F4F Wildcat, 1:4 scale, Jerry Bates plans
F4F Wildcat, 1:4 scale, Jerry Bates plans
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The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy.
By the time of Pearl Harbor the Wildcat was the best fighter available to the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and remained so until mid-1943.
In the final tally Wildcat pilots claimed an air combat kill-to-loss ratio of 5.9:1 for 1942 and 6.9:1 for the war as a whole.
In the spring of 1942 lessons learned from early Wildcat combat operations were applied, at the last minute, to prototypes of Grumman's vastly superior F6F Hellcat, the design of which already owed a great deal to the Wildcat. While the Wildcat had better range and maneuverability at low speed, the Hellcat, with c. 50 percent greater power available, could easily outperform the Zero, and superseded the Wildcat in front-line service in 1943-44.
In 2007 I visited an aviation museum in Florida, standing next to the Wildcat, and if someone had told me than that I would one day build F4F model, I probably wouldn't have believed it, but that happened in 2026.
Wildcat from museum was pulled from the bottom of Lake Michigan, there was a pontoon where American pilots trained for future takeoffs and landings on aircraft carriers.
Some Wildcats ended up at the bottom of the lake, and this one was pulled out and given to the museum to restore.
The engine is the original one from the bottom of the lake...
In 2019, at the Top Gun competition in Florida, I had the opportunity to meet Jerry Bates, a famous American designer of RC model airplanes.
At the end of 2025 I decided to return to Warbird models, and the F4F Wildcat in 1:4 scale was an aircraft that I always liked. I have never built a model from Jerry Bates plans.
Description:
Description:
Scale: 1/4, Wingspan: 2895 mm / 114”
Length: 2145 mm / 84.5”, Weight: 22 -27 kg / 50 - 60 lbs.
Wing Area: 2340 sq. in.
Power: DLE 120 – DA170
Cowl(F4F of FM-2) – Fighteraces
Canopy – Fighteraces
Retracts – Sierra Giant Scale
I cut the wooden kit myself ("Mirce models") from Jerry Bates plans that I traced.
The plans for the 1:4 scale F4F Wildcat, followed by the cowl and canopy, arrived from Philip Clark of "Figteraces", since Jerry Bates does not ship plans from the US to Europe.
First step was to scanned the plans, then I sat down and traced all the parts.
During the making of the model, I changed some parts and made them differently, keeping the dimensions from the plan.
This was done mainly because I had experience building models like this before and it turned out well during many years of exploitation.
Since I wrote about the making of the model, with all the pictures and comments, on my Facebook page, in order not to do the same job twice, here are the links that lead directly there.
As the works progress, I will add new links...
Engine:
Radio system & servos:
Landing gear:
Wings:
Horizontal stabilizer:
Fuselage:
"Mirce models" offers parts & sets for 1:4 scale F4F Wildcat:
Horizontal stabilizer from 3 parts - 55.00 Euro (ply & balsa wood)
G10 hinges & horns for horizontal stabilizer - 35.00 Euro
G10 horns for ailerons, flaps & rudder - 20.00 Euro
3D printed leading edges & tips for the wings - 40.00 Euro
3D printed leading edges for the horizontal stabilizer - 20.00 Euro
Servo motor covers and supports for ailerons and flaps - 15.00 Euro (for standard size 40 x 20 mm servo)
Frame and cower for the openings for fixing wing to the fuselage - 10.00 Euro
Detail set - 55.00 Euro (soon)
30.000 rivets set - 100.00 Euro
Finish set - 70.00 Euro
You can see all of this in the pictures I took while making the model...
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