Revell
F-89C Scorpion
1/48th Scale, Kit # 4825
By Norris Graser
This model was originally tooled in 1989 along with the F-89D/J, which was released by Revell in 1990. This version has never been released, but since the kit does date back to 1989, it should be no surprise that it features raised panel lines.
I
did much of the original photography for Revell on this project in 1988 at the
Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona. As I sat on a forklift sitting over the real
aircraft I remember thinking how big the Scorpion was. After finishing the
model, you will agree!
The
cockpit consists of some 13 pieces including 2 different ejection seats. When
assembling it, you will note the aft seat is set a little off to the starboard
side, which is, in fact, correct. I left the two ejection seats and the rear
main instrument panel off until I had completed the painting, as they would just
gather overspray.
The
fuselage is not in halves; more like thirds would be a better way of describing
them with two side pieces and one large underside piece. As this same
arrangement was popular with the A-6E and SU-25 designed during the same time
frame, I was a little apprehensive as those two kits suffer from fit problems on
the underside. Happy to report that this is not the case with the F-89C as the
piece fits well and only needs a little sanding to blend in. I didn’t care
much for the cannon barrels molded on the nose of the aircraft. You may want to
drill them out and replace them with brass tubing.
As
my kit was for Revell box art, I used the rockets supplied for use under either
wing. If I were building the kit for myself though, I probably would have
eliminated the launch rails and tossed the rockets. Doug Barbier had mentioned
to me that operational use was suspect. So I went looking……. sure enough, I
could not find a single photo of an F-89C with rockets or even the launch rails
attached except on test aircraft. I
found the rockets a little on the thick side and if you do use them, you will
have to thin the fins some.
Care
should be taken around the wing roots. The port wing fits perfectly to the wing
root on the topside but underneath you will find the root is a little too fat
and needs to be sanded down to blend with the wing. I did this before attaching
the wing. The starboard wing fit is a little less accurate topside. I suspect
that the edge that butts against the wing root is not a perfect straight edge as
the leading edge and aft edge touch but there is a small quarter inch section at
mid point that does not quite touch. Carefully sand the edges for better fit.
Underneath you will find a slight gap at the root that will require filling.
Fortunately there are no real serious problems with the wings and those that are
apparent are easily corrected. The worst being out of view, underneath the
aircraft.
Wing
tip pods are of an earlier type and are therefore finless. If you use the kit
markings for the 74th FIS, you will have to scratch them from plastic
card. The wing tanks pose the biggest problem with this model, as the fit is not
very good. I sanded the wing edges and the tanks for best fit where they join,
but I still had to fill the resulting gap on both the top and underside. Super
glue made the job go quickly and after test painting, I was satisfied &
moved along to the landing gear. If you do have problems smoothing the tank to
wing joint, I suggest that you select an aircraft scheme which includes a color
and not a natural metal finish. Most colorful schemes feature that part of the
wing painted with black or Arctic Red, so you probably won’t have to be overly
careful about how well the parts blend.
The
main landing gear posses no major problems other then the inner gear doors,
which have hinges molded on them for posing in the open position. I was able to
find just two photos’ showing them in the down position when the aircraft was
at rest. They belong up and though cutting the hinges off is not a problem, you
will find the doors are slightly undersized. To fix this, center them with even
spacing all around and glue to place. A little white glue will even out the
width enough to be barely noticeable.
Instructions
indicate putting the two side walls (with open doors attached) in place into the
nose wheel well before adding the multi piece gear. This cannot be done, add the
assembled gear first, then the side walls. Use slow set glue like MEK and you
will have no problem with this step. By the way, it is a shame that the really
busy and intricate looking detail on the nose gear assembly is completely hidden
in the wheel well as not much more then the wheels are exposed when placed
properly.
The
windscreen requires minimal attention to seat properly and if you choose to show
the canopy in the closed position, the fit against the windscreen is very good.
I
painted most of the aircraft after it was assembled taking care to put tissue in
the cockpit and masking the windscreen from overspray.
I used SNJ spray aluminum and after sanding with 6000 and 12000 sanding
cloth, I selected a few panels & hit them up with Gunze Aluminum and
Stainless. The exhaust section was sprayed with Model Master Burnt Metal and
Exhaust.
I
used Future Floor acrylic over panels that would be decaled. After decaling, I
brushed another coat then lightly airbrushed metallic paint over much of the
Future covered areas to eliminate the monotone effect created by using a clear
coat.
At
this point all that was left to do was to add a few odds & ends, attach the
ejection seats and rear instrument panel and canopy. Last item on my agenda was
to attach the vertical tail tip and horizontal stabilizers as I left them off
for easier painting and decaling on the tail unit. The tail tip has a tab that
sandwiches the horizontal plane and the fit is perfect.
References:
F-89 SCORPION in action, Davis & Menard,Squadron Signol, 1990 ISBN
0-89747246-2
NORTHROP F-89 SCORPION, Isham
& McCleren, Schiffer Military, 1999, ISBN 0-7643-0065-2
WINGS OF FAME JOURNAL Vol.6, Dorr, Airtime Pub., 1997 ISBN 1-880588-23-4