F4F Wildcat, 1:4 scale, Jerry Bates plans
F4F Wildcat, 1:4 scale, Jerry Bates plans
Embedded Files
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at low speed, the Hellcat, with c. 50 percent greater power available, could easily outperform the Zero, and superseded the Wildcat in front-line service in 1943-44.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.
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 - Fighteraces
Canopy - Fighteraces
Retracts - Sierra Giant Scale
Wooden kit - "Mirce models" cut the wooden kit from Jerry Bates plans.
The plans for USA are available from Jerry Bates Plans, or Fighteraces (Europe).
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:
Glassing, primer, filler...
"Mirce models" have received approval from Jerry Bates to can cut the F4F Wildcat kit in 1:4 scale.
"Mirce models" offers parts & sets for 1:4 scale F4F Wildcat:
Wooden kit - (soon more information)
Spinner - 70.00 Euro (aluminum spinner from the plan, for DLE 120)
Horizontal stabilizer from 3 parts - 55.00 Euro (ply & balsa wood, this is a part of the "Mirce models" wooden kit)
G10 hinges & horns for horizontal stabilizer - 35.00 Euro
G10 horns for ailerons, flaps & rudder - 20.00 Euro
G10 landing doors cover - 10.00 Euro (G10 of 0.3 mm)
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
Template for wheel opening on fuselage & template for centering DLE 120 to cowl - 5.00 Euro
Detail set - 55.00 Euro (soon)
30.000 rivets set - 100.00 Euro
Finish set - 70.00 Euro
Paint masc for "the Meatball" insignia - 55.00 Euro (6 masc templates, 2 for fuselage and 4 for the wings)
You can see all of this in the pictures I took while making the model...
More information on email: mirce.rc@gmail.com
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse