Special Hobby 1/48 F2G-1 Super Corsair Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

During World War II, aircraft (and other) manufacturers were called upon to produce weapon systems that were originally designed by other companies. This allowed for more weapons to get into the combat zones around the world in the shortest amount of time. In the case of Goodyear Aircraft Company, the Navy tasked them to co-produce the Chance Vought F4U Corsair.

In another case, General Motors was tasked to co-produce the Grumman F4F Wildcat and TBF Avengers. In both cases, GM not only co-produced the aircraft, they took over production and then improved on their designs. This has also the case with Goodyear. While they were turning out Corsairs for the Navy and Marine Corps, they looked at replacing the 2000 horsepower R2800 radial engine with the R4360 28-cylinder engine rated at 3000 horsepower (In Thrust We Trust!) which would give the Corsair truly impressive performance (not to mention torque!).

When the Navy gave Goodyear the go-ahead to develop the Super Corsair, the new design was designated F2G and also incorporated a similar cut down rear deck and bubble canopy for much-improved all-round visibility. The war ended before production momentum got underway with only five F2G-1 and five F2G-2 examples completed. Further production was cancelled, but could you imagine if the F2G had made it to Korea? I'd pity the MiG-15 that dropped below 10,000 feet.

The story of the F2G didn't end with the ending of World War II. Several of these aircraft were acquired by air race pilots (did I mention 3,000 horsepower?) and they found their way onto several race circuits. A few still survive today with one making the rounds on the airshow circuit.

Special Hobby strikes again. This time they've given us the first full-production rendition of the Super Corsair and is it ever nice. The kit is molded in medium gray styrene and presented on three parts trees.

The kit also includes a bag of resin parts that are mostly engine components - three complete banks of cylinders that mount to a base that has the fourth row of cylinders molded into its surface. A fret of photo-etch is provided with the instrument panel (and printed acetate instruments), rudder pedals, seat belt/shoulder harness, etc. Two complete vacuformed canopies round out the kit.

That big bubble canopy can be posed open, but either way, you'll have a nicely appointed front office to see. The cockpit is a mixture of styrene, resin and photo-etch, and provides some very nice detailing.

Take a look at that tailwheel structure. This is one of the few kits that replicates the detail of the tailwheel strut in some nice detail. The wing root air intakes are also impressively done and should give the wandering eye some nice places to peek, even with an IPMS Judge's flashlight.

The most impressive part of this kit though is the decal sheets. This provides the markings to render BuNo 88458 as post-war racer number 57 and registered as N5588N. This aircraft was flown by Cook Cleland in two major races in 1949 and has more recently been acquired and restored by Bob Odergaard where it now flies for airshow crowds.

In the hands of an experienced modeler, this should be an enjoyable build and will look great as racer 57, or in its wartime flight test colors. I've waited a long time for a full kit of this unique aircraft and after looking through the kit, it was definitely worth the wait.