Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat

[Alan P]

Hi all,

 

First finished kit of 2020 for me - Trumpeter's big, bad Bearcat! Built OOB apart from Eduard seatbelts and wire brake lines. Used MRP and Hataka lacquer paints throughout with Colourcoats enamel for the details.

 

Here's the (limited!) build thread:

 

Markings were painted using Montex masks - first time I've used these and they were a real revelation for me. Will definitely use again! The other decals (not many thankfully) were the kit's.

The kit is pretty nice to build - the usual seam lines everywhere, especially around the wing roots and cooler intake mouths, but the clear parts were excellent both in clarity and fit. The kit gives you a fair bit of open-panel detail but sadly doesn't make the detail fine enough to make it worth opening the panels!

A bit hit and miss for a Trumpeter kit, this one manages to really capture the shape and lines of this beast of a fighter. Not a classic kit by any means (it builds, in the words of @gingerbob, like a 1/48 kit blown up to 1/32 without any of the finer details you'd expect in this scale) but it's a 1/32 Bearcat and Trumpy should be applauded for getting the shapes right to enable a good-looking and imposing result.

Altogether, the kit is the only game in town if you want a big Bearcat and it's pretty good. For the price (£40-odd) it's very good. Also highly recommend the Montex masks and MRP paint for ease of use vs great results. Hataka Orange Line paint was okay but needs a lot of care and attention to get the paint:thinner ratio right.

 

Thanks for looking in,

 

Alan

[gingerbob]

Very nice result, and I'm impressed by the painted-on markings, particularly where the insignias cross the wing fold!

[Alan P]

5 minutes ago, gingerbob said:

Very nice result, and I'm impressed by the painted-on markings, particularly where the insignias cross the wing fold!

Thanks Bob, in fact that part was a major PITA but the masks did the job! 

[Acinonyx Jubatus]

Super build, great paint job and weathered to perfection in my eyes, limited to just exhaust staining ?

Painted on markings look great, cant imagine painting that L on the rudder over all those lumps and bumps was easy

[Alan P]

18 minutes ago, Acinonyx Jubatus said:

Super build, great paint job and weathered to perfection in my eyes, limited to just exhaust staining ?

Painted on markings look great, cant imagine painting that L on the rudder over all those lumps and bumps was easy

Thanks AJ! You're right about the weathering, I also added some stains and wear to the hi vis orange as it deteriorated a lot more than the durable Sea Blue. 

 

Thanks very much again, 

Alan 

[Cellarfrog]

Nice clean build and great lines. I like it

[Nikola Topalov]

Hi Alan, 

 

Nice, clean and beautiful model! Well done on the paintwork! 

 

Best, 

Nikola

[Roberto]

Beatiful, powerful Cat!

[RMCS]

Lovley 

[russ c]

Beautifully finished Bearcat there Alan, really nice work

[SAT69]

I like the description of the quality of the kit. Really good information. Makes making a decision whether or not to buy a lot easier. Your build is superb!

[Alan P]

8 hours ago, SAT69 said:

I like the description of the quality of the kit. Really good information. Makes making a decision whether or not to buy a lot easier. Your build is superb!

Thanks very much indeed! If you do buy it, you'll enjoy it, an easy build in 1/32 with plenty of opportunity to superdetail if you want to. 

 

Thanks also to @Cellarfrog, @Nikola Topalov@Roberto, @RMCS, and @russ c for your very welcome comments 👍

[Howlindawg]

Immaculate paintwork.

Gorgeous!