Grumman XF10F-1 Jaguar (Planet)
Comments
1 7 May 2013, 22:15
Dirk HeyerUuuh, I`ve never seen nor reading about this aircraft type!!
I will follow this thread!
10 May 2013, 09:33
Burkhard DThe (in)famous predecessor of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat 😄
I'm tuned to this. 🙂
10 May 2013, 11:22
Holger KranichIs it a ghastly kit, Bill? If yes, blame yourself picking it!😢 But i´m sure you´ll make the best of it, as always!
10 May 2013, 11:59
Bernd KorteAnother most interesting subject! BTW I love your work bench and how tidy it is 😄
10 May 2013, 13:12
Bill GilmanThe kit is not so bad, it just lacks detail. Since there are no known photos of the cockpit (other than the instrument panels) I can pretty much do what I like. The kit came with an ACES II seat, which is obviously wrong. I'll be replacing that with a resin seat from a Panther, to which I need to modify the headrest (there is a photo of that poking up above the fuselage). There's no detail at all in the front gear bay, and next to nothing in the main bays. Fun, fun, fun as Brian Wilson says!
Bernd, the workbench always get cleaned before the start of each project, you should see what it looks like at the end!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
10 May 2013, 21:31
Burkhard DBill,
Ginter's Naval Fighters #26 has cockpit photos and a cutaway drawing showing some additional detail.
10 May 2013, 22:51
Bill GilmanYep, I have a copy of the book. It shows only instrument panels and the headrest. No photos of the rest of the seat, or what's on the rear deck. The cutaway drawing is nice (I found a beautiful scan on-line over 3000 pixels wide) but it is also lacking some details. It does seem to show that the seat is similar to that in a Panther, but it's not exact. And the nature of cutaway drawings is that everything has to be transparent so you can see what's behind it. The doesn't allow every detail to be shown. But it's the best we have so we'll go from there!
11 May 2013, 00:28
Bill GilmanNew photos - first you can see that the kit seat is unacceptable. No ACES II in 1952! The F9F seat is better, and will work, but needs a new headrest.
I added some styrene to the cockpit so you can't see into it while looking into the intakes. I found some very old PE that I think I can use for the side consoles. The bottom two look to be the right size and have the right taper to fit quite well. 100% inaccurate for switch and control placement, but such is life. I highly doubt Eduard will make a Color Zoom set for this kit! 🙂
11 May 2013, 00:35
Bill GilmanMore progress as some details have been added and the cockpit has been painted. I added some weight to the nose (as much as will fit) and it's not quite enough. I will add some additional weight right behind the cockpit. Right now I'm working on the deck that goes behind the rear fuselage bulkhead. Once this is done and I glue it, the cockpit and tail wheel bay into one fuselage half, I think I can join the two fuselage halves! 🙂
19 May 2013, 22:00
Bill GilmanI also trimmed the wings for the swept position, and it is going to be a difficult join to the fuselage. In order to fit "perfectly" the wing root will need to be sanded in two different compound curves which is impossible for me. Instead, I will have to put some rods into the wings, drill some holes in the fuselage, and then fill the gap that will result. Ugh. First, I will get the model to set on its legs and make sure that is all aligned.
19 May 2013, 22:02
Bill GilmanProgress report - the fuselage halves are joined and the landing gear added. It's starting to look like an XF10F, have a look at the new photos I've posted. Cheers!
27 May 2013, 17:05
Holger KranichWow, great stuff so far, Bill! How tricky is The build for you till now?
27 May 2013, 17:42
Bill GilmanThanks everyone!
Holger, it's been tricky since every one of the parts had to be modified in some way in order to fit properly. I will be mounting the wings in the swept position, and they don't match the fuselage at all! Lots of filler in my future! 🙂
27 May 2013, 22:50
Holger KranichOh that sounds annoying! Do you know a stuff called "Tipp-Ex"? I discovered it as a good and longlasting filler for those requirements...
28 May 2013, 06:07
Bill GilmanThanks for the tips, guys! That is one sweet little Ferrari that Guy built! I wasn't sure what kind of flower to use, but now I see that it is flour that is added to the superglue! Silly English language, there are always two words that are spelled differently but sound exactly alike! 🙂
28 May 2013, 13:05
Bill GilmanHolger, I looked up Tipp-Ex since I hadn't heard of that before. I don't think that it is sold in the US, but we have a similar product called Liquid Paper. I'll have an experiment with it.
28 May 2013, 13:09
Bill GilmanInteresting...flour (organic, wheat), talc (mineral, magnesium silicate), and baking powder (alkaline precipitate, sodium bicarbonate). I wonder what the common chemical reaction is between the three that causes CA to harden? Not really a modelling question, but sometime in the deep past I had an interest in chemistry. Any chemists out there?
29 May 2013, 20:55
Bill GilmanAh, so it's just the CA hardening by itself. I was thinking about it hardening quicker, like with an accelerant.
30 May 2013, 02:31
Bill GilmanHi Scalematers! Even more progress on the Jaguar! After figuring out the correct anhedral angle, I've attached the wings with the strongest epoxy I could find. Now I get to figure out how to rebuild the wing root filet, etc. The wing/fuselage joint is by far the weakest part of this kit. I've added some more photos documenting the process. Enjoy! 🙂
30 May 2013, 12:15
Bill GilmanMain assembly is complete and primed - it looks like an airplane now! Just need to do a bit of re-scribing and then get out the bottle of Glossy Sea Blue! Hmm, I hope I have a bottle of Glossy Sea Blue, I haven't painted that color in years! 🙂 🙂 🙂
2 June 2013, 14:27
Burkhard DBesides everything else, I love that incrementally adjustable 'jig' made from biz cards. 🙂
2 June 2013, 16:39
Holger KranichIncredible work but I can't help but think it looks like an egg plane!😢
2 June 2013, 21:05
Bill GilmanBurkhard, my jig is patented. I hope I don't see it in one of your builds, or I'll have to call my lawyer. 🙂
Holger, an egg plane! This is the Grandfather of the Tomcat you're talking about! Scandalous! 🙂
Thanks, everyone! I just realized I forgot all about the speed brakes that were added beginning with Flight 17. If I install the horsals, I have to have speed brakes. Luckily, the speed brakes don't appear in photos to be flush with the fuselage, they seem proud by a bit. I suspect this is because it's rather difficult to add these after an aircraft has been designed and built. I will have to find some PE speed brakes about the right size, and about the same number and size of holes. Hmmm...
2 June 2013, 23:46
Burkhard D@Bill I will make a slight variation with biz cards that don't have your name on it 😛
3 June 2013, 17:01
Bill GilmanBurkhard, OK, that will be fine then!
And good news! I found some PE speed brakes! They're not perfect, but they're about the right size and have some holes in them. And I even had them in my stash, no need to buy. Well, not in my stash exactly, but on an old model. A dip or two in lacquer and all the old paint came right off.
3 June 2013, 18:27
Bill GilmanThe XF10F is now officially Glossy Sea Blue, FS15042. I used Model Master paint, which based on past experience with their glossy enamels, will take about a week to completely dry. And that is not a joke. I've posted several new photos, including one of the PE speed brakes I found, donated by an old built-up Emhar F3H Demon kit. 🙂 🙂 🙂
6 June 2013, 00:34
Bill GilmanI don't think there is any need for weathering, as the actual plane only flew 32 times and spent the rest of the time indoors. I know it was worked on a lot, but I don't see evidence of chipping, etc. in any of the photos. I think they kept it pretty clean. I'm toying with the idea of a black panel line wash, which should not be very visible due to the dark blue paint. I'm going to test that assumption first, though!
6 June 2013, 00:38
Bill GilmanI have some photos that show the speed brakes installed, and a portion of the national insignia is clearly visible underneath the speed brake. This is the way I'll model it. Of course, I also have a later picture that shows the national insignia clearly painted over the top of the speed brake. I will build the model as she was for the 27th and 28th flights. Horsals on, speed brakes on, original smaller tail, and the paddle spoilers unsealed. I have no clue how to make the paddle spoilers! Must think about that one - but they are so unusual it would be a shame not to include them. 🙂
6 June 2013, 00:59
Philip De KeyserLooking forward to the endresult Bill, top job so far 👍 love the speedbreaks
6 June 2013, 20:44
Bill GilmanSome new photos have been posted for the XF10F. I masked and painted all of the natural metal areas. These are the leading edges of all flying surfaces, the leading edge of the intakes, and around the rear of the fuselage by the exhaust. Since the photos were taken I've also hand painted the landing gear struts Glossy Sea Blue, as well as the gear doors, speed brakes, wheel hubs, and tail bumper. I need to mount the speed brakes flush to the fuselage (closed position) and she's ready for decals! The paint is glossy enough and won't require a coat of Future first. The end is nigh! 🙂 🙂 🙂
11 June 2013, 22:04
Philip De KeyserNice progres Bill, the Jaguar looks awesome! can't wait to see the decals on it😉
12 June 2013, 14:18
Bill GilmanDecalcomania Finis!!! The transfers are applied, and boy that was fun! The decals included with the Planet kit (printed by Aviprint) were the thinnest I think I've ever seen. The film was very delicate, and wanted to adhere wherever it landed. Ultimately I think I got them all in the right place. Lots more to do on this cat, namely all of the fiddly bits! Stay tuned! 🙂
16 June 2013, 23:04
Bill GilmanQuick update - I've added an instrument panel that I found in the spares box. This is an Eduard colour PE piece, and it fits perfectly. It has other features that make it just like the actual Jaguar panel - it has round holes with some kind of gauges or dials, plus it's black! 100 points to the eagle eye who can tell me what airplane this instrument panel came from! 🙂
21 June 2013, 00:24
Wim van der Luijtnever would have guessed....but that's the point I guess 😉...."if it looks good, it is good"!
21 June 2013, 17:17
Bill GilmanQuite right. It fits rather well, and it looks the part. I'm not aware of any photos of the actual Jaguar instrument panel - there is a line drawing in the Ginter book, and there are photos of the mock-up. The Spitfire panel is actually a reasonably good replica.
21 June 2013, 17:28
Bill GilmanThanks, everyone! I really appreciate the nice comments. I've added some more photos to show the progress. Landing gear doors are on, the tail bumper has been added, and the windscreen as well. I also mounted both "horsals" to the rear fuselage. Everything has been overcoated with Floquil Flat (a clear lacquer model railroad color). I used this since it creates a nice eggshell finish, which I think is appropriate for a glossy aircraft in this scale. Cheers!
22 June 2013, 00:49
Bill GilmanThe XF10F-1 Jaguar is finished! 🙂
Have a look through the new photos to see all the final fiddly bits after adding them to the model. I added the nose probe and sensor, two pitot tubes, the ADF dome, arresting hook, canopy, and painted/decaled the navigation lights. All in all, I like how it came out. And it's a unique addition to my collection, the Tomcat's Granddaddy! This was my second resin kit, and I'm starting to become addicted. Maybe it's from breathing all the resin dust! 🙂 🙂 🙂
5 July 2013, 20:27
Bill GilmanThanks Luc and Augie! 🙂
Brandon, all modelling is fun, right? 🙂
Resin kits are different. There is typically much more cleanup of the parts. Wear a respirator when sanding, as resin dust is not nice. Lots of dry fitting before gluing. No alignment pins, and normal polystyrene glues don't work. You must use epoxy or superglue. It's a good idea to prime before you paint. It's a lot like "normal" modelling, but some of the tools and skills are different. I used resin cockpits and other detail sets before I tried an entire kit. If you are comfortable working with resin aftermarket, then give a resin kit a try! It's fun!
6 July 2013, 01:30
Holger KranichThe Eggplane is done! Great build of a exotic and extravagant plane! Very well done and a evidence for your craftmanship, Bill!
6 July 2013, 05:35
Dirk HeyerNice clean built, a smooth paint finish. Masterly built as always, and we have in mind it is a resin model, so it is a remarkably effort!
6 July 2013, 10:29
Bill GilmanThanks, everyone! I truly appreciate the kind words! Hollie, I'd like to think that it's not an egg-plane, but rather an evolution of the "Flying Barrel" shape that Grumman used from their biplanes all the way to the Hellcat. But it does kind of look like an egg-plane, doesn't it? 🙂 🙂 🙂
6 July 2013, 12:56
Christian KellerHi Bill, never heard about this bird.
The plane is not a beauty for me, but perfectly built 🙂
I love these prototypes are not seen at any exhibition
Greets
Christian
9 July 2013, 19:11
Vitor CostaHI Bill a flawless building, at least from here where i'm looking. Congratulations for another of your amazing builds. Gosto! (like in portuguese) 😄
9 July 2013, 23:27
Bill GilmanThanks,everyone! I also like these one-off weird designs. But someday I will build a 109 too!
10 July 2013, 00:31
MarkusHi Bill,
nice to see one of the more uncommon kits done. It looks really stunning, especially the semi-gloss finish adds to realism 🙂
10 July 2013, 06:24
Album info
I'm building this for the Swing Wing Group Build over on Britmodeller. This is a resin kit from Planet Models (CMK). Wish me luck, this one needs some help. Why do I always pick kits like that? 🙂
