The Buffalo is another great example of the prewar USN capturing the "toy airplane look:"
Above is HM's diecast model, "2-F-1" of
the Flying Chiefs and the U.S.S. Lexington, CV-2. The real yeoman work involved in the creation of the ultimate F2A model was done by Tamiya. The actual aircraft has a subtle little curve in the fuselage behind the cowling, a bit of a "wasp-waste" if you will. The kit maker was the first to capture this aspect of the Buffalo and it's curvature. Enter Hobby Master which cloned the kit into zinc, and
voila, you've got a classic diecast model. Got thirteen of these in the hangar, BTW. One of each release, and one duplicate of "3-F-11." Favorites are the previously mentioned VF-3
Tomcatters and first Finnish versions. I guess you could say that I approve of the model!
-Moe