# KittyHawk's 1/48 Flapjack



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

The Vought XF5U-1. One of my favorite weird things came out in 1/48 recently, from KittyHawk Models.
Here it is in what-if operational markings for VF-82 aboard the USS Essex in 1945.














































Kit decals for the national markings, home made Alps decals for the individual aircraft markings. The nose art flapjacks is clipart.

The drop tanks are from Tamiya's Corsair kit.

I totally screwed up the windshield with glue-bleed.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Boy you didn't waste any time getting the Flapjack built. Despite the glue bleed on the canopy it looks pretty sweet. All the weathering on the hull gives a nice scale effect. 

I've been thinking about getting one and doing it "in flight". It just looks so ungainly on it's landing gear.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Not easy to find a good angle to photograph, either! :freak:


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

Yes, that looks _really_ good! I've got the proof of concept Flying Pancake in 1/48 in my stash somewhere. I'll have to get this one too.

I haven't bought any Kittyhawk kits, how are they, such as detail and fit?

Thanks,
Carl-


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Detail and fit is fine. They overdo some things, like the oleo scissors being two separate pieces, and some other kits having tiny detail parts (like itty bitty airscoops) that other makers would have molded into the larger part - my fingers are too fat for tiny stuff like that.

I was advised that the props were on the wrong sides (they counter-rotate outward), so I swapped them and took new pics for my final website page:
http://www.inpayne.com/models/planes/flapjack48.html


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Looks great. Kittyhawk gets mixed reviews. People love the subjects but often have issues with accuracy or fit.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

They're F-35C is annoying me now. Lots of parts that don't have positive fitting tabs, but fit to a specific contour on another part. It's easy to be off a mm or two.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The new MiG is supposed to be FUBAR


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## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

That looks fantastic! 

I love the nose art, and yes, I can imagine it would be hard to photograph that weird beast. 

Being a big What-If fan myself, seeing one of those in 'full operational' fit makes me smile!

Shame about the cockpit, but I'm sure we've all had it happen. I have, many times. thats why I use White Glue; even when there's too much (always...) it does dry pretty darn clear.

Well done, man!


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Beautifully done as always John, love the weathering and markings.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Thanks kidz! 

I long ago discovered that soaking the windshield in Future prevent glue from fogging it. I thought I was safe. The problem was that much of the canopy was in contact with the instrument panel shroud. So when I delicately touched a tiny brush of Tenax on the seams, it got sucked up into the space between the windshield and the shroud. Instant visible mess.


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