Monogram Grumman Gulfhawk

[ericg]

I thought I would weigh in with this group build.

 

After I finished my my Williams Brothers Sparrowhawk, I was inspired to start chasing more old kits. There is something about taking an old kit that has obviously seen an interesting life having been passed around different owners (collectors), never having found a home anywhere and giving it some attention. As time goes on, maybe less interest is shown in the kit as technology increases and we are wowed by ever increasing detail of newer kits. I feel that we as modelers are very spoilt, the dummy being thrown out of the pram the instant a kit doesn't compare to the likes of Tamiya or Wingnut Wings. We want it all and are prepared to pay, often increasing the price of the kit by many times over with unnecessary amounts of obscenely detailed aftermarket that no one will ever see, in the process complicating things and forcing ourselves into throwing the now `too hard', partially built built kit into a corner; the shelf of doom. The older kit having suffered under the weight of decades of newer kits being piled upon it, house moves, swap meets and the like takes on a new light when we want to escape the burden of having to live up to modern standards. Looking past the frayed box, dog eared instructions and yellowed decals often we get a sense of just how far this hobby has come. The detail or lack of it takes us back to a different time, when references were not instantly available via electronic means, when the design of the model didn't pass through a computers processor before it ended up in our hands. Was the kit not suitable to build all of those years ago? did modelers of eras past find it unbuildable due to it having raised panel lines? I reckon, way back then, model building was more fun than it is now.

 

Anyway, enough of the reminiscing and onto the build! I found this kit after searching Ebay for `vintage 1/32'. I never even knew the kit existed, let alone the real aircraft. I was instantly interested in finding out more about it. There are a few online builds which I read through and the more that I read, the more I wanted it. As soon as I received the kit I started it. I like to have a few builds going at the same time to prevent me from losing interest in one or the other, usually having something complex and something simple on the go to give me a bit of contrast. With my super Hornet in the last stages of completion, this kit will allow me short breaks such that I can approach the Hornet with a fresh set of eyes each time to complete the important final touches.

 

It is the 1967 boxing of the Civil version of the Grumman Gulfhawk. There can be no way to tell exactly how old the kit itself is, but I guess it is pretty old judging from the contents of the box. The box itself would give no indication of its age, as it is in excellent condition and looks like it was purchased from the shop yesterday!

 

 

Partially wrapped, some clues as to its origin are revealed. Looks like it was purchased from the Offutt Air Force Base shop in Nebraska for $1.45! maybe one of you LSP'ers brought it many years ago. I would love to know how it ended up in Australia.

 

 

Upon opening the box I was greeted by the inevitable yellowed decals, and the smell of many decades of storage.

 

 

 

A quick inventory proved that all kit parts were present. I was quite surprised by how nicely detailed and fresh the plastic appears. If you told me that the kit was almost 50 years old I would not believe you.

 

 

The kit instructions.Certainly not Wingnut Wings, but I can imagine that they were cutting edge for their time. Lavishly drawn, with photographs of the construction sequences and well written text, I can imagine that they would have been poured over by excited modelers of the day.

 

 

The rear of the decals also give a clue as to its age. Printed Jan 06 1967?  

 

 

I started cleaning up parts and doing some basic construction on the kitchen bench. One of the drawbacks of sending the Mrs back to work a few days/nights a week is that I now have to look after the kids, one of which is a 7 month old whose wakefulness is wired to a hair trigger. My usual well appointed modeling `facility' is now replaced by basic tools and a baby monitor. Of course, I did spend the entire day kid free on home reserve in the aforementioned room working on other projects.

 

 

The prop after clean up and a prime. Turning the prop will extend or retract the undercarriage after engaging a gear by pulling it out a little bit. I am still undecided whether to incorporate that feature. Certainly for the heritage of the kit I feel that I should keep that uniqueness of being able to do it but there will be a small penalty due to the fact that the mechanism requires a small section of the gears to be exposed outside the fuselage, through an unrealistic slot. 

 

 

One of the gear legs. The kit gives small numbered tabs which get glued over the pins that allow the movement of the parts when they are retracting or extending. The numbers get razor sawed off after construction. A really nice little feature. 

 

 

 

[Azgaron]

Nice kit! Kinda fun with the working gear!

 

HÃ¥kan

[airscale]

that is a real time capsule isn't it!

 

can't wait to see this one unfold

 

Peter

[Out2gtcha]

Partially wrapped, some clues as to its origin are revealed. Looks like it was purchased from the Offutt Air Force Base shop in Nebraska for $1.45! maybe one of you LSP'ers brought it many years ago. I would love to know how it ended up in Australia.

 

Wow.

 

I built that kit MANY times as a kid, because I loved the folding wheel mechanism so much. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO cool.     Offutt AFB (As they say around here, once youre "Onnutt, you'll never get "Offutt") is just down the road from me, about 10 min.

 

My father bought me this kit a FEW times from the Offutt AFB BX (Base exchange).

 

This is REALLY spooky..............

[Hubert Boillot]

Cool project. I started this one in the "Twin GB" and it got stalled because I could not get over the uneven radial distribution of the Vector R-1820 replacement...

 

If you want it super-accurate, there are plenty of modifications like the fuselage length, or the cowling to adress. But I am sure you will get one of your (oustanding) results if you build it OOB.

 

Hubert

[Zero77]

That's very cool ! The propeller once cleaned and primed looks like it comes from a top notch modern kit !

As for the decals, are you sure they have yellowed? Couldn't they just be creamy white / off white?

[Hubert Boillot]

No Nicolas, it was really white on the original Gulfhawk. Not too much of an issue with masks. Eric will need to put his Silhouette to task if he wants a mask for the "Gulfhawk" name

 

The underside of the tailplane was gloss black, btw ...

 

Hubert

[Zero77]

Thanks !

Indeed, some small markings like the "Grumman" wont be easy to make. But everything is possible with that machine !

[r0t0rdr1ver]

Now this is a treat for sure! What a unique choice Eric, can't wait to see it come alive.

[Shaka HI]

Nice..I can almost smell that musty smell!

[mozart]

An interesting build Eric.  I remember as a kid having a Monogram Skyraider that did all sorts of clever tricks with various mechanisms, it took modelling aircraft onto a different level to the normal Airfix kits of the day.

Max

[Guest Peterpools]

Eric

Can't put my finger on how many times I bought the kit and of course, after all these years, wonderful memories.

Looking forward to following and enjoying the your build

Keep 'em coming

Peter

[Lee White]

I seem to remember a thread somewhere that said that while the wing span was correct for the Gulfhawk, it was too short for a production F3F. Does anyone know if this is true?

[Hubert Boillot]

I seem to remember a thread somewhere that said that while the wing span was correct for the Gulfhawk, it was too short for a production F3F. Does anyone know if this is true?

 

Definitely, Lee.

 

The Gulfhawk had the F3F-2 wings, for nimbler aerobatics (it was also lighter and more powerful than the production F-3, and also had a F-2 canopy and windscreen, then a hybrid canopy.

 

The F-3 had longer-span wings, which are not represented in any of the guises of the Revell kit. LSM do a correction set with correct-span wings.

 

Hubert

Edited November 10, 2016 by MostlyRacers

[MikeC]

I thought I would weigh in with this group build.

 

After I finished my my Williams Brothers Sparrowhawk, I was inspired to start chasing more old kits. There is something about taking an old kit that has obviously seen an interesting life having been passed around different owners (collectors), never having found a home anywhere and giving it some attention. As time goes on, maybe less interest is shown in the kit as technology increases and we are wowed by ever increasing detail of newer kits. I feel that we as modelers are very spoilt, the dummy being thrown out of the pram the instant a kit doesn't compare to the likes of Tamiya or Wingnut Wings. We want it all and are prepared to pay, often increasing the price of the kit by many times over with unnecessary amounts of obscenely detailed aftermarket that no one will ever see, in the process complicating things and forcing ourselves into throwing the now `too hard', partially built built kit into a corner; the shelf of doom. The older kit having suffered under the weight of decades of newer kits being piled upon it, house moves, swap meets and the like takes on a new light when we want to escape the burden of having to live up to modern standards. Looking past the frayed box, dog eared instructions and yellowed decals often we get a sense of just how far this hobby has come. The detail or lack of it takes us back to a different time, when references were not instantly available via electronic means, when the design of the model didn't pass through a computers processor before it ended up in our hands. Was the kit not suitable to build all of those years ago? did modelers of eras past find it unbuildable due to it having raised panel lines? I reckon, way back then, model building was more fun than it is now.

 

 

You're not wrong there Eric.

 

Watching this one, it's an unusual and fascinating subject.  And having just finished a Revell Hawk from the Red Arrows boxing, I feel for you painting that red plastic.

Edited November 10, 2016 by MikeC