Profile Photo
Stéphane Bredel
14 articles

Vought F7U-3 Cutlass, VX-4

June 17, 2019 · in Aviation · · 18 · 4.1K

Hi imodelers,

This is my second model on this site, but realized before the Demon. As you can see, I am very enthusiast about US Navy aircrafts, especially during the 50s and 60s.

The kit is the horrible kit. I added a cockpit resin kit from Lone Star Models and a metal landing gear from Scale Aircraft Conversions. Decals come from a Worldwide Aviation Decals sheet.

I thought I will never be able to finish this kit, many disappointments have been met all along and a collapsing motivation.

By the end, many mistakes there and there, but I can at last exhibit on a shelf this incredible bird which still looks awesome nowadays.

Reader reactions:
12  Awesome

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.


18 responses

  1. Awesome job on a tough kit...

  2. Extremely great looking model of a Cutlass.

  3. Another nice looking '50s Nav jet! I like the early Sparrows.

  4. One of THE best examples I've seen of this kit - super job!

  5. Great Cutlass, and from a HobbyCraft kit no less! Well done.

  6. Tremendous work! I'm in a middle of a HC P-59 and I know what You ae speaking about. Great build!

  7. Great work on this, looks far better than this kit would be capable of being.

  8. Thanks to all, sincerely.

  9. Great work on this one Stephane!

  10. Outstanding work, Stephane! I always thought the Cutlass was one of the coolest LOOKING aircraft ever made.

    Bravo!

    • Thanks Jeff.
      I had the chance to visit last February the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola (Valentine's Day gift from my wife. I guess I married the most wonderful girl in the word :-)), I can say the Cutlass is very impressive. On drawings, it looks like a small bird, but it isn't.

      • That's awesome, Stephane! I visited there about 12 years ago. It was a present to me, too - but from my Mom.

        Dad was a US Navy fighter & dive bomber pilot during WWII and I'd loooooonnnnggg wanted to visit the great museum there. It IS an awesome place to visit, right?! Dad's been gone since mid 1977, so I wasn't able to visit the museum while he was still alive. But it was worth a lot to me to go !
        @Stelaire

        • That's a nice story, Jeff. I am very respectful to those pilots as your daddy. As French, I know what it means to fight to liberate a foreign occupied country. Everybody should be humble about that...
          Yes, this museum is outstanding. Many airplanes that we never or rarely seen in Europe. Besides, there's no restriction to take pictures under fuselages, walking like a duck 🙂 Definitely a great souvenir.

  11. I have no knowledge of this bird, but your build makes it very interesting to me. We’ve all fought the battle of a bad kit and found a way to pull it off. Yours is a masterwork. Great NMF on a very cool looking jet. Great work and keep ‘me coming.

  12. A real beauty! Wish someone released a Cutlass in 144 scale...

Leave a Reply