Dago Red and Rare Bear...thanks to sequioaranger

[K5054NZ]

Hi all!

Well I put out a plea through this place to get my mitts on a 1:72 F8F Bearcat in order for me to hack away at it in order to get something resembling Rare Bear, currently owned by Rod Lewis and still flown by John Penney. Jealous of these guys? I am. For the benefit of the uneducated I shall elaborate: long story short, Rare Bear is an F8F-2 which was heavily modified with a more powerful engine, clipped wings etc and so on in the late sixties, and is the reigning Unlimited Gold champ at Reno. She will be back to defend her title in just over a month, and apparently in a new top secret paint scheme. I for one can't wait to see it!

Model time!



I know that the Bear, as a -2, has a taller fin but c'est la vie for now. The rear thingy is ex Italeri F4U5 (plus Humbrol filler), and the spinner 1:48 Revellogram Mustang (thanks Baz!). Using Philip Handleman's excellent book Speedsters, as well as Classic Wings mag issues, as references for this baby and the other kit in this thread.

Also in the package from Craig was a Matchbox P-51D. The marker pen I added to the box sorta gives away my plan for it



TIP! If you're gonna do a 1:72 racer, grab some 1:144 jet fighter canopies! They come in really handy and are about the right size. I have these three to choose from for Dago (the Tomcat one obviously would be trimmed).

Gotta love that delicate raised detail and those scale engraved lines....

For the Bear I have some decals and a canopy on the way from Steve at High Planes models, but I'm still looking for marks for Dago.

And don't worry, this is about the limit of my RW racer builds for the moment . Check soon for some other, more Whiffy developments!

Also, a very cool envelope arrived from the US this week 

And yes, it was the card that was in it.....not the Bearcat...

[sotoolslinger]

Man I love your racers Zac 

[The Rat]

Rare Bear is an F8F-2 which was heavily modified with a more powerful engine, clipped wings etc and so on in the late sixties, and is the reigning Unlimited Gold champ at Reno.

And, if memory serves, the first to fly a qualifying lap at a speed exceeding 500mph!   One of these days I WILL get to Reno. 

[K5054NZ]

Thanks STS! With just under a month to Reno, I thought it only fair to build up some interest .

Dave - oh yes! Also still holds the world speed piston record at around 528mph.....thinking about a trip with Tiff to the pylons next year....

[K5054NZ]

......sadly for some reason (probably a silly one like uni study  ) Tiff says she won't be able to. Sigh. I'll just have to go by myself .

ANYWAYS, I can't do anything on the Bear until the canopy and decals arrive from Oz, so she's sitting gathering dust. Dago, however, is nearing airframe completion:



Main U/C doors are in (my 1:72 racers are strictly airborne representations), guns and drop-tank pylons filled/sanded/whatever, and a ton of scrap bits piled into the cockpit and filled. The "black hole" I carved for the miniscule new canopy is drying as I type, once that's done the canopy is on and the rear fairing is next to be fabricated.

Hoping to attach wings and empennage tonight. Race 4 out.

[Tophe]

Dago Red's nose may be difficult to scratch-build? What to use as basis?

[K5054NZ]

Difficult? How so? Dago's nose is one of the more stock in Unlimited Mustangs:


Anyways, here's a progress pic of the two as they stand:


As mentioned previously I now await decals and canopy to allow the Bear to continue, whereas there's nothing stopping me from finishing Dago.........except the daunting task of doing that paint.......... Pics of progress (if any) as and when

[Tophe]

Sorry, I confused (Merlin) Dago Red and (Griffon) Red Baron... Shame on me

[K5054NZ]

Ah!  I'd looooooooooove to do the Red Baron too, but if/when it would be the High Planes kit rather than a conversion.

[K5054NZ]

The Bear is done! I hate painting white and just wanted it done, hence the patchy appearance of the finish. Hope you guys like this one - no idea about decal placement so technically its a whif Also apologies for the mismatch between cowl colour and trim, but the decal for the cowl didn't work as planned :S











The Bear now has a home on my DVD shelf alongside my own Yak Attack - in good company!

[Damian2]

Well done Zac that Bear looks HOT!

D

[sequoiaranger]

Zac--It's nice to see good use made of something just otherwise lying around. Glad that the simple FROG and Matchbox "crude" panel lines disappear easily---I'm sure the racers have theirs puttied and polished as well.

You can probably find a horizontal stabilizer from some other model to use to extend the vertical stabilizer of the RareBear (cat) to the F8M version, if you want.

Good trade for those long New Zealand Ziplock baggies you sent me--we used them well on our recent trip to Norwicerland*--they held 750ml bottles to keep in luggage without fear of a leak or spill ruining our clothes. Couldn't do that with USA baggies. Your baggies traveled to seven countries!

Got to poke around RAF Hendon's Air Museum three weeks ago. I have some close-up pics of the Mossie there (plus an amazing array of other aircraft).

*Norway, Iceland, and Ireland...with a short stay in the UK.

[Black Knight]

can i ask what this is?

[B777LR]

That, Black Knight, is a helicopter. It is from the movie Blue Thunder. It is some sort of sister to the AH-64D, just in police service...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd3lDhyM21M