Popular Post Navy Bird Posted December 17, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted December 17, 2016 Hi mates, I started this build nearly four years ago, but it was one of those builds that kept being stuck back up on the shelf of doom. The Tigercat was a beautiful, elegant twin engined design from Grumman's Iron Works that was just too late for WWII, but saw combat in Korea at the hands of the US Marines. Most missions were recon, close air support and ground attack, but the Tigercat managed to knock a couple of biplanes out of the sky. I always wanted a Tigercat in my 1:72 collection, but I got tired of waiting for someone to produce a modern tooling. Therefore, I pulled out the old Monogram kit from the mid 60s and decided to tart it up a bit. Since the Monogram kit has raised panel lines, this meant a complete re-scribing. And, since it lacked detail in the cockpit, wheel wells, and engine departments, it meant I would be visiting the aftermarket section of my favourite hobby dealer. I settled on the Aires "Super Detail" set (read about it and weep over at the WIP), the Starfighter wheel well set, some Quickboost props, Aires tyres and wheels, and some Brengun wheel chocks that help keep her on her nose wheel. I ran into a lot of issues with the Aires detail set, but I finally decided enough was enough - let's just finish the thing! So here it is - all the fun details of the WIP can be found here, and if you read between the lines you'll see why I kept losing my mojo trying to finish it. But perseverance pays off...eventually. Project: Grumman F7F-3 Tigercat Kit: Monogram F7F-3 Tigercat (kit numbers 6062 and 6813) Scale: 1:72 (but a surprisingly large model nonetheless) Decals: Representing HEDRON One at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in 1950. Stencils from the kit, national insignia, squadron modex and other markings from the Island of Misfit Stickers Photoetch: From the Aires detail set, and an occasional bit from the Drawer of Fiddly Stuff Resin: Aires Detail Set 7018, Aires tyres/wheels 7208, Quickboost Propellers 72381, Starfighter wheel wells 7212, Brengun wheel chocks 72093 Vacuform: Squadron Tigercat canopy 9118 Paint: Model Master 1717 FS15042 Dark Sea Blue, 1169 Flat Yellow; Gunze H58 Interior Green, H90 Clear Red, H93 Clear Blue, H92 Clear Orange, H94 Clear Green, H12 Flat Black, H11 Flat White, H47 Red Brown; Alclad 101 Aluminum, 111 Magnesium, 115 Stainless Steel, 314 Klear Kote Flat; Floquil 110015 Flat Finish Improvements/Corrections Detailed nacelles with resin engines and photoetch parts such as the ignition harness and plug wires. Port exhausts from Aires set did not fit, so new ones were scratchbuilt. Over 26 grams of weight in the nose, but it was just barely enough - sometimes she sits nice, sometimes not. Wheel chocks prevent any propensity for tail-sitting. Cut open the kit canopy, and used only the windscreen. The sliding canopy and fixed rear portion came from the Squadron vacuform. Detailed cockpit with Aires resin and photoetched instrument panel and seat harnesses. Resin propellers and hubs Starfighter resin wheel wells with oil and glycol tanks Resin wheels/tyres - all landing gear received photoetched scissors links Used scrap pieces of clear plastic to make new navigation lights and lenses Oil cooler vents opened up on top of wings 5" High Velocity rockets from Hasegawa F9F Panther kits Added communication antennae with 0.005" diameter Nitinol wire Build thread: Link - anyone wishing to use the Aires Super Detail Set please have a look at the WIP. It may help you when you get to the tricky parts. So on with the pictures! And some family shots: I think that last shot shows you just how big the Tigercat was. That's an appropriate picture, too, since the F7F was originally supposed to be called the Tomcat. At the time, the US Navy brass rejected the name because it promoted "female promiscuity." I guess that wasn't a problem later on after "The Summer of Love!" Cheers, Bill 106 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Great job. Love the open cowls and the solution with the chocks. Looks like a busy lil brute! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Perseverance has definitely paid off, she's gorgeous! Congrats Bill! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 A most worthy tribute to one of the most shapely Cats! Splendid modelling! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Can't believe my eyes! Superb modelling! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Magnificent model of a beautiful aeroplane. Looks-wise it's the opposite of the Jaguar, whose designers clearly didn't believe in the saying 'if it looks right, it flies right', which is appropriate since by all accounts it didn't fly right. Which kit is the Jaguar? Is this the Planet Models kit? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 4 years well spent, a very fine model indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Very nice indeed. And smart trick with shifting back point of support to avoind some more grams of lead in nose Cheers J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Beautiful model and a very educational WiP - thanks for sharing it Bill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 A dark vision of aeronautical loveliness Bill. I'm amazed at how thin the fuselage cross-section is when viewed longitudinally. As ever you educate and illuminate. Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo1112 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 A really superb Tigercat you built there ! I particularly love the details and the pristine finish. Wonderful job !!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 STUNNING build. you have built a SUPER model. A Gold star from ME. KUDOS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 That's a cracking build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadbear Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewer Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Watched the WIP all along, really turned out great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) You keep pouding masterpieces, Bill! Very interesting WIP thread, also because I learned something about an aircraft which was almost unknown to me before. The result is outstanding and all those little added details and the exposed engines make her look like if it's in a much bigger scale Ciao Edit: damn spell checker! Edited December 17, 2016 by giemme Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 A real beauty, I admire your pereseverance in getting it finished! Well worth all the effort. Cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Much like all of your other work, it is gorgeous! I'm also glad you suffered with it, because now it means we'll finally get a new tooling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 On 12/17/2016 at 01:04, zebra said: Looks-wise it's the opposite of the Jaguar, whose designers clearly didn't believe in the saying 'if it looks right, it flies right', which is appropriate since by all accounts it didn't fly right. Which kit is the Jaguar? Is this the Planet Models kit? Yes indeed, that's the Planet Models kit. RFI thread is here, included within is a link to the WIP. Not a bad kit, I like the way it came out. It's not entirely accurate (the nose is too long, the canopy too large, and the aft fuselage not wide enough), but I think it's better shape-wise than the Anigrand kit. The canopy is the most noticeable error. On 12/17/2016 at 04:56, polo1112 said: I particularly love the details and the pristine finish. Thanks. For some reason, I like Dark Sea Blue models to be pristine. The Tigercat was known for leaving some light grey exhaust residue on the top of the wing and the sides of the nacelles, but I elected not to add that. I have a lot of photos that show clean airframes, so I took the lazy man's way out! Maybe if I can get my hands on the Pavla F7F-3N kit, I can make a black Korean War bird that's a bit worse for wear. On 12/17/2016 at 09:36, SoftScience said: I'm also glad you suffered with it, because now it means we'll finally get a new tooling That's probably true, it's happened to me before. Right after I finished my EE Lightning kitbash, Airfix came out with their new 1:72 kit. Just my luck! AZ Models keep hinting that they're going to release a new Tigercat, but it might just be the Pavla tooling cleaned up. But maybe not... Cheers, Bill PS. I can never decide what to build next... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansReggelsen Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Sheer Beauty! Cheers Hans J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Great build. Real modelling. BM. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Wonderful model Bill, really superb job! Looks flawless as usual, stunning build & paint! Beautiful Tigercat! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelglue Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 19 hours ago, Navy Bird said: Now that's just spiffy. Nice work on the model, obviously, but I also think it goes without saying we appreciate the work you put into your presentation and WiP. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niles Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) 21 hours ago, Navy Bird said: the F7F was originally supposed to be called the Tomcat. At the time, the US Navy brass rejected the name because it promoted "female promiscuity." That's really nice work, looks so impressive with the nacelles opened up to show the engines. I'd be impressed if it was 48th, but particularly being 72nd. Getting your fingers in there to do that work must have been challenging. Now as far as "female promiscuity" let's hear it for that. Isn't that what keeps morale going in the Navy between the hardtack and the floggings? Edited December 17, 2016 by Niles 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Smashing model Bill! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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