Hey all,
Just got my Special Hobby R-4B Hoverfly today. I've just started working on the greenhouse portion of it. Cut the doors and rear windows off and now I'm test fitting the nose glass. The resin interior looks pretty good from what I can see, although it comes with two collectives (the real thing only has one mounted in the center!) Photoetch fret includes wire mesh for the engine cooling vents and fiddly bits for the main and tail rotors. The injection molded parts are typical of a limited production kit. Pretty thick, lots of flash, etc.
The fuselage is shaped a little funny, too round in the underside and not flat enough. Engraving on the access panels (which were zippered closed on the real thing) is very nice, although the right side access panel is not included, I had to scribe that myself. I've also found that the instructions are wrong in some areas. They show the main switch panel on the right side of the cockpit, just ahead of the door frame. In reality it is on the LEFT sidewall just ahead of the door frame.
The kit comes with two tailwheel arrangements and three sets of markings. The further aft tailwheel was found on USN and USCG machines, not the Army ones. I'm building an Army bird.
Now comes the question...
I have photographs of roughly 25 of the 100 R-4Bs built. I have access to a real R-4B that was a trainer at Sheppard Field in May 1945. Should I build the R-4B I have access to, or should I build one of the birds I have documentation on that was in combat?