F7F-3N

[deafpanzer]

God, you are so good at this! Maybe I should get one of those road hogs so I can do stuff like you do.

Hope you are off tomorrow too?

[thug626]

I am quite familiar with that character Bill. I've danced with him often.....especially at work. At the bench he just laughs at me and says, "You did this one to yourself boy." Then all a I can do is just shake my head and quietly nod in agreement. Followed my maniacal giggling.

Thank you kindly for the compliment Andy. If they ever come out with a 1/32 version of this or the regular Dash 3 variant, I'm all over it. There is detail that I've wanted to add but it really wasn't feasible. I don't know about the Hog helping the skill set but it is fun. Come to think of it riding (for me) is like meditation. So maybe, it does help.

I'll grab a cup of java and trundle out to the bench. Maybe I'll get something done before work or, I'll just take stock of what I need to get done next.

Thank you for having a gander and for your comments gentlemen.

Dave

[Leon]

Making really good progress Dave.Looking forward to what comes next.

[fightnjoe]

dave she is looking better and better. simply outstanding.



joe

[thug626]

Thank you Leon. Check out what came next......

Joe, Thank you kindly. Now see what it looks like.......

An airplane! Finally! Not a dry fit......or a mock up......These babies are glued on!


The horizontal stabilizers are getting a putty job. There were lots of lines that did not belong. So they went away.

There were a couple of ventral details that were not sanding properly. That is, what it was going to take to putty the gaps was not worth the effort. So, I cut them off, puttied the rough areas on the fuselage and, made the replacements out of 0.060" half round stock.


Dave

[thug626]

The horizontal stabilizers are on but, 'Cat is configured in such a way while they are drying, that it is quite difficult to get a pic of them. Sooooo, on to the props.
There are some profile inaccuracies with the kit props but, nothing that can not be overcome with some filing, sanding and, scraping. Ultracast makes a rather nice replacement prop. Instead of ordering a set, I thought I'd try my hand at correcting them. The leading and trailing edges of the blade at the base are too angular. I reduced the radius with my trusty sanding sticks. Also, the collar bolts were chiseled off. As you can see they look like misaligned blobs. One set of them didn't even line up.The prop behind is the reworked one.

I added 0.020" styrene rod for the bolts

Dave

[Leon]

Really shaping up now Dave .Nice rework on the props.

[thug626]

Greetings Leon, Thank you. It was one of those details I hadn't realized until I stumbled across the resin props on the Ultracast site. Upon closer inspection of reference pics, it turns out they were right. Though there was one four bladed prop variant.
Currently I'm working on making the props removable so that I may haul it to a show or two without too much worry about breakage.

Dave

[Deleted]

Still putting in some good moves on this bird,Dave....Nice one!!!

[Deleted]

Nice work Dave!

[bbd468]

WE'VE GOT WINGS!!!
Looks like its real close to flight Thugster....great works brotha!

[thug626]

Thank you CeeBee. It's picking up speed.....

Good to see you Bruce. Thank you.

Thank you bbd468. With this mock up pic it looks like she's almost ready to roll down the tarmac brotha.



Dave

[Deleted]

She's gonna be a Beaut!

[thug626]

Thank you kindly Bruce, for the BIG compliment. Several years ago, I saw an inflight photo of a Tigercat. It was the Dash 3 variant and, it was head on. A gorgeous photo. It was really quite sleek. Sexy even. To cap it off it had those two massive Pratt & Whitney radials. So, I searched around and this kit was the only game in town at the time. Even the Dash 3N has an elegant lethality to it. There is a series called Sons of Anarchy and, there is an episode where you can catch a couple of shots of a Tigercat in a hangar. One of the shots of it is from above the tail looking down and, forward. That shot gives an excellent perspective of how slim that bird is. When my wife saw how excited I got seeing that bird she commented, "You really are a simple creature". I agreed unequivocally. I am a male with a pulse. Simple. Though she did follow up with, "That really is a nice looking aircraft". Her dad was a B-17 pilot, so she has a soft spot for warbirds.
Sorry about the rambling.
Dave

[thug626]

Hello DickyF,
Thank you kindly for the high praise. I am glad you are enjoying this build.
As to the accuracy....Some of it is. Overall, it is a representation of a Tigercat. If I went with 1:1 level details, I'd never finish this. Now, if anyone ever releases a 1/32 version or (really dare to dream) a 1/24 version then, It will be like a ship build. That will take a good, long while.
This build has been a lesson for me. In that, My career demands that I be über detail oriented/obsessed. This is detail I have chosen to add but, telling myself that a representation is OK. It does not have to be a 1:1 level of detail. As much as I would like to do that, it is ok to let somethings go. This is supposed to be fun, enjoyable and, that is exactly what this build has been. I have not had this level of fun and, enjoyability in a long time. Not to mention the support and encouragement of the members of this forum. So, thank you gentlemen. It is both an honor and a privilege to post my work here.

Dave

[wbill76]

Always a treat to see an update Dave, reworking the props just ups this one even further! Looking good with the wings and nacelles fitted. Had almost forgot what this one was going to look like overall since we've been so deep into the details with you along the way.

[bullardino]

She's got WINGS!!!

Great progress, the arrival is in sight, at least of the assembling part

[thug626]

DickyF, I could not agree with you more. :)The nacelles were the hardest part to step back from.

Thank you most kindly Bill. It's nice to have an overall picture now. I have been working in the "minutiae mode" for so long, it's good to see it all coming together. Finally.

Oh yes she does Luigi. Today, on my docket, is some primer for some of the sub assemblies and, minor filling at the wing and stabilizer roots. But first, some errands.

More updates later today......

Dave

[deafpanzer]

FLASHING NEWS! It is starting to look like a plane!!! Catching up... like Dogfish said it will be a beaut!

[thug626]

Good morning Andy, Why yes it is and, thank you.

Yesterdays progress wasn't quite what I had planned but, there was progress nonetheless.
I started by shimming the rear of the RO's office. I took the shape of the area in question with my trusty contour gauge. I then transferred this shape to some card stock and, fine tuned the shape. When I was happy with the shape, I then traced it to some sheet styrene stock and, proceeded to cut the shape. Not entirely accurate but, it was the lesser of two evils when it came to filling/camouflaging the gnarly looking join between the bulkhead and the fuselage. The outer contour was left a bit on the big side and, then, sanded down.

The front office was shimmed out as well but, esthetically, I took a different approach. I used 0.020"x0.030" strip stock and bent it to my will. Both approaches don't get rid of the unsightliness but, it does draw the eye away from it.

The engines and prop bosses were drilled out to make room for the brass tubing that will allow me to remove the props for transport. The engines are shimmed out from the firewall using 0.080" stock. This was the main thing that derailed my plans yesterday. During a dry fit, I noticed that the engines sat too far back from the aft opening of the cowling. As a result the props were dragging on the cowl opening. This will not do. So, with my trusty micrometer and a big dollop of patience, I worked it out.

How it will look when assembled. The brass tubing is not glued in either the props or engines as yet. Just in case something unforeseen pops up.

My trusty red Bondo filler. I masked the heck out of this area to minimized the amount of sanding that will be required and, to reduce the amount of obliterated detail that I'd have to redo.

Dave

[wbill76]

Progress is measured in different ways on different days Dave, nice set of fixes and work-arounds to keep the one moving forward.

[thug626]

How right you are Bill. Though while not an exact parallel, Einstein said something about time being relative (I may be misquoting) , he said something to the effect of having your hand on a hot stove for only a moment, can feel like an eternity. Having an evening with a beautiful woman can feel like not long enough.
That is how I see it as well. As long as there is progress. I was very glad to have remedied the join issue. That has been put off for a long time indeed.

Dave

[deafpanzer]

As usual your updates amaze me! I am glad I am not alone... I don't glue rotary blades to the helicopters because I think it reduces the chance of breaking.

[thug626]

Thank you Andy. I am glad you are enjoying this. No you're not alone.....ours is a "special" brand on insanity.
I'll post more tomorrow. Today was a trip to Portland for a follow up for the boy. When we got back I dropped him off at his moms. Ran errands on the Harley. I took the long way around. Needed to blow off the stink. Spent the last several hours at the bench. I wet sanded down the filler on the wing roots. I looks like it'll work just fine. Then I played with something I've never worked with before....Vacu-formed canopies. I'll be using the kit wind screen but I'll be using the vacu canopies for the pilot and RO. I'll post some updates tomorrow. The differences between the kit canopy for the RO and the vacu canopy are glaring.

Dave

[bullardino]

Very nice progress, Dave. Hope everything is going well with the boy.

[thug626]

Thank you very much Luigi. So far everything is OK. There are a couple of labs that are still out of the norm but, we are doing what we can. The rest is hurry up and wait.

The wing roots were wet sanded. I get better results with this rather than the dry method.


Here's the canopy comparison I was talking about. For one, the vacu-formed is much thinner. The flash around the edges of the vacu canopies belies how thin they really are. Unfortunately I was not able to get a clear pic to show this. I was able to get a couple of shots showing the differences in the profiles. The vacu formed is on the left in both pics, the kit is on the right.


Which one would you rather use?

Dave

[bullardino]

Which one would you rather use?

Let me think about it

[Deleted]

Go for the Vac every time, it'll show off more of your work buddy 

Dip it in Klear ( Future in the US? ) as this'll remove the plastic sheen and make it look like plexi glass.

good luck! 

[thug626]

Hmmmmmm, Luigi......decisions, decisions.

Hello Steve, The thickness of them is much nicer. The vac canopy for the pilot will actually sit in the open position, whereas the kit one will not fit that way.
It used to be called Future here. I know there has been a name change here but, I'm not sure what it is. The bottle I bought many seasons ago is quite old but still very useable. When this one runs out then I'll learn the new name.

Dave

[bullardino]

LOL, the new name should be Pledge (at least that's what my sister-in-law brought me from Columbus)