“The Gee Bee Early Version – Fastest and Most Dangerous Airplane in the World”

[Mikey-1980]

I picked this little gem up from IPMS 2019 from the @dora Wings stand and instantly wanted to build it.

 

I've always had a fascination with this aircraft from the first time I saw one in the movie "The Rocketeer", flown by the main protagonist Cliff Secord....

 

so a little history on the worlds fastest and deadliest aircraft of the early 1930's...

 

The 1932 R-1 and its sister plane, the R-2, were the successors of the previous year's Thompson Trophy-winning Model Z.

Assistant Chief Engineer Howell "Pete" Miller and Zantford "Granny" Granville spent three days of wind tunnel testing at NYU with aeronautical engineering professor Alexander Klemin. The aircraft had a very peculiar design. Granville reasoned that a teardrop-shaped fuselage — especially as seen from directly above — would have lower drag than a straight-tapered one, so the fuselage was wider than the engine at its widest point.

 

 

So on to the kit itself from Dora Wings

 

This will be the early version of the GeeBee with out the extended tail behind the cockpit, but essentially the same aircraft of the R1 & R2 variants

 

 

5 sprue's in total with a tiny cockpit. The polymer feels similar to that used by Mikr Mir but feels solid with lots of detail

 

 

You get a decent decal sheet to make either NR2100 or NR2101 with masks templates for the interesting paint scheme for the GeeBee. The photo etch plat is very nicely detailed too.

 

 

Bit of a close up to the photo etch, detailing for the Wasp radial engine, the wing struts and the cockpit harness

 

 

Very simple instruction sheet too,

 

 

 

Construction should start on Sunday when I have a chance to put some decent time into it. Shouldn't take too long either?

 

Thoughts and suggestions are always welcomed.

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by Mike
Removing the phantom strike-through

[invidia]

looks great, tempted to get one of these, and the later aircraft, they just need to do a gee bee Z now. i have a number of williams bros kits in the stash.

[Mikey-1980]

It looks like it could a very nice build too, and a steal at £20 on the day of the show as well.

 

I'm not entirely sure why the text in my post is struck through either?

[Marklo]

I have a 1:32 version in my stash (although I think it has an open cockpit, same colour scheme) so will be watching with interest.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Marklo

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Finally, a civil racer classic to brighten BM's skies!

The text is automatically struck trough until you actually build something.

It's a virus installed by the Martian in residence, @Martian Hale

But there is an easy solution: click Edit, then highlight all the text, then "unclick" at the top bar the strike-through option on the style/formatting tile.

Wrooooooommmmmmmm!

[Martian]

9 hours ago, Moa said:

Finally, a civil racer classic to brighten BM's skies!

The text is automatically struck trough until you actually build something.

It's a virus installed by the Martian in residence, @Martian Hale

But there is an easy solution: click Edit, then highlight all the text, then "unclick" at the top bar the strike-through option on the style/formatting tile.

Wrooooooommmmmmmm!

Its all lies! The only virus I carry is Purple Earthling Disease which I reserve for particularly deserving cases.

 

Martian of the Tactful Hint 👽

[Mikey-1980]

Morning all!

 

Just for kicks......tried the the text edit.....didn't work... @Martian Hale are you sure there isn't a hex on this post?? 🤨

 

Any whos....back to the build, and despite a very busy weekend wedding venue viewing and birthday pressie hunting for my step daughters 18th, I did manage to find a few hours last night to make a start.....And this, is a tricky one, especially for the cockpit.

 

Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the initial build of the seat and photo etched seat belts, frustration hit slightly with the extra thin super glue decided it didn't want to flow for me so with a tooth pick and normal super glue I very carefully applied the PE parts and painted them up.

 

With not much of an idea of how the cockpit looks, paint wise in a GeeBee, I went with a standard Olive drab and aluminum pipe work and weathered them up a little. Quite pleased with the result so far.

 

 

 

The next section comprised of building the pipe struts and frame work...this was particularly fiddly to make sure everything lined up. I am hoping that when the cocpit section is placed inside the fuselage, that it will still fit? 

 

Before paint..

 

 

And after....

 

 

 

The control mechanisms are next up and another section of frame work to build...So far it's an enjoyable build.

 

Thoughts and comments welcomed.

[Courageous]

Not my scale but hey, it's a racer. 

 

Stuart

[Kushan_Farsight]

Looking good so far!

There was at one point a Luft 46 / german prototype for an assault aircraft that whilst not as wide and squat as the BeeGee had a similar layout... that and the olive drab started me thinking about what a militarized beegee would look like! 

 

whatever that plane is im thinkin of will bug me all night, will add a picture if i eventually remember!

[Mikey-1980]

If a militarised GeeBee were to have happened, I would have thought it would be a short range interceptor?

 

Couple of 20mm cannons mounted through the radial engine?

 

Some thing like this?

 

 

[RadMax8]

I had a book when I was young called Weird and Wonderful Aircraft. The GeeBee was in there, and for a very long time it was my absolute favorite airplane. Got to see a replica fly once at the EAA show in Oshkosh. Glad to see there’s a kit in 1/48. I actually had the chance to buy one at a hobby store I visited during a work trip, but chickened out. 

 

Looks like you are doing a great job, especially with those fiddly bits. Not so sure about the olive drab in the cockpit, but I don’t know if anyone really can say you’re wrong! I’m very excited to see how this progresses.

[Mikey-1980]

Cheers @RadMax8 I wasn't sure either, but it seems right with a mixture of weathered aluminium strut work between the bulkheads. 

 

I have to admit I too was captivated when I first saw one when watching The Rocketeer as a kid. I only noticed this kit after I was pickingup some spare engine sprues for the my Beverley build from Dora Wings c/o Mikr Mir....I spotted the 144 scale GeeBee, which were TINY!!! no more than an inch in size, if that.

 

Spotted the larger 1/48 scale and instantly bought it. If you find one, why not add it to the stash? You know you want to

[Mikey-1980]

Only managed a brief 20 minutes n the bench last night,

 

Frame work for the next hull section complete and ready for paint....

 

 

That's all for the moment

[stevehnz]

On 11/26/2019 at 9:38 PM, Mikey-1980 said:

The Rocketeer as a kid.

That had a Ge Bee in it? I guess I didn't see past Jennifer Connelly.   

Your Gee Bee is taking shape nicely.

Steve. 

[Mikey-1980]

Haha!!

 

it did indeed, and I completely understand what you mean by Jennifier Connelly in The Rocketeer. stunningly beautiful lady.

 

 

Anyways...the GeeBee.....

 

 

 

I believe it was a Model Z from the Granville Brothers. A little more inform can be found here - GeeBee Model Z

 

 

 

 

[gingerbob]

Mikey, I've alerted the authorities about your strikethrough problem- I've had the same happen a time or two.

 

bob

 

p.s. Yeah, The Rocketeer featured the Z.  I've always wanted to build it as (spoiler alert) the repaired version that Howard Hughes presents to him at the end.  In fact, I hadn't quite given up that thought for the current "Movie planes, etc" Group Build... and for some fairly inexplicable reason I find myself with TWO Williams Brothers Zs, so...

[Mikey-1980]

Seems to be just a one off with the strike through, all OK now though...

 

I wasn't aware of a GB for movie/TV aircraft??

 

Hopefully there will be one for 2020?

 

The Howard Hughes GeeBee is particularly great...I think you should do it anways @gingerbob

[gingerbob]

Ha, a GB for a GeeBee?  Here it is- until 19 Jan.

 

I had put a query in Help & Support when I couldn't "un-strikethrough" (sorry), so I figured I'd throw another example on there in case it revealed anything.

 

I've seen the replica Z built by Bill Turner & Co (and got to sit in his DH Comet, but that's another story... ), and I also saw Delmar Benjamin's R fly at Oshkosh.  The Z is still my favorite- still barely within tolerance as "airplane shaped", and I couldn't get over how small it is.

[Mikey-1980]

It really is tiny!

 

But I guess seeing as it is basically a dirty great big radial engine with some wings strapped to it....Looks like it almost shouldn't fly at all?

 

Thanks for the link, though I think I may be a little too late to start a build.....If I knew about it earlier I think I would have selected the Finemolds Savoia S.21 from one of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies. Porco Rosso. 

 

 

 

 

[gingerbob]

Yeah, that kit is on my wish list!  We watched Princess Mononoke last night, but it was too gritty for my family.  My poor daughter was averting her eyes quite a bit, not wanting to watch nature being desecrated.  She is all too conscious of it already.

 

Mike was able to fix the strikethrough, and it seems to have been some errant code, so I'm still thinking it is a bug feature.

 

OK, I shall try to allow us to get back to a Gee Bee.  I was actually in Springfield two weeks ago, but for another reason.

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

On 11/25/2019 at 12:27 AM, Mikey-1980 said:

With not much of an idea of how the cockpit looks, paint wise in a GeeBee, I went with a standard Olive drab and aluminum pipe work and weathered them up a little.

Hi Mickey

I only say this because you are still in time to change it if so you wish:

An Anders Bruun article states that the Delmar Benjamin's replica (which IS NOT the original) was wood and red-painted structural tubing.

A couple of modern drawings show it so too (again, not necessarily correct).

Others, more versed in these matters, may add more.

[Mikey-1980]

16 hours ago, gingerbob said:

Yeah, that kit is on my wish list!  We watched Princess Mononoke last night, but it was too gritty for my family.  My poor daughter was averting her eyes quite a bit, not wanting to watch nature being desecrated.  She is all too conscious of it already.

 

Mike was able to fix the strikethrough, and it seems to have been some errant code, so I'm still thinking it is a bug feature.

 

OK, I shall try to allow us to get back to a Gee Bee.  I was actually in Springfield two weeks ago, but for another reason.

 

Mononoke can be a real hard watch, as it is pretty violent for a Ghibli movie. I'd recommend Pom Poco if she is already conscious of the desecration of the  environment through progress. Plus there's lots of really cute trash panda's too. Laputa: Castle in the Sky, is still my all time favorite though. Studio Ghibli and their movies helped me get back on track after a pretty back breakdown 7 years ago, them and of course getting back into scale modelling. It got to the point where I really didn't want to be here any more...but I wised up, got my head straight and I'm in a far better place now then I ever was. Forums like here certainly help and encourage you to be better and feel welcomed

 

Oh, the strike through issue is now solved, so thank you Mike for sorting that.

 

And back to our scheduled programming....

 

14 hours ago, Moa said:

Hi Mickey

I only say this because you are still in time to change it if so you wish:

An Anders Bruun article states that the Delmar Benjamin's replica (which IS NOT the original) was wood and red-painted structural tubing.

A couple of modern drawings show it so too (again, not necessarily correct).

Others, more versed in these matters, may add more.

Cheers @Moa I should have googled the cockpit before I started really eh?

 

The R-1 model does look like it is read seating and hear rest with predominantly red or white tubing depending on who owns a particular air frame. The interior also lookes to be white on the R1 & R2 models

 

 

The only other images I can find are computer generated or reference, and they show a red pipe work.

 

I could over haul the pipe work and paint a flat red, with the aluminum and weathering, it may look alright?

 

 

But to through a spanner into the works, the Z model in Black and yellow shows a similar colour to what I am already doing but with light air craft blue for pipe work....

 

 

hmmmmm.....We shall see....The cockpit will be very difficult to see plus the pilot access panel will be closed as well.....so I may just carry on and repaint the head rest red.

 

 

[alt-92]

The yellow one looks more like a mix of Interior Green framework, aluminium paneling, and Zinc Chromate Green (firewall/bulkhead).

Roll the dice

[Mikey-1980]

Managed a little more work over the weekend, though not a great amount as it was my step-daughters 18th.

 

Suffice to say she is not a fan of bubbly stuff, but is a fan of gin and martini's.....

 

Anywhos....

 

I listened and decided to paint up the pipe work with a touch of red and kept the dirtied up look that I had previously, painted the head rest red and attempted to install the cockpit into the fuselage. The interior panels I gave a base coat of cockpit green and then a light layer of olive drab. Straight away, a small but not an annoying issue with the fit.

 

 

The positioning of the pipe work pushes the 3 bulkhead out by 1mm....and slightly out of its groove....

 

2 options....

 

 - 1) trim the pipework veeeeery carefully and slot the 3rd bulkhead into place.

 - 2) leave the 3rd bulk head out as it wont be seen through the cockpit cover.

 

Suggestions and ideas all welcomed...

 

So onto a dry fitment.....As you can see from the dorsal view....HUGE panel line and a gap wider than well....I could say but this is a family forum and it may just get censored....

 

 

I left the 3rd bulkhead out of this fitment to see how it could go together.

 

Should get some more time on the bench this evening and will how how the fitment comes together....I suspect a lot of filler and sanding this evening

 

 

 

[AdrianMF]

Wow those shots from above and below highlight what a squat fuselage it was. Super work so far, looking forward to more!

 

[edit] option 3 - cut a hole or two in your third bulkhead and let the pipe work stick through it? That way you can put it in the right place and get the structural support without having to mess with your cockpit.

 

Regards,

Adrian