Pavla Models

1/72 - Pratt and Whitney R-2800-34 For any F7F-3, F8F-2, C-46 etc.

Stock Number: E 72-17

Reviewed By  Stephen Bierce, IPMS/USA #35922

MSRP: $5.99 Website: www.pavlamodels.cz A while back, I set a Quickboost R-2800 into Monogram's F8F Bearcat kit to review that engine, so when this kit became available, I thought this would likely be much the same thing...and again a fool rushed in where better angels know not to tread. My example came without instructions, and that was my undoing. Removing the resin plinthes and cleaning off flash wasn't a problem, deciding which way the rear half should be mated to the front half was. It wasn't till after the super glue set that I saw my error-instead of the air intake trunk pointing DOWN on the real engine, I had mine pointing UP. Now, in my case it isn't a horrible mistake, as I may end up removing some of the backside of this engine to mount it in a nacelle of my Monogram F7F Tigercat, and once the cowl goes on nobody will see my goof. But this engine is still quite nice in terms of visual detail, and being informed enough to assemble it correctly would allow modelers to use it in diorama scenes (for example, showing maintenance work being done on a carrier hangar deck). Comparing the Pavla engine to the one included with Revell-Germany's P-47 Thunderbolt makes me think that Pavla likely took the R-G cylinder assemblies for a baseline and then "dolled them up" to engineer their own version. The size and details of the cylinders seem to match up to a great degree, but the Pavla version is visually "busier" and more solid, and the crankcase is very well done. There were some very tiny bubbles in the front of the engine, but filling them in would have required a hypodermic needle and in this scale, it's tough to see once the paint is on. As for paint, I used Testors Engine Silver for the cylinders (and had to paint the forward faces of the second-bank cylinders with a sharpened toothpick through the gaps of the forward cylinders) and Model Master Steel for the frontal crankcase. I thought of painting the magneto parts in front, but my first attempt didn't look good so I recoated the area with Steel. Comparing to the Quickboost R-2800 I used earlier...I have to say that the Quickboost engine is more builder-friendly. So if you haven't tried using aftermarket engines before, it's better to start with the Quickboost product first, and then move on to Pavla's engines later. If Pavla decides to include instructions in future releases of this engine kit, I'd feel more comfortable with my recommendation. Still, this is a good engine, and I'll have to get some more of them to complete other models I have on hand. Thanks to Pavlamodels and IPMS/USA for my test example, and to Paul Francis of Lucas Francis Studios for his assistance on this project.