Gary Brantley

Many thanks to you Ivan, and you're quite welcome too! I hope the tips will come in handy on your Tigercat project. The main gear installation I used just seemed much more doable and practical than the kit directions method. I'm very pleased to read your kind comments Ivan! 🥂 Thanks so much Roger! Much appreciated, I assure you sir! 🍻 Thanks to all who've taken their busy time to leave a comment. It is so appreciated here in the heart of Texas! I want to give a shout out to the many also who have "liked" my Tigercat model! Your support and encouragement means a lot to me and provides much needed motivation.😀 Cheers! Gary

Hey Mike, I awoke this morning to find your wonderful comments on my model. Thank you very much for saying that! My late Dad used to say, "Even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then." So much of my time modeling I feel like that blind pig; and sometimes maybe do find that "acorn". 😁 A lot of luck involved! 😉 You know, after learning about that weighted plumber's putty from you, I had planned on trying some in the nose-cone of this model. But, I was so anxious about installing the front landing gear, I completely forgot about trying it! Dang! But, next time...😀 I surely appreciate what you've said here Mike! 🍺 Thanks Thom! I enjoyed reading your kind comments and appreciate the compliments so much! I put off trying that exhaust stain for days, quite intimidated by that step. But after "jumping in", it went better than expected and no doubt, better than I could've airbrushed it with my AB skills. I'm glad to hear you use the same method! Last evening, I placed this Tigercat into the display cabinet, after using a small dot of Alene's Tacky Glue to attach the barrel to the underside of the tail. None of my models are on a base; my tarmac "mock-up" is used for most of the photo sessions at airports. This model is sure easy to spot in the display! No missing that yellow paint job! And, with the barrel sitting way in back, it's barely noticeable! Thanks again, and yes, I agree Tigercats are beautiful birds! 😀

Very imaginative and so well done! I like it!

Another beauty Russ! Great looking Wildcat sir.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it F-32! Thank you for commenting!

That looks really nice Tuan! An impressive model in every aspect, it inspires me to want one myself. 😀 I believe the F-35 will prove to be quite successful in actual use should that occasion ever arise. 😉

Another breathtaking presentation from you Andy! Oh my! That is such amazing model and photography work dude. You continue to inspire me with every thread you post! That cockpit glazing is simply "out of this world".

Exquisite scale model; so well done Einar!

Many thanks Roberto! 🥂 I'm glad that you like her! Much appreciated sir! 😀 Thanks a lot!

Thanks a million Jackson! 😃 I've been going through "my yellow period" with this one and the underside of my Meteor as well as a yellow-nosed Bf-109E! I'm getting rather accustomed to it by now. And, seeing yellow in my dreams! That means so much to me Andy! It really means a lot coming from a master modeller like yourself. That is so kind of you to say, yes it is 1/48 scale. I appreciate your compliment regarding the photography a lot as well. My closest friend is a professional photographer with many credits in French Vogue magazine. He gave me some good suggestions last year after my F-84E thread here, and I think that's upped my game a little. Thanks for noticing Andy! 🍺 Wow, what great compliments Dave! I don't know if I'm really worthy of them but thank you sincerely for them! That makes all the teeth-gnashing and nail-biting over the past year so worth the effort. I'm humbled by your wonderful comments Michael. That is so nice to hear from you; someone who has inspired me so many times! It's true that the airport setting adds a lot to the model's presence and I'm fortunate to be able to use that to my real advantage. When I saw the yellow version of the model on the sides of the box, I knew immediately that I wanted to build that one. I think she came out pretty good, much better than I expected at more than a few points of the long journey to completion. 😉 Thanks also for the ballast tip, that might come in handy for my WWII twin-engined bombers! I expect to see an amazing Tigercat from you in the future my friend! I also want to thank all of you who have given your "likes" for my model; I appreciate those reactions too!

Peter, I so appreciate your wonderful comments! Thank you my friend for that! You are so right Greg, that yellow is hard to miss! Thanks for your kind words mate! 😀 They are simply gorgeous aircraft aren't they? Thank you for saying that dnl42! Who knew that XF5F had such beautiful genes in her DNA?!? 😁 Thank you James! I sincerely appreciate your comments; I've not been as fortunate as you to see one "in the metal"! It's a great idea to have a go at your kit, I look forward to seeing more Tigercats around here. 👍

This kit's directions have a note that I started putting paint to plastic on July 16, 2020 and I finished the model July 5 of this year. During that time, I did manage to complete one other model that had been set aside (Tamiya Meteor Prototype Number One), and also started two other kits, so the entire year wasn’t devoted to this one…but it felt like it! 😉 I deviated from the instructions somewhat. The main landing gear has five attachment points and the directions would have you fish that assembled, multi-part landing gear up through the wheel well opening. I couldn’t see me getting that done without some big trouble. So, the assembled gear were installed through the top of the engine nacelles (much easier!) and then the nacelles were installed on each wing before they were attached to the fuselage. Of course, that meant they were in the way for the rest of the build. I did cover them with protective “spats” that I made from paper towel tube, and they made it through without any issues. I had really wanted the model to sit on her three wheels without the support of the kit-provided barrel and crate, used in real life Tigercat service to keep the front tire on the ground when fuel tanks were empty. So, I added a lot of ballast into the fuselage, all forward of the main gear centerline. I knew that much weight would surely stress the plastic kit landing gear, so I used a set of white-metal gear instead. The total weight of the ballast was over 75 grams and I just knew it would be enough. I was wrong. 😦 The P&W R-2800s supplied in the kit were quite nice and I added spark-plug wiring and few other small parts that are pretty hard to see now. I didn’t use the notorious rubber tires that came in the kit, instead using a resin set in their place. Eduard PE seat belts were used and I scratch-made the canvas “sling” that served as the rear cockpit seat. The kit props are really misshaped, so I robbed an old Monogram Hellcat and Avenger of their props and used them. Paint was ModelMaster Insignia Yellow matte, and I used a semigloss clear-coat over that to replicate the somewhat glossy yellow paint used on the Naval Air Test Center bird from 1947 that I was doing for this build. I've found only one photograph of this NATC aircraft and it shows heavy exhaust staining, with black soot blown back along the nacelles and wings. Man, they must’ve been running those R2800s mighty rich! I wish I could have airbrushed that soot, but I just didn’t trust myself to do that without messing up the paint work, so it was done with pastel chalks. I was hesitant to seal the chalk staining with a clear-coat, so it was left unsealed and I was careful not to touch it after application. I also used some Flory wash to highlight a few panel lines. I deleted all the guns as the reference photo shows none and I added two, small sensors seen in that pic to the sides of the nose. I worried a lot about getting the tires all installed with the flat bottoms actually on the bottom, and still keeping them plumb. It is a difficult model to handle, so I laid her upside down on a jig and used 30-minute 2-part epoxy to attach them to the metal gear stubs. Turning her over and setting it over the table, I adjusted and checked them several times and felt they were good to go. Next morning, I sat her on her “feet’ for the first time ever and found that all three weren’t plumb. Their flats were on bottom but there was no way at that point to adjust them vertically without catastrophic consequences so they are what they are I’m afraid. And, I fear they may splay out more as time goes by with all that weight on them. And even with all that weight, she's still a tail-setter without some support of her rear-end. Since I ended up needing the barrel and crate anyway, I should’ve not used any weight at all! Live and hopefully learn. 😀 I took her to the Cameron airport on Tuesday, July6, for a photo session. All in all, I guess she looks okay; not as nice as I wanted but it’ll have to do. Thanks for hanging in this far, and thanks for your interest too. As always, I welcome your comments! Cheers! 🍻 Here's a shot of the front cockpit before it was all closed up: Rear cockpit photo: An early pic of the engines without their cowlings: Cockpits on finished model: This is the only photograph of the real NATC Tigercat I could find: My model in a similar pose:

Good looking model Reini!

To this beholder, that shark-like fuselage, and those elegant engine pods slung gracefully beneath wings, along with the gently swept wings all combine to create a beautiful aircraft. Dave, the last photo posted is just wonderfully realistic; very nice effect, looks like an archived original!

That is exquisite work in any scale! Very impressive 1/72 build for sure.

Yes, it's truly excellent!

That's a handsome model Christian! Great looking Spit'.

That is super nice Steve! Well done indeed!

Beautiful model of my favorite airplane!

Hey. What Michael said! ^^^ 😀 Gee, that bird looks great to me; I could never pull that off!

I like it. 👍 Great looking model Shide. They are so ugly that I think they're handsome; such a purposeful and unusual appearance. I bet one would make a good crop-duster! 😀

I think it looks great! 😀 Nuthin' wrong with that brother!

Very nice Fuad! The weathered appearance is so well done!

Big, bad and beautiful! Great realism Koralik!

😃 Mike, This chart's for you, my friend: