FAA Martlet

[aqua_ta]

Hi guys,
A chap from work told me today that his father worked on radio sets fitted in the Wildcat/Martlet aircraft of 882Squadron during the war. Because he had only seen one picture of the aircraft I showed him a picture from a model website which also sells decal sets that include that particular squadron, he then later asked me to tell him how much I would build him one for so that he can present it to his father.
My dilemma is whether to go 1/72 or 1/48 but I need an idea of dimensions and also of any recommended kits for the Martlet series of aircraft.
Thanks in advance

[brucejscott]

What a timely post. I'm just finishing up a Tamiya 1/48 -4 Wildcat and preparing to start on a Fleet Air Arm Martlet Mk. I. The first place to start would be with the mark of the aircraft you wish to build. The Mk. I had a 9-cylinder Wright Cyclone engine, a radically different cowl from the other wildcats, non-folding wings and four repositioned wing guns. The Mk. IV had much the same problem the with the engine although the wings were of the normal folding, six gun variety. There are no kits in 1/48 of these two marks that I know of. It would take some converstion work. For the Mk. I try the Hobby Boss F4F-3 (Late), that's what I am using. The Mk. IV can be made with either the Tamiya F4F-4 or the Hobby Boss F4F-4. The same holds true for the Mk. II. You will however have to modify the cowl and the prop. The Mk. III is a little different being two distinct batches based on the serial number. They all however have fixed wings so can be made with the Hobby Boss kit. The Mk. V is an Eastern Aircraft built FM-1 and the Mk. VI is an FM-2. Use the Hobby Boss kits for both. As for 1/72nd scale, I'm afraid I cannot help you. For an excellent referance arcticle, try Bruce Archers piece on the Martlet in the FAA over on HyperScale. It will have all the technical information you will need. Hope this helps, good luck and post some pics if you can.

[Airframes]

Great info Bruce.

[brucejscott]

Thank you!

[aqua_ta]

Thanks for the useful info,I will be doing a mk.VI since the decal sets are for that version.
One last question,what are the dimensions in 1/48 scale?
Thank you

[brucejscott]

The major dimensions are as follows:
Wingspan - 24.13 cm
Length - 18.29 cm
Height - 5.59 cm (FM-2 only)

Hope this helps and good luck.

[aqua_ta]

That`s very helpful thank you very much.

[brucejscott]

My pleasure. If you have any more questions just ask.