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Couldn`t Resist Another- New 1/72nd Airfix Martlet Mk.IV- FINISHED


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Hiya Folks,

Having got it a few hours ago here is another one for the GB,.....the brand new 1/72nd Airfix Martlet Mk.IV!! I intend on building a few of these but I`m just building one here,.....for now!!

DSCF8600_zps6zuzgzuz.jpg

The sprues,...although I`ve cut them down a touch to make life easier;

DSCF8601_zpsiiaqc0s8.jpg

First impressions,.....not bad,......the propeller is wrong and more akin to a Mk.II when it should be a Hamilton Standard,....but I`ll check if I have any B-17 Fortress props in the spares box, The spine seems a bit shallow too,...but we`ll see how it builds,

Cheers for now,

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Cheers lads,

Went out to watch a very good Elvis tribute act at the Palace in Manchester but before I went I took these pics of the Martlet interior painted up and in place ready to join the fuselage halves,......oh the joy of pre painting the parts on the sprue using acrylics which dry quickly! I used a blast of Humbrol Grass Green from a rattle can as a base coat for brushed on Tamiya Interior Green acrylic with their matt black plus dry brushing with Humbrol enamel.

DSCF8613_zps9iisplxq.jpg

DSCF8611_zpslc9b4evw.jpg

DSCF8610_zpst7otcvg8.jpg

Cheers,

Tony

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Good morning

Just like in some movies Tony is the main star withj more than 10 builds and we are the supporting cast , I just wonder when he finds time to eat and sleep ...

Great start Tony :goodjob:

Patrice

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Hiya everybody,....... yes I have quite a few on the go now but I do have time to eat and sleep and even went out to the theatre last night!! So please don`t worry and I`m no star Patrice,..far from it,... I just bimble along but get a bit carried away sometimes,......I`ll be slowing down now anyway as I reach the painting stages and brush painting tends to be a slow business!!

Stew- mmm,.....I`ll be doing a few of these but for the first one I think I`ll go for roundels as I have stars on a few of my builds already. Speaking of the decals,.....I have noticed a couple of `problems' the major one being that the codes on the side of the star marked example are incorrectly depicted on the left hand side,.....they should read as O-7D,.....not D-O7. The navy actually read the codes as 07D and it did not matter how they were split up, they had to still read in this way as the first letter was the carrier letter, followed by the squadron i/d number (with regard to role and unit seniority aboard ship) and then the individual letter within this squadron , so on the kit it should be O-7D on the left side and on the right hand side the kit is correct to depict them as O-7D. I also have a feeling that this aircraft should have a white letter `D' on the side of the engine cowlings as per Mk.II`s flown by the same unit,....but it is hard to say as the photo of this particular aircraft does not show this area.

Here are the decal instructions;

a02074-layout-b.jpg

and here is the real aircraft,.....the stars do not look as `tidy' as those in the decals, but there is not much in it;

martlet%20FN112%20on%20the%20flight%20de

For the other option the codes are correct although the spacing of the serial numbers is a bit too narrow on the decals compared to the real aircraft and I would say that it would have a black code `P' underneath the engine cowling like others in the same squadron,..as seen in the photos below. Here are the kit instructions;

a02074-layout-a.jpg

and here is the real aircraft;

7DBED9A7-86D8-4D48-8CE9-94BE71949120-271

It is a shame that Airfix did not get the propeller right, here are some real Martlet Mk.IV`s showing the type`s Hamilton Standard propeller, also note the black code letter underneath the cowling of the 888 NAS aircraft O9-H in the second photo, as mentioned earlier;

martlet%20935615795_a3833a1842_o_zps8b3o

martlet%20iv%20on%20deck%20running_zpsty

and here is the kit propeller,...which appears to have the correct blades but the hub is wrong and looks more that from a Martlet Mk.II;

martlet-wings-in_-wheels-down.4373.jpg

Just for comparison,....here are some real Mk.II`s;

mart2_zpsm33mzhat.jpg

martlet%20folded_zpskjaycci9.jpg[/u

This photo of a Mk.II shows the types propeller blade shape to advantage with the wide cuffs at the roots;

MartletFormidableSeptember42.jpg

Here is another Mk.II,.....showing the propeller again along with the differently shaped and longer engine cowling for this variant,.....plus the arrangement of codes are of note as correct for Martlet`s at this time, the left side reading as 0-7A,.....as opposed to D-O7 in the kits star marked option,.....the Mk.II in the photo has also had its roundels re instated following Operation Torch and the `US Navy' script overpainted with a white rectangle upon which has been written `Royal Navy';

Martlet%20II%20AJ148%207A-0%20No.%20888%

Also note that the real aircraft depicted by both decal options feature rear view mirrors which are not provided in the kit.

Cheers for now,

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Hello again,.....onto the model,.....there has been quite a bit of progress this morning! The fuselage halves have been joined and the wings and tail added. The fuselage was quite hard to join together but using tape it was held together while the glue dried. The wings were simple but a decision has to be taken whether to have the wings folded or not. As many people know I like to feature both and often fold one wing and tleave the other outstretched and I have done the same here, which was possible on the Martlet and quite often seen.

Airfix have provided parts to lengthen the forward fuselage and these fitted OK, but will need to be sanded and filled as I do not think that there was a visible seam line here on the real aircraft? Here is the model with the `plug' in place, showing the short engine cowling ready to be fitted along with the other cowl from the kit which is not needed and will be a welcome addition to the spares box I have since corrected the engine crank case and re fixed it in the correct position with the `attachment' facing upwards and not down as it shows in the instructions,....just look at the photos in the previous post;

DSCF8614_zpsy8qayf5w.jpg

Here is a closer view of the forward fuselage showing the `plug' with the cowling attached and the fairing at the side of the nose removed. I have included the kit propeller here too but I shall probably be removing the blades and fitting them to a Hamilton Standard hub from the spares box;

DSCF8616_zpsodbbiwky.jpg

Here are two more views of the model as it looks so far just to show the general shape which looks OK;

DSCF8615_zps80xzinrh.jpg

DSCF8617_zpsdvffqkny.jpg

Here is a Wright Cyclone as fitted to the Martlet Mk.IV;

Curtiss-WrightR-1820Mesa.jpg

And here is a great colour photo depicting Martlet Mk.IV`s on deck, with Seafire`s behind, all wearing US stars for Op Torch;

3780466009_e9d3c7d5fe_o.jpg?format=1500w

Cheers for now,

Tony,

Edited by tonyot
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Cheers Stue,

This is what the propeller should look like;

AVOSHSC3537.jpg

with a chunkier hub. As seen here on this preserved Cyclone powered FM-2 Wildcat (Martlet Mk.VI).

Cheers

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Excellent choice of subject by Airfix (market gap), nice transfers and, if it's like the F4F-4, a lovely degree of detail. But I'll be passing on this one: without wanting to reopen that long debate on the accuracy or otherwise of the Airfix Martlet/Wildcat, I just can't see past the incorrect profile of the cockpit canopy (it flattens towards the rear rather than being parallel like the Hurricane's). But I know other people's mileages will differ.

Re FAA codes: astonishing that Airfix got it right on the one option and not the other.

Enjoy the build.

Edited by Seahawk
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Cheers Seahawk,

I know exactly what you mean about the canopy,....I thought that it was parallel myself,.....but having looked into it more there was some sort of sweep down between the front and rear of the canopy;

faawildcatsba_5.jpg

martlet%20935610835_a606743654_o_zps0fyr

7229382832_49a1eb4262_b.jpg

Formation_of_Grumman_F4F_Martlets_of_No.

F4F-3_Wildcats_of_VF-5_in_flight_c1941.jF4F-3A_VF-3_F-1_Thach_and_F-13_O_Hare_Ap

I think that the spine is probably a bit too fat and not high enough, which may make the canopy sweep a little too large, what do you think?,.....look at these pics;

30_martlets_on_deck.jpg

6620396179_55d9e271d9.jpg

here is another nice head on shot too;

martlet.jpg

Cheers

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Still not sure about the spine: I think the core problem is that the canopy does not rise up enough above the flat part of the windshield. That would provide a downward slope to the top of the sliding canopy to the current spine. Hopefully we will get an aftermarket canopy to correct this, as the Falcon one doesn't (to my eye).

One point; The carrier code isn't 0 (zero) or O (Latin alphabet) but Ø (Greek letter Phi), which we can get from the character map. In Windows 10 this is an app that can be downloaded onto the black bar at the bottom of the screen for ease of reference, including useful things like superscripts, subscripts, &, ½ etc . I must remember to use it more often rather than writing out degs, for example. Previously there were CNTL+character that could be used - there probably still are - but they were more difficult to find (at least for me).

Phi is F: F for Formidable. This fits into the system of codes used for RN carriers at the start of the war.

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Hopefully we will get an aftermarket canopy to correct this, as the Falcon one doesn't (to my eye).

Been there, tried that: the Falcon one (the only current aftermarket option I am aware of) is for the bloated Frog/Academy kit. There are indeed problems with the location of the spine/fuselage knuckle but a new canopy using the Hasegawa canopy as a basis would make the whole thing look a whole lot better. I have floated the idea past some of the aftermarket guys but none of them have bitten yet. Maybe I'm the only one the error grates on.

Tony: I could be persuaded there is an ever so slight sweepdown in the top canopy line but, even if there is, Airfix have grotesquely exaggerated it.

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I spoke to Jonathan Mock, who designed the sheet, about this. He spent some time at Yeovilton going through their archives, and spoke to several experts on this. As they couldn't prove exactly what the port side should be, they left the decals separate to reflect the ambiguity - if you have anything that shows otherwise, pm me and I'll pass on his contact details.


..I have noticed a couple of `problems' the major one being that the codes on the side of the star marked example are incorrectly depicted on the left hand side,.....they should read as O-7D,.....not D-O7. The navy actually read the codes as 07D and it did not matter how they were split up, they had to still read in this way as the first letter was the carrier letter, followed by the squadron i/d number (with regard to role and unit seniority aboard ship) and then the individual letter within this squadron , so on the kit it should be O-7D on the left side and on the right hand side the kit is correct to depict them as O-7D. I also have a feeling that this aircraft should have a white letter `D' on the side of the engine cowlings as per Mk.II`s flown by the same unit,....but it is hard to say as the photo of this particular aircraft does not show this area.

Here are the decal instructions;

a02074-layout-b.jpg

and here is the real aircraft,.....the stars do not look as `tidy' as those in the decals, but there is not much in it;

Edited by Dave Fleming
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Thanks for your comments lad`s,.....

Dave,....my comments about O7D are based on other squadron aircraft as seen in one of the photos that I included and standard procedure at the time.

Graham,.....unfortunately I don`t have the keyboard required to accurately replicate the correct `Phi' (or Greek F) so I had to use `O' which I assumed everybody would understand!! Being a Fleet Air Arm enthusiast I am very well aware of the reason for its adoption,.....many naval officers of this era were classically educated after all and liked to show off.

Anyway,....on with the build,......I have sanded the model down and this has included thinning down the spine to see if it helped make the model look a bit better in this area;

DSCF8622_zpskzhi5krg.jpg

And here it is with the sliding canopy in place,.....yes the hood does slide back too far and is too `fat' but I`ll see how best to work with what I have. I may have a spare canopy in the spares box,....if not I`ll retain this one.

DSCF8623_zpsykdhc17m.jpg

On with the painting now,

Cheers

Tony

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This little kit is looking great Tony.

Would you mind answering a little question please?

I see from your sprue photos that this kit includes two engine cowlings and what appears to be a forward fuse extension.

Are the different cowls associated with either of the kits decal versions, or is one for the Martlet IV and the other for possibly an earlier version?

Cheers and looking forward to the final product.. Dave.

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Thanks everybody,.....glad you like it,......I`m now well into the painting, the Sky undersides are done and Polly Scale Dark Slate Grey is now being applied.

This little kit is looking great Tony.
Would you mind answering a little question please?

I see from your sprue photos that this kit includes two engine cowlings and what appears to be a forward fuse extension.
Are the different cowls associated with either of the kits decal versions, or is one for the Martlet IV and the other for possibly an earlier version?

Cheers and looking forward to the final product.. Dave.

Thanks Dave,.........I think that the `spare' engine cowling must be the original part which was shown at Telford where many of us said that the part was OK for a Mk.II but not a Mk.IV,....... the correct cowling and the fuselage extension that is required for the Mk.IV are on a different sprue which I assume was produced by Airfix in response to the comments about the originally planned kit being incorrect?

Cheers

Tony

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Isn't it the sprue from the original F4F -4 boxing that contains the other cowl?

This appears to be a new cowl Jim as the original F4F-4 part included in the US Wildcat release has an intake scoop moulded on the top. Tony's explanation makes sence that it could be Airfix's first attempt, which has now been modified by adding a new fuse extension and smaller cowling after many comments about the original cowling / CAD drawings were made. I'm still not sure if this 'original' longer cowl is actually useful for anything though?

Comparing Tony's kit and the accompanying reference photographs, the kit windscreen looks too long in length, which may give the impression that the canopy is too low in height. I wonder if one was to shave the rear of the open windscreen part a little - if this would improve the overall appearance a little? I realise that the rear section of the canopy would then appear too short, however this could be hidden somewhat if the canopy was displayed open?

Anyway - carry on Tony.. Looking forward to some paint shots.

Cheers.. Dave.

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