Guerre d'Indochine...1/48 Grumman F8F-1B Bearcat, Armée de l’Air

February 2, 2022 · in Aviation · · 24 · 1.8K

3/2022

After the French Corsair, my dad has finished the next French subject.
Hobbycraft kit, Barracuda Studios wheels, Eduard seatbelts, gunsight from the Hasegawa F4U-7 kit, EZ Line for the antenna wire, plastic rods for the two whip antennas, plastic rods and lead wire for the brake lines.
Painted with a mix of AK Real Colors Darks Sea Blue and RLM83.

Build thread here
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235102376-guerre-dindochine148-grumman-f8f-1b-bearcat-arm%C3%A9e-de-l%E2%80%99air/

Too late for WW2, replaced by jets as a fighter in Korea and outclassed by the Corsair as fighterbomber in Korea, US Bearcats didn´t see combat action. But the French Airforce made good use of them in the Indochina War from 1951 to 1954. The model shows an aircraft of GC 1/22 "Saintonge".

Reader reactions:
17  Awesome

21 additional images. Click to enlarge.


24 responses

  1. A wonderful Bearcat, a vast improvement over the original Hobbycraft kit, Reinhard!
    Weathering stands out.
    Another Spreitzhofer Family masterpiece!

  2. I recall the HC kit went together without much fuss. Not much detail in the box but not any build headaches either. I really like your finish.

  3. I’m very fond of the HC bearcat although it does take all those aftermarket bits to bring it up to snuff. I really like the French markings and the dirty weathering. As Spiros said, “another Spreitzhofer masterpiece”! Nicely done. “ Liked”.

  4. Warm thanks to your father for taking care brillantly of French planes ?

  5. Yep - what they said - just another beautiful Spreitzhofer build.

  6. Excellent result on this Bearcat, Reinhard @grimreaper
    Beautiful weathering.
    When seeing one in real giving a demonstration, I was impressed by the huge amount of power inside this compact aircraft.

  7. Very nice weathering work. Looks like it got rode hard in the tropics.

  8. Nice job, especially the weathering. I still prefer that kit to the Hobbyboss release.

  9. Reinhard your dad is a Meister! It is always nice to look at a model from the Spreitzhofer stable. The weathering looks great on this well worn Bearcat. Well done!

  10. Your weathering job is spectacular!

  11. Great looking Bearcat, nice weathering.

  12. @grimreaper, That is a beauty Reini! Kudos to you and your father; you guys are a great modeling team! ?

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