Clunkmeister

I'm looking to do a Fisher F9F-8 Cougar in Blue Angels colors. I know the Blue Angels blue has changed over the years, so, does anyone know what would be the correct mix for the era the Blue Angels flew the Grumman Cougar?

Yesterday I saw your build, Peter, and commented on it. I just saw this thread though, and Peter, your opening statement hit true. We’ve all been there, my friend. I’m so glad you found your way back. We put so much stock in our builds having all the PE and resin goodies, thinking we need that to make it perfect, we often seem to lose the spark, don’t we? Lately, Ive gone back to simple Mostly OOB builds, just for the satisfaction of creating something nice. My Lanc pulled me out of the doldrums.. like you, my build count has been dreadful of late. Just really not into it. The business has kept me busy, Joy’s pinched nerves and Lupus keep me busy after hours. Been Praying a lot more these days. Rebuilding the bench helped me, the Lanc lit me on fire. But oooh do I love the Typhoon. A single seat heavy hitter with a monster engine out front, what’s not to love? I need to do a Tiffie as well, they are just so incredibly cool. Gonna live off yours and absorb the magic! I’m watching your build for hints and tips, and will just soak it all in until I join you after the Lanc. But I’ll probably join in with the MDC Tiffie in 1/32.

Hey Kais, Is that Ed Russell's old Emil? I knew it got sold and brought to England... I've seen it fly several times, and was cool to see in formation with a Spitty, Hurricane, P-51, and a Lanc. You never realize how small the 109 really is until you see one next to an Allied fighter.

Awesomeness, John! I have yet to complete my KH P-39. It was the only KH kit that I cussed at for weeks on end, to the point of MY WIFE telling me to SOD the thing till I calmed down. (I get worked up just like you do) But most of the issues were caused by me, so I hang my head in shame. One thing I remember John, is when someone over on TOS built this kit with everything open, he had a hard time finding space for nose weight. FYI, but I'm sure you've figured it out already. (I'll never have that problem as I always close my stuff up tight).

Peter, go for it, my friend. GO FOR IT! This, along with the car door version are kits I have in the stash, and they surely keep hollering at me as well. I'll live through your build here, Peter, because I know you'll do this one justice! Man we're a bunch of builders here! I honestly can't remember everyone starting, (and finishing) kits like we've been doing here. Crazy Days!

Tony, I believe that aircraft was belly landed at one point, and was rebuilt and restored back into "Crazy Horse", I think? It was definitely rebuilt as a TF-51D. I remember a magazine from the late 70s or early 80s that featuerd a full page air to air picture of Sumthin Else, and I instantly fell in love with her right there and then.

Ivan, I just clicked on your link. I lost my mind. That's why I love this place. You guys are Sumthin' Else.

Gazz, I take swipes at 109s as well, but when I do it it's always a friendly jab at friends online who build them, not that manufacturers love them. But guess what half fills my display cases? Yup, if you guessed 109s, you win a prize. Of course there's T-28s too, but 109s especially because I do like the airframe. And as a student of history, it looms huge as an incredibly successful design that served in one guise or another well into the 1960s. I've built a couple Emils, a Friedrich, an Israeli Messer, and a couple 1930s conversions. I think we're still waiting for the ultimate Gustav, and it looks like ZM will help in that respect. I'll build the heck out of that. Lets face it, the 109 is incredibly iconic and as long as people remember WW2, Willy's little Wonderplane will be front and center. Just like the Spitfire, A6M, and P-51.

I'm super excited, actually. I'm rigging up my dual control system now. I love this stuff.

Jeff, I was looking at those pics, and the large exhausts are definitely on those. Also, check out the fuselage side scoop. It looks like Mike nailed the look perfectly with his 3D printing.

Well Jeff, they're not an EXACT match to the postwar Lanc pipes, are they? But they're a bunch closer than the kit parts, aren't they? And I think they'll work.

Mike, those look spectacular!

And the postwar RCAF oil tanks are green. HK callouts say red for wartime Mk. B.1

Hmm, will those pipes curve enough? The Lanc exhausts seem to dump at a 45 degree angle to the engine block. And just think. In a few years, FM.104 will be flying again in these colors. Won’t that be quite the sight?

Dang, Mike. Those are bang on!

Well, working on the dual controls now too. Ugh!

Actually, I just got a text saying the HK Mossie Mk.16 exhausts will work. And a picture to prove it. Messing with the kit exhaust is fun, but an exact copy would be better Off to explore options.... Buying two Mossies just to rob the exhausts is not a smart option.

Here’s the HK Lanc exhaust stub. A solid part, it a bit of relief on the end and yep, there’s the divider bar. So, what about hollowing it out, thinning the walls, and at least give the illusion of a wide mouth? Here’s a 20 second gougefest. OK, it looks better, it we still have a problem. The end of the wartime Lanc stub was flanged: So, my final solution, or at least until I think of something better, will be to build up each stub with Apoxie Putty, smooth them out, then hollow the ends to the edge of plastic. I’ll fill this one tonight, smooth and hollow it tomorrow, and assuming it works, I’ll only have47 more to do y’all!!

So here’s our dilemma. As was pointed out to me, postwar RCAF Lance used the wide mouth exhausts, not the slender style with the divider bar. As there are no resin examples available, and since Lanc exhaust ejectors are longer, there’s not much to do other than make some. At first, Carl said “Tamiya Spitfire”, of which I have one of each release, so we drag out JE-J and upon looking, realize that a Spitty’s exhaust has a 90 degree twist to it. The Lanc’s are single plane and also much longer. Maybe cut the ends off the Tamiya parts and adapt them to the HK parts. That sounds too much like hard work. So let’s think about this a bit.

I can’t remember another 1/32 jet that was this anticipated...

Well, we were always told that the safest place to be in a helicopter crash was inside the helicopter. We were always ordered to, in the event of a crash, stay inside the helicopter until all the pieces stopped flying around. Of course, with our Hueys, the transmission would generally come crashing through the enclosure and decapitate those sitting in the rear..

Brilliant work, Martin. That worked well.

Yikes! That ones seen better days. Hope you ge crew walked away

https://www.aviattic.co.uk/blue-max-lozenge.html Hey Gazz, I love the film just as you do. I think that Aviattuic had Blue Max lozenge in 1/32 as well, but for some reason they only list 1/72 as of right now. You might want to contact Richard at Aviattic or look on ebay. It'll add "the look" to your build. I'm following this one closely. -Ernie