F7F Tigercat Rises From the Ashes

[gman5250]

I wonder Gordon, do you have access to an F7F? How do you have all this great detail available to you? Its amazing.

Milton's original files were very complete, including a POH. The handbook has a large number of photos of the various systems, which gives me a good handle on the basic modeling. Many of the plackards and details have been gathered from various sites that specialize in old radios, aircraft parts etc. Unfortunately, all of that data was lost so the only thing in my archive at the moment is the actual model and numerous photos of restored aircraft. The only VC I recovered was the original military variant so it will be necessary to build the three civilian variants I had previously modeled from scratch. That will take quite a bit of time.

BTW...if I had access to a real F7F I'd probably spend a bit less time at the computer....lol.

[gman5250]

I'm so happy to see that not only have you not given up on this work, but it's freaking amazing what you've gotten done so quickly to recover!

Thank you, it looks awesome!

Tom

P.S. I did share your videos on Facebook...

Thanks for sharing those videos Tom.

Recovering the Tigercat and K Invader were relatively straightforward once I retrieved the published beta models. The mesh .mdl file will remember the pivot points, UVW mapping and basic structure of the model, but all of the pivot alignments and animations require coding from scratch. On a model like the Tigercat I can code the entire exterior model in one work session....more or less. The most complex part is the tricycle gear/gear doors and prop animations. The interior model is more complex with all of the switches, trim wheels and flight controls. That said, a basic airplane can be recovered...more or less in a week. Re-assembling the supporting data base is another thing entirely.