JRF Goose
The Grumman G-21 was the first in a long line of small twin engined amphibian flying boats and was designed in late 1936 as a six or seven seat commercial aircraft. Of all metal construction with a two step hull, the design was based on the central float portion of the J2F-1 Duck amphibious floatplane. It was powered by two 450 h.p. Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and flew for the first time in June of 1937. The first military adaptation was ordered by the Army Air Corps who placed an order for twenty-six of them in 1938. These were intended for the utility role and designated OA-9. The U.S. Navy was also interested in the G-21 and ordered a machine for evaluation in 1938 as the XJ3F-1. This was followed by an order for ten in 1939 under the designation JRF-1. While essentially eight seat utility transports, these aircraft could be fitted for target towing and photography as the JRF-1A. Another ten were ordered for the Coast Guard for air-sea rescue in 1940. Seven of these were designated JRF-2 and the remaining three were fitted with anti-icing equipment and autopilots to better suit them for rescue operations in Northern waters and these were designated JRF-3's. The JRF-4 was basically similar to the JRF-1 but was intended for coastal anti-submarine patrol. Bomb racks were fitted outboard of the engine nacelles for two 250-lb bombs. Ten aircraft of this type were delivered to the U.S. Navy. The first large scale production model was the JRF-5. One hundred and ninety of this type were order with six going to the Coast Guard as JRF-5G's. A half dozen of this type were delivered to the R.A.F. as the Goose I and a further twenty-nine were delivered to the R.C.A.F. for use among other things as navigational trainers. The JRF-6 was equipped with newer electrical and radio equipment and the JRF-6B carried navigational training equipment. Fifty aircraft of this version were supplied to the R.A.F. under the Lend-Lease Program in lieu of 50 ordered by the British Purchasing Committee and taken over by the Navy in 1941. Designated Goose IA, these served as utility transports with No. 24 Squadron, for ferry duties and with the Air Transportation Auxiliary and for air-sea rescue. Several aircraft were supplied to the Portuguese Naval Air Service.

The Kit

 The Czech Model kit comes in one of the unhandy end flap boxes, rather large for a Czech Model kit with nice artwork of a Goose circling over some men in life rafts. Inside the box the main sprues are in one large bag which also contains a small bag with the clear parts and another with resin parts. The kit is molded in a medium gray plastic. The large parts all had a smooth shiny finish with nice recessed panel lines and a small amount of flash. I did not find any sink marks on the main pieces and only one goober that needs dealt with but there were a number of abrasion marks from shipping and the sprue attachment points are large enough on many parts to require a razor saw for safe removal. Except for the rudder all the control surfaces are fixed and the demarcation lines could be a little deeper but that is easy to fix. The fabric areas are well done. There are ejector pin stubs that will need to be remove for appearance on the interior as well as fit in other areas ! The small parts all have flash and a good sized parting line to deal with. Like most limited run kits it has no alignment pins. The kit comes with a resin cockpit and interior by True Details which includes seats, side wall details, resin engines even though that kit comes with plastic as well and resin weighted tires, the plastic one are not. Also included are two bombs with separate fins, one of mine arrived broken as well as some parts broken off the pilot seat mounts. Nothing that can't be fixed though. Altogether there are 65 gray parts, 31 resin parts and 12 clear parts for a total of 108 parts. The sprues and resin parts are shown below...

The clear parts are a medium thickness as clear parts go and should look OK with a coat of Future. The main windows are molded with part of the cabin making blending it to the fuselage easier and it's a good thing as this seems to be one area where fit leaves something to be desired. The clear parts are shown below...

The decals are well registered and provide markings for four aircraft the decals are thin and opaque and include some stenciling and manufacturer decals for the props. See below...

The instructions are are printed on an 11" x 17" page folded to make four pages. Page one is history and a parts map along with the usual glue and paint and resin safety warnings, the next two cover assembly and the last page camouflage and markings. Colors are called out by name and FS numbers. While not elaborate the instructions are adequate.

Conclusions

Overall this is a nice kit and a rather large one as well with a wingspan of nearly 50 feet and a length of 38 feet. Like most limited run kits it has some challenges. According to other reviews the interior bulkheads are all a bit too large, there are issues getting the wheel wells to fit correctly and the cockpit glass does not fit well. Nothing that should put off a modeler with some experience with these types of kits.

Links to kit build or reviews

Build / reviews can be found here and here.

References

"War Planes of the Second World War Volume 5, Flying Boats" by William Green

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Updated 5/13/08