Planet Models | PLT248: XF5U-1 Flying Pancake

Reviewed by Brian Leitch

Planet Models XF5U-1 Flying Pancake
Scale: 1/32nd
Accessory/kit #: PLT248
Kit type: Resin
Cost/USD: $124.99

PACKAGING & CONTENTS

The kit comes in a surprisingly large but very sturdy white cardboard box:

All of the small resin detail parts (besides the two main body halves) the engine intakes, cockpit props, etc, etc are separated into flexible sealed vac packs including the decals and white metal gear:

All of the parts really do look very well molded for the most part. The packaging is very nice and SB packed the kit with a box around the PM box. The PM box is very sturdy, and with the detail parts all in individual (but connected) vac packs, there are really not too many loose parts in the box, and the gaps are filled with packing peanuts.

PARTS DETAIL

The main body of the Pancake is made up of two large and shaped halves or resin…not solid. The molding is actually very well done, and the riveting is even and subtle looking:

For size reference here is the XF5U next to my Tamiya A6M2b wing + MDC conversion:

The riveting work really is terrifically done, and even where there is some minor flash (like around these engine exhaust ports), the areas are very nice and scale thin, and the flash should be something every modeler should be able to take care of no issue:

The wheel wells are not exotically busy, but clean, and well done. If you can doll up the main landing gear, you could just simply paint and weather these no issue, as since the prototype never actually flew, there would likely be little grim. There are just a few minor areas/flaws to fill, but they are much less evident away from the macro:

Even though the kit has no alignment pegs, I'm hoping that good molding (despite the slightly evident resin warping – a little is usually expected - even with the best) will overcome. The alignment does seem to be there even just from holding things together with my finger tips:

The kit comes with white metal gear, which I have not ever really been a fan of, but these are not too bad, and will just require some cleaning. My build of this kit will be a pretty solid OOB run with a little scratching, but I will be dressing these up w/some break lines and polished oleos. The gear is a tad softer than I would like, but plenty strong enough to hold up the hollow Pancake:

PM gives you two sets of front clear radomes for the gun camera and what not, and two sets of vac canopies. Both sets are VERY clear and distortion free:

The main flying surfaces – including the vertical fins, rudders, horizontal stabilizers and “Elevons” and 8 props, are all well molded and the resin is not too soft, nor too brittle feeling:

All 8 props look correctly molded for port VS starboard as they should be, and again, the riveting detail is very nice:

Holes for strength to attach to the spinners:

Said spinners:

Wheels and tires are also VERY well molded and are basically F6F / F4U hubs w/what look like smaller diameter tires. Still very well molded in my humble opinion though, as the hubs with separate tires is very nice:

Many small / well molded resin detail pieces including the elevon counterbalancers, hinges, intakes and very nice engine exhaust stacks:

The cockpit is sparse and simple, and I'm sure one could go whole hog on this if you wanted, but it’s a good starting point, and I will likely add a bit in here for aesthetics. The seat is well done, even with the original wooden prop blocks for the pilots back support:

The instrument panel and sidewalls will need a bit of help, but I think you could easily add some stuff in the pit to spruce things up. I will probably try to find some instrument decals as well, as PM gives you nothing for the instrument panel as far as instruments goes at all:

Finally, for this type of kit, I would HIGHLY recommend some sort of chemical degreaser. Beyond just soap and water. I know some use only soap and water, but for me, you never really know when a certain type or resin, or certain pull of resin might have more mold release agents or something that may cause your paint to lift off in the future with a chance in temp or humidity. You REALLY want to make sure whatever kind of paint you use; you give it a good solid base. I'm going to use a lacquer primer prior to any paint. I personally recommend Wesley’s (NOW bought out by “Black Magic” in the US) “Bleche Wite” to soak all resin parts in to get things prepped:

I just grabbed a really old pan and let all the resin parts soak overnight to get rid of any release agent, grease, and/or dirt. I will wash everything afterwards in cool soap and water.

DECALS & INSTRUCIONS

I'm not really sure on the decal origins, but they look plenty clear, and in good register. PM gives you the option of the early or later style stars & bars too:

Bugs, although not lithograph perfect, to me, more closely seems to match the hap hazard / simple WWII nose art:

The instructions are fairly clear, with good 3D pics. There is also an overall color callout with the kit, but no paint specific codes, conversions, nor any guidelines for painting the interior that I see…so your on your own for that, but a certain amount of that kind if thing I think is to be expected in these types of limited run kits in my humble opinion:

I'm not 100% sure on the “dark green” for the prop hub areas, but because I want to add some interest, I think I will paint them flat black with a very minuet dash of dark green added:

CONCLUSIONS

On a 1 – 10 scale with 10 being perfect and 1 being useless, for an all-resin kit, I'd five the PM XF5U a very solid 7 on overall kit appearance, probable “build-ability”, and detail (just a bit shy on it in some places). The PM XF5U-1 in 32nd scale gets a whopping 9 in my book just on overall cool factor and originality.

Highly recommended. Please check out the build thread of this kit in the LSP forums.

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