Search the Community

F8F Grumman Bearcat 1:48 Testors The story is that the Grumman Bearcat concept came about during a meeting between US Navy Battle of Midway veteran pilots and the then Grumman Vice President Jake Swirbul. Here it was made clear that power and climb rate were important to the pilots. Grumman then spent some time (approx 18 months) analysing carrier warfare in the Pacific before designing the F8F Bearcat. The specifications for the Bearcat called for it to be able to be operated from the smallest carriers, and to retain the P&W R-2800 engine. The big prop for the engine (measuring 12 4) would require a long landing gear, in order to achieve this the undercarriage used an articulated hydraulic trunion which extended the length of the legs. Additional benefits of this was that when retracted the legs would be housed entirely in the wing, and the wide track helped counteract torque as well as proving a more stable platform for carrier operations. In order to save weight internal fuel was limited to 160 gallons, and armament was only 4 x 50 calibre machine guns. One unique weight saving concept tried on the bearcat was detachable wing tips. If G force was to exceed 7.5g then the tips would snap off still leaving the aircraft capable of flight, and a carrier landing. Unfortunately while this idea worked under controlled conditions, operationally it was a failure. This lead to situations where by only one tip would come off leading to the possibility of a crash. Grumman tried replacing the tips with ones which could be jettisoned by explosives. This system was stopped after the tragic death of a ground crewman after the tips blew off accidently. The Bearcat was also the first US Navy aircraft to feature a bubble canopy giving the pilot an unrestricted 360 degree view. The first production bearcats were delivered in February 1945, with VF-19 going operational in May 1945. However no Bearcat saw any combat in WWII. The first combat would have to wait until 1951 when French Forces were supplied Bearcats for the war in Indochina. When the French left in 1954 28 Bearcats were handed over to the newly formed South Vietnamese Air Force. Another operator in the same area at this time was the Royal Thai Air Force. A production bearcat would set in 1946 a time-to-climb record of 10,000 feet in 94 seconds from a 115ft take off. This would stand for 10 years before being broken by a modern jet aircraft. Due to the excellent performance of the Bearcat they became a popular aircraft for air racing. Stock as well as highly modified Bearcats would dominate the races at Reno for a long time after the aircraft were retired by the military. The Bearcat Conquest I broke the world speed record for Class C-1 with a 3KM record speed of 483.041 MPH. This aircraft now proudly rests in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. The Bear cat Rare Bear which was modified with a Skyradier engine set world speed record for Class C-1 with a 3KM record speed of 528.33 MPH in 1989 and broke the 1946 time-to-climb record with 3000m (9842 ft) being reached in 91.9 seconds in 1972. The Kit The kit is a re-boxing of an old Hawk kit from the 1960's. As such it is the technology of the time. You get a plastic bag with an assortment of parts in grey plastic. Details are a strange mix of recessed panel lines on the fuselage, raised panel lines on the wings, with recessed areas for the flight controls. The fabric areas for the control surfaces are actually very well done and restrained. Construction is fairly simple as too be honest there are not a great deal of parts. The instructions would have the modeller first complete the sub assemblies of the drop tanks, bomb, pilots seat, propeller/cowling and wings. Next the fuselage is joined together incorporating the very basic cockpit (a floor and seat).There then seems to be a step missing from the basic instructions as step 3 shows the canopy being added. Between step 2 and 3 say step 2a the modeller will have to add the wongs and completed cowling to the fuselage. To then finish off the landing gear and underwing stores are added. Colour call outs throughout are given in FS numbers and Testors own brand numbers. Canopy The clear parts are a little thick, but seem fairly clear. In this kit they were just inside the bag with all the other parts so that the canopy became detached from the sprue leaving a chunk missing. Decals The decals for the kit are good. They are by Scalemaster and printed by Microscale. They look good solid decals, in register and glossy. Markings are for two aircraft. The First is a Bearcat F8F-2 used by the Naval air Reserve at Glenview IL in 1953. This aicraft features the orange tailband as used on Naval Reserve aircraft at the time, this will need to be painted by the modeller. The second is a civilian version of the bearcat, a G-58A Gulfhawk. Markings are for an overall orange aircraft flown by Major Al Williams. To make this version the modeller will need to make some minor modifications to the kit. These modifications are detailed in the instructions. Conclusion Even though its in no doubt that there are more modern and better kits of the Bearcat out there; with some degree of modelling skill this kit should be able to be made into a good looking model. The addition of decals to make a Gulfhawk is a nice touch. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for