Grand Phoenix 1/48 scale "Ultimate"
F3H-2N Demon

Grand Phoenix

Reviewed by Brett Green

Grand Phoenix's 1/48 scale "Ultimate" Demon is available online from Squadron.com

It is perhaps surprising that modellers have had to wait until 2004 for a good quality, injection moulded 1/48 scale kit of the F3H Demon considering it was an important Cold Warrior, and wore a good selection of striking markings.

Grand Phoenix has stepped up to the plate with their 1/48 scale F3H-2N Demon. This is a genuine multi-media kit with 56 parts in grey styrene, 2 parts in clear; 66 parts in pale yellow resin; 1 photo-etched fret; 2 sheets of self-adhesive masks (for canopy and wheels); Aeromaster decals for two marking options.

The plastic is very well done, with a satin texture and fine, even and crisply recessed panel lines. The outside surfaces are not troubled by any moulding imperfections on my sample.

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The clear parts are a noticeable improvement compared to the transparencies included in the Fury. The canopy is supplied in two separate pieces and the plastic is very clear, thin and totally free of distortion.

 

 

Plastic parts make up the basic airframe. The vast majority of the details are in resin. These have been manufactured by Aires and they are very attractive. There is plenty of fine detail, even in difficult areas such as wheel wells and the interior of the exhaust nozzle.

The wheels, gear doors, cockpit and seat are also supplied in resin. Casting blocks do not look too imposing. even the largest should easily be removed after a few minutes with a razor saw.

 

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Resin details are supplemented with a small photo-etched fret, which includes the harness, instrument panel and smaller parts.

The decals are especially nice, covering two striking schemes.

As if all this was not enough in one box, Grand Phoenix also includes two masking sheets to ease painting of the canopy and wheels.

 

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Conclusion

Grand Phoenix' 1/48 scale F3H-2N Demon is a big and impressive multimedia kit with some really attractive markings.

The inclusion of resin, photo-etch, after-market quality decals and masks means that you will not have to buy anything else in order to achieve an attractive and comprehensively detailed result.

Grand Phoenix also seems to have taken comments about their earlier release - the Fury - into account. Test fitting of my sample suggests that there will be few challenges in assembling the kit, and the clear parts are much better than the earlier offering. We have already seen some very nice examples of this kit being built on Modeling Madness by    Tom Cleaver and Scott Van Aken.

If you are a fan of 1950s jets, or US Naval aviation, you should find a space on your shelves for the Grand Phoenix F3H-2N Demon.

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