BlackCat Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Howdy partners! What I have here is a 1/48 AMT F7F Tigercat with a few mods. Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking... The Tigercat never wore the Gull Gray/white scheme! Well I guess that's kind of the point. There aren't a whole lot of options for the Tigercat. I wanted to do something different, historical accuracy be darned. I had considered a few options: WWII Navy 3-color (Dark blue, medium blue, and white), WWII Atlantic (Gray/white), even Olive Drab/Neutral Gray. I eventually decided on 60's era A-1 Skyraider-style. I used decals from various donors: A-4, F-4, F-8, A-1. I decided to make it a VMA bird, given that the Marines operated Tigercats, and they would have probably used it for ground attack had it continued in service long enough to get the Gray/white paint. Not that the Tigercat couldn't have been a fantastic fighter (even against jets) had it had the chance to prove it's mettle. The kit is mostly OOB except for some additions. The props are the obvious part. The concept I was going for was to replicate the motion-blur found in photos of aircraft in flight. I wanted to try something I had not seen before. I used clear plastic that my friend gave me. I'm not sure exactly what kind of plastic it was, but I don't think it was standard styrene. After much trial and error, I decided to use a mixture of drafting ink and future. I used food color and future for the yellow prop tips. I painted one layer of the transparent-black mixture, and then masked the outer areas of that area with blu-tak and sprayed the center. Then coated the whole thing with future to seal it in and give it an even sheen. I tried to give it a blur that seems to represent prop blades. It worked quite well, though it was a ton of work. It really looks good when you are about 8 feet from the model! The closer you get to it, the less the effect works. I am very happy with it, though I will try to use a different method if I do it again. Maybe smoked clear plastic, and then stack the plastic where I want it darker? Experimentation is necessary. Anyway, here are other details: - Scratch built gunsight - Gear up - A-1 Skyraider pilot (thanks to Eric E.) - Custom blue tail flash - Spark plug wires - Steel prop shafts - Scratch built prop hubs - Brass rod wing gun barrel extensions - "invisible" sewing thread for the aerial I went for a fairly low key weathering job. Darkened panel lines, with some oil streaks on the engine underside. I did some post-fading, though it is very subtle and is not really visible in the photos. Paint used was Tamiya Acrylic white for the underside, and MM acrylics for the rest. Future gloss coat, and pollyscale flat. I hope you enjoy! Comments welcome of course! Charles The pre-lims of the prop/engine set-up. Sorry, I don't have any in-progress photos of the blurred props. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 LOVE IT! The "what if" is pretty convincing to be honest, and I must say, this scheme REALLY makes the Tigercat just pop. Of all the "In Motion" props, I think the set you have made is the most convincing. Great job. Thank you for sharing these pictures. Also, looking at the pictures again, great job on the engine detail as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DDC Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Great build! Props look very convincing. The Tigercat looks bloody sleek all 'cleaned up' like that! Denzil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Okay, now that just looks SO COOL ! The Tigercat looks great in that paint scheme and your in-flight display with props slicing through the air is Top Shelf ! I've always thought that was a nice design and your build shows off the lines even better than the dark blue scheme ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Cooper Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Like everyone else, I'm very impressed by those props. It really does the job. This is one for us all to hang onto for the future when we're brave enough to model a prop plane in flight. And the paint job looks nice too. Great work, Charles. Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Awesome work! :) Love the in-flight display and the blurred props! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ST0RM Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Excellent work. The grey over white scheme is very eyecatching on the Tigercat. Nice job on the prop blur as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
centuryfan Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Very nice! As said befor, a very "fitting" paint scheme for the F7F! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Charles, that's awesome, wish I could see it in person! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimz66 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 YEAH I really like this one. I love the work on the props. Nice work Partner! :woo: :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
slick95 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 That is one of the best looking Whif's I've seen...and you choose an excellent subject as well! SLICK Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MiG31 Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Awesome work, as usual. It could use a bit more dark sea blue, of course. :P Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 That looks gorgeous in gull gray/white. Wow! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Two Mikes Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 You know, I am NOT a whiffer but I have to say the Big Cat looks awesome in that scheme!! Great model and excellent imagination. Well done. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Mikester Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Outstanding, love it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spruemeister Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 That's an impressive build! I really like how it looks. Quite convincing! Rick L. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlackCat Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 Thanks for the support guys! This one took a lot of work... I can never do stuff the easy way anymore! Thanks, Charles Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FAR148 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 :wub: Damn! That's Hot! :wub: Steven L :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 (edited) Great work Charles! I especially like the prop effect. Very convincing. Could you tell me how you attached 'em to the hub? I tried something similar with some WIF Mustangs, but my attachment is pretty weak. When I cut out the plastic wedges, I left a little "tail" at the apex that I slid into the kit's prop blade attachment holes. Dicey at best. It looks like your set up is pretty solid. I have a set or two of the photo etched prop blur too, but I like your representation. Maybe I'll try a side-by-side-by-side comparison. Like I said, you nailed the spinning effect. One of the best I've seen. -O (NOTE: Not trying to hijack your thread. Just posting a pic of my attempt for comparison purposes.) Edited August 12, 2009 by oortiz10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlackCat Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 Oortiz, Each prop is a complete piece, which is sandwiched between pieces of wood that I "lathed" with a dremel into a prop hub shape. I started with a complete circle of clear plastic. Then I marked the two "stages" of transparent black for each blade. Then painted the blur (Once over with the black, then let it dry, then masked with blu-tak and sprayed the center to make it darker). Then attached the two pieces of the hub (front and back) and then used a dremel to cut out each blade, but kept the center of the hub. This was made easier because it doesn't have spinners, just hubs. For an airplane with a spinner (like the P-51) you could either use your method or saw the hub into a forward and aft piece and sandwich the clear plastic between them. My method took a lot of time and a couple attempts. Experimentation is the key! I will probably do this again (because I like the effect) but I will endeavor to make it simpler and faster. Let you know if I come up with better ideas. Thanks again, Charles Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr B Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Nice work I like it Mr B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 WOW !!! STUNNING Tigercat... Love the color scheme and the effective blurred props are just SO COOL !!! LOVE IT...SUPERB work.... HOLMES Quote Link to post Share on other sites
huntermountain Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Very nice model, with a great effect on the props. I've got one of those in my stash, and seeing this, I know it will become an in flight model as well. (And thanks holmes for your 'thread revivial spree', a few nice finds for us newer members... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnsjunk Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) Very nice model, with a great effect on the props.I've got one of those in my stash, and seeing this, I know it will become an in flight model as well. (And thanks holmes for your 'thread revivial spree', a few nice finds for us newer members... Great job on the Tigercat!!! I Did my What if... Junglecat in Vietnam camoflage. Now I look at all my models and say, What if....... Edited March 17, 2011 by johnsjunk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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