Brewster F2A Buffalo USS Saratoga 1939 - AC082 - 1/72 Scale Diecast Metal Model

Excellent model for Oxford diecast but be warw they are not Gorgi

I used to have an Airfix model of this plane when I was small and it is an aircraft I always associate with my Dad arguing that there was no such airplane as a Brewster Buffalo. He was really surprised when I acquired the original model and it was great to find that Oxford have now produced a die cast version. The model airplane comes in silver livery with the wings bizarrely painted in yellow. I always felt that this aircraft looked charismatic but this colour scheme really makes the model stand out. The Oxford models seem to receive indifferent reviews on Amazon but the Airacobra and Moraine Saulnier that I have were both great value for money. If anything, the Buffalo is better still. The undercarriage is up with the position marked in the etching and the tyres painted. All three models seem to lack to detailing on the underneath of the planes and whilst nowhere as near as impressive as the better Corgi models, I love the fact that Oxford are keen to present some of the lesser know aircraft of this era. The Brewster Buffalo probably earned it's reputation in the Finish air force whereas it was largely obsolete by the time America has entered the war. Like the Airacobra, some Buffalos were acquired by the RAF where their performance was found to be wanting. I can understand why my Dad had never heard of this plane as aircraft technology swiftly overtook this design and was easily outclassed by planes such as the Japanese Zero. It's obscurity is perhaps typical of many monoplanes of the late 1930s insofar that newer and better technology ensured that these aircraft were withdrawn from active service as they became obsolete. The aircraft's finest hour came in the conflict against the Russians when the Finish air force produced numerous "Buffalo Aces" who had a lot of success against inferior Soviet models. Maybe if might have been more fitting to have had this in Finish Air Force livery yet I have to admit liking the bright colours employed by the American Navy which somehow emphasize the aeronautical qualities of the plane as opposed to rendering it as a weapon of war.

The best model of this classic plane I have seen. A real tribute to the ‘Peanut Special’!