Convair F-102A (Case X) - 1:72 Meng Models

[Paul A H]

Convair F-102A (Case X)

1:72 Meng Models

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was borne out of a US Air Force requirement, issued in 1950, for a supersonic fighter aircraft capable of intercepting and shooting down Soviet bombers. Convair’s design utilised a radical tailless delta wing. This configuration was tested by Convair on the experimental XF-92, which also led to the development of the somewhat larger B-58 Hustler. Always ahead of its time (the prototype flew for the first time just eight years after the end of the Second World War), the aircraft suffered a number of setbacks, not least of which was the inability of the prototype the break the sound barrier – an essential requirement as far as the US Air Force was concerned – due to high levels of transonic drag.

Convair’s design team went back to the drawing board, lengthening the fuselage by 4ft and reshaping it around the recently discovered ‘area rule’ principle. The engine intakes and vertical tail were also enlarged and an uprated version of the Pratt and Whitney J75 engine was fitted. The redesigned aircraft broke the sound barrier on its second flight on 21^st December 1954 and went into full scale production soon afterwards.

Production of the F-102A continued until 1958, by which time 889 Delta Daggers had been produced. The aircraft was well liked by its pilots and continued in service with both the Air Force and Air National Guard until the 1970s. The F-102 saw active service during the Vietnam War, during which fifteen aircraft were lost to a combination of ground fire and accidents. Just one aircraft was lost in aerial combat, shot down by a MiG-21 while escorting a B-52 raid. Later in the 1970s, hundreds of F-102As were converted to pilotless target drones. Ex-US Air Force F-102s were also sold to both Greece and Turkey, serving with each nations air force until 1979.

Meng’s new F-102A caused quite a stir when it was first announced earlier this year. The Chinese company’s first two aircraft kits were both Japanese paper projects, so it was a surprise to find that this promising new company had chosen to tackle a subject like the Deuce. Having said that, the F-102A is in many ways a perfect choice for Meng. The aircraft has been overlooked by other mainstream manufacturers, leaving the rather elderly Hasegawa offering as the only game in town in 1:72 scale.

The kit is presented in a reasonably sturdy top-opening box, the lid of which is adorned with an attractive painting of an F-102 climbing to intercept a Soviet Tu-95 Bear bomber. The box has a satin, rather than gloss finish, which gives it a plush, upmarket feel. Inside are six sprues of grey plastic, a single clear sprue, a large decal sheet and a full-colour instruction manual. Each of the sprues is individually wrapped in plastic for added protection. The mouldings are clean and crisp and the immediate impression is of a high quality product worthy of the likes of Hasegawa or Eduard. The plastic has a smooth, glossy finish and the engraved panel lines are nice and delicate. There is subtle recessed rivet and fastener detail is places too.

The cockpit is made up of a tub, with side consoles and rudder pedals moulded in place. The controls and dials on the instrument panel and side consoles are picked out with fine moulded detail. Meng have provided a decal for the instrument panel as well, but the decision as to whether to use it or not is up to you. The Weber ejection seat is made up of three parts and looks like a pretty good representation of the real thing. Overall the cockpit is very good, but you might want to add a little more visual interest with some photo etched harnesses before fixing the canopy in place.

The cockpit sits on top of the nose gear bay, which itself features some nice structural details and hydraulic lines. Before you can close up the fuselage, you will need to assemble and paint the rearmost part of the engine. This is made up of the rear turbine face, a full-length exhaust, afterburner flame holder and the nozzle itself.

Once the fuselage halves are together, construction moves on to the wings. The lower wing is moulded as a single span, with separate parts for the upper surfaces of the port and starboard wings. The internal weapons bay also fits into the lower wing. This part will need to be used in order to add structural rigidity, whether you intend to finish the model with the weapons bay open or not. The wing tips are moulded as separate pieces and are provided on a suspiciously small sprue along with the elevators, which suggests that a Case XX wing version will be offered in the future.

The main landing gear bay has to be fixed in place before you join the wings to the fuselage, and it is just as well detailed as the nose gear bay. The engine intakes are each made up of two parts and, although nicely moulded, represent something of a weak point for the kit. This is because there is no intake trunking, so you can see straight through into the empty fuselage interior. I’ll be blanking mine off with plastic card when I build it. In contrast, the tail-mounted airbrake is a beautifully detailed feature which simply begs to be finished in the open position.

The internal weapons bay can be finished with the doors open or closed. If you choose to finish the model with the doors in the closed position, then a one-piece door is provided, saving you from having to fiddle about trying to line up all four doors by eye. If you wish to finish the kit with the doors open, then you have a choice of using either retracted or extended missile launch pylons as both are supplied. A comprehensive weapons load is provided in the form of six AIM-4C and six AIM-4D Falcon air-to-air missiles. These are nicely moulded, and whichever you choose, you’ll have six left over for the spares box. A pair of 815 litre drop tanks are provided too.

The undercarriage is nicely detailed without being overly complex. The gear doors are beautifully detailed inside and out too. The clear parts are just that; superbly thin and clear. The canopy can be posed in the open position too, and a separate hinge mechanism is provided for the latter option.

Meng Model have been pretty generous with the decal options in this kit. The decal sheet provides a choice of three aircraft:

• F-102A of the 431^st Fighter Interception Squadron, 1962. This aircraft is finished in Aircraft Gray with a red flash on the vertical stabiliser;
  
• F-102A of the 327^th Fighter Interception Squadron, 1958. This aircraft is also finished in Aircraft Gray with a white and red vertical stabiliser; and
  
• F-102A of the 497^th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 1970. This aircraft is finished in the South East Asia scheme of Green (FS34102), Dark Green (FS34079) and Dark Tan (FS30219) over Camouflage Grey (FS36622).
  

Each option is illustrated with a four-view full-colour profile as well as a detailed illustrations of the AIM-4 missiles, drop tanks and pylons. The decals look nicely printed. They appear to be reasonably thin but the colours are nice and bold. They have quite a matt finish, so I’d recommend applying them over a gloss surface and using a decal setting solution, particularly on the larger decals for the vertical tail.

Conclusion

If you’ve been waiting all these years for a state of the art, accurate kit of the F-102, then your patience has finally been rewarded. Meng have delivered a kit that ticks all these boxes and more. The engraved panel lines are nice and restrained and the detail in areas such as the undercarriage bays and airbrake assemblies is up there with the best.

The kit appears to be accurate in outline, and the pinched contours of the fuselage look pretty good too. A quick tape together of the wings and fuselage has revealed no major fit issues either. Overall, Meng have produced a nicely detailed kit which doesn’t compromise on buildability. I’ll certainly be building mine soon.

Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[charley420]

That soooooo needs to go in the biggenator and come out in 48th scale

[chrisov]

That looks great and an improvement over the old Hasegawa offering that I remember building many many years ago when my dad brought one back from Hong Kong in the 60's; it was really fine and probably on top of the game at the time. But for those with older eyes can we also go up to 1/48 and add the F-106 as well please?

Cheers

Chris

[Pat C]

Got mine and very pleased with it. I did have a couple of minor queries

No ball shaped IR sensor is provided to go on the nose. I know it was a later mod to the aircraft but I would be surprised if none of the three aircraft portrayed had one of those.

Should the USAF lettering be dark blue rather than black?

Don't think the way the 327FIS USAF lettering curves is quite right.

Pat

[FZ6]

I picked up one of these at Telford from the Hannants stand. It's a lovely kit but mine is in a different box to the one above. Mine only contains markings for one aircraft flown by George W Bush. Meng must have released a special edition kit.

[Julien]

If you want different markings then Greg at Draw decal has some already released, and some soon to be released ANG markings.

I picked up the G Bush boxing as I intend to get one of his sheets.

Julien

[Gmat]

The IR ball is part C1 and it's to be used on the 497th FIS aircraft. Hope that this helps.

Best wishes,

Grant