Toryu Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 "This was the last airplane in which the pilot literally got into the cockpit and wrapped it around him. The smallness of the cockpit, the close proximity of all controls, the reasonable clear vision above, to the side, downward and to the rear, and the overall smallness of the airplane gave the pilot the sense of being a part of the flying machine and being able to feel, see and easily command all of its flight requirements." Boone T. Guyton (Naval aviator and Vought test pilot) Sometime in 1932/33 aboard USS Saratoga... ... the leader of the 6th section of VF-1B 'High Hats'... ... ligns up his Fox-Four-Baker for take-off. This Entex Twin Wings model, built in 1977, is a revival of the 1958 Aurora kit. It was meant to be an F4B-4 but as I wanted it to represent 1-F-16 (BuNo. A-8911) I did a first basic conversion at that time. Not satisfied with the result I've undertaken two refurbishments since, the most recent one in conjunction with my P-12 project here. After many improvements over the past 40 years it's hard to remember how rudimentary this model had once been. Suffice it to say that there was no detail whatsoever, just an ungainly engine, a floor and a seat, and a massive bonnet with no troughs for the machine guns. But in the seventies we had not much choice in quarter scale and I was happy that at least a token of a golden age fighter existed! Since the fuselage is a little too wide I fabricated optional weather covers to shutter the cockpit aperture. The extra width, however, helped to fit a figure into the confined space. Like Boone Guyton put it: A plane wrapped around the pilot. With considerable scratch-building and a few aftermarket items (engine, wheels, tail, ailerons) I hope that my model has now become a fair reproduction of Boeing's grand old biplane. Thanks for your comments, Michael References Boeing P-12, F4B, Aero Series No.5, Edward T. Maloney, Fallbrook, 1966 Carrier Fighters Volume 1, J.V. Mizrahi, Northridge, 1969 Navy Air Colors Vol.1, Thomas E. Doll, Berkley R. Jackson, William A. Riley, Carrollton, 1983 The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide Vol.1, John M. Elliott, Boylston, 1987 P-12 / F4B in Action, Aircraft Number 141, Larry Davis, Squadron Signal Publications, Carrollton, 1993 Wings of the Fleet - US Navy & Marine Corps Aviation 1919-1941, On Target Special No.8, Peter Freeman and Mike Starner, Arlington, 2009 F4B - P-12 Scale Drawings, William A. Wylam, New York Act 1 and Act 2 together - the eternal twosome... Click here to read the P-12 story 59 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_ Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Lovely-well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Outstanding! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 You've certainly made a 'silk purse out of a pig's ear'. It's fabulous. Those pre war American fighters really are unique and you've done it justice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHaa Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 (edited) Michael, Excellent results with this beautiful models. Sehr nettes Job that rigging ! 👍 I also build those old Aurora models, although old and inaccurate, I still have them. Kind greetings, JohnHaa Edited June 7, 2019 by JohnHaa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 A great replica of an aircraft from a golden era. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 On 07/06/2019 at 19:48, noelh said: You've certainly made a 'silk purse out of a pig's ear'. It's fabulous. Those pre war American fighters really are unique and you've done it justice. Thank you noelh! Upgrading this kit was a lot of work but some parts like the struts were actually more accurate than those of the much later Classic Airframes product, not to speak of the stiffer plastic... I love 'preserving' vintage models. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 I love that so much! Those "Golden Age" fighters are among my favorite of all types of planes. I like how they were the last of the bi-planes and they ushered in a whole new generation of monoplane fighters that soon followed. I built the Lindberg (ex-Impact) kit of the Hawker Fury in 1/48 many years ago, and then subsequently went off on a kit-buying spree. I now have seven or eight in the stash including more of those Lindberg Impact reissues and several Classic Airframes kits. Your work, done back in '77, is just amazing. You brought that craft to life and enhanced it in so many ways. Both of those bi-planes are great models and very inspirational as well. My Fury suffered a bad accident a few years ago when a heavy 1/24 Fernando Pinto resin car model(1954 Ferrari 350 PanAmericana racer, ex-Phil Hill/Richie Ginther) fell from two shelves above and landed squarely on top of the Fury. The only structural damage was one broken leg on one strut, but every piece of the rigging was dislodged! I gathered all those pieces of fine guitar string together but haven't had the heart to try a rehabilitation project yet. Your beautiful fighters might have inspired me to give it another go. Thanks for that!🍺 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 On 07/06/2019 at 20:45, JohnHaa said: Michael, Excellent results with this beautiful models. Sehr nettes Job that rigging ! 👍 I also build those old Aurora models, although old and inaccurate, I still have them. Kind greetings, JohnHaa On 09/06/2019 at 15:19, Gary Brantley said: I love that so much! Those "Golden Age" fighters are among my favorite of all types of planes. I like how they were the last of the bi-planes and they ushered in a whole new generation of monoplane fighters that soon followed. I built the Lindberg (ex-Impact) kit of the Hawker Fury in 1/48 many years ago, and then subsequently went off on a kit-buying spree. I now have seven or eight in the stash including more of those Lindberg Impact reissues and several Classic Airframes kits. Thank you John and Gary. Your comments are much appreciated. It seems we share a lot of enthusiasm for this aviation period, and particularly for vintage models. I can't remember if my local dealer had Aurora and Inpact kits but Lindberg was available. I still have the Curtiss fighters in storage and, by adding some vacuform and newer releases, I plan to build the full Hawk biplane range - once all my other projects have been completed... Cheers, Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 What a feast for the eyes, a wonderful build (rebuild?). Beautiful work on both of them. Duncan B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Beautiful ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 On 13/06/2019 at 18:47, Duncan B said: What a feast for the eyes, a wonderful build (rebuild?). Beautiful work on both of them. Many thanks Duncan. I'm very pleased that you like the presentation of my model. Yes, a double rebuild so to speak: 1977 - initial build; some adjustments of the fuselage and rudder to convert to F4B-3 status; full rigging. 1996 - upgrade of the fuselage spine, fin and strut fairings; new engine, antennae and rigging; fresh colours and decals. 2019 - full overhaul; refinement of fuselage contour and cowling; machine gun troughs; cockpit and pilot; aftermarket engine (again), wheels, tail and control surfaces; correction of colours and decals (on wings); new rigging and antennae (again); panel lines and many small details. 2040 - ??? (will be too shaky to hold the model) A lot of work for such an old kit! But to learn from previous experience was still easier than to start all over again. The Classic Airframes P-12 gave me more headaches. Cheers, Michael 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Great looking model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobo Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 Hello Michael !! You're a man after my heart !! Great Boeing part 2 !! I started mine month ago !! Hope that I will do half as good as you did !! Here's my fiest trip in the yellow wings Navy ! Sincerely CC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Fantastic! I love the photography and diorama too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene K Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Wonderful presentation. I'm particularly impressed with how precisely you posed the model to match the 1:1 photo. Gene K 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feifeitim Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Absolutely stunning! Great work! Dead impressed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 This is more art than modelling Fabulous presentation and pics Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Hi Michael, your two models are out of this world. Yellow wing planes are at the top of my favorites, so you can bring them on as long as you like! Congrats for two works of art. JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clio182 Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 Wow that is phenomenal!! It looks almost identical to the photo, it looks absolutely spot on 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 What a beautiful thing, Toryu! Spectacular work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigomar Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 At first sight I thought about the 72nd from Monogram! Then I remembered that Toryu's scale is 48th, then I read the comments, and one word came to my mind: Outrageous! Cheers Michaël. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeddahbill Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 Beautiful! A real gem. Regards, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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