The name Banshee comes from a Celtic mythological she-demon where when the wailing of the banshee was heard, it was a harbinger of death. Despite the terrible creature this plane was named upon, it is actually a beautiful jet fighter. The F2H "Banshee" was a military carrier-based jet fighter aircraft used by the United States Navy from 1948 to 1959. 250 F2H-3 were built.

The Academy 1/72 F2H-3 Banshee was build in conjunction of the "Fly Navy 08" event on 6th and 7th December 2008. This model kit was build out-of box except for the wing-fold that I cut out and detail since it is a unique characteristics for Navy planes. Overall, the build of the plane was really smooth. Everything fits perfectly and although some panel lines are ommitted, I don't think it's a big issue for me. The wing-fold is done by using epoxy putty and some Evergreen plastic sheets and rods. The reference for the wing-folds are solely from the Internet. The paints used for the plane are Gunze's Navy Blue and Radome for the nose. 

The downside of this model kit is the decal. The decal is stiff and breaks easily. It did not conform to the shape and using decal softener will not do anything on it. I managed to damage most of the red markings decal and have to paint all of it except for the thunder streak on the top of the fuselage which I use the kit decal. It is then protected with a few layers of Anchor's clear coat decanted and sprayed using airbrush.

The wing-fold is done by putting the bondite in the hollow area of both wing, then putting a strip of plastic sheet cut to shape. The details are added later using plastic sheet in various size and thickness cut and shaped. Plastic rods is used to replicate the hydraulic locking mechanism for the wing. Although the details are a bit simple, it adds some detail on the supposedly empty areas. The wing is then glued in place using superglue and held temporary using wires until the glue is set.

Overall, I really enjoy building this model except for the problems with the decal. I think it turns out pretty good despite that I have not build any aircraft previously.

By Imran Zulkifli