Hobby Boss 1/48 Scale F4F-3 Wildcat (Late)

When the F4F-3 entered production, it was supposed to be powered by the R1830-PW-76 engine equipped with a two-stage supercharger, but that engine was still having teething problems and Grumman was forced to power the initial block of F4F-3s with the -90 version of the engine. While the engine had a higher dash number, it produced less power. From an engineering point of view, less power also equates to less heat (usually) and the visible differences between the early and late versions of the F4F-3 were the smaller cowl flaps for engine cooling and a carburetor air scoop atop the cowling on the early version.