general melchett Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 (edited) Hi, as if I haven't enough builds on the go I thought I'd treat myself to a weekend build of a plane that I've always found fascinating.Years ahead of its time, advanced but plagued by the usual problem of all aircraft of its time..underpowered and undeveloped engines the strangely unique Cutlass only served in US naval service for a few short years before being consigned to the scrap heap.Not surprisingly It's accident rate was somewhat higher than the more conventional naval aircraft aboard ship... The kit is obviously the old Hobbycraft model and as such suffers from all the same problems that that kit produced namely, incorrect nose shape, extremely basic cockpit, horrendous ejection seat and incorrect canopy and intake shape.Apparently its OK from the wings back!!. ............so much for weekend build..another marathon coming up!! Amazingly the Kitech mould is identical to the original, smooth surface, sharply engraved and good fit.. I've read just about all the reviews and comments on the kit so now know what I've let myself in for!...but hey what the Hell.... The awful 'supermarket checkout' quality boxing of the Kitech offering, but at £6 how could I complain!! In its original guise, this is the artwork for the more recent upgraded reissue.... Collec-taire do a replacement resin forward fuselage which costs $90 plus P and P ........................So that's a non starter,....................(.that's if you can get hold of one!!..but it does include a nice cockpit, decals and wm undercarriage...). Squadron and Falcon do vac canopies, but sadly they are copies of the original kit parts though I'm going to mod them to the correct shape and size. I went and ordered both of these sets hoping that they would be differnet but they are identical!... Condor Decals did a very nice decal sheet..(hard to find!!)...the Kitech ones aren't so hot, to put it mildly!..poor copies of the Hobbycraft ones. and SAC do a white metal undercarriage, (which appears to be a direct copy of the kit parts).. For reference I'm using the brilliant walkaround by Major Don Hinton which shows everything I need to know... F7-U Cutlass walkround First up will be the cockpit and seat. I'll use the basic kit parts as a template but scratchbuild the details from card and rod. Here you can see the innccurate nose shape and length So out came the Dremel, wet and dry and scale plans.......and after a while the profile , length and overall shape was corrected, Next the cockpit , the rear bulkhead was reshaped, some struts added and a few panel plates added. Something that struck me was that the tub sat far too high ,(fouling the modified seat head on the canopy) so I sanded off the locating tabs and sat the thing further down. Next up was the seat, the real deal is little more than a collection of struts and scaffold poles but as most of this won't be seen I've elected to fit it as a solid unit. A suitable cushioned insert was found from the spares bin and the complex head rest arrangement built from card.......looks a lot better... The seat and tub with some detaoils added, also a new stick which is a unique shape... Now the tub sits at the correct hight, allowing for the nose gear bay that sits underneath it.... A lot more detail to add yet, belts, buckles, leg restraints, wiring, electricals, etc................... but you get the general idea... While I was at it I built the back end , filled and ready to go. The flaperons are only taped into place and will be angled later.. More soon... Cheers, Rear Admiral Melchett..... Edited December 14, 2010 by general melchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 What was the reason for you being able to do so much modelling? Insomnia? Only need 4 hours sleep? Had your brain modified so you can send half of it to sleep while the other runs things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz greenwood Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Awesome Andy I've always liked the Cutlass I have a Fujimi one somewhere. I will be watching this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted August 27, 2010 Author Share Posted August 27, 2010 Mike, I have to fit it round my other hobbies, work and social life..............................next year I promise to devote more time to this hobby I have been known to have 'sleepmodelled'...(somodulism?) superglue and duvet do not mix!! Cheers Daz, the Hobbycraft kit looks to be an upscaled Fujimi kit at first glance though for some reason the front end isn't right!!...weird!, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 (edited) Nice job on re-doing the ejection seat, Ol' Melchie! Its been a lonnnnnggg time since i had a Hobbycraft kit in my stash, so i don't remember exactly how "off" the nose shape was. i had the Ginter book which was full of exterior shots but not too much on close up or internal details. IIRC the Ejection seat was electrically adjustable and could be canted forward and aft to improve visibility over the nose during landing. Back in those days Vought was designing their own ejection seats and this continued well into the F8U programme. Also, i don't know if this had to do with ripping off a trademarked design feature from somebody else (Douglas), but Vought called those control surfaces "Ailevators". They just always had to be different...... Thanks for the heads up on the canopies. I'm actually disappointed that it's just a copy of the kit canopy. BTW- Is it gonna be a bare metal and silver paint -3, or a Gull Gray and White -3M? FLY NAVY!! Cheers, david Edited August 27, 2010 by David H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted August 28, 2010 Author Share Posted August 28, 2010 Cheers Dave, actually your name was mentioned in some of the early reference articles I dug up while researching this model ! The nose is off, being too conical and though the Collect-aire set looks nice I don't think its worth the high price as a bit of vigorous sanding and a profile gauge produces the same effect for nothing, though the decals look nice..... Interesting stuff about the Vought seat, I know that they continually upgraded the things and that there were several versions in use at any one time.Also heard that a hard landing could result in the nose leg being shoved up into the cockpit and prematurely firing the seat and surprised pilot into the briney... "Ailevators" eh!...you learn something new every day.. As for scheme, I'm not sure yet , I think a slightly weathered grey/white bird is likely....but then again!! a lot depends on the decals and their survivability once introduced to water! Cheers, Andy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Interesting you mention the bit about the ejection seat. A friend of mine was a cadet aboard a cruise of USS Oriskany and he saw a Cutlass pilot buy it when the top of the nose gear seat somehow fired the ejection seat and sent the pilot flying into the tail of another parked aircraft. Markings options for the F7U are actually pretty simple, many schemes confined to just simple blue stripes with yellow trim. Easily done with careful masking. Then just use an aftermarket decal sheet for the alphanumeric characters. I'd probably use aftermarket for all the markings anyways. HTH, d-bot Cheers Dave, actually your name was mentioned in some of the early reference articles I dug up while researching this model ! The nose is off, being too conical and though the Collect-aire set looks nice I don't think its worth the high price as a bit of vigorous sanding and a profile gauge produces the same effect for nothing, though the decals look nice.....Interesting stuff about the Vought seat, I know that they continually upgraded the things and that there were several versions in use at any one time.Also heard that a hard landing could result in the nose leg being shoved up into the cockpit and prematurely firing the seat and surprised pilot into the briney... "Ailevators" eh!...you learn something new every day.. As for scheme, I'm not sure yet , I think a slightly weathered grey/white bird is likely....but then again!! a lot depends on the decals and their survivability once introduced to water! Cheers, Andy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 Nasty tendancy Dave, quite a few instances of this kind of incident....tragic price of progress!.Of the 300 odd Cutlasses built 78 were involved in serious accidents and 21 pilots lost their lives........that's an accident rate of 17 per 10,000 hours ammased flying hours ,(the average for the time was 9.81)... Sadly this was often the result of the high angle of attack needed for a deck landing and the pilots visual acuity problems...........the dreaded ramp strike.. Just a small update, the seat and tub are now done, primed and ready for final painting and detail work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRUSKY1965 Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Fantastic seat! And beautiful plane, as always! Is nice to see you back, at this side of the Iron Curtain. This is a wonderful project! Regards, TRUSKY1965. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 Thanks Trusky...it's only a temporary situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Beeeeeeg thumbs up for this, I love the F7U, but so few models of it are built. I've got the Hobbycraft kit on the shelf but am waiting until I have the financial breathing space for the Collect Aire correction set. Btw. there is also a nice resin cockpit set for it, by Mike West (aka Lonestar models). Yes, I've got it too...don't ask! Looking forward to seeing more of your progress. Cheers Jeffrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 Thanks Jeffrey, another fan of the weird and wonderful!! ....a friend of mine also has the Collect-aire set which I'll be using as a template to correct the kit parts, (it can be done with a little effort), as I'm not going to fork out silly money for something that with a bit of imagination and 'know how' can be scratchbuilt, I've seen the Mike West set as well and whilst very nice, again I'd rather scratchbuild my own using a mix of operational and museum photographs that I have on the beast as there were several variations of the seat and 'pit layout throughout it's short life. To be honest the rest of the kit is pretty good, the only labour intensive bit being the forward nose area and wheel bays. The decals are another matter but I'll probably end up making my own. Cheers now, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 WOW!! That is looking awesome! I think the early -3s had an interior green cockpit and ejection seat. Not sure on the colours of the later -3M. According to Tommy Thomason, in his book "US Naval Air Superiority" the accident rate on the F7U went down with the introduction of angle-deck carriers. Many of the problems the Cutlass has coming aboard stemmed from its marginal wave off qualities, and the plane was still dependent on an LSO giving the pilot the "Cut" signal. Timing of the "cut" signal was critical. Had the angled deck been introduced earlier, the F7U may have enjoyed a longer life with the fleet, but even then it was cursed with a very short in flight endurance time which played absolute hell with straight deck/ aircraft re-spotting considerations. Not to mention the fact it just incorporated too much new, unproven technology and innovation all at once. The Navy tried the foist the plane off on the attack squadrons, but the A4D did such a better job in almost all areas. With the initial test results of the F8U coming back (mostly positive), Vought and the Navy were all too happy to put the Cutlass programme behind them. However the folks at the NPU and Sandia Labs loved the plane. Its high ground clearance made it an excellent vehicle to do weapons test releases from. IIRC it performed the first supersonic weapons drop in history. BTW there's an F7U restoration project on sale if you are so inclined. Shutting my pie hole now. david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Thanks Dave..... BTW there's an F7U restoration project on sale if you are so inclined. I'll have a word with the Memsahib and buy her a new ironing board I reckon she might well go for it!!... As for the cockpit all the photo's I have all show a light matt green with matt black panels and instrument consoles, The original J-35 engines also played a part in the problems of the early aircraft due to their marginal power and slow spool up speed, not to mention the fact that the aircraft piled on the weight until the final variant weighed almost twice as much as the prototype... Shutting my pie hole now. No you dont!!..........I need more information!!! ..... Cheers, Melchie.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 OK, i see you are using the same pictures i was thinking about. The green seat will make a refreshing contrast to the rest of the otherwise black cockpit. FWIW, i think when the canopy slides back, there are at least two and possibly 4 little posts that pop out from the fuselage sides. i think they're steps to allow access to the cockpit from the back of the fuselage. Not sure how they are activated. Check photos. Thankfully i don't think much use was made of THAT entry technique. I think the wingtip lights are coloured bulbs under clear lenses. There are some tiny lights on the outer sides of the vertical fins on the lower part but don't know if those are formation lights (blue) or navigation lights (Red/ Green). There's probably at least one white navigation light on the tail. i would imagine there's one on each fin but i don't know for certain. The locations of the red anti-collision beacons i'm not certain about. Fly Navy (in a Cutlass if you dare!!) david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Thanks Dave, now that's the sort of info I'm talkin about need I had no idea about the 4 posts, do you by any chance have any detail shots of this?...I'll check all my stuff and see what I can find. I was wondering about the lights, got several coloured 'Little-Car' lenses on standby. Just finished hacking the cockpit coaming to bits as the kit parts are way off beam, will be rebuilt in card. plus a bit more wiring and detailing in the tub.Once all this finickity stuff is done I can crack on with the main build.. Cheers, Fly Navy.....Crash Cutlass Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Been following your build mate...looking good. I'm in the middle of an A-7 and stumbled across this on You-Tube if your interested! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 There is a real vicarious pleasure in reading these build threads! Between watching the model expertly come together, diverse info on esoteric subjects and little gems of knowledge like the fact that Melchy's wife will be favourably disposed to his hobby by the purchase of an ironing board , this is just what I need at 6am on a Vegas Friday morning! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 4, 2010 Author Share Posted September 4, 2010 Thanks Nobby, I have a feeling that the crash sequence might be the same one in the earlier photograph...but who knows sadly there were so many! Al, glad it helps...Lady M was chuffed to bits with her new acquision........ as you can see here, Once I was taken off life support and released from A and E I promised her a new iron to go with it!!...she was made up... 6 am ...in Vegas!!!....blimey I'm in the wrong job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 6 am ...in Vegas!!!....blimey I'm in the wrong job... Don't worry about me, it'll be Luanda (Angola) next weekend! If you love mosquitos and $35 hamburgers, it's paradise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 5, 2010 Author Share Posted September 5, 2010 it'll be Luanda (Angola) next weekend! If you love mosquitos and $35 hamburgers, it's paradise! Well that's next years 'once in a life time' holiday for the wife sorted then!!................just hope the mossies don't mind What was I doing here?...oh yes, the Cutlass...The tub is now pretty much done just awaiting seat straps and throttle box..Once this is all wedged into place then I can concentrate on those intakes!! Cheers now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted September 5, 2010 Share Posted September 5, 2010 Very nice work, General- First-Rate. Meanwhile, here on Planet Vought, i'm still patching and touching up the red around the white stars. I'm staring at this Resin Ejection seat i'm halfway thru painting. Looking at your work i ask myself if i'd be better off adding details to an injection molded kit seat, versus going insane painting all the details on this intricately-cast resin jobby. Cheers, david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 5, 2010 Author Share Posted September 5, 2010 Thanks Dave, to be honest I do prefer to use the kit parts and modify them myself, that way I know they will fit and it's not really that difficult to add the details from stock providing you have the reference photos. I'm just loathe to fork out for expensive resin sets when there's no need. I know it's not every ones cup of tea but I find it an enjoyable facet of the hobby. Sometimes it's much easier to go down the resin route but all too often you end up hacking the thing to bits just to cram it all in! in fairness some of the sets are stunning, but so usually is the price!!. There's still a way to go on the pit, straps, throttles, console and scratch the instrument coaming which is totally wrong in the kit, but at least now I can now assemble the forward fuselage. The F8 looks fantastic...what a scheme....and btw the sheen looks just right to me.. Cheers, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Thanks, Melchie!! Once i get back to working on the cockpit, i very well may dig up the Hasegawa kit seat and see what i can do with it. The Meteor seat fits in its tub just fine, its just a royal pain to paint, thats all. In terms of the Crusader, i swear everybody thinks those markings look cool except me. I think its one of the tackiest things i've ever seen, not helped at all by the fact that these planes were usually filthy. I've said it before, i'll say it again: Its the earliest of the Crusaders that have the best paint schemes. But for some reason, Kit manufacturers are obsessed with MiG-Killers. An early F-8 is something to behold, with its chisel-nose, lack of bullpup avionics hump, and without those bothersome ventral fins and A/B cooling scoops. I'm NOT saying its Gods gift in terms of jet aesthetics; Vought's planes were about as pretty as Grummans. And thats not saying much. -d- Thanks Dave, to be honest I do prefer to use the kit parts and modify them myself, that way I know they will fit and it's not really that difficult to add the details from stock providing you have the reference photos. I'm just loathe to fork out for expensive resin sets when there's no need. I know it's not every ones cup of tea but I find it an enjoyable facet of the hobby. Sometimes it's much easier to go down the resin route but all too often you end up hacking the thing to bits just to cram it all in! in fairness some of the sets are stunning, but so usually is the price!!.There's still a way to go on the pit, straps, throttles, console and scratch the instrument coaming which is totally wrong in the kit, but at least now I can now assemble the forward fuselage. The F8 looks fantastic...what a scheme....and btw the sheen looks just right to me.. Cheers, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Firstly just have to say lovely work on the cockpit, but can I ask do you ever encounter problems with structural rigidity, I have recently shown some of my Airfix builds and whilst scratch-building I found I had to use oversized parts to gain the rigidity required especially with plastic, card, strip & rod. just wondered if you have had these problems? Doug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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