Photo courtesy Mark Büchler
Many folks may know Mark Büchler as “Modelnerd” on various model related forums. A few may remember the super-impressive scratch built cockpit and other additions he did a few years ago for Lindberg’s Goshawk kit that was posted on Fine Scale’s forum. He did an awesome job on that, and decided to make resin copies. He sold a few of those, and decided to do more resin. An upgrade for the Hobbycraft/Academy I-16 followed (which I used in a build and quite enjoyed), as well as an engine/cowl set for Revell’s P-61.
Now Mark has re-done his Goshawk set, adding in some additional parts. The sets are available in a limited quantity, so if you’ve ever considered building Lindberg’s Goshawk, you might want to snag one of these really quick.
One of the things I really like about Mark’s work is the way he does his casting blocks. Basically, he doesn’t. He does sprues, just like an injected part. I wish all resin part makers would take a cue from Mark and do this. It takes away so much frustration not to have to saw away giant casting blocks that really don’t need to be there.
The update set contains a plethora of parts to upgrade your Goshawk:
- Full cockpit
- Highly detailed Wright 1820 radial engine
- Corrected engine cowl
- Large main wheels and fairings
- Corrected propeller
- Aux. fuel tank with filler neck
- Corrected tail wheel
- Corrected tail hook
- Corrected gunsight
- Exhaust pipes
- Vacuum formed windscreen
- Fuselage side “teardrop” fairings
- BFC-2 high turtleback & vacuumformed BFC-2 canopy
- .020″ styrene rod for pushrod tubes
Mark even includes parts and instructions for converting your F11C-2 in to a BFC-2.
As with most resin parts, you’ll need to do a little cleanup here and there. However, not having to saw away giant casting blocks will simplify matters greatly. And because the parts are attached via sprue, there is a not near the likelihood of breaking a part trying to separate it for use, a problem I’ve had with nearly every other resin upgrade set I’ve used.
The parts have a fine, smooth, bubble-free finish. The directions are clear and simple to follow. The directions also provide links to Yellow Wings Decals for markings, and Mark also provides a link to PDF artwork he developed in the event you’d like to print your own decals.
The Lindberg Goshawk kit is usually not too hard to find on eBay, and has actually been re-issued by the reincarnation of Lindberg in the last few years, so you may find them in shops here and there also.
Mark’s resin set will really allow you to build up a fine looking example of this beautiful airplane using Lindberg’s simple but sound plastic as the starting point. The set sells for $21 plus shipping. Visit his website to see more details. (Plus, his photography is way better than mine…… :))
Thanks so much to Mark for providing me a set for review. I have the Lindberg kit now, so before too long you’ll see this set tucked away in Lindberg’s plastic!
