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1:72 Monogram Grumman F7F-3 Tigercat


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Hi mates,

 

I'm back for another go at it. This time it's the iconic (or is it venerable, I'm never quire sure) old Monogram kit of the Grumman F7F-3 Tigercat in 1:72 scale. The Monogram kit dates back to 1967 (not long after I started modelling) and can easily be found at contests, swap meets, flea markets, dusty attics, and mouldy fruit cellars. I got mine for an easy $3.00 at the 2012 ROCON contest (Rochester, NY). The shape of the old kit is very good, but being from that just-out-of-the-womb period in the history of plastic modelling, it's a bit short in the detail department. Little things, like the entire cockpit and the wheel wells are, well, missing. It's not like some parts in my kit were lost along the way, but more like the parts were never intended to be there to begin with.

 

Luckily, we have the aftermarket detail company Aires more than willing to take my hard earned money by offering a complete Grumman F7F Extreme Detailing Set (suitable not only for the Monogram kit but also for the same when dressed in Revell garb) for a paltry $55.00!! Isn't capitalism a wonderful thing?  :)

 

So here are the raw materials:

 

100_3079

 

The blue stuff is the kit, the resin-y coloured stuff is the, um, resin. I've already removed some of the resin parts from their pour blocks, and I can say that I'm quite pleased with the quality. I haven't seen any bubbles or such yet (knock wood). There are some extra kit parts that I'm not showing (engines, cowlings, etc.) since they will be replaced by the resin. Oddly enough, the wings are mostly recessed panel lines, but the rest of the kit is raised. No matter, I shall be re-scribing the fuselage as part of the project. Ugh.

 

Speaking of the resin, we have a complete cockpit and two complete miniature Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engines. Little kits themselves, I have the honour of installing the cylinder heads into the crankcase one at a time. Pumps and tanks are present, as are the intricate exhaust headers. Also in resin we have some of the engine mounts which will be exposed once the nacelles are cut open, and we have new front cowling pieces and main gear doors.

 

In photoetch, we will be building new wheel wells and adding assorted fiddly detail stuff, including seat belts and a new instrument panel which accepts the supplied film instruments. There are PE ignition rings and cooling gills for the engines. And lovely copper wire, which I think will be used for the lifters. (Is that what those rods are? I'm afraid I'm a bit of a hoser when it comes to a spanner. And that's hoser in the Canadian sense, just in case it means something naughty in Britain.)

 

Not shown are the replacement propellers and spinners that I've ordered and are whisking their way towards me at this very moment. From Missouri of all places.

 

I think I'll also pick up a vacuform canopy, because there are a couple available and we should do our part to support the cottage industries so they can grow and turn into big black smoke (apologies to the brothers Davies).

 

What I need is a new decal sheet. All I can find are ones for Tigercat Fire Bombers, which is not my intent. I was thinking of something more along the lines of Korean War bomber. Any ideas, mates? After my recent target tug Sea Vixen, I'm looking forward to a model where the entire fuselage is the same colour!!

 

Stay tuned, things should start getting interesting soon!

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. It's a disease. I can't stop.

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Hi Bill. Those old Monogram kits were very well cast/moulded and have stood up in some respects but as you say lacking in essential detail. I too swaped the engine for resiin and the difference was amazing.

Colour wise I think you looking at sea blue gloss or sea blue gloss maybe sea blue gloss, oh and black! I'll follow your thread with interest.

 

Colin

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 Very interesting subject and a build I'll follow with interest !

I have the same kit in the stash and often find myself looking at it and feeling the urge to start building it. I wasn't as lucky as you with price though, mine costed $4 ! :lol:

Can't help with decals a unfoertunately, mine only has markings for a single option and they are useless anyway

Edited by Giorgio N
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Hi mates!

 

Embarrassing confession - I have no idea how to remove these pieces from the pour block:

 

100_3081

 

I taped a piece of sandpaper to a flat piece of glass, and figured that I could just sand until the block was gone, but I have nothing to hold onto. Plus, if I were to get to a point where the block is sanded away, these pieces look rather delicate and I'm sure that they would snarfle in some way or another.

 

Advice?

 

Thanks,

Bill

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Bill, if i can make 2 suggestions:

 

1) For the Love of God, please don't do it in overall black.

 

2) If you have friends with 72nd scale Tamiya F4U-1 or -1A kits, ask em if they'd be willing to part with the 13'1" Ham Standard propellers. Much, much better than the kit propellers. Failing that, Plan "B" would be to use the propellers from the Hasegawa F6F Hellcat kit. Next best thing out there. Quickboost does a resin propeller but i haven't inspected it closely. I fear it's just a copy of the Eduard Hellcat propeller which is the low point of that entire kit.

 

d-bot

 

Former Grumman-ish alumni.

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Hi mates!

 

Embarrassing confession - I have no idea how to remove these pieces from the pour block:

 

100_3081.jpg

 

I taped a piece of sandpaper to a flat piece of glass, and figured that I could just sand until the block was gone, but I have nothing to hold onto. Plus, if I were to get to a point where the block is sanded away, these pieces look rather delicate and I'm sure that they would snarfle in some way or another.

 

Advice?

 

Thanks,

Bill

 

The V-struts I would just replace with bent wire. I would cut the bulkhead frame away from the backing with an ultra-thin razor saw like the one from UMM/JLC.

 

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?products_id=35

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Hi David,

 

No worries - no plans for black! This will be an overall glossy sea blue single seater. Could be late 40s (with WWII style insignias) or it could be early Korean war. As far as the props go, I've already ordered the Quickboost resin replacements, which I think were listed as for the F4U. I thought the Corsair, Hellcat, Bearcat, and Tigercat all used the same props - true?

 

If I don't like any of the props, I could always do this...

 

grum1219F7F-2NdeadstklndCorkyMeyerS

 

Cheers,

Bill

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On 1/9/2013 at 19:58, rotorheadtx said:
The V-struts I would just replace with bent wire. I would cut the bulkhead frame away from the backing with an ultra-thin razor saw like the one from UMM/JLC.

 

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?products_id=35

 

Thanks - I had that in mind as Plan "B" although it will result in a bulkhead that is thicker than it should be. Oh well, I may end up scratch building all of these parts, because I think no matter what I try I going to end up breaking something!

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Hi mates!

 

Embarrassing confession - I have no idea how to remove these pieces from the pour block

 

I taped a piece of sandpaper to a flat piece of glass, and figured that I could just sand until the block was gone, but I have nothing to hold onto. Plus, if I were to get to a point where the block is sanded away, these pieces look rather delicate and I'm sure that they would snarfle in some way or another.

 

Advice?

 

Thanks,

Bill

Very carefully, using only fingertip pressure, sand the part with its surrounding wafer in figure 8s on your piece of sandpaper taped to the glass. Cut the part away from the surrounding resin as if it's a vac part, then using the friction of your fingertips, drag it over the sandpaper. Go slowly, check often and stop just as the wafer in the centre of the part starts coming away from the edges of the part. I second the recommendation to replace the V struts with wire. Did I say be very careful?

Edited by Jessica
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Hi David,

 

No worries - no plans for black! This will be an overall glossy sea blue single seater. Could be late 40s (with WWII style insignias) or it could be early Korean war. As far as the props go, I've already ordered the Quickboost resin replacements, which I think were listed as for the F4U. I thought the Corsair, Hellcat, Bearcat, and Tigercat all used the same props - true?

 

If I don't like any of the props, I could always do this...

 

grum1219F7F-2NdeadstklndCorkyMeyerS.jpg

 

Cheers,

Bill

Ummm....Not exactly.

Early F4U Corsairs up thru the Goodyear FG-1As delivered in Gloss Sea Blue used a 13' 4" Hamilton Standard Hydromatic. The F6F, F7F, and TBM-3 used a 13' 1" Ham Standard "Paddle Blade" propeller. This was also fitted to a lot of F4U-1D and FG-1Ds. The F8F used a totally different, 4-Blade Aeroproducts propeller.

 

The difference in planform between the 13' 4" and 13' 1" propellers is significant.

 

-d-

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Thanks - I had that in mind as Plan "B" although it will result in a bulkhead that is thicker than it should be. Oh well, I may end up scratch building all of these parts, because I think no matter what I try I going to end up breaking something!

 

Cheers,

Bill

I think you misunderstand my meaning - the JLC/UMM saw is so thin that you can cut parallel to the surface of the face of the part and lose only a minute amount of thickness. I do not mean you should cut around the bulkhead's shape; I mean cut it from the backing sheet on the horizontal plane.

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Hi Bill

Looks like you have yourself a nice little project there! I've got the same excellent Aires sets but am matching them with an old Gran vacform (just cos masochism runs in the family ;-) ). I would be interested in a link to the supplier of the replacement props, as the ones supplied with the Gran kit are truly appalling! I had a look around but failed to find anything. Your help would be most appreciated.

I'll be following this one with delight - especially as I currently have it's bigger brother (the AMT 48th kit, with extras) on my bench as I type this. I'm planning on a firebomber version for the 48th kit, though. :-)

Cheers

Kev

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On 1/9/2013 at 22:23, David H said:
Ummm....Not exactly.

Early F4U Corsairs up thru the Goodyear FG-1As delivered in Gloss Sea Blue used a 13' 4" Hamilton Standard Hydromatic. The F6F, F7F, and TBM-3 used a 13' 1" Ham Standard "Paddle Blade" propeller. This was also fitted to a lot of F4U-1D and FG-1Ds. The F8F used a totally different, 4-Blade Aeroproducts propeller.

 

The difference in planform between the 13' 4" and 13' 1" propellers is significant.

 

-d-

 

Thanks for the clarification. I checked and what I've ordered are Quickboost (Aries) resin replacement props for the F6F, which should be the same as the F7F (13' 1" diameter). When I get them, I can compare to both the Monogram props and against the Eduard Hellcat kit (which I have in my stash). Here is a link to a picture of the Quickboost prop.

 

On 1/9/2013 at 22:41, rotorheadtx said:
I think you misunderstand my meaning - the JLC/UMM saw is so thin that you can cut parallel to the surface of the face of the part and lose only a minute amount of thickness. I do not mean you should cut around the bulkhead's shape; I mean cut it from the backing sheet on the horizontal plane.

 

Ah, OK, I did misunderstand you. I tried that last night with the V-struts, but as I expected I broke one of them. I'll try this again with the bulkhead.

 

On 1/10/2013 at 02:00, modelman182 said:
Hi Bill

Looks like you have yourself a nice little project there! I've got the same excellent Aires sets but am matching them with an old Gran vacform (just cos masochism runs in the family ;-) ). I would be interested in a link to the supplier of the replacement props, as the ones supplied with the Gran kit are truly appalling! I had a look around but failed to find anything. Your help would be most appreciated.

I'll be following this one with delight - especially as I currently have it's bigger brother (the AMT 48th kit, with extras) on my bench as I type this. I'm planning on a firebomber version for the 48th kit, though. :-)

Cheers

Kev

 

Let's see, I ordered Quickboost part number 72381 from Sprue Brothers. Here is a link. This is listed as a resin replacement prop for the Cyber Hobby F6F Hellcat kit.

 

Vac kit, eh? You do have a masochistic streak!  :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

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On 1/9/2013 at 21:41, Jessica said:
Very carefully, using only fingertip pressure, sand the part with its surrounding wafer in figure 8s on your piece of sandpaper taped to the glass. Cut the part away from the surrounding resin as if it's a vac part, then using the friction of your fingertips, drag it over the sandpaper. Go slowly, check often and stop just as the wafer in the centre of the part starts coming away from the edges of the part. I second the recommendation to replace the V struts with wire. Did I say be very careful?

 

Thanks, Jessica. This is basically what I tried to do, but the whole thing is just so darn skinny that there is not much I can hold onto. I try to hold onto the bulkhead, which is the thickest part on the resin, but it keeps slipping away. I'll try again, as well as trying the thin razor saw trick. This is the first time I've seen resin parts on a wafer like this, but at least I'll learn some new techniques no matter what I do!

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Bill, going from the photo you sent me, its hard to tell if those blades are a direct copy of the Eduard kit, but i will say they look much better than those found in the Monogram kit.

 

(BTW: The Tamiya -1 and -1A kits include the -1D propeller; you don't need it to build a -1/-1A, so it's not a show stopper)

 

-d-

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I'll be keeping an eye on this pal! Love the Tiger cat, even considered designing one for R.C.  Bit of a puzzle though casting the the struts in resin when there is brass rod and plastic rod! Even stretched sprue! 

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On 1/11/2013 at 12:56, Nobby said:
I'll be keeping an eye on this pal! Love the Tiger cat, even considered designing one for R.C.  Bit of a puzzle though casting the the struts in resin when there is brass rod and plastic rod! Even stretched sprue! 

 

Ain't that the truth! I have a good selection of styrene rod in stock, so that will probably be the route I take. The resin struts measure about 0.6mm diameter, and I've got 0.025in rod, methinks that's close enough! Your Javelin project is coming along nicely! :)

 

On 1/11/2013 at 13:55, martin hale said:
This will be fun to follow, although the phrase "Glutton for punishment" does spring to mind!

 

Martin

 

True, but I've never tackled a project like that Gotha of yours! Holy smokes! I do have some plans to scale your TSR.2 build down to the gentleman's scale, maybe this summer. Got your build bookmarked!  :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Hi mates,

 

I've managed to put in a little time on the Tigercat, so let's see where we are. First, the mail order hobby shops will be happy to know that my wallet has been crying out to me to be relieved of all that cash - so I've ordered the decal sheet from Starfighter (along with Felix the Cat schemes for the Grumman F4F-3, Brewster F2A (Jimmy Thatch!), and Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat - this will help fill some holes in my Felix collection). The Tigercat decals are boring, just the national insignia and call numbers. But it's all I could find for now!

 

I had a good look at the tires that came with the kit, and they, well, stink. The front tire is usable, but the main wheels need to be replaced. There doesn't seem to be any Tigercat-specific wheels available, however the real tires seem to be very similar to the treaded versions on the F6F Hellcat (not surprising). I suspect my next purchase will be some resin Hellcat wheels (from Squadron) and a vacuform canopy, as I plan on posing that open.

 

I cleaned up the resin cockpit parts, and I glued the PE seat belts to the seat. Normally, I leave the belts off until I've painted everything, but I am going to paint them later using the technique shown in the Villalba book. He makes it look easy, but he's doing 1:32 scale stuff (hint - it's bigger). We'll see how it goes.

 

100_3085

 

As I mentioned earlier, I decided to re-scribe the entire fuselage because I'm 1) insane, 2) suffering from AMS, and 3) so anal-retentive that I'm even counting the threads in the canvas rudder. :)  Actually, I just don't like the look of raised panel lines. But here where the problem creeps in - I am one lousy scriber!

 

Using the raised lines as my guide, I finished the starboard half of the fuselage. Here it is on the right, with the raised panel lines on the left. You can also see some putty work - a little sink hole up near the nose, and several slips of the scriber. Oops! I hate it when that happens. Hopefully, this will look OK when it's painted.

 

100_3089

 

I painted the engine block and crankcase with Alclad Dark Aluminum and wow! The details really jump out at you now. When it was the lovely yellow resin color, you could hardly see the detail, but put on some paint and it looks pretty sweet! Yes, that's right, there is even a spline on the propeller shaft! Holy rivet-counting, Batman!

 

100_3086

 

Since the engines are P&W Double Wasps, there are two banks of cylinder heads to attach to each engine, one cylinder head at a time. First, I did the rear bank for both engines (Aires provided two spare cylinder heads just in case one goes Zing!), and then I did a test of a new recipe for an artists acrylic wash to see how it might bring out the details in the cooling fins. The engine on the right has the wash applied, and I think it worked well.

 

100_3093

 

To give you a better idea of scale, and how small all these details are, the following picture does NOT show a 50 gallon bottle of Tamiya XF-56:

 

100_3096

 

That's right, it's really a 50 gallon bottle of Tamiya XF-76! Ha - just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Seriously, this is some pretty small stuff but I can handle it. It's the photoetch ignition wires that will finally take me over the edge.

 

OK, it's back to work for me!

 

Cheers!

Bill

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Lookin' good Bill, particularly the engines I think the ignition wires was a bridge too far for me too. They do look good once finished but are hidden by the front cowling ring!!!       I must see if mine is somewhere in the made stash.

 

Colin

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On 1/14/2013 at 23:59, clift said:

I'll be watching this build with great interest.

 

May I ask, where you found the replacement props?  Thanks!

 

Check the link at the bottom of post number 15. These are the Quickboost replacement props for the F6F Hellcat.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Looking great....

 

re: sanding that bulkhead.

 

Sandpaper on glass as you said - then double sided sticky tape on another piece of glass - or a thick piece of plasticard/acrylic or a piece of brass - anything flat and thick/stiff.

 

cut off some of the excess flat bits of the resin near the bulkhead (reduces the amount of work you need to do and also less stuff to clog the sandpaper).

 

put your fingers all over the sticky tape until it's not quite so tacky then press the glass and tape onto the good side of the resin bulkhead to hold it.

Now you should be able to hold the glass/plastic/brass easily to sand it against your sandpaper/glass combo.

 

Added benefit is that you can keep the flat plate of glass/plastic/brass nice and horizontal and therefore avoid sanding off more on one side than the other.

 

Badger

Edited by Flying Badger
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