Beyond The Sprues
Current and Finished Projects => Physical Models => Aero-space => Topic started by: The Big Gimper on December 19, 2011, 04:56:22 AM
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Folks:
Another transfer from the old forum.
Carl
With the war in the Pacific will probably going into 1946, Aircraft manufacturers were each given a aircraft to see what they can do existing designs and suggest improvements for the next phase of war which will take place next to the Japanese mainland and surrounding islands.
Canada Vickers in Montreal, Quebec, was given the F6F as their subject. The were given the FV designation. They came up with two models:
1. FV-1 Hellcat F Mk III
2. FV-2 Hellcat F Mk IV
The FV-1 was designed to be a combination fast fighter and torpedo bomber. With the war getting closer to mainland Japan, the torpedo aircraft needed additional speed during the ingress and egress phases of their attack. This A/C was built from a -3 which received and engine upgrade to the PW2800-34W, a 4 bladed propeller borrowed from the F4U-4 Corsair and a bubble canopy. The two inboard hard points were plumbed to carry either 500-1000 LB bombs or in this load out, fuel tanks for an extended mission. The out board wing points could still carry 5” rockets.
Note: The FV-1 suffered slight damage during a taxi accident at the Montreal factory. Once it is repaired, a picture will be provided.
The FV-2 was designed for long range escort and fighter CAP missions. It was a factory built -3 upgraded to what would be designated -7. The airframe received and engine upgrade to the PW2800-32(E) with water-ethenol injected which provided up to 2,850 HP. The centerline fuel was modified to carry distilled water and ethanol. The two inboard hard points could still carry 500 or 1000 LB bombs. The out board wing points could still carry 5” rockets or the recently field deployed AAM-1 air-to-air missile. Fixed Wing tip fuel tanks of 150 Gal capacity were added.
Hold the presses!!! An Allied air-to-air missile in 1945? What gives here. Well the story behind the Allies acquiring the plans for the Ruhrstahl X-4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrstahl_X-4) missile goes like this: An OSS operative whose specialty was archaeology was working in the Carpathian Mountains in early 1945 following the German Army on their quest for occult artifacts. In his travels, he came across a dead civilian hiker wearing brand new clothing, boots and knapsacks. Having an eye for unusual details and well worn clothing, the operative inspected the body and found plans for the X-4 missile. He sent them to Washington where the US built their first AAM, the AAM-1 By the way, the operative's name was: Col. Henry Walton Jones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_jones)
Build Notes:
The F6F was a dream built. Good fit, almost no PSR required. The X-4 missiles were a pain thought. The body and fins are separate pieces. Almost a butt fit. 6 pieces including the pylon. The Techmod decals were very thin so did I rip a few. I cheated and did not put on some the black decals which would have been visible on the real paint scheme.
What I used:
Academy F6F-3/5
Hannants Xtracrylix paint - brush painted
Eduard PE USN Seatbelts
ECSI Decals No. 48 for FV-1 and Techmod Decals 72035, 1839 SQN for the FV-2
Tip tanks from the Italeri B-26K
X-4 Missiles from the DML Messerschmidt Me 1101
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F22Qz1DGghU/Tjx_JajPfDI/AAAAAAAAAuA/RLwQnsX4x2g/P8050034.JPG)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Rw7tYKF3W3k/Tjx_KgBbGRI/AAAAAAAAAuI/nhCkKiHtzIY/P8050036.JPG)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OhNG0umnEFY/Tjx_KEETtfI/AAAAAAAAAuE/6r1lEWM8k-M/P8050035.JPG)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3WRZWVmf_EA/Tjx_Ll12QRI/AAAAAAAAAuM/t17fXDSc-F0/P8050037.JPG)
Carl
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Very imaginative and definitely great work!
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Must agree . Very nifty.
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Classy
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If you have lived in the 1940s, the Western World would have won WW2... It did? Without your help? How is it possible? These Hellcats were the key! Having to invent them in 2011 proves they were not there before, so... uh, why are we speaking English here instead of Japanese?
:D
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Seasons Greeting to the premier purveyors of both Pixels and Plastic.
Finally I (mostly) completed the FV-1 Hellcat III at 9 PM last night. It was a slog but I finished it. As usual there are things that went wrong during the build (I won't bore you the ad-nauseum details) but I am more-or-less pleased with the finished product. As usual there is always room for improvement.
In late 1945, the Dutch air staff forgo the Red-White-Blue flag for the earlier neutrality orange triangles. It was message to the Axis forces that the Big Orange is back in business.
The kit is the Academy F6F-3/5. Canopy, propeller and drop tanks are from a Hobbyboss F4U-4, 500LB bombs and racks from an Academy P-47D, Dutch Triangles from the IPMS UK Decalbank (Thanks Paul) and from my stash.
Enjoy, Carl
(http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n547/CF-101B/183.jpg)
(http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n547/CF-101B/180.jpg)
(http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n547/CF-101B/181.jpg)
(http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n547/CF-101B/187.jpg)
(http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n547/CF-101B/186.jpg)
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That is some Hellcat you have created. Like the idea of the extra weapons you have added to it and the four blade propeller sets it apart from the original type. The Corsair bubble canopy is also a nice addition.
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Your Hellcats are sharp as a tack, Gimper, but I think the Dutch one is especially eye-catching. Nice work!
Brian da Basher
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I agree with Brian, both are excellent but if I had to choose one it would be the Dutch :)
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I love this mix of F4U and F6F, great!
;)
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Wow, a guy could shave in the reflection of those perfect, gloss finishes! Nice job on both, all the subtle additions work very well.
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I'll have to verify that, but I seem to remember that a Hellcat to be built by Canadian Vickers was actually allocated the FV-1 designation in real life.
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Hi Stephane:
You are right. V was assigned by the US Navy to Canadian Vickers and FV-1 to any future Hellcat production. Canadian Vickers also built 30 PBY's as PBV-1 Cansos.
Carl
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Thats some shiney paint ! :D I like !
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Future baby. Future. 8)
I started using Future to gloss up the orange on the tail and I just couldn't stop my self. ;D
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Its not the easiest stuff to get this side of the pond but yes i used it with my last build :)
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Carl: I had somehow missed your Dutch Hellcat with Malcolm hood. Niiice !
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I admire your fine job on the Hellcats. Inovative and can see them in use post war on into the 1950s.
That color of blue is perfect for Hellcats.
Bill
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Big Gimper, your Hellcats are wonderful, and, believe it or not, I was going to watch "Wings - F6F Hellcat" on DVD in a couple minutes. Talk about coincidental and motivational. These builds of yours are very impressive; the use of Ruhrstal missiles would certainly put a dent in the jap bomber forces. The 'III is wonderful! I love Malcolm Hoods, and certainly this one fits perfectly.
Rafa
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Thank you for the compliments.
One mistake I made was not measuring the width of the Ruhrstal missiles. I wanted to put 4 on but I failed to leave room for them. I glued the RP-3 60LB rockets on first. Know better for next time.
Carl
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Beautiful Dutch Hellcat :)
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Beautiful, indeed!
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Dang those are both very cool and extremely pretty :-*
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Very clean and classy! :-* :-* :-*