartograf, and they look fabulous - glossy, well saturated and with a minimum of carrier film.

Czech Models has delivered an impressive and well detailed kit of this aviation milestone.

The straightforward breakdown of the parts should make Czech Models' 1/32 scale F-80C Shooting Star a good prospect for modellers looking for their first large-scale limited run kit.

Thanks to Squadron for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2009 by Brett Green
Page Created 12 March, 2009
Last updated 13 March, 2009

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