The Grumman Sabrecat

[PR19_Kit]

A while back our own perttime asked a question of sturmvogel about doing a profile of a Sabre engined Bearcat and he produced this as a result.



This struck me a GREAT idea and I had an old Frog Bearcat to hand, courtesy of The Wooksta a while ago, and I dug out a Heller Tempest from The Loft. Mating the two together was NOT easy as the Tempest cowling  was about a scale 2 feet narrower than the Bearcat. Yes, it really IS a fat little aircraft! It was easier to spread the Sabre's cowling at the rear than it was to narrow the Bearcat and so I added a wedge of styrene bwteen the two cowling halves, and then trimmed and adjusted to suit. It fitted, sort of, eventually, but the underside radiator outlet is now assymetric but you can't see it when it's on its wheeels anyway. 

VAST amounts of putty were needed and you can see that in the pics as I haven't started to sand it off yet.





What colour scheme am I going to do it in you may be asking? Well, as it's got a Brit engine it seemed that the FAA Pacific Fleet would be the most likely recipient and as luck would have it Spinners produced a wonderful FAA schemed Bearcat almost on the same day as I decided to do this model. It looks terrific in the overall Sea Blue so you can get a rough idea what my Sabrecat is going to look like.



That's real 'Combined Ops' at work here, a request by one of us, profiled by another, built by a third and coloured by a fourth! 

[perttime]

OH YES!!!

That is looking good!   
Looks as if the "chin" protrudes more than in sturmvogels drawing - but that will just make it look more aggressive.

[PR19_Kit]

It does a bit, but sturmvogel's aircraft was a modified racer and didn't need the large radiator area that the FAA Sabrecats needed out in the Pacific......... 

Actually it's so curved that it'd be an even worse job to change the stock scoop than it was to add it to the Bearcat in the first place. 

[sturmvogel]

I'm glad to see one of my ideas being put into plastic. Nice start!

[Army of One]

That looks pretty good.....are the wings long enough...

[kitnut617]

(JMN hat on)

The Sabre VIII was a contra-prop version of the Sabre VII  (I was told that by Phil Butler)

(JMN hat off)

Out of interest, I've read that a couple of Sabre VII's were bench tested to 5500 hp

[PR19_Kit]

That looks pretty good.....are the wings long enough...

No, but just for once I'll keep them as they are. A Bearcat derivative NEEDS to look short and fat. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Interesting. The chin-mounted radiator will look odd, but with this mash-up the expression "power egg" receives a new meaning. Cool idea, looks VERY promising! 

[NARSES2]

Looking forward to this one Kit

[tc2324]

Possibly the craziest idea I`ve seen from you to date and a tad concerned you have gone from very long wings to a type known for it`s very small wings... 

Nurse..., I think he`s ill....   

[PR19_Kit]

Nurse..., I think he`s ill....   

Well I was, perhaps I haven't fully recovered? 

[Dizzyfugu]

The Sabrecat idea got me hooked... I have an old Matchbox Tempest somewhere, of which I won't use the Sabre engine front part. I might try to get my hands on an Art Model Bearcat... might look cool in FAA colors (EDSG/EDSG/Sky), like some Hellcats in the Pacific theatre (good for the Asiarama GB  )? I like the compact size of this "thing" 

[Dizzyfugu]

I am in! Got an Art Model Bearcat on order (comes from Latvia...) and I have settled on a FAA Pacific livery, with some white trim on the fin and a white spinner - maybe with five blades for a reduced diameter. Will take some weeks to materialize, due to logistics and another project I just started (a SF project, but also a kind of whif), but Kit's blue Sabrecat won't remain a single 

[PR19_Kit]

That sounds great, can't wait to see your take on the idea Thomas. 

I'm going to use the ENORMOUS Tempest prop, or I will if it will clear the ground anyway. The Bearcat prop is big enough but the Tempest one is MASSIVE by comparison.

[Dizzyfugu]

Yup, that's the technical problem which I see. Mine could be a Mk. II - I have an aftermarket 5-bladed Spitfire prop somehere, and I might scratch a new spinner from a drop tank tip, anyway. Could work, I even considered a contraprop, but I guess five blades will be martial enough. The nose might become toomlong for the short aircraft, and the original diameter is rel. large.

I am actually looking forward to see the result(s), too, since both will be based on different kits!

Good idea with the insert between the engine halves. I'll try that trick, too, and Presto will do the rest (as on yours, as I can see )