1/48 AMT F7F Tigercat
This is another one of my favorite planes.
This one was built with the addition of a set of True Details resin wheels. I had heard some of the horror stories about how the wheels fall apart after a while so I replaced them right off the bat.
I had to add a lot of modeling clay in the nose of the plane and even added some inside of the drop tank. Now I'm afraid that the landing gear may snap ... But it hasn't so far. At least now it's not a tail sitter...
This kit is a fairly simple build. The cockpit is basic but look ok to me under the closed canopy. I had to add some filler where the trailing edge of the wing meets with the engine nacelles.
I used bare metal foil "Ultra Bright Chrome" on the landing gear oleos. I did this to try and replicate the look of the hydraulic cylinders of the landing gear.
The paint was very simple. Overall glossy sea blue. The decals went down without a problem. I sealed everything up with a nice coat of gloss clear. Model Master products were used throughout.
I'm very pleased with how this kit turned out.
Take care.
Sleek lookin' 'Cat, Louis...and nice photography as well. Good stuff.
I have always liked photography. This is the best of both worlds. Thanks Craig.
Thanks Craig ! One of these days I'll get the plain white poster board and maybe a few lights to help with shadows.
Looks great!
Thanks Ken !
Beautiful build on an elegant bird.
The Tigercat is a sleek bird for sure. If you look at it head on there's nothing more than two big engines !
Nice Louis, love the Tigercats GSB looks nice!
Thanks John ! I had to let the plane sit for a while before I dared to touch it. GSB finishes are a fingerprint magnet !
Beautiful Tigercat, Louis - and the finish is terrific!
Thanks Drew. The clear gloss coat really flowed out pretty nicely.
I always thought the Tigercat was one of the neatest airplanes produced.
A very nice build here on a beautiful / sleek airplane. Good work Louis !
Thank you! It's a sleek design for sure. I'll bet they were a blast to fly with two big P&W R2800's !
Shiny! Nice Tiger. You can't go wrong with True Details wheels, they are always an improvement.
And your other builds are purty, too.
Thanks Bill. The replacement wheels were a must.
Thanks everyone for the compliments.
Awesome Looking Tiger Cat . Awesome job on the overall finish 🙂
Cheers Brian
Very nice! I've learned to handle fragile paint schemes with powderless latex gloves during the finishing phases to avoid the fingerprints!
Oh, yes, that's a keeper! Difficult colour scheme to get right. Lovely work.
Thanks again everyone.
Originally I tried spraying the plane with Testors "rattle can" Dark Sea Blue. It took forever to dry (never really did), and had several runs in it where the paint was too thick. So I ended up washing it all off using "Easy- Off" oven cleaner.
This was my second attempt.
This time I used my air brush and numerous light coats that were thinned down some. The clear coats were what really made it "Pop".
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Louis ... you have done a great job on this model, when looking back at the situations you had in getting it painted ... one sees and feels it is a job so well done. Looks great, thanks for sharing the pictures.
Thanks DE ! When I first sprayed the plane I was really disappointed with it. Perseverance I guess (or just good old fashioned stubbornness I guess). Thanks again for the compliments.
spectacular
Thanks Bob !
The problem with the kits "rubber" wheels that I had was that they were close to the canopy in the box. Chemical reaction between the two caused the canopy to become misshapen, and unuseable. Rats!
Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I'm lucky that none of the parts were damaged in my kit.
Nice
Thanks PK.