Grumman Bearcat - 1/33 - GPM

[yrn_n]

Or you can use the bombs from halinski...
looks good!

[ricleite]

@ Don / Isaac - You know I like to keep the original paint as much as possible. Edge painting, ok. Overall painting, only is there is a big mishap. The surface doesn’t come out as smooth as it could with sanding and painting but I see this as a typical paper feature…

@yrn_n - you mean "plastic"?

The engine cowling is not as rounded as it may look at first sight. The front section is circular but an eccentricity develops in the cowling and keeps growing to the canopy.
The kit includes the tab to glue the rear parts but not the two tabs needed for the front parts. I added them and the difference in style is readily apparent on the picture…

[Don Boose]

It's always a pleasure to see your work.

Don

[Richschindler]

Coming right along. Looks great!

[dje]

Nice build you're having

I would agree with you, gpm provide - most of the time - really great kit, good paper, nice printing, maybe not as detailed as halinski but sometime that's what you want to ; just build a nice kit, detailed enough that's not going to lie on your desk for years

Good tip for the bomb.

[yrn_n]

@yrn_n - you mean "plastic"?


Not at all.....
I meant to a bomb with regular rings from Halinski model.
I took it from the P-38.

[Erik Zwaan]

That's a good start Ricardo. Interesting way how you prepare the core of the bombs to encounter the petals. I usually start with fixating the centre point by pressing the petals gently on the desk and then a small roundel to glue the tips in place at once. Then small internal strips of thin paper to connect the sides of each petal. Once finished, this results in a sturdy assembly / construction.

Looking forward to see this build progressing!

Erik

[ricleite]

Thanks for the comments, friends

@ yrn_n - ahhhh, ok Yes, Halinski often prefers the cones method for the noses (aircraft, bombs, tanks...). On average, I prefer that method because the total joint length tends to be smaller and, sometimes, it is possible to disguise the joints if the color scheme helps. Not in this case...

@ Erik - interesting how we have different methods in this particular case. Well, it would not be fun to agree on everything . In my case, after getting the rolled paper bit, the only parameter to care about is to place it longitudinally so that the petals close. Once the paper roll is fixed to the cylindrical bomb body, I have all the freedom to glue the slices one by one or whatever. On non-circular noses (Tigercat, for example), I use paper bits and the gluing process goes from the base to the tip. At first sight, it is less tricky but I have no doubt that you get excellent results.

The engine has 18 cylinders of the “big” category. The pictures show the engine center. I opened holes to pass the wires that will glue on the cylinder tops. The wires can penetrate up to about 5mm with the same effect. So, there is no need to cut them very precisely…

[ricleite]

The engine may well be the same on the Bearcat, Tigercat and Thunderbolt, just to mention those three. The fact is that different stables model the cylinders in their own way. I didn’t care to see which is more correct (my bet would be in Halinski…) but GPM’s way is easy to assemble. As usual, I added rolled paper bits to give consistency and provide gluing surfaces.

[MacSongLi]

Cowling looks fantastic, nice work. I'm looking forward to seeing the P&W come together too.

Gary