Collect Aire 1/48 F3H Demon Build Review
By Fotios Rouch
| Date of Review | February 2015 | Manufacturer | Collect Aire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | F3H Demon | Scale | 1/48 |
| Kit Number | 4816 | Primary Media | Resin, Vac, White Metal |
| Pros | It used to be the only kit of this subject in this scale | Cons | See text |
| Skill Level | Experienced | MSRP (USD) | Out of production |
Build Review
Fifteen years ago or maybe further back, the only way for me to get a Demon in my collection was to purchase the expensive Collect-Aire resin kit. The kit maker was supplied with good research material which he followed blindly as always and the resin was basically OK for the times back then. The model was augmented here and there. The kit supplied knockoff Sparrows were immediately thrown away and were replaced with plastic ones and the ejection seat was seriously augmented. The rest of the model was left alone. The resin was worked quite a bid to fill defects and air bubble gaps, etc. Overall, I was pleased with the kit as it filled a serious gap in my collection.
Later, two different plastic kits came out but all of the 1/48th scale Demons are plagued by the same front fuselage/intake/canopy position and proportion anomaly. Dimitri from DMold explained it to me and showed me how to fix it but I really wish that he makes a resin correction one day. You should see his scratch built Demon that he made back in the day. Amazing.
I have seen some amazing builds of the plastic Demons in shows and on the web but one thing that puzzles me is why modelers drop the rear flaps and not the forward flaps or slats? They went down together.
All in all I am happy with the kit in my collection even though I bought all the plastic kits to make more version and different decal schemes.