A Gutless challenge - Fisher’s mighty F7-U3 M. Finished at long last !

[JohnB]

Some outstanding work Hubert! You have a lot more patience that I have. Very well done so far and I look forward to seeing the finished beauty. 🙂

[HubertB]

7 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Looks really good Hubert, some really impressive work there!

 

6 hours ago, JohnB said:

Some outstanding work Hubert! You have a lot more patience that I have. Very well done so far and I look forward to seeing the finished beauty. 🙂

Thank you Mike and John.

I have to say, in as much as I like the unique looks of the Cutlass, and Fisher kits in general, this one is wearing my patience thin, and I have to discipline myself not to rush through the final stages. It’s probably a function of having started the kit so long ago, and an inversely proportional mojo to finish it …

I have a few SOD queens I wanted to deal with after the Cutlass, but I lay just focus on something brand new and exciting. C’mon, Lukgraph, bring on the Duck !

Hubert

[Fran]

Wow mate!! Looking gourgeous!

[BlrwestSiR]

Really nice work on the Cutlass.

I can completely relate to the feeling of inertia on the build. I've got a similar situation with my Sea Fury. 

[KevinM]

6 hours ago, HubertB said:

this one is wearing my patience thin, and I have to discipline myself not to rush through the final stages. It’s probably a function of having started the kit so long ago, and an inversely proportional mojo to finish it

Oh that is me so many times boredom starts to set in and let's clear the desk for something new!It's looking good Hubert but that light at the end of the tunnel...

[belugawhaleman]

Looking Great Hubert!

[DocRob]

Wow, your Cutlass is a real beauty. I like the unusual looks of the original and your build shows them to perfection.

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

Well, after a long break due to vacation and other trips to France, I have resumed the build of the Cutlass. I can say now she is finished, at long last !

In fairness, I am not totally happy with my work, and although the overall effect is there, there are plenty of small details and finishing areas which I could I have done better... However, I want to call this one quits, and move on, notably to the Lukgraph Duck 

When I last posted there were some small areas to finish off :

The MLG drag links as designed and molded by Fisher were a bit vague in shape. I redesigned and printed some. I took the opportunity to also design the links that command the closure of the MLG doors.

 

 

... and in situ. Not sure it was worth the effort, but "I know it's here".

One area I was dreading was how to reproduce the prominent seal joint around the canopy and windshield. Trying to paint it seemed like a daunting masking challenge. Then it dawned on me that I had some very fine masking tape, and of the right color to boot  !

That was then quick work, with 0.7 mm wide masking tape. As I do not trust the capacity of the masking tape to remain sticky over time, it was sealed with UV-curing clear resin. Et voilà !

Mt first attempt around the windscreen, with 0.4 mm masking tape was so-so ...

 

Not that great, and not wide enough to match the 1:1 pics. I redid the work with 0.7 mm tape, but kept 0.4 mm for the windscreen per se. Again the whole was sealed with UV-curing clear resin.

Then it was just an issue of adding the final bits and pieces, like the wing pylons, the leading-edge slats, the tiny retractable steps tha allowed an acrobatic cockpit  ingress when the ladder was not there (they deployed automatically with the front landing gear, and retracted with it). The ejection seat did not really want to get to its low position in the cockpit, but the Cutlass had a "down" psotion for the seat for normal flight, and "up" for take-off and landing. So this is about good for the "high" position of the seat. The 3d-printed ladder is just posed in position, as on the real birds.

And there she is, finished :

 

 

 

The pics on the bench show how big a bird whe was. With flaps and slats, these wings covered a lot of acreage.

I will now work on the small saynette i have planned, and the Cutlass, in the saynette, with better pics, will be posted in the RFI section.

Hubert

[DocRob]

Wow, Hubert, she´s a real beauty. I can´t see where you could have done better, but I guess as the builder you know about the tiniest imperfections, unknown to the spectator. I like the unique shape of the Cutlass and that there are so many details to spot like the extensive front wheel strut and the well visible cockpit.

Cheers Rob

 

[KevinM]

Nice! but one of those build Hubert ...now let's put it in the case.

[Martinnfb]

As I said before, a labour of love. Well done Hubert. She's a beauty. 

Cheers

Martin

[belugawhaleman]

Beautiful work Hubert😀

[PanzerWomble]

Nice one Hubert , thats a huge project you've handled well there , wrestled that resin into something of beauty .

[HubertB]

7 hours ago, DocRob said:

Wow, Hubert, she´s a real beauty. I can´t see where you could have done better, but I guess as the builder you know about the tiniest imperfections, unknown to the spectator. I like the unique shape of the Cutlass and that there are so many details to spot like the extensive front wheel strut and the well visible cockpit.

Cheers Rob

 

 

5 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

As I said before, a labour of love. Well done Hubert. She's a beauty. 

Cheers

Martin

 

4 hours ago, belugawhaleman said:

Beautiful work Hubert😀

 

20 minutes ago, PanzerWomble said:

Nice one Hubert , thats a huge project you've handled well there , wrestled that resin into something of beauty .

Thank you Rob, Kevin, Martin, Paul and PW. 
The scheme I chose was difficult to reproduce, but it sure is spectacular on this bird. I wish I could have avoided some of the small blemishes I unfortunately cannot help to see on the finished Cutlass.

Still, I could not want anything else than a NMF on that bird, a fitting tribute to an advanced design of the 50s. Paul Fisher has done a great job overall to produce this kit, and building and finishing it as also a tribute to his work.

Hubert