In 1946, the Blue Angels’ first
Beetle Bomb was an SNJ Texan painted to represent a Japanese Zero in combat maneuvers. It was succeeded by a second
Beetle Bomb, an F8F-1 Bearcat, which also played the “enemy” chased by the Blues during shows. Once I discovered its profile on the side of HobbyBoss’ kit box, I just could not resist building the model in the bright yellow scheme of the Bearcat
Beetle Bomb.
A second set of markings is provided for a Bearcat of VF-3 flown by Lt. A.M. “Mike” Granat in 1946. That one comes with guns, a gunsight, an auxiliary fuel tank, bombs, rockets, mounting shackles for the ordnance, foldable wings, and a two-piece canopy that allows a nice view of the detailed cockpit. I was impressed with the detail on the back of the firewall that can be seen through the open wheel wells.
The instructions are nicely drawn and error-free. Along with the single sheet of assembly drawings is a separate color and markings sheet. It shows gun-blast stains on Beetle Bomb. But photos show that either it had no guns or the ports were covered over. Also, the U.S. Navy markings are shown on the wrong wings and in the wrong location.
The decal sheet, printed in five colors, has the peculiar (but correct) Blue Angel blue markings for Beetle Bomb. The propeller manufacturers logo images are off-register and don’t look accurate to me.
Crisply molded in gray plastic, the parts are free of flash and feature consistent, to-scale engraving. The clear parts are thin enough to preclude a dip in Pledge Future floor finish.
Other than having trouble getting all five bulkheads to line up when joining the fuselage halves, all parts fit to perfection. The clear instrument panel face required careful painting. Although the pilot’s safety harness was not provided, I added belt decals from my spares box.
I had to choose an interior color for the cockpit — the early yellow-green zinc chromate or the later, more intense, interior green. I chose the latter, but I don’t know if it is correct.
The assembled wing panels match perfectly. The lower wing panels slide into a notch cut into the fuselage sides, eliminating the need for a tab-and-notch assembly. Wing-to-fuselage fit is exceptional. The landing-gear struts mount firmly, leaving no chance for misalignment.
I masked the canopy and windshield with Tamiya tape and sprayed interior green. I followed with a coat of white before finishing with yellow. The clear parts, including the navigation lights, all fit perfectly.
Take care during engine assembly. The front row of cylinders mounts to the rear row of cylinders via three locating pins arranged in a triangle. The cylinders will fit and line up in any of three ways — but only one way is correct. A notch locates the rear cylinders’ mount to the firewall. The front row of cylinders must sit so the magnetos are at the top when viewed from the front.
To fold the wings, all four wing panels will need to be separated along scribed panel lines. There are two jogs in each line. I decided to leave that chore to someone else.
Since my photo of Beetle Bomb showed neither guns nor underwing appliances, I filled all the holes with pieces of stretched sprue. The landing-gear door mounts seem to be molded at the wrong angle. I was careful to glue the doors so they would not break off easily.
I painted my model with Testors yellow gloss enamel (No. 1114). Remember, when painting yellow you will need to prime with white. The interior green is Testors Model Master. My final finish is Testors Model Master semigloss clear. I used chrome foil on the oleos of the main landing gear.
The decals are thin and tend to curl under the backing paper during the transfer process. I substituted propeller logos from a ScaleMaster Invisa-Clear sheet produced by IPMS Spruce Goose in 1995.
Measurements and calculations indicate the finished model is 3–4 scale inches short in width and length. No matter — the model sits right and looks great. The 20-plus hours I spent on this kit were fun. Now that I know about the engine and the bulkheads, let’s do it again — next time, with regular Navy colors and markings.