Grumman Gulfhawk - completed
On the right course again.
Fabric, stitching and ribs structure restored.
Temporary rod for holding during airbrushing.
No significant difference between the original AM and restoring/self created structure
0,0 extra parts in the cockpit (will be closed) because the focus is the entire look of the Gulfhawk.
First (resin primer) and 2nd color optimated base coat in place. Orange coming soon.
I'm not a friend of resin... so I modified the kit parts myself and corrected the carburetor inlet.
I cut too much of the cone so I had to add an additional sheet.
Slightly modified contour of the carburetor intake.
The windscreen is thin and correct but for good fit I had a lot of work.
Moveable part is too thick. Fortunately I saved the reworked kit part from the second F3F Project (for vacu forming via toaster).
Tail wheel attachment holes should be closed.
AM R-1820 is very well designed but in my opinion the pushrods (0,9 mm) are a bit too thick. I reworked them by using 0,68 mm rod.
Thin part of the resin cone is not heigh enough. 0,6 mm thick plastik-wedge helps.
1st step.
New oil cooler inlets in correct position (step 1)
15 minutes later. Oil coolers completed.
18 bulges in place. 1 lost, 5 remains.
Comparison between the kit resinpart and scratch build CORRECT cowling.
Alignment for the R-1820
Painted on inside aluminum.
Engine installed in the cowling (exactly and without mess).
Ready for orange.
The asymmetrical layout of the exhaust tubes is well visible (wrong in the kit).
Self made canopy (via toaster).
Special thanks to Axel Fischer aka CADfish_models (Konstruktionsbüro Fischer) for his help by creating the 3D-printed bulges.
Comments
1 20 February 2019, 18:42
fj55mikeGreat project! I never started mine because of resin wing horror stories.
25 February 2019, 15:32
Bart GoesaertResin isn't always better, but it hurts a bit (in the wallet) when it's better to adapt the real parts then use the resin
25 February 2019, 16:53
Bernhard SchrockYou are welcome & thx for nice comments.
fj55mike. You are right! The warped an "clobbered together" upper wing with his horrible reproduced fabric surface is the reason that I'm waited more than 10years with this project. I think the Duck with all his needed modifications pushed the Gulfhawk to the top of the idea-stash🙂. Furthermore Ironworks Is my favorite airplane manufacturer...
25 February 2019, 17:31
Bernhard SchrockToday I worked on the cowling: I separated it from the casting and airbrushed the first layer of resin primer. I already knew that the quality of this part (as of others) is below standard but after the first layer of primer I realized the full extent of the nightmare. It seems that somebody used superglue, a huge brush, 240 sanding paper and a VERY rough file. Conclusion: the cowling is useless. I am going to rebuild everything based on the kit part.
4 March 2019, 20:44
Bart Goesaertseems more like standard resin casting when you say it like that... good to sharpen the scratchbuild techniques... but sometimes I wonder if some manufacturers have no remorse with regards to what they are asking and what they deliver...
5 March 2019, 07:32
Alec KI have some old resin kits of subjects that I am excited to build, but every time I open the box, I cry and go back to plastic 😄
5 March 2019, 12:17
Patrick HagelsteinYep! Opened a newly bought resin kit (Blackdog) to find out that the kit parts were copied with some strips of Evergreen added to them. I can do better than that...
5 March 2019, 15:02
Bill GilmanToo bad on the resin, but you've done great work so far (as we've come to expect). Can't wait for the orange... 🙂
5 March 2019, 15:49
Bernhard SchrockHello Mates, you are right, as always. I often looked at expensive resin parts and I think they are hardly better than the original. What I also see critically is the white metal landing gear which corresponds 1:1 to the kit parts. Supposedly it should be more firm but in my eyes that is just not true. The only advantage I see it is that you can glue it on crooked may and afterwards can bend into shape. On the other hand there is quite a big disadvantage: you can attach small parts to the leg much more difficult than in the plastic original. It is also hard to drill holes (0.3 mm) in the leg to fasten little wire piece to connect brake lines. A good example of the firmness of plastic landing gear is my Kaman Seasprite.
5 March 2019, 20:30
Alec KThe only experience with metal landing gear I had was when I tried to use it on my P-61 build. Besides soft detail, the metal was just too soft for my taste. So, I used the plastic in the box. It's still happily standing today 👍
6 March 2019, 04:56
Bernhard SchrockYesterday I had a problem how to do 18 identical bulges for the cowling. Ant not a whole day later the problems is solved: l will get 18 absolutely identical but 3D printed bulges!!! It is always good to know the right people! Thx Axel!!!!
6 March 2019, 18:07
Bill Gilman3D printing is the future of this hobby. There will come a day when you pick the subject, scale, options, markings etc. and it will be 3D printed on demand and shipped to you. I don't think this will happen tomorrow, as the technology to duplicate the quality of traditional injection moulded plastic or cast resin is not there yet, but it's coming. I contributed to a GoFund Me type project for a 3D printed 1:72 Yak-9. I'm quite anxious to see how it turns out. OK, off with my Nostradamus hat...
7 March 2019, 15:27
Patrick HagelsteinAccording to a Dutch comedian, Nostradamus wore tight green pants. 😉
7 March 2019, 19:14
bughunterAnother great project from you bench! That is not a bench, it is a production line for individual items😉
7 March 2019, 22:18
Hanno KleineckeThe printed parts turned out very good, super job on that cowling !
15 March 2019, 21:15
Alec KCurious how you determined and executed the proper spacing for the bulges on the cowling?
16 March 2019, 11:47
Patrick HagelsteinThat shouldn't be too hard. Circumfencial it is a line at a certsain distance from the cowling front. Placing it on a level surface and putting a pencil on thst height creates a circumfencial line. On that line you can either mark the spots by dividing the circumfence by either distance or degrees.
16 March 2019, 12:51
Bernhard SchrockThx Mates. Patrick: you are right. I used a small stripe of Tamiya tape placed around the cowling and a circle with two needles to determine the distance between the bulges.
Yesterday I applied the decals (excellent quality) and had only a little bit trouble with one of the large wing elements.
18 March 2019, 17:08
Bernhard SchrockThank you Mates. I'm glad that you like my "Halfbiplane" but slowly it's beginning to look like a biplane🙂 today I managed to fit the upper wing without mess.
21 March 2019, 20:07
Tom ...Just gorgeous! A pleasure to behold. I particularly love the color and the semi-matte finish.
23 March 2019, 15:57
bughunterBernhard, you created a beauty 👍 I have not really like this brownish red up to pic51, but the final pictures are just perfect. Was the color change due to the final clear coat and/or the white balance of the pictures? And I have to mention that: you are the true master of rigging of the 1920/1930 machines 👍
23 March 2019, 20:06
Bart GoesaertSplendid work, another masterclass in modelling. Very nice livrey too
24 March 2019, 09:38
Martin Oostromit's a good day when Bernhard and Christian finish masterpiecs to feast your eyes on.
24 March 2019, 10:56
TreehuggerLooks really nice I think. Tip: ship and airplane propellers can easily be sanded "sharper" if one is a little careful.
24 March 2019, 11:30
Hanno KleineckeWhat a beautiful little red „fatso bird" ! Lovely work, Bernhard !
24 March 2019, 20:15
Bernhard SchrockHi guys. Thank you for the feedback. I'm glad that you like this little hot rod. 1000 PS for such small plane is a lot of power!
The brownish red is the result of very fast&quick WIP pictures and my lamp with 2700 K. Obviously my smartphone don't like this "color of light"...
For the pictures of the finished model I use usually 2 other lamps with 4000K and auto white balance setup for my stone age Nikon 995. The result is much better.
25 March 2019, 19:04
Patrick HagelsteinSeriously, looking at the cover picture, it looks more orange to me. But that can be because of the age and discoloration of that picture off course.
25 March 2019, 19:12
Bernhard SchrockPatrick: note please that I deleted 3 defect pictures. The cover picture has formerly the number 52.
25 March 2019, 19:21
Patrick HagelsteinHi Bernard, what I mean with cover picture is the picture of the original 1:1 plane used as a header over the whole project. The one with the real plane bathing in the sun.
25 March 2019, 20:20
