Official Alley Cat GB Sept2010-Sept2011

iv got 2 more tomcats on the go 1 black 1 pink lol

personman906

Are paper models allowed? Cuz I just got tons of Grumman Cat card models...they would be great to contribute...

I dont see why not.

OK, so if paper is allowed, I'm putting in a Fiddler's Green 1/60 F6F Hellcat and an FG F8F Bearcat.

 I've had a tough time getting to the bench for a couple weeks ,but am making progress on my USS Princeton Hellcat. Got my printed decals on and they look great but the red on cat mouth was a bit too faded looking for my taste and the dark blue on the stars n bars printed with some reddish streaks. Having to do some touch up hand painting with very thin, not quite a wash overcoat on the problem areas. I'll have it straightened out and post some fresh WIP pics soon. 

 I do have some interesting pics from my Fathers Day daddy/daughter date( dads got in free) to Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight that fits in here though.

 An FM-2 Wildcat and even though it's not officially a 'cat , you can sure tell the family lines. An F3F-2 Flying Barrel .

Also picked up Tamiya's 1/48 scale  F4F-4 Wildcat in the gift shop for a couple bucks less than what I've seen it listed for on several web sites. Weeks museum is not into price gouging like many of the tourist spots here in Florida. It's not his style.

 I'm also editing other pics to post in the misc. section later this week of the collection at Fantasy of Flight. There are some beautiful and rare aircraft at that place.

 Howard 

Decals and markings on , sealed with a coat of Future. Give it a day to fully dry, then dot filters tomorrow night.

Found many artist renderings of this particular 'Cat , some show kill markings on the right , some on both sides , some on the left.

I remember doing some research on the Army Air Forces forums about the correct colors for a P-400 I built last year. In the answer to my queries , I was reminded of how the Airacobra crews usually boarded from the wrong (starboard/right) side off the aircraft just as carrier crews did. 

 Makes sense , with WWII carrier aircraft   being lined up forward toward the bow, the crews would approach and ingress from the starboard. Also victory/kill markings would be on the starboard facing the island . 

So ,the ten Japanese flags are there , just on the other side. Which I believe to be correct. I'll also put more wear on that side along the hand/foot holds and wing walk area. 

Turning down the home stretch with this one.

Howard

Hi guys,  I've been sluffing along at a slow pace with the Bearcat.  I've got quite a bit done with one picture to show for the work.  This is the 1/48 Academy version of the F8F.  I detailed the cockpit with some odds and ends from used photoetch sets, and fashioned the instrument panel using photographic copies of instrument faces, using the Waldron system to attach individual dials.  I'm going to paint this one up in the Gulfhawk scheme.  I've got a set of decals from the Testor's version.  I've read about the thinness of the white wing "feathers", so I'm going to try to paint white the areas where the decals will be applied.  This will end up being an adventure.  So, my only photo is my primed bird with the white stripes covered with blue tape.  I painted the white first , masked the stripes and then painted the grey primer.  I'll be continuing to creep along with the paint and decals.  This will be a different look from my usual wartime colors.

 That would be a great color scheme for a Bearcat racer. The two tone blue in that pic looks cool.

I"ve got the Testors kit. I think the Gulfhawk colors are beautiful , but I may one day build mine along the lines of a Rare Bear on steroids.

Howard

Wabashwheels that Academy kits looks nice and you have done some good work on it too, cant wait to see the Gulfhawk scheme.

Daddy1 you are givin me ideas for my Bearcat build as I still haven't decided on a paint scheme although it will be a racer I think, a mostly stock bronze class racer.

Here are some WIP pictures of my 1/48 Testers F8F-2 Bearcat. I started it while waiting for another build to dry and it went together fairly quickly. I didn't want to detail the cockpit and decided to add the figure so it wouldnt look empty. There were a bunch of seam issues however those were easily fixed because the plastic is quite soft and works easily. I also removed the gun blisters, guns and the hard points on the wings. I didnt much care for the engine but when painted up it looks pretty good in the cowl, I also drilled out the exhaust tubes a huge improvement there. Anyway here are the pictures.

All in all IMHO the Testers Bearcat isn't a bad kit at all really.

Front page has been updated, can people check and make sure i got your stuff right?

Hi Everybody:

I finally have all my medical issues under control and am ready to get started here ...

First off is a Tigercat that I'm going to finish in an unusual paint scheme ... these photos are just the start ... more in the next day or two as I'll have everything together and ready to spray paint ...

Getting some of the pieces sorted out ...

Fuse put together and ready for more parts ...

Getting close to the point I can add the nacelles and props and guesstimate how much weight to put in the nose ...

Thanks,

pepper

Pepper,  I filled that nose with a couple of bolts and lead tape.  Pages 10 and 12 in this thread might be of some help as to the amount of weight and where I put it.  I think that I put some weight right behind the engines too.   Be careful how you secure it.  Don't make the mistake that I did.  Rick.

Pepperkay nice progress on the Tigercat

I have a few WIP pictures to submit.

Basecolor

And top color, I am giving thought to tryin some pin striping on this one.

Vettman, We're both gonna display a pretty, shiny Bearcat !    I've had a rough time getting my markings on my Gulfhawk.  I went wit the the Testor's decals on the Academy kit.  The two cowlings must have a different profile, because the artwork on the nose was not even close to fitting.  I've spent quite a bit of time "touching up" this bird.  I'll get a few pictures up in the next few days.   Rick.

Wabashwheels That nose decal wont even fit the Testers kit as it is too small by around 1/16 of an inch at each end, go figure huh. I used it as a pattern for the nose art on my build which I cut from frisked paper.Had to add to the ends to make it work.

Well, I'm calling it done.  This has been an adventure, testing my patience more than my modeling skills.  Basic construction went very well.  Academy has a very nice kit, adequate cockpit detail, nice landing gear and bay detail, decent engine detail, good fuselage and wing detail and fit.  I threw some scratch detail into the pit, along with a generic Eduard seat harness.  I went overboard and installed a Quickboost engine.  You don't really see it and when it came unseated after painting was applied, it became quite a headache to reattach.  I also used a brass tube fitted into the crankcase, with the corresponding brass rod attached to the propeller hub for a smooth fitting prop.  WARNING: The propeller will fall off during a dive. 

I decanted some Rustoleum International Orange with a slight tweak of red to get the color.  I airbrushed the whole thing with three coats.  The Testor's wing feather decals are large, one piece slabs with a lot of clear carrier film showing.  I cut the individual "feathers" apart eliminating nearly all of the clear carrier film.  It took some work to get the individual feathers to settle in over the corresponding white painted strips, but it made for a cleaner, painted look.

The bulk of the work came with the fuselage details.  The fuselage pinstripes went on fairly well...until I destroyed about an inch and a half on the bottom stripe along the right side.  I got a pretty good repair with the 10/0 liner and a little custom mix Tamiya blues paint.

The cowling was work.  The Testor's decal was not made for the Academy kit.  The triangular sides were located were they need to be, but the rest of the decal did not wrap around the front of cowling properly.  After some nip and tucks and about a pint of Micro Sol I had the decal as good as it was going to get.  From there I connected the dots with liner brush and then filled in the blue areas with paint.  Fortunately the clear gloss finish over the top of it all helped it a lot.  It ended up not too bad.

I've had a great time with my two builds and following everybody's hard work in this GB.  Thanks everyone for the encouragement along the way.  I'm looking to see everyone carry this build home.    Scorpiomikey, its been a great group and a lot of support.  You should be proud of your efforts.   Rick

Mate, shes gorgeous, if you havent already grab that badge and display it proudly, ill update the front page.

Wabashwheels nice work on that Gulfhawk man, You really made those colors pop and I know that was a challenge with those decals. A Bearcat to be proud of for sure. Ya know we don't see many Bearcats here on the forums and they really are good looking planes.

Here is my finished Bearcat racer, race #6 " Fat Cat " out of Belcher Louisiana.

This is the Testors F8F-2 kit in 1/48 scale built out of box. The only changes I made was to remove the guns and gun bubbles on the wings. I think the kit went together well with few fit issues and the usual lack of detail of the Testors kits. My only complaint with the kit is the gear legs are very very weak due to the soft plastic used to mold the kit with and the lousy decals in this kit.

Hi Everybody:

I'm finally back after 3 extended stays in the hospital ... still have a chest drain in and feeling puny, but am back at the bench and rarin' to get some progress photos up here ...

Here's the first of the Tigercat ... it's standing on its' wheels and with props, none of which are finished or attached ... prime coat on and if the temps go down some, I'll be able to shoot some more paint ...

pepper

Good to see you back pepper.

Scorpiomikey

Good to see you back pepper.

Thank you so much - the last one was pretty scary what with the docs telling my wife (this on a  Saturday night) they didn't think I'd see Sunday morning ... she told them I was too ornery for that nonsense and had things to do :-) ...

So, I'm back and have started getting some things done ... I shot a coat of paint on the Tigercat this morning - enamel -  the first time I've used it for an overall color coat - although it's hotter than snot today, I'm going to let the paint get good and dry - maybe do some things with it tomorrow ...

We're going to Arkansas late tomorrow through Sunday, so I won't be working on any projects, but will post the latest WIP photos by Monday next ...

pepper

PS  I also started the Bearcat today as well ... although it's an old Testors kit, I'm surprised at the good fit and lack of flash ... this one will be coming right along as well ...

 Cant wait to see more of your work. Glad your still with us. Wrong time of year to join Biggles in the great airfield.

 Been a few weeks since I've posted. Man!, with the new job, summer heat and activities( beach time in Florida) , exploring and gaining experience with photography hobby. Still slowly digging out of this modeling slump I've been in. Getting there though. 

Randy and Rick- Awesome work on your Bearcats. Absolutely beautiful.

 I've got the 1/48 Testors kit in my stash to build one day.  I'm drawn towards the Gulfhawk markings but am tempted to add to my Daddy 1 racing stable and build a very tricked out unlimited Bearcat.

 I have made progress on my Hellcat and getting down to the fiddly bit stage. Here's recent pics, first the finished paint with a start on finale weathering. Don't think I'll add too many paint chips as I understand carrier based birds generally were touched up fairly regular.  

 I added a few bits of detail to the gear legs with bits of scrap plastic and polyester thread for brake lines to jazz them up.

 Researched several looks for replicating the tail hook. This is what I went with/ made from thin wire.

The landing light was carved out with a round dremel cutter to form a shallow bowl . Then painted chrome silver , a bit of clear stretched sprue added for a bulb. Finished  off with a disc punched out of clear sheet and glued over the top of the bowl.

 Got the prop painted and mounted  guns and external tank straps next.. Hope to have this finished and on the display shelf in a couple more days.

 Howard

BTW- Hang in there Pepper 

Daddy1, Great looking finish on the Hellcat.   I love the detail and dirt on the underside.  That weathering really seals the deal.  She's gonna look great sittin on all three.   Rick

 At last , it's complete! Sittin' on all three wearing a big cat mouth grin. Here's the pics.

Here's looking at you.

I can only imagine the intimidation factor for some Japanese pilot seeing this big ,angry grin coming at you with six Ma Deuces blazing away. 

 Howard

She looks gorgeous. Is that mouth and eyes hand painted or a decal?

Ill update the front page.

As for the intimidation factor, from what i understand during combat most pilots said they identified aircraft type or national insignia, nothing else.

I could be wrong though.

Scorpiomikey

 Is that mouth and eyes hand painted or a decal?

 

As for the intimidation factor, from what i understand during combat most pilots said they identified aircraft type or national insignia, nothing else.

 

 All the decals were downloaded from the web, resized to scale , and printed on Testors decal paper. The star'n'bars , mouth, eyes, kill markings and tail number were printed on white paper . 

 The colors on the star'n'bars , mouth , and eyes printed a bit washed out so I over coated with Testors Model Master paints thinned down to just this side of being a wash. Thin enough to paint without brush marks, but thick enough to cover well. 

 I used Navy Blue darkened with some flat black on the insignia , Insignia Red and Black on the mouth and eyes, thinned with turpentine.

 The mouth and teeth inside the intake grin were entirely hand painted. No decal there.

 Your probably right about the goings on in a combat situation. 

 First , friend or foe, then ( if foe) what type is the other guy flying and whether to fight or evade. Finally , act . All in the time frame of of a few seconds or less. Probably wont even think much about other markings till after the fight is over.  You'd be too busy before then.

 Although , I'm reminded of the story of a Japanese ace who liked to pull into a max climb with an F4F on his tail . Then at the top ( after the Wildcat had stalled out and fell away) he'd roll over and make an easy kill. 

 Imagine his surprise, when thinking he was tangling with another Wildcat , he pulled into a climb , rolled over at the top, expecting to see the Wildcat falling away . But this time it was a brand new F6F-3 Hellcat and the Jap ace was staring at a big P&W R-2800 still coming up at him. How do you say " oh poop" in Japanese?LOL

Howard

Nice, i do remember one story of a pilot (not sure what he was flying) got in a dogfight, saw a flicker in front of his nose and fired. Next thing he knew he was watching a flaming wreck of japanese plane falling to the ocean. Fired 3 rounds. Ruined one pair of undies.

Very nice looking Hellcat Howard!! Looks great! I've been wanting to get the Eduard Hellcat. Nice job!!

Hey everybody, just to let you know, if you've entered, feel free to keep going, i wont take any more entries.

Keep going and grab the badge when your done, post completed photos etc like normal.