Trumpeter 1/32 Bearcat F8F-1B

[Vaughan]

Hi All

Just back from a weeks hols in France so I thought I better carry on with the cockpit area. Have spent the last hour putting together the PE lap seat belts that came with the kit. But after all that effort they seem to be totally out of scale and would be better fitted to a 24th scale version of the Bearcat. Anybodys thoughts on them? as I'm sure they're not to the correct scale.

Vaughan

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[yak face]

Hi vaughan, Aye Carumba!! thems BIG belts!! I reckon theyre more like 1/24 like you say or maybe even bigger. Even if you assume the seat is about 24" wide ( it probably isnt even that big) the buckle is about 1/3 the size ie. 8 inches wide!!! If i were you i'd get a set of eduard or similar and keep these in the spares box for when you scratch build something in 1/20 scale!! lol cheers tony p.s forgot to say, superb job on the instrument panel and cockpit!

[Vaughan]

Hi there Tony

I have taken your advice and ordered some Eduard pre-painted seat-belts from Hannants.

Vaughan

[Vaughan]

Hi All

A little more progress the cockpit area is weathered but is a dry fit at the moment still waiting for the PE seat belts from Hannats to arrived they posted them on thursday but still not here. The firewall and battery box are complete and weathered.

Vaughan.

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[yak face]

great progress vaughan, cheers tony

[Vaughan]

Help pe seat belts

HI All the PE seat belts arrived today from Hannants look great BUT they seem to be the same size as the ones that came with the kit (too big). Have they been packaged up wrong? although the code number suggest they are the right ones. So if some one could give me some advice it would be of great help as the belts cost £8 so I want them to be correct.

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[yak face]

Hi vaughan, ive managed to find a pic of a bearcat cockpit (although it may be restored, so might not be the original harness) and the lap belts are in fact alot wider than the shoulder ones. Seeing the etched fret in its entirety, the shoulder straps are indeed alot narrower so it may be nearer than we thought, your first pic just showed the lap belts which on their own look very big . anyway heres the link ,see what you think Grumman F8F BEARCAT hope this helps cheers tony

[Vaughan]

Hi Tony

Thanks for the info and link. I will study it in detail tomorrow. On a side note my thread notification via email is not working since the server changed don't know if this is the same for everyone.

Vaughan.

[Vaughan]

Hi All

I've just spent the last 2 hours putting together the Eduard PE seat belt. The shoulder straps look in scale but still unsure of the lap belts. I opted for the green late version set as this bearcat was practically post war so I think must have used that version.

Vaughan

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[yak face]

Looks fine now vaughan, cheers tony

[Tommy]

Very nice details!

[Guest]

Ive missed this one, god i have some catching up to do. Fantastic work, keep it up.

Cheers

Andy

[Guest]

Looking good Vaughan!

[Vaughan]

Thanks guys

I'd got a bit of a sweat on thinking that the belts wouldn't work. Thanks again Tony for the Bearcat link it's going to be really useful.

Vaughan.

[Guest]

This is looking great so far mate.

Cheers

Kresten