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TFC's Bearcat


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So with the P51 nearing completion, my next project Trumpeter's F8F-2 with a little help from Roy. She will be finished as 105 when she was part of the Fighter Collection based at Duxford in the late 90's to early 2000's, so no guns or blisters, armour plate behind the pilots head and no tail hook. Alas I have no records of the cockpit colours, so will go with black and green as the instructions. Hopefully I can do a better job of this than the last one and also more photo as the build progress.

bearcat lsp00001044

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So it begins the kit has been washed and left to dry. I have started the cockpit more of that later as I'm going to have a go at hairspray chipping something I have never done before, wish me luck a job for the weekend maybe. The photo attached highlights one issues I have found with the kit so far, there was a step in the fuselage which needed sanding smooth which I have done. Also it show of the rivets, and the two Bearcats I have known were smooth as a babies bum, well almost.  More after the weekend hopefully pic's of the cockpit.  This will be my first WIP build, I hope to the kit and myself justice.

F8F Bearcat00001046

  

Edited by Nighthawk Calling 1
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I built the 1/72 Monogram Bearcat in the 1980s era colour scheme that the Stephen Grey's Bearcat wore. September 1983 to be exact. I was 13 years old and It was the first warbird airshow I had ever been to. This was the Great Warbirds air display at West Malling, a great show sadly missed along with West Malling which is now long gone and buried under a housing development.  The Bearcat was flown by Stefan Karwowski that day and was, and still is the most blistering display I've ever seen. I did start building a collection of every aircraft I saw there that day in 1/32, but soon realised that I wouldn't have the room to complete it, and several types just wouldn't be available, so I decided on 1/72. Still love that little Monogram Bearcat! I also decided to build the collection "Old Skool" as I would have done the year I went to that airshow, so everything is being brush painted just like I did aged 13 at the time. To be honest, it's been a lot of fun and a nostalgia trip.

 

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2a54Zcy][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/1873/44021947194_ef6b2b526c_k.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2a54Zcy]IMG_5167 (2)[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/148406610@N04/]Steven Steven[/url], on Flickr

 

(Sorry, having problems getting the photo to work)

 

I know TFC overhauled the Bearcat in the 1990s and restored her to stock condition and into the colours we see today at Duxford (it is still the same aircraft). If you're doing the same earlier colours as I did, then I can help with the interior colours. I've still got plans to build the 1/32 Bearcat in the early TFC scheme and had a chat ages ago on the old Flypast forum with the TFC engineer who looked after the Bearcat. He described the colours and fit of the cockpit in great detail. I'll dig the details out if they're any use to you.

 

Best regards;

Steve

Edited by fightersweep
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On 5/6/2021 at 3:19 PM, alaninaustria said:

Nice start to a great subject! The Bearcat was manufactured using a high percentage of electron spot welding rather than riveting. 

Cheers

Alan

Hi Alan

I never knew that, that would explain why the Bearcat is so smooth.

Stuart

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On 5/6/2021 at 9:44 AM, fightersweep said:

I built the 1/72 Monogram Bearcat in the 1980s era colour scheme that the Stephen Grey's Bearcat wore. September 1983 to be exact. I was 13 years old and It was the first warbird airshow I had ever been to. This was the Great Warbirds air display at West Malling, a great show sadly missed along with West Malling which is now long gone and buried under a housing development.  The Bearcat was flown by Stefan Karwowski that day and was, and still is the most blistering display I've ever seen. I did start building a collection of every aircraft I saw there that day in 1/32, but soon realised that I wouldn't have the room to complete it, and several types just wouldn't be available, so I decided on 1/72. Still love that little Monogram Bearcat! I also decided to build the collection "Old Skool" as I would have done the year I went to that airshow, so everything is being brush painted just like I did aged 13 at the time. To be honest, it's been a lot of fun and a nostalgia trip.

 

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2a54Zcy][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/1873/44021947194_ef6b2b526c_k.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2a54Zcy]IMG_5167 (2)[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/148406610@N04/]Steven Steven[/url], on Flickr

 

(Sorry, having problems getting the photo to work)

 

I know TFC overhauled the Bearcat in the 1990s and restored her to stock condition and into the colours we see today at Duxford (it is still the same aircraft). If you're doing the same earlier colours as I did, then I can help with the interior colours. I've still got plans to build the 1/32 Bearcat in the early TFC scheme and had a chat ages ago on the old Flypast forum with the TFC engineer who looked after the Bearcat. He described the colours and fit of the cockpit in great detail. I'll dig the details out if they're any use to you.

 

Best regards;

Steve

Hi Steve,

I to went to West Malling for the Great Warbirds show my brother was as still is a big fan of Gary Numan and we traveled to the show by train so he could see Gary and I went for the flying. I never knew Stefan my first real memory of the Bearcat was at  a show at RAF Alconbury it had rained and I was wet to the skin, when the Bearcat turned up bring with it the blue skies and sunshine and that fabulous sound. Let alone standing beside it running you can feel it in every bone in your body, I've been very lucky and have some great memories of my time at TFC.

The Bearcat I'm going to do is the second one they had in the late 90's early 2000's like the box artwork. As to the colours in the cockpit I've sat in G-RUMM so many times doing retractions using the hand pump my recollection is that it's mainly black.

Stuart

 

Edited by Nighthawk Calling 1
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Afternoon All,

Couple of thing to point out there are quite a few pin marks to remove or fill and sand in the cockpit area and the tail wheel area on the inside of the fuselage. There's two access panels for the canopy winding mechanism one each side so will need to fill the one on the left hand. also the hatch for the fuel fill is also missing. Any way some paint has been laid down. Next up some black to go on the side panel and detail painting and IP to sort, On another note, I need to up my game photography wise.

F8F Bearcat cockpit 100001048

 

F8F Bearcat cockpit 100001049

 

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