View allAll Photos Tagged Propeller
a crease pattern for the propeller box.
red is mountain, blue is valley while you are looking at the outside of the box.
the grey lines are guide lines to provide references. I urge you not to actually fold them as they spoil the look of the final box. you can totally substitute them with some small pinches at the right places.
Wooden propeller & radial engine of Jim Beisner, Steve Boone, & Marla Boone's 1928 WACO ASO, tail #NC5852, at the annual 2014 WACO Vintage Fly-In at WACO Airfield and Museum, Troy, Ohio
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The ASJA J13 was a Swedish fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was designed and produced by the AB Svenska Järnvägsverkstädernas Aeroplanavdelning (Swedish Railroad Workshops' Air Plane Department, ASJA) in limited quantities as a transitional aircraft between the last of the biplanes and the first monoplane fighters.
Development under the project designation L13, work on the fighter started in 1930. From the start, the aircraft was to be a monoplane with a parasol layout and a wide, fixed landing gear that could easily be switched between spatted wheels and skis for winter operations. Optimized for the harsh climatic conditions in Northern Europe and with ruggedness and ease of field operations in mind, the L13 was to be powered by a robust Gnome-Rhône 9Krsd radial engine with 500 hp, driving a fixed, wooden two-blade propeller. The airframe was an all-metal construction, covered with fabric except for the front fuselage section (with the engine mount, the main tank and the wings’ main attachment points), which was sheathed with duralumin. The armament consisted of a pair of 8 mm ksp m/22 machine guns (license built .30 AN/M2's) with 500 rounds each, mounted in front of the open cockpit and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.
The first prototype made its maiden flight in summer 1932, and after successful flight tests, the new fighter was accepted by the Swedish Air Force as J13 and series production started at once, even though at a slow pace because the engines had to be imported and French production was primarily allocated to domestic aircraft production. However, at the same time, the Swedish government was in negotiations with France concerning the procurement of complete aircraft like the Breguet 694 (which later became the S10 reconnaissance aircraft), and in the wake of these discussions, the import of the compact, but also more powerful, Hispano-Suiza 14AB radial engine with ~650 hp for the J13 (and other Swedish types on the drawing board) was considered.
Three initial Hispano-Suiza 14AB engines were delivered in 1933 for tests and development, and the sixth production J13 was modified to carry one of these new engines. Changes primarily consisted of a slightly extended cowling and a new, variable all-metal three-blade propeller, which significantly improved the aircraft’s performance and handling. As another measure to improve the type’s effectiveness, the light 8mm machine guns were replaced by F.N. Mitrailleuse d'Avion Browning 13,2 mm heavy machine guns (later license-built in Sweden as the Akan m/39).
However, during test flights, powerful vibrations were encountered, and the bigger engine as well as the heavier weapons caused stability problems, as the aircraft’s center of gravity had moved forward. However, the new engine raised the aircraft’s top speed by almost 50 km/h (30 mph), bringing the L13 on par with foreign contemporary fighters, so that the project pursued. Both engine problems were eventually cured through a stiffened internal structure around the engine mount and modified wings, which now featured a slight sweep and shifted the center of lift forward. In this form, the aircraft was designated J13B (while the initial version, of which only sixteen aircraft were built, was re-designated J13A) and entered production and service in early 1935. A total of 53 J13Bs were delivered to the Swedish Air Force until November 1936. Argentine and Japanese military representatives tested the rugged aircraft, but placed no orders.
As the J13B entered service, however, it was, despite the improvements, already obsolete. Nevertheless, the J13B received the opportunity to show its qualities: During the Winter War with the Soviet Union. Stalin launched all-out war on Nov. 30, 1939, and the Red Army assaulted the Mannerheim Line, also invading central Finland to sever supply lines from Sweden. The Soviet Navy prowled the coast. Aloft, VVS fighters and bombers struck at ports, cities, and installations. At that time, the Finnish Air Force (FAF) operated 30 Gloster Gladiator fighters, obtained from the UK. Besides the FAF Gladiators, the Swedish Voluntary Air Force came to aide and became responsible for the air defense of northernmost Finland during the conflict. The Swedish Voluntary Air Force’s Flying Regiment F 19 arrived in Finnish Lapland on 10 January 1940 and remained there until the end of hostilities. It fielded twelve Gladiator Mk II fighters (known in Sweden as the J8), six ASJA J13B fighters, five Hawker Hart dive bombers, plus a Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 liaison aircraft and a Junkers F.13 transport aircraft. The aircraft belonged to and were crewed by the Swedish Air Force, but flew with Finnish nationality markings.
While the Finns put up a spirited resistance during the winter of 1939-1940, their troops were ultimately no match for the sheer immensity of the Red Army. In February 1940, following one of the largest artillery bombardments since World War I, the Soviets renewed their onslaught and overran the Finnish defenses on the Karelian Isthmus. With its forces low on ammunition and nearing the brink of exhaustion, Finland agreed to peace terms the following month. Until then, the Swedes of F 19 managed to shoot down at least 10 Soviet planes. The most successful Finnish ace, Oiva Tuominenn, scored 4 victories flying a Swedish J8B (a Gladiator Mk.II).
The J13Bs were less successful, only a single air victory was claimed. This could not be attributed to the J13B’s fighter performance, though, but rather to the fact that the type was primarily used for reconnaissance duties (its parasol design afforded a very good field of view) and ground attacks. The J13B’s heavy machine guns proved to be very effective in the latter role, e.g. strafing troops and vehicles trying to cross Lake Ladoga, Viipuri Bay and other iced-over waterways. Furthermore, the pilots in the outdated Finnish and Swedish aircraft tried in general to avoid aerial combat with Soviet fighters whenever possible, rather attacking bombers. One J13B was lost in aerial combat (shot down by an I-16 monoplane), while another one was destroyed on the ground during an air raid.
In early March 1940, Sweden announced it would not permit any foreign forces to cross its territory to fight in Finland. On March 6, after much debate, a Finnish delegation left for Stockholm, then flew on to Moscow, arriving the next day. There, on March 12, Finnish and Russian conferees signed a treaty of peace. The next day, at 11 a.m. Helsinki time, an uneasy peace returned. The treaty ending the Winter War forced Finland to cede 11 percent of its territory to the Soviet Union, yet the country maintained its independence and later squared off against Russia a second time during World War II. For the Soviets, meanwhile, victory came at a heavy cost. During just three months of fighting, their forces suffered over 300,000 casualties compared to around 65,000 for the Finns.
When the aircraft of the Swedish Voluntary Air Force’s Flying Regiment F 19 returned to Sweden, all remaining J13Bs were retired from frontline fighter service and relegated to advanced training, liaison and reconnaissance duties. The type was eventually retired in 1946.
General characteristics:
Crew: one, pilot
Length: 7.45 m (24 ft 4¾ in)
Wingspan: 10.56 m (34 ft 7⅔ in)
Height: 3.26 m (10 ft 8½ in)
Wing area: 17.20 m² (185.1 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,290 kg (2,841 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,725 kg (3,800 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Gnome-Rhône 14AB 14-cylinder radial engine, 477 kW (650 hp)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 364 km/h (196 knots, 226 mph) at 3,850 m (12,630 ft)
Range: 700 km (378 nm, 435 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,810 ft)
Rate of climb: 6.12 meters per second (1,200 feet per minute)
Time to altitude: 5.7 min to 3,000 m (9,840 ft):
Armament:
2× Automatkanon (a.k.a. Akan) m/39/F.N. Mitrailleuse d'Avion Browning 13,2 mm machine guns with 250 RPG
The kit and its assembly:
A rather simple affair – this is a SMER Morane Saulnier MS 225, a rather unknown pre-WWII design (and actually a fighter for the French navy), in a whiffy guise and with some small changes. I somehow found that the aircraft had a Swedish look to it (maybe because of the original, green livery?), so I built an according story for it.
The model was mostly built OOB. At some time, I considered a closed cockpit, similar to the Gloster Gladiator, but I eventually went for the OOB solution, I just added a pilot figure. The only changes I made are a different engine in the cowling (so that the 14 cylinder idea would work, it’s a Jaguar radial from a Matchbox A. W. Siskin), a new three-blade propeller with a spinner (not certain from which model they came) and short but wide skis instead of the original, spatted wheels (left over from a PM Model Fokker XXI), for the intended winter operations with F 19. A scratched small ski was added to the tailskid, too.
After painting the model received some rigging with heated, black plastic sprue material, following the MS 225’s pattern. Thankfully, only a few wires had to be added!
Painting and markings:
For a Swedish early-WWII aircraft, there’s basically only one livery option: uniform olive green upper and light blue-grey undersides. Very simple, but also boring... An interesting alternative are import aircraft, which mostly retained their original livery (e.g. those imported from Italy), but this would not work in this case.
However, an interesting alternative are the Gladiators of the Swedish Voluntary Air Force during the Winter War, which had their original green/grey camouflage overpainted with bands of aluminum dope and the Swedish roundels replaced with Finnish swastikas or, after their deployment, black discs over the fuselage roundels. The latter is what I went for – also because I wanted to build such an aircraft for a long time.
Even though FS 34079 is recommended for the dark green tone, I rather went for a slightly lighter tone, Humbrol 163 (RAF Dark Green), which is also more brownish than the USAF Forest Green. The undersides of Swedish aircraft are frequently described as FS 36176 (USAF Neutral Grey), but this is IMHO again too dark for the model and lacks IMHO blue, so I rather used Humbrol 87 (Steel Grey).
The aluminum dope camouflage was added over the basic colors, just as in real life, and consists of Humbrol 56. This tone is IMHO a very good representation of the paint-soaked fabric, a rather dull, metallic grey than a shiny metallizer finish. The silver cammo was applied onto all upper wing surfaces and also wrapped around the whole fuselage, including the undersides, just as on the real aircraft.
The spinner became red (Humbrol 19), indicating a fictional second F 19 squadron, all Gladiators of the unit carried yellow markings for the 1st squadron. An appropriate red code letter came from a Heller J21 (just the right size and shape for the standard position on the rudder). The black circles on the fuselage come from a grid number sheet for slot cars, the thistle emblem came from a Belgian Sopwith Camel (PrintScale). Many F 19 machines received, after their hot duty, similar individual decorations, so this is a plausible addition. No roundels were added to the wings at all – the late aircraft of the Swedish Voluntary Air Force only carried the overpainted fuselage markings, while no national markings were ever applied to the upper wing surfaces. On the wings’ undersides, I added fields in a slightly different blue-grey tone, as if the original Finnish swastikas had been overpainted.
The kit received a light weathering wash with thinned black ink and was dry-brushed with lighter shades of the basic tones and medium grey in order to bring out the surface structures. Finally, some soot stains were added with grinded graphite and snow residue simulated on the skis with acrylic white paint, and the kit was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish. Rigging was the final step.
A relatively simple build, but I think the travesty of the French MS 225 into a contemporary fighter from Sweden works well. However, if I build another MS 225, I will certainly look for the original Heller kit, since the SMER kit show the age and the wear of the molds, with a lot of flash, need for cleaning and PSR. I assume that the Heller molds are/were much more crisp. The engine and propeller swap is very subtle, but esp. the three-blade propeller with the spinner change the aircraft’s look well, making the J13 look a couple of years younger than it actually is. The unique camouflage with the alu dope bands also looks odd, but it works well over the snowy landscape of Finland!
WAITING.... the monument near the Pier Head, Liverpool, dedicated to the Liverpool carter's horses - standing near to the propeller of the RMS Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U-Boat in May 1915 which resulted in the deaths of almost 1200 people..
Propeller cloud.
Tried to find a name, and when backlit, each 6 teardrop group appears to have a 3 blade propeller in the midde.
And the back, with the triangle twist has a similar effect.
Molecule: glassine paper, hexagon from 20x20 cm square, 32 division grid.
Box: star paper lid, 32 division grid, Eh bottom.
Tessellation: tant paper, hexagon from 30x30 cm square, 64 division grid.
Planning to fold another one, refining the border folds.
CP: 2 version, 1 for thw 64 division grid, the other one for 32, 64 and 96 division grid.
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Active Pass, Gulf Islands, BC., Canada
The MV Queen of Nanaimo is a Burnaby class passenger vessel operated by BC Ferries.
The ship was built in 1964 by Victoria Machinery Depot. In 1974 the ship was rebuilt and extended 25 meters in length. It currently operates on the Tsawwassen-Gulf Islands route web. In 2006 there was a major overhaul of passenger areas. Its propulsion is by two Mirrlees National KVSSM twin turbocharged (intercooled) single acting 4 stroke, V16 diesel engines which produce 3,000 bhp (2,200 kW) at 320 rpm. 15 inch bore by 18-inch (460 mm) stroke. Propellers are variable pitch (controllable-pitch propeller) made by KaMeWa (a Rolls Royce company).
Object information:
Other Designations: Caldwell 44, NGC7479, Propeller Galaxy, Superman Galaxy
Constellation: Pegasus
Distance: 120 M LY
Apparent Magnitude (V): 11
Description:
The Propeller Galaxy (NGC 7479) is a barred spiral galaxy located about 120 million light-years away from Earth in the northern constellation of Pegasus (the Winged Horse), while it is racing away from us at some 2381 kilometers per second.
It has a very asymmetric spiral structure with a bright, long bar. Its tightly wound arms create an inverted ‘S’, as they spin in an
anticlockwise direction. However, at radio wavelengths, it spins the other way, with a jet of radiation that bends in the opposite direction to the stars and dust in the arms of the galaxy.
This radio jet in the Propeller Galaxy was probably put into its
bizarre backwards spin by a recent minor merger with another galaxy.
NGC 7479 is also classified as a Seyfert galaxy, a galaxy with an
extremely bright, active galactic nucleus (AGN), that contains a
supermassive black hole.
[Last year I imaged this galaxy 1314mm focal length (f/6.3). I am now able to image it at 2165mm (f/10). Even at f/10 the galaxy is small, so I have cropped this image slightly.]
================================
Location: backyard, Richmond, VA
Date: 9-14-2023
Conditions: Clear and cool.
Seeing: average
Equipment:
Scope: Celestron C-8
Camera: ASI294MM
Mount: iOptron CEM-70
Filters: Astonomik Deep-Sky RGB, Astronomik L-2 Luminance
Software: Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight, Gimp
Imaging Settings:
Binning: 2x2
Gain: 120
Temp: -10C
focal length: 2165mm
subs:
L 84 x 120s
R 16 x 180s
G 16 x 180s
B 15 x 180s
Total integration time: 5 hr 9 min
Ncomment blogspamed:
ncomment.com/blog/2008/09/23/propeller/
Gerard Barberi experimentally submits it to Propeller:
www.propeller.com/story/2008/09/24/propeller-design-flaw/
Added to Mixx by cGt2099:
The first sod on the Memorial Garden, Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, Ireland, was turned by Peggy Murphy, as the sun set on the old millennium on December 31st 1999, on a site near Forlorn Point overlooking the area aptly named ‘The Graveyard of a Thousand Ships’.
The Garden incorporates this propeller blade from the ship “Lennox”, lost off the Saltee Islands in 1916. The blade was recovered from the wreck by Edmund O’Byrne and his team of divers.
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
Designer: Seiji Nishikawa
Diagram: Essential Origami book by Steve & Megumi Biddle
Unit: 2 squares
Paper: Kraft Paper
The book says, "In Japan this model is folded when congratulations are given, such as at New Year or at a wedding".
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
Made from salvaged junk from my local scrapyard. The base is made a spun stainless steel half sphere..I found two of them but have no clue what they were from or for. The section on top of the base is ceramic, originally was used at a power station... also from the scrap yard, some kind of vintage propeller fan blade, there some auto transmission parts and a few other scrap yard finds.
The chairs are also from the same local scrap yard.
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
All photo rights are owned by Doc's Friends, Inc. and use of the photos on this site for publication must be approved by Doc's Friends, Inc. For more information, contact: www.b-29doc.com/media-contact/
Made from salvaged junk from my local scrapyard. The base is made a spun stainless steel half sphere..I found two of them but have no clue what they were from or for. The section on top of the base is ceramic, originally was used at a power station... also from the scrap yard, some kind of vintage propeller fan blade, there some auto transmission parts and a few other scrap yard finds.
A propeller from HMS "Cavalier" on the Esplanade, East Cowes. HMS "Cavalier" is a WWII "C" class destroyer, now preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some Background:
The Grumman F8F (G-58, Grumman Aircraft's design designation) Bearcat was a U.S. Navy/Marine Corps single-engine, fighter aircraft. It was introduced late in World War II as a carrier-based fighter. In replacing the obsolescent F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat, climb rate was an important design factor for the F8F, which was faster and lighter than the F6F carrier-based fighter. In late 1943, Grumman began development of the F8F Bearcat and deliveries from Grumman began on 21 May 1945.
In 1946, the F8F set a climb record of 6,383 fpm and held this record until it was broken by a jet fighter in 1956. Early F8Fs first flew in August 1944, followed by production aircraft starting in February 1945, the war ended before the F8F saw combat.
The F8F was Grumman’s last piston engine fighter Production ended in 1949, after Grumman had produced 1,265 F8F Bearcats in total. Directly after the war, the F8F was a key fighter for the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps. Since it was one of the best-handling piston fighters ever, its performance made it the top selection in 1946 for the U.S. Navy’s elite Blue Angels demonstration squadron. When the F8F became obsolete (The last ones in U.S. service were retired in 1952), it was replaced with jet fighter aircraft, the F9F Panther and the F2H Banshee.
From 1946 to 1954, the F8F saw its first combat during the French Indochina War, being used by French forces. Surviving Bearcats from that war were given to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force and to Cambodia, and some were mothballed. The Royal Thai Air Force also flew a number of Bearcats that were purchased from the U.S. Navy.
Gabon became another, rather late operator of the F8F. In the early 1960s, following the country's independence from the French Republic, aerial detachments remained inside the country. The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was Léon M'ba, with Omar Bongo Ondimba as his vice president. As a starting stock of flying equipment, Gabon took over twenty refurbished, former Armée de L’air F8F Bearcats from French surplus stock and used them both as advanced trainers and for operational military duties, which became more and more the Bearcats’ primary mission. After M'ba's accession to power, the press was suppressed, political demonstrations banned, freedom of expression curtailed, other political parties gradually excluded from power, and the Constitution changed along French lines to vest power in the Presidency, a post that M'ba assumed himself.
However, when M'ba dissolved the National Assembly in January 1964 to institute one-party rule, an army coup sought to oust him from power and restore parliamentary democracy. French paratroopers flew in within 24 hours to restore M'ba to power. At that time the small Gabonese F8F fleet was joined by a couple of former French Douglas AD-4 Skyraiders, which had been originally procured for use in the Algerian War. After the end of this conflict in 1964, the machines were used in Djibouti, Madagascar and Chad, among other places, and eight of them joined the Gabonese forces as part of the Presedential Guards, flown by French mercenaries because the Gabonese troops lacked flight and – moreover – combat experience. After a few days of fighting, the coup ended and the opposition was imprisoned, despite widespread protests and riots. French soldiers still remain in the Camp de Gaulle on the outskirts of Gabon's capital to this day.
After these riots, Gabon’s first official aerial installation was established in 1966: Mouila Training Center in the south-west of the country. When M'Ba died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president. In March 1968, Bongo declared Gabon a one-party state by dissolving the BDG and establishing a new party—the Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG). He invited all Gabonese, regardless of previous political affiliation, to participate. Bongo sought to forge a single national movement in support of the government's development policies, using the PDG as a tool to submerge the regional and tribal rivalries that had divided Gabonese politics in the past.
On January 25, 1972, by presidential decree signed by President Omar Bongo, the Gabonese Air Force became an official branch of the armed forces, separate from the army, and funds were allocated to replace the outdated and worn-out AD-4s and F8Fs with more adequate equipment. The implementation of this plan would take some more years, though, starting with the procurement of modern Mirage 5 fighter bombers from France in 1978, which replaced the old types until the end of the decade. In January 1980, at the initiative of President Bongo, the Air Force eventually developed and adopted a combat structure and created the dedicated Mvengue Air Base in the capital.
Today, Gabon has a small, professional military of about 5,000 personnel, divided into army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and national police. Gabonese forces are oriented to the defense of the country and have not been trained for an offensive role. A well-trained, well-equipped 1,800-member guard provides security for the president.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
Wing area: 244 sq ft (22.7 m²)
Aspect ratio: 5.02
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018; tip: NACA 23009
Empty weight: 7,650 lb (3,470 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 13,460 lb (6,105 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston
engine with 2,100 hp (1,600 kW), driving a 4-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 455 mph (732 km/h, 395 kn)
Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km, 960 nmi)
Service ceiling: 40,800 ft (12,400 m)
Rate of climb: 4,465 ft/min (22.68 m/s)
Wing loading: 42 lb/sq ft (210 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (0.36 kW/kg)
Armament:
4× 20 mm (.79 in) AN/M3 cannon in the outer wings
2,000 lb (907 kg) of ordnance on three prime hardpoints (incl. bombs, rocket pods, napalm tanks
or drop tanks), plus four underwing hardpoints for light loads like 5” (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
A rather quick/simple project that had been lingering in The Stash™ for a couple of years. The idea and inspiration: what if the French air force had left more than just a couple of Skyraiders in Northern African countries after their independence? The F8F was operated by the French Armée de l’air until 1954, even though primarily in Indochina. But some of these could have been transferred to countries like Chad, Central African Republic or Gabon, too, and from this thought this what-if model was born.
There are certainly better F8F kits (e. g. the Art Model kit with resin parts, including a finely detailed landing gear wells interior), but for a "budget build" or a conversion this one is a good starting point – and I had a Monogram F8F (Revell re-boxing) ready in stock. The model was basically built OOB, just with some cosmetic changes. The Monogram F8F in 1:72 holds only small surprises. It's a typical vintage Monogram kit (IIRC, the molds are from 1976) with raised (yet fine) details and vague fit - even though nothing fatal. PSR was basically necessary at any seam, esp. the unique wing/fuselage solution calls for some seam-filling. The cockpit interior is bare, but, except for the (quite nice) seat and the dashboard, nothing can be seen later. In order to pimp the interior, I added a dashboard – the kit comes with a rather symbolic one, consisting of two sections molded into the fuselage halves with an ugly seam. A styrene tube was added behind the engine block to take the propeller’s new metal axis, and a small pitot was added under the left wing, made from wire.
The clear parts (two pieces) are very transparent but came with lots of flash and massive attachment points to the sprue, what left visible marks on the parts. The landing gear is simple but O.K., very robust, but it appears quite stalky to me and the wells are totally bare. The oil cooler intakes in the wing roots are just holes, so I filled them with bits of foamed styrene. The underwing ordnance was changed into triple bazooka unguided missile launchers in the standard pylons' poristions (which had to be sanded away since they are molded into the wings' lower half), procured from an Academy P-51 kit, and on short notice I added four small bombs to the HVAR stations, from a Hobbycraft Skyraider. Not certain what they are supposed to be (maybe M47 incendiary bombs?), because of their small size and the vintage "box tail", but they could be light anti-personnel/shrapnel bombs?
Painting and markings:
I used the real-world Gabonese AD-4s as benchmarks – and even had a complete decal set for one of these machines (from a Hobbycraft kit) at hand. Consequently, I gave the F8F an overall NMF look, created with a base of Revell 99 (Aluminum), some single panels in Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope) and later a panel-shading with Humbrol 27001 (Matt Aluminum Metal Cote) and some good rubbing with a soft cotton cloth and a bit of graphite for some more depth in between the tones. Quite complex process, but it creates a nice, uneven and worn metallic look.
Parts of the cowling and the exhaust area became black, created with paint and decal material. The anti-glare panel was also painted in black, just with s slightly different tone (Revell 06, Tar Black).
I adopted a green cheatline as an individual aircraft marking, and the respective decals from the Hobbycraft Skyraider’s sheet were tailored accordingly to match the small F8F’s hull. A matching green tone was mixed for the wing, stabilizer and fin tips, and the propeller’s tip was painted green, too. The propeller blades’ tips received two yellow stripes on overall black – inspired by the design of the real Gabonese AD-4s’ markings.
All interior surfaces except for the cockpit were painted with bright green zinc primer (Revell 361, the cockpit ina darker Humbrol 226), the landing gear became silver-grey (Humbrol 56) – the former French F8Fs had kept the USN all-dark blue livery, and their landing gear would have been blue, too, but as a refurbished aircraft, stripped off of its former livery, would probably have a bare metal landing gear, too?
The kit received a black ink washing before aforementioned surface treatment was applied. After the addition of the decals the whole kit was sealed with a semi-gloss acrylic varnish to promote sine, except for the anti-glare panel, which became matt. Oil stains around the engine were created with Tamiya X-19 (Smoke) and soot stains around the guns and the exhaust ports were dry-painted with black acrylic paint and some graphite.
Well, this is, despite being more or less built OOB, a highly exotic what-if model, and I think that the NMF together with the green cheatlines suit the Bearcat well - adapting the paint scheme from a Douglas Skyraider onto the similar F8F was quite easy (and incidently the same path I had taken with another Monogram F8F in Cambodian markings some months ago).