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Scratchbuilt 1/24 Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat


Jim Barry

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Clarification, “the boys”  are my friends. That said, my son, 22 and awesome in every way, won’t touch a model either.  We built “the A-team” Van when he was a tot, and that was it, though he did have a go at a Nieuport in my stash at one point. 

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Oddly, my nephew in Montgomery Alabama, of all my offspring and those once removed, the one I would not suspect to have any modeling interest, actually has developed an interest.   That along with being blown away by the amazing historical events of WW2 especially bold secret missions including those involving aircraft (like Doolittile raid, Amiens Prison raid, Dambuster raids).   So his Mom (my sister) consulted me as to what "really good" model to get for him for Christmas, and as a result he will receive the 1/32 Tamiya Mosquito.   She was shocked by the price, so I am a bit in the dog house.  That will disappear when that present is opened up on Christmas day.    

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Good advice, Jay. Nothing like a BIG Mossie! I just bought myself one last week, and yes, so expensive I put MYSELF in the doghouse over it.  That Tamiya kit is a stunner. 

 

(those cars are not my models, they are just diecast basement decor for those wondering) 

 

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1 hour ago, Jim Barry said:

Nothing like a BIG Mossie!

 

1/24 scale.  Yes, a very big Mossie.  By my calculation it will have a 27 inch wing span.  That is right at the wing span of my 1/18 P-47, and that is one large wing span!!!  Looking forward to your build (quite a departure from a pure scratch build F8F).

 

BTW - the box picture seems to show the Amiens Prison Raid (Operation Jericho).  

Edited by JayW
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Yeah, it’s a departure but all planned as the scratch have always been thought of as “planes you can’t get as a 1/24 kit”. My heart is still with them and I do think I’ll get to one or two  in my kit collection in 2023. Who will bubble to the top? 
 

Bf 109 E
Spitfire Mk 1
P-47 D (Razorback)
P-51 Mustang D
Fokker E.III  
Albatross  
P-40 Tomahawk C
Typhoon (Car Door)
FW-190 A
Harrier AV-8A
Spitfire IX
F-4 Phantom  
Mosquito  
FW-190 D9
DH2 (U6-A) BEAVER
Zero  
Stuka  
Shiden  21 (George)
Edited by Jim Barry
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Thanks Irishman1! Glad you enjoyed your Mossie build. 

 

Tonight I'm on the road in a cool AirBnb house in New Haven, CT. Next to Yale. Nice town! I like to bring a mobile LSP project so I'm just working on my kit accessories for the kitty and enjoying easily the coolest beer (I think those here would agree, though I suppose there are other beers with AC themes??) DK.  I'm so close to pulling the trigger on a 1/32 P-3 from onemanmodels, but I have a HUGE backlog of kits and I gotta stop! I still have Hasegawa's 1/72 in progress and it's bigger than the Bearcat. 

 

Enjoy your builds guys! 

 

 


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4 hours ago, Jim Barry said:

It’s a really good day when you sit in a P-47. Trip to New England Air Museum in Hartford, CT. More pics later. e1NNt4.jpg

 

Very cool experience Jim!  I have only been able to touch the outsides of most museum exhibits with the exception of U-505 which I have been able to visit many times over the years.

 

Ernest

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There is an aviation writer named Budd Davisson who has flown just about everything there is.  I’ve been an avid fan for fifty years or so.  He has a web site called airbum.com with nearly all his pilot reports from years past.  Each one is most informative and entertaining, so I highly recommend the site. His Bearcat pilot report is one of his best, which is saying a lot because they are all good.  He says much the same things about the airplane as the CAF pilot in the article mentioned above, but from the perspective of just a regular guy who showed up one day in jeans, a t-shirt and cowboy boots to fly the thing.  Highly recommended; well worth the read.

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Thanks OBG and Tom for the comments and suggestions. 

 

Here are pics from the other day. I took more but I'll sift it down here to greatest hits. Key to a great trip is to go on a winter weekday. You get the place to yourself and the guides are all your own and they'll grant you access to the cockpits and talk your ear off about planes and engines. Learned a ton about why radials max out at 9 cylinders in a row, firing order, and how they attach 9 pistons to one crankshaft. Not pictured is the god of radial engines, the 28 cylinder R-4360 Wasp Major. It's real. The cockpit shot here is from an F-100 simulator. That's a tight ship! 

 

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Edited by Jim Barry
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