AMT 1/48 F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Round 2 Models has been steadily reissuing the classic aircraft kits from the venerable AMT kit series and the F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair will be arriving in stores in the near future. Those of us old enough to remember when Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings will have also assembled a few of these classic kits. Some might simply overlook these kits for the more modern and more detailed options on the market, but not so fast...

At a recent IPMS/USA event, I was approached by several folks looking for the right kits for their kids or grandkids. Walking through the vendors' room is normally a fun shopping experience until confronted with those constraints. The vast majority of the kits there are either new (and expensive) releases or classic collector's (also expensive) kits. A trip through some of the local hobby shops wasn't much better. Which gets us back to these AMT kits - we gained our modeling experience from kits made by AMT, Lindberg, Hawk, MPC, ERTL, etc. What better way to teach the next generations of modelers than with the offerings from these very same toolings?

Here is the F4U-1 reissue molded in dark blue styrene and presented on five parts trees, plus one clear part. From the outside, the kit is a simple rendition of the Birdcage Corsair and the cockpit is simple, which isn't an issue with the one-piece transparency keeping that all closed up. The kit does provide options for landing gear up or down with different gear doors used for each option plus an optional pilot figure is included.

Markings are included for four examples:

• F4U-1, 17-F-25, VF-17
• F4U-1, 17-F-26, VF-17, USS Bunker Hill, 1943
• F4U-1, 17430, VMF-214, 93, Ondonga, 1944
• F4U-1, VMF-213, 1, Guadalcanal, 1943, 'Reluctant Dragon'

The street price of this kit will be around $15 USD when it does arrive on store shelves. This is not a snap-together kit, this does require glue, and a few simple tools (knife, file), and some paints. But in the hands of an experienced modeler, this kit goes together quickly and with no problems.

Kudos to Round 2 Models for bringing back some nice subjects that are simple in construction and priced for younger modelers.

My sincere thanks to Round2 Models for this review sample