F8F BearCat in the Portuguese Navy

Captain Canada · August 22, 2016, 07:06:31 PM

Great work so far ! Coming along really nice.

DogfighterZen · August 23, 2016, 01:07:02 AM

Quote from: Old Wombat on August 22, 2016, 06:38:42 PM
That blue got me thinking ( ), if you put "Fosters' Lager" badging on it, you'd have a Beercat!

..... Hat! Coat! Gone!

I must admit i do like the blue and gold/yellow combo... And that would be a nice idea for a racer's sponsor markings!

Quote from: Captain Canada on August 22, 2016, 07:06:31 PM
Great work so far ! Coming along really nice.

Thanks, Captain!

DogfighterZen · August 25, 2016, 05:10:19 AM

Ok, pilot ready, prop spinner added but still rough...

The pilot didn't fit through the cockpit opening with the fuselage halves together so those were now closed up, and fit pretty good all around...

Then it was time to glue the wings... those of you who know this kit, know that this is the worst part of the whole kit, the fit is terrible... but i guess it's inherent to the "slide wing through fuselage half" method of engineering the kit...

As logic demanded, i glued the wing on the top seam, all good there...

But it will need some styrene on those cravasses...

Not sure if there's an extension for this GB but i might get some work done on the gear bays, those really need some attention...

EDIT:Just found out it's a 2 week extension...

Captain Canada · August 25, 2016, 07:32:35 AM

Looks good. I love an aero with a pilot figure. More fun to fly around lol

DogfighterZen · August 25, 2016, 02:46:35 PM

Quote from: Captain Canada on August 25, 2016, 07:32:35 AM
Looks good. I love an aero with a pilot figure. More fun to fly around lol

So now ask me why i've built my first 20 models in flight mode...

Nothing done so far, got home really tired but i'll probably go pick up the styrene strips and get to work on the underside and wheel bays...

DogfighterZen · September 05, 2016, 09:27:22 AM

Well, i've been working a lot of hours and haven't had time for the bench, but last night i got the canopy masked to be able to finish, and close up the cockpit. I've also covered the gaps on the underside wing/fuselage seam and, decided to forget about detailing the landing gear bays and move on, maybe on another build.

DogfighterZen · September 05, 2016, 04:59:09 PM

Working on the canopy, lots of flash cleaned up, and the masking must have been the hardest i've ever done, the detail is almost gone, the lines of the framing are just not there...

After that, trying to fit it closed up was almost impossible as the windshield would sit at a completely different angle from the canopy, so, as i wanted it closed, i glued the two parts together and i'll try to fill the gaps with some small plastic bits glued to the fuselage...

At least it's sitting straight on the fuselage... or kind of...

Captain Canada · September 05, 2016, 07:09:35 PM

Lots of work eh ! Looks good tho, and once painted up I bet even you won't notice.

DogfighterZen · September 06, 2016, 12:09:10 AM

Quote from: Captain Canada on September 05, 2016, 07:09:35 PM
Lots of work eh ! Looks good tho, and once painted up I bet even you won't notice.

Sure is, Captain... It's been a bit of a pain as i thought this would be an easy build... I hope you're right, let's see if i have the skill to do so.

DogfighterZen · September 07, 2016, 12:23:48 PM

Ok, bad fit off the clear parts is something that gets on my nerves... especially with kits that have raised detail...

I glued some plastic strips were the canopy/windshield were supposed to go and everything went well, but still it had a big gap in front of the windshield so i had to resort to putty and sanding, and this was the best i could do...

Just hope it doesn't show too much with some paint on...

DogfighterZen · September 09, 2016, 01:46:37 PM

Well, seems like i might just finish it in time...

Could be smoother if it wasn't for my normal self leaving fingerprints everywhere...

I don't think it needs a gloss coat for the decals but i'll do it just for the extra protection for the paint, i'll try to get it finished this weekend.

Dizzyfugu · September 10, 2016, 05:15:42 AM

That should look really sexy with some large PAF marking!

Captain Canada · September 10, 2016, 06:49:57 AM

Looks gorgeous

DogfighterZen · September 11, 2016, 07:37:45 AM

Glad you like it, guys!

I've been trying to gather the needed decals but as always, i've don't have the proper white serial numbers...

I'll probably have to go through the stash to see if i find suitable numbers. Should have something more to show later today.

DogfighterZen · September 13, 2016, 03:04:35 PM

Ok, so i got home today and headed straight down to the cave but, i didn't notice i was being followed inside...

It's official, i've been adopted by Elvis... and he has taken over the bench chair...

Anyway, he slept there for a bit while i finished the decals, and around 8pm he jumped out the window to check out some strange noise outside, allowing me to spray a gloss coat on everything that needed it, so, all that's left to do is, spray a matte coat on the prop and attach the landing gear doors to the gear legs, then the gear legs to the kit and finally, removal of the canopy mask.

It's getting there...