In 1966 Lockheed
test pilot Darryl Greenamyer won at the Reno air races in this
highly modified Bearcat which was the start of a 4 year run of first place
victories. On August 16th 1969, with a speed of 482.463 mph, he broke
the world absolute propellor-driven speed record that had been held since
1939 by Germany's Fritz Wendel in the Messerschmitt Me209 V1. The
Bearcat would be modified many times over the years and sport several different
eye-catching paint jobs of which this 1966 blue and white scheme is my
personal favourite. And I don't even like vodka....
High
Planes Models has an excellent line of
racing aircraft in 72nd scale and a growing range in 48th as well. I
had no problems with the Bearcat's construction other than the usual minor
headaches associated with a limited run kit. The plastic parts are very well
moulded and sport fine recessed panel lines. So fine, in fact, that I knew
they would disappear under the many coats of white paint needed to cover the
lovely pale blue plastic so I decided to deepen them with a scriber. In contrast
to many racing aircraft, Greenamyer doesn't seem to have bothered much with
filling the panel lines and they are quite noticeable in photos so I
considered the re-scribing to be a necessary evil.
The only other
problem worth noting concerns the decals. Though they are beautifully printed
and go down well, the markings for the horizonal stabilisers are not handed
which means they will only work on the top of the right and bottom of the left
stabs without modification. Fortunately this was very easy to overcome with a
little experimentation. I floated the incorrect decals off the backing paper and
let them soak for a bit to wash the glue off. Then it was just a matter of
turning them upside down (obviously this won't work on decals that are more than
one colour or have a white backing), placing them on some wet decal paper to
"re-glue" them on the correct side and then applying them in the
normal fashion. I also wish there had been more spare trim decal on the
sheet as I had a hell of a time trying to match that metallic blue colour in
order to paint the prop. In the end I used all the spare decal on the front of
the blades and cobbled together the remaining bits for the backs. It's a bit of
a patchwork affair but fortunately the decals blend together very well once they
are dry and a clear topcoat is applied.
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
|
I removed the
moulded on exhausts with a Dremel and then made new ones from heat stretched
tubing. These and the pitot were the last items added. Exhaust and oil stains
were airbrushed on with a very thin mixture of Pollyscale flat and
dark gray and then finished off with brown pastel chalk. I was a little hesitant
to add exhaust stains, fearing it would detract from the pristine racy look
but almost every picture of this aircraft show it to have some staining and
burnt paint behind the exhausts so I thought I should give it a bit of
weathering. In fact, in some photos the dark brown exhaust trail goes
all the way back to the rudder, making it look dirtier than your average combat
aircraft. In the end I was quite happy with the slightly used look - I think it
kind of adds to the potent look of the aircraft.
White metal gear
legs and a beautifully clear (but tiny!) vac formed canopy complete this
high quality offering from High Planes. If I were writing for one of the major
modelling magazines I guess I would finish off the article with something like
"High Planes' Smirnoff Bearcat is a colourful and unusual addition to my
collection and I highly recommend it". But I'm not so I won't. ;-)
If you have an
interest in racing and/or record breaking aircraft then I highly recommend The IPMS
Racing & Record Aircraft Special Interest Group. Details on how to
join are on the website.
In addition to
"Bent Throttles", the bi-monthly newsletter put out by the above
mentioned SIG, main references used for this model were "Reno Air
Racing" by Michael O'Leary (Motorbooks International) and WarbirdAeroPress.com
which has excellent photos of this aircraft and many other racers.
But wait, that's not
all! Order now and you get this free shameless plug for my own website: Warped
Plastic . Hurry, supplies are limited!!
Andy
|