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Sometimes life is beautiful in contrast. We just need to see the beauty of being different.
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PictionID:40958857 - Catalog:Array - Title:Array - Filename:16_000268 Grumman F4F-3 VMF-121.tif - Ray Wagner was Archivist at the San Diego Air and Space Museum for several years and is an author of several books on aviation --- ---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
PictionID:43925527 - Title:McDonnell F-4F 38 61 JG71 May93 [C. Jacquet via RJF] - Catalog:17 - Filename:17.S_000988.tif - ----Image from the René Francillon Photo Archive. Having had his interest in aviation sparked by being at the receiving end of B-24s bombing occupied France when he was 7-yr old, René Francillon turned aviation into both his vocation and avocation. Most of his professional career was in the United States, working for major aircraft manufacturers and airport planning/design companies. All along, he kept developing a second career as an aviation historian, an activity that led him to author more than 50 books and 400 articles published in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and elsewhere. Far from “hanging on his spurs,” he plans to remain active as an author well into his eighties.-------PLEASE TAG this image with any information you know about it, so that we can permanently store this data with the original image file in our Digital Asset Management System.--------------SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
I believe in many chances. But when it's given to you, you gotta work like u've never did before.
we have our own light, waiting to ignite. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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bath_treats: The most colourful instagram xx
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A close fly-by - the photo has not been cropped!
Photographed at the RNAS Culdrose Air Day, 30 July 2015.
WWII, Painted as Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy. Fly Navy Airshow, Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden Airfield, Bedfordshire, UK.
Hey everyone – despite the fact that my activity has been nothing short of sporadic as of late, I’m finally happy to present to you all my custom LEGO rendition of a Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat from World War II!
The F4F Wildcat was Grumman’s first production monoplane naval fighter. As with many ‘firsts’ in the aviation industry, particularly during the interwar/WWII years, development was expectedly rocky. Before Grumman’s design would be able to be chosen by the Navy as their primary carrier-based frontline fighter, it had to be deemed superior to the reigning one: the Brewster F2A Buffalo. While the initial prototype was marginally quicker than the Buffalo, it possessed inferior maneuvrability to an intolerable degree, and was not proceeded with at this state. However, after fabricating the XF4F-3 prototype and equipping it with the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 “Twin Wasp” engine, Grumman was given a production order to see the resulting F4F-3 production model Wildcats in action with the Navy and Marine Corps, in the end beating out Brewster’s aircraft. Particularly in the early years of the war, it was used extensively – primarily in the Pacific Theatre. While noted as relatively inferior to its common rival there – the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero – USN and USMC pilots fought hard with these Wildcats, developing tactics and learning from hard-earned lessons gained from violent aerial encounters with the enemy. With the determination from the aviators, the F4F had a cumulative kill-to-death ratio of a little under 7:1.
The model itself was fairly challenging to design for me. Incorporating realistic features as seen on real aircraft (for this there’s the 5-degree dihedral, folding wings, and fully retractable landing gear that come to mind) is never an easy challenge. In fact, the wings when folded cannot hold themselves off the ground without assistance, nor can the model sit comfortably on its landing gear without demanding additional support. However, the fact that I was able to work these kinetic features in and still somehow have the model look the part is something I’m pretty proud of. I did design it digitally initially, and ordered the parts through BrickLink, making changes to the digital rendition as I saw fit when the bricks were in hand. All in all, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out (for now), and hope you all like it. Comments and feedback are much appreciated!
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the US Navy and the Royal Navy (as the Martlet) in 1940. First used in combat by the British in Europe, the Wildcat was the only effective fighter available to the USN and USMC in the Pacific theatre during the early part of WWII in 1941 and 1942; the disappointing Brewster Buffalo was withdrawn in favour of the Wildcat and replaced as units became available. With a top speed of 318 mph, the Wildcat was still outperformed by the faster (331 mph), more manoeuvrable, and longer-ranged Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
But the F4F's ruggedness, coupled with tactics such as the Thach Weave, resulted in an air combat kill-to-loss ratio of 5.9:1 in 1942 and 6.9:1 for the entire war (in American hands).
Lessons learned from the Wildcat were later applied to the faster F6F Hellcat which, with the exception of range, could outperform the Zero on its own terms. The Wildcat continued to be built throughout the remainder of the war to serve on escort carriers, where larger and heavier fighters could not be used.
"I would still assess the Wildcat as the outstanding naval fighter of the early years of World War II ... I can vouch as a matter of personal experience, this Grumman fighter was one of the finest shipboard aeroplanes ever created." - Eric M. "Winkle" Brown, British test pilot
The Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm employed Wildcats from 1940 in the fighter escort role. This particular aircraft flew for the first time in 30 years in 1993, following restoration by the Yanks Air Museum and Fighter Rebuilders of Chino, CA. It was later transported by sea to the UK and on to Duxford. It is currently the only Wildcat flying in Europe. It has a maximum speed of 332 mph and range of 900 miles.
Seen during the Duxford Air Show run by the Imperial War Museum at RAF Duxford on 7-8 September 2013.
My original LEGO model of the F4F-4 Wildcat. It features retractable landing gear, stowable wings, spinning prop, room for a minifig pilot, and retractable tail hook. Modeled in Sand Blue and Light Bluish Grey.
Nose cowling design originally designed by Ralph Savelsberg on his E-1 Tracer.
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✰ This photo was featured on The Epic Global Showcase here: bit.ly/1r3EgFN
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F-4F Phantom (38+13) from WTD 61 on Wittmund Airbase (ETNT) July,1st 2013 after Phantom-Phlyout.
Check out the Flyby-Vid: youtu.be/OGed2ewVoA4
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and some European air forces in 1940.
Grumman fighter development began with the two-seat Grumman FF biplane. The FF was the first U.S. naval fighter with a retractable landing gear. The wheels retracted into the fuselage, leaving the tires visibly exposed, flush with sides of the fuselage. Two single-seat biplane designs followed, the F2F and F3F, which established the general fuselage outlines of what would become the F4F Wildcat.
In 1935, while the F3F was still undergoing flight-testing, Grumman started work on its next biplane fighter, the G-16. At the time, the U.S. Navy favored a monoplane design, the Brewster F2A-1, ordering production early in 1936. However, an order was also placed for Grumman's G-16 (given the navy designation XF4F-1) as a backup in case the Brewster monoplane proved to be unsatisfactory.
It was clear to Grumman that the XF4F-1 would be inferior to the Brewster monoplane, so Grumman abandoned the XF4F-1, designing instead a new monoplane fighter, the XF4F-2. The overall performance of Grumman's new monoplane was considered inferior to the Brewster Buffalo. The XF4F-2 was marginally faster, but the Buffalo was more maneuverable, so the Brewster aircraft was judged superior and was chosen for production.
After losing out to Brewster, Grumman completely rebuilt the prototype as the XF4F-3 with new wings and tail and a supercharged version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radial engine. Testing of the new XF4F-3 led to an order for F4F-3 production models, the first of which was completed in February 1940. This modernized aircraft met a lot of international interest, and several orders were places.
Even before the Wildcat had been purchased by U.S. Navy, the French Navy and the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) had ordered the Wildcat, with their own configurations, via the Anglo-French Purchasing Board. The F4F Wildcat (initially known in British service at first as the Martlet) was taken on by the FAA as an interim replacement for the Fairey Fulmar, a two-seat fighter with good range but at a performance disadvantage against single-seater fighters. Navalized Supermarine Spitfires were not available because of the greater need of the Royal Air Force.
The FAA's F4Fs also pioneered combat operations from the smaller escort carriers. Six Martlets went to sea aboard the converted former German merchant vessel HMS Audacity in September 1941, proviing highly effective convoy escort operations. The British received 300 Eastern Aircraft FM-1s as the Martlet V in 1942–43 340 FM-2s as the Wildcat VI and finally 120 GM-built FM-3s (known in FAA service as Wildcat VII), the final evolution of the Wildcat and originally designated F4F-8 by the US Navy.
100 F4F-8 were delivered as fighters, plus 20 more as photo reconnaissance aircraft with a different equipment. This final incarnation of the Wildcat featured a new teardrop canopy and a lowered spine, which improved the pilot's field of view considerably. The FM-2’s enlarged fin was kept in order to ensure directional stability.
The F4F-8 revered to the 14 cylinder powerplant, a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94. In order to improve survivability and allow fast dashes over hazardous territory, the engine was augmented with a water/methanol booster system that could temporarily raise output and performance. The exhaust system was also modified, exploiting the exhaust gases for additional thrust. This measure, plus a new four blade propeller, improved the speed envelope by ~20mph (30 km/h), top speed now almost reached 370 mph and rate of climb was also temporarily amended.
The F8F-8 fighter received an improved armament of four 20mm cannon in the inner wing sections, which were still foldable. The outer pair of machine guns was deleted. The resulting shift of the aircraft’s center of gravity resulted in a slightly higher rate of roll and compensated for the heavier new guns and their ammunition. Two “wet” hardpoints under the inner wings could hold 1.000 lb (454 kg) each, alternatively six HVARs could be carried under the outer wings.
The F4F-8P differed from the fighter in so far that it carried three cameras in the lower rear fuselage, with respective ventral windows. The armor was reduced and the armament consisted of only four 0.5mm machine guns in the inner wings. An additional internal fuel tank and an optional pair of drop tanks under the inner wings allowed the carriage of an additional 255 gal (965 l) of fuel for a total of about 450 gal (1,700 l). With the underwing drop tanks, maximum range was up to 3,000 mi (4.830 km). In FAA service these machines were called Wildcat FR.VII.
In total, nearly 1,300 Wildcats would serve with the FAA. By January 1944, the Martlet name was dropped and the type was simply identified as the Wildcat. In March 1945, Wildcats shot down four Messerschmitt Bf 109s over Norway, marking the FAA's last victory with a Wildcat. After the end of hostilities in Europe, the Wildcat was quickly phased out or relegated to second line duties, e. g. as trainers for carrier operations. But even these few machines were soon retired and scrapped.
Specifications:
Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft (11.58 m)
Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.60 m)
Loaded weight: 7,000 lb (3,200 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94W 14 cylinder twin radial engine, rated at 1,350 hp (1,010 kW)
normal power and 1,425 hp (1,063 kW) emergency output with water/methanol injection
Performance:
Maximum speed: 366 mph (590 km/h)
Maximum range: 3,000 mi (4.830 km).
Range on internal fuel: 1.100 mi (1,770 km)
Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,670 ft/min (13.6 m/s)
Armament:
4x 0.5 in (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns,
2x underwing hardpoints (inner wings) for loads of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) each,
typically occupied by a pair of 108 gallon (409-liter) drop tanks
6x underwing hardpoints (outer wings, typically not used) for single HVARs
The kit and its assembly:
This one is a tribute build, and a pretty quick one, done in just a couple of days. The original inspiration was a profile that fellow modeler Franclab from Canada had posted at FlickR – and I had a Hobby Boss FM-2 in the stash, bought as part of a lot, without a real plan yet.
I found the idea of a Wildcat with a bubble canopy and other modernized details pretty inspiring, and so I decided to answer the profile with a hardware response.
Anyway, I did not “copy” the profile, rather did an interpretation while incorporating as many original details as possible. These mods include:
a) A lowered spine; this was made pretty easy since the Hobby Boss kit comes with an almost massive IP fuselage – the dorsal section was literally carved from the styrene.
b) A teardrop vacu canopy was fitted and the spine shaped to fit its rim. The piece actually belongs to a Spitfire XVI and comes from a Pavla set.
c) A pilot figure, or better just the upper half, since the kit’s cockpit tub is pretty shallow. The weak spot of many Hobby Boss kits is the primitive cockpit, and the figure simply hides this. For the same reason the canopy remained closed, what also made its montage easier.
d) Underwing pylons and drop tanks from a P-51 (probably Heller)
e) The exhaust system was changed into short, single stubs that exit on the flanks (Fw 190/Hawker Sea Fury style)
f) A new four blade propeller was scratched; the hub came from an Italeri F4U (looks a bit massive on the compact Wildcat. Though) while the delicate blades are single resin pieces for an Australian P-51 (from Red Roo Models). The whole things sits on a metal axis that rests in a deep hole, drilled into the massive fuselage of the kit, so that the propeller could spin freely for the beauty scene pics.
g) Scratched camera openings/covers under the lower fuselage
The idea for a photo recce variant came when I browsed for potential operators, since I wanted to build a whif from the very late WWII stages – and it was “something different” from the usual fighter.
Painting and markings:
Wanting to keep things realistic, the USA or Great Britain would be the potential operators. At some time, I considered a Dutch machine, but found this to be too far off, and favored an FAA aircraft.
The latter would either be painted Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey/Sky, all Dark Sea Blue, or Dark Sea Blue/Intermediate Blue/White.
I settled for the simple all-blue option – one reason being the FAA “Sabrecat” in SEAC markings I built some time ago, while the classic blue/white livery was already earmarked for another build in the near future.
Another argument for the dark blue livery (FS 35042 from ModelMaster) was a post-war Corsair of FAA No. 1835 Sq. in an exhaustive Sky Models decal set, an aircraft I used as benchmark for the livery and marking details.
Most of the decals come from the Sky Models set, only the upper wing roundels were sourced from the scrap box, as well as some additional markings and stencils. Panels were shaded with Humbrol 77 (Navy Blue) and Xtracolor RAL 5008, and the kit received two black ink washes – one before and a second one after shading.
After some weathering with paint and graphite around the exhaust stubs and guns, the kit was sealed with a coat of semi-matt varnish, plus some pure matt accents.
As mentioned above, a very quick tribute build, done in less than four days from seeing the profile on FlickR until the varnish had dried and the model stood on its own feet/wheels (beauty pics took some more time, though). The result looks interesting, especially the unusual post WWII combo of overall Dark Sea Blue with the standard RAF roundels. In fact - especially in the flight scenes - the fictional F4F-8 looks like the offspring between a hot night of a standard F4F and a TBM Avenger?
With best regards to Franclab, and many thanks for the inspiration! :D
Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare was the US Navy's first flying ace in WWII.
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago, IL
May 2015
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DISCLAIMER
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The so-called 'Sabrecat' was a special high performance derivate of Grumman's F8F Bearcat for the British Navy's Fleet Air Arm, tailored to the needs in the Pacific WWII theatre.
The original Bearcat concept began during a meeting between Battle of Midway veteran F4F Wildcat pilots and Grumman Vice President Jake Swirbul at Pearl Harbor on 23 June 1942. Lieutenant Commander Jimmie Thach emphasized one of his most important factors in fighters to Mr. Swirbul, "climb rate", which connoted "power." After intensively analyzing carrier warfare in the Pacific Theater of Operations for a year and a half, Grumman commenced designing the G-58 Bearcat.
Work on the Bearcat began in 1943 with the specifications calling for an aircraft able to operate from the smallest carrier, primarily in the interceptor role. The F6F's Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine was retained, but compared to the Hellcat, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb and was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster - it was, effectively, the smallest possible airframe mated with a strong and proven engine. Compared to the larger F6F, range was necessarily sacrificed, but rate of climb and agility were superior.
The FAA had immediate interest in the type for its carriers in the Pacific, too, since such a fast and agile type was missing in the British arsenal. But the FAA demanded that the type would be adapted to British standards, and also carry a domestic engine - the powerful Napier Sabre had already been chosen. The Sabre was a very different engine, though: a H-24-cylinder, liquid cooled, sleeve valve, piston aero engine, designed by Major Frank Halford. It was a promising engine: in its early stages in 1938 it had been developing 2,200 hp (1,640 kW), and this should reach up to 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) in late-model prototypes.
The Sabre engine necessitated a redesign of the complete Bearcat forward fuselage, though, including a large, chin-mounted radiator for the water-cooled engine. The oil coolers in the wing roots were retained. For the Sabrecat, a modified version of the Sabre III (intended for the stillborn Blackburn Firebrand naval fighter), the Sabre IIIA, was chosen. This engine was based on the Sabre IIA, but featured a revised ignition system with a maximum boost of 9 lbs and a Hobson fuel injection system. On the original Sabrecat, the Sabre IIIA drove a large, four-bladed Rotol propeller with a spinner. The Sabrecat's performance (considering rate of climb and top speed) was slightly better than the original F8F-1's, even though its range fell shorter.
From the start, many equipment pieces were replaced by equivalents of British origin, including the armament. This comprised four 20mm Hispano cannons and various external stores unter the wings, inclusing drop tanks, bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre or six unguided air-to-ground rockets. Other differences to the Bearcat were not so obvious, e. g. the lack of the F8F's unique detachable wingtip system (if the "g"-force exceeded 7.5 "g", then the tips would snap off, leaving a perfectly flyable aircraft still capable of carrier landing).
The first F8F prototype for the US Navy flew on 31 August 1944, and the first Sabrecat only three months later, on 1 December 1944. Development was rather quick, since many improvements of the F8F were immediately integrated into the Sabrecat's design.
The first production aircraft for both USN and FAA were delivered in February 1945, and the Sabrecats were immediately thrown into service - now designated Sabrecat Mk. I and initially based on the carrier HMS Indomitable, serving alongside FAA F6F and F4U fighters.
One specific flaw of early Sabrecats turned out to be its poor directional stability, caused by the draggy chin radiator. An enlarged/higher tail fin solved the problem (this fin was later incorporated into the USN's improved F8F-2) at high speeds, and this detail was changed after only 20 aircraft had been built. Nevertheless, the large propeller of the Mk. I Sabrecats caused considerably handling trouble at low speeds and made starting and landing on carrier decks more than hazardous.
Since the already nose-heavy and short aircraft precluded the use of a contra-rotating propeller, trials with a 5-bladed propeller of smaller diameter were hastily undertaken, and this eventually lead to, after only 35 produced Mk. I Sabrecats, the modified Mk. II, which served in parallel.
At this time, the WWII hostilities were already coming to an end. Only 16 Mk. II Sabrecats were eventually built and delivered to the FAA until May 1945, and these were only used for about seven weeks - mostly from land bases, and as fighter bombers against ships and ground targets.
After the hostilities ceased, all Sabrecats were quickly withdrawn from service, since other types offered more versatility and even better performance.
General characteristics
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 30 ft 4.5 in (9.28 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
Height: 13 ft 9 in (4.21 m)
Wing area: 244 ft²[42] (22.67 m²)
Empty weight: 7,070 lb (3,207 kg)
Loaded weight: 9,600 lb (4,354 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 12,947 lb (5,873 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Napier Sabre IIIA 24 cylinder H-engine, 2.300 hp (1.691 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 447 mph (720 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
Range: 700 mi (1.127 km) with internal fuel; 1.040 mi (1.675 km) with two 90 gal drop tanks
Service ceiling: 36,500 ft (11,125 m)
Rate of climb: 4,700 ft/min (23.9 m/s)
Wing loading: 66.7 lb/ft² (192.1 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (360 W/kg)
Armament:
4× 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon
6× 3 in (76.2 mm) RP-3 unguided air-to-ground rockets; alternatively, 6× 250 lb (113.5 kg), 2× 500 lb (227 kg) or 2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs could be carried, or 2× 45 gal (205 l) or 90 gal (409 l) drop tanks.
The kit and its assembly:
This model was inspired by events at whatifmodelers.com: a while back, fellow user perttime requested sturmvogel to do a profile of a Sabre-engined Bearcat, and he produced a colorful sketch/side view of a pylon racer. This motivated another modeler, PR19_kit, to produce an actual model of this aircraft - mating a vintage F8F-1 from FROG with the engine of a Heller Tempest M. II.
When pics of this ongoing project were posted (esp. with the plan take give this creation called the "Sabrecat" an all-blue FAA livery), I was in for this idea and decided to contribute another interpretation of the original idea. Complicated, but credit to those who deserve it!
More about this multi-modeler project can be found here: www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,37051.0.html
Anyway, the interesting twist to the story and the respective model of mine is that it actually consists of totally different parts than PR19_Kit's. I had a Matchbox Tempest in store, which would donate its optional Sabre nose, and for the rest I decided to give the relatively new mixed media kit of a late F8F-2 from Art Model (from Russia) a try.
The Art Model kit is ambiguous. It's a short-run kit in styrene and comes with many resin parts, which are finely molded: the cockpit tub with side panel and a dash board, a very fine landing gear wells interior which includes any kind of tubes and air ducts, delicate wheels and four unguided missiles, as well as the complete engine block. The styrene parts have very fine recessed panel lines, the injected canopy is clear and relatively thin - it looks promising.
But when you work on it... it's challenging. Biggest drawback is that (at least with my specimen) the resin cockpit and landing gear interior were both much too wide - neither the fuselage halves would 'close', and between the upper and lower wing halves a 1.5mm gap was left. It took some serious sanding and shaving on the delicate and brittle resin parts to make them fit. The wing interior was especially difficult to handle. It's really only something for advanced modelers!
But back to the conversion: In order to fit the Sabre engine with its chin radiator, I cut off the original nose of the Bearcat, behind the wings' leading edge. Melding the parts was not as complicated as expected - in my case, both diameter and shape differences between Tempest and Bearcat were small enough that I could just use NC putty. But it still took five turns of sculpting and sanding until I got a coherent shape... AFAIK, PR19_Kit's FROG/Heller "Sabrecat" needed the engine part to be widened considerably!
A major change/addition was a new propeller. I thought that the original, four-bladed Tempest propeller with its HUGE diameter would not really be suited for a carrier-based aircraft, even though the stalky Bearcat landing gear would make its use possible. Anyway, I wanted a smaller, five-bladed propeller, and this was created through the original Tempest spinner, "filled" with 2C putty, and five separate, deep propeller blades from a Griffon-powered Spitfire (aftermarket parts from Pavla) attached to it. THIS looks odd, but... why not!? This is whifworld, after all. ;)
Beyond the new parts, a styrene tube was implanted into the front end, so that, with a new, long axis, the propeller could spin freely for beauty pics (and ease of construction of the rest of the kit).
The rest of the Bearcat was taken OOB, including the very nice landing gear with its resin wheels. A pilot was added, and the external ordnance was changed: instead of HVARs of American origin my Sabrecat in FAA use (see below) received four unguided rockets of British origin, plus two small iron bombs (250 lb/113 kg caliber). The optional underbelly drop tank was omitted.
Another addition with some British flavor are four long-barreled Hispano 20mm cannons on the wings. They actually belong to a Hurricane Mk. IIC, but I deemed them appropriate for this beefy, compact fighter.
Painting and markings:
Since an all-blue Sabrecat was already under development in parallel I decided to go for a Fleet Air Arm aircraft as well, but in the classic Temperate Sea Scheme in Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey/Sky, with late-war roundels and some flashy white ID stripes. Inspiration (and decals) came from an Xtradecal sheet (#72142 'Yanks with Roundels - US Aircraft in the FAA, Pt. 3'), from which I mixed the paint scheme and markings of two FAA Grumman Hellcats from the Pacific theatre in 1945.
Painting was straightforward, using a pattern from an FAA Wildcat as benchmark. The basic tones were Humbrol 27 and 224, and this was weathered with Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey from Testors from their Authentic line. The lower side was painted with Humbrol 90 and treated with Sky from Testors. A wash with black ink emphasized the fine panel lines and engravings.
The cockpit interior was painted with Humbrol 150 (Cockpit Green) and received some dry-brushing with bright Zinc Chromate Green from Testors. The landing gear interior received a yellow-ish primer color: I used Humbrol 225 (Mid-Stone) as a basis and added some dry-brushing with Humbrol 93 (Sand). The metal parts were painted in simple Humbrol 56 (Aluminum).
The white ID stripes are actually all decals - these were cut from an all-white sheet from TL Modellbau. Only the propeller spinner was painted, in a mix of white and light grey, so that it would not look too bright.
After decal application I added some fake panel lines on the fuselage with Tamiya "Smoke", a translucent, greyish paint, and after some soot stains were painted around the guns and exhaust pipes, everything was sealed under a matt varnish coat.
I was sceptical at first, but the odd roundels and the white ID stripes really make the Sabrecat look interesting!
All in all, an interesting project which made it to the hardware stage in maybe 10 days - quicker than expected, but I was lucky to have all ingredients in store when I started working. Looking forward to its blue sister!
USS Yorktown, Charlestown Harbor (2005)
United States - East-Coast Tour 2005
Grumman F4F-3A Wildcat, Unknown ID and marked as F-15
The Warbird Resource Group showes N6699K as registration and restored at Chino.
Grumman Wildcat F4F-3A Bu3956 built-in 1941 for foreign military sales.
Pulled from the bottom of Lake Michigan in 1988, the Wildcat on display in Hangar Bay One of the USS Yorktown is one of only sixty-five F4F-3As built by Grumman in 1941 and one of two remaining F4F-3As in existence.
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Phantom Pharewell, Wittmund Airbase (2013) - Germany
McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom, 38+10 German Airforce
Photo selection