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Two Quick Builds - in slightly unusual schemes...


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Having been abroad for some time, without time, space, or the usual array of materials to make any models - I was raring to go when I got home. I had bought a few kits online while away, and they were all waiting for me. I wanted to get back on it with a few straightforward OOB builds, but was also hoping to avoid re-doing any schemes I had attempted before. 

 

The two kits I decided to crack on with were the new tool Airfix Hurricane (trop) and one of the two Hellcats in Eduard's combo boxing. Both in 1/48.

 

First up the Hurricane. This is a lovely kit, a real joy to put together. There was nothing all to report as far as issues go, aside maybe from the main landing gear's attachment to the gear bays being surprisingly shallow... But that was nothing a night of drying didn't fix. I usually just like rock-solid, deep wheel attachments. 

 

I opted for the box's suggested 2nd scheme - the Rhodesian training markings. This would avoid repeating a BoB or similar scheme - which I am a little bored of. This was painted using rattle cans : Tamiya's TS-80 + AS-12, and a Humbrol rattle can of chrome like paint - used for the most shiny panels on the nose. Decals were from the Airfix kit and went down very nicely, and responded wonderfully to some Micro Sol. The only non-OOB part here is the red gun patching, which was excess from the extras box. 

 

Weathering was an oil pin-wash of black and brown, some Tamiya weathering pigment brushed for exhaust stains, and a little Humbrol dry pigment for dust on wheels, walk areas and so on...

 

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The second kit I decided to go for something altogether more exotic. I had seen a while ago a photo of some very lurid looking Hellcats, which appeared to be bright orange. I did a tiny bit of looking around and found that these were in fact drones used in post-war a-bomb testing... Some photos make them appear alternatively red, orange, or pink. Either due to different paint schemes, fading, or bad photos... I decided to go for a dark orange to hedge my bets. 

 

I am aware that this is an early mark Hellcat, and most likely those used post-war would be late, but as above - I just wanted a fun, quick build, using what was in the box... Further to that - the decals are not aftermarket made for the drones, though these do exist. They are extras from previous Corsair and Hellcat builds. But they seemed pretty close on to the photos I saw of drones. 

 

To paint the Hellcat I used MOLOTOW rattle cans. These are made for graffiti - and as a result come in myriad colours and shades. Helpful for someone like me without an airbrush or the ability to mix spray paints. The two tones of orange here are Vermillion (darker) and Lobster (lighter). With the tail painted using MOLOTOW Avocado. Weathering was an oil pin wash. The chipping was done by brush painting patches of Valejo paint onto the sprayed primer and dabbing masking fluid on that before the main colours went down. 

 

Annoyingly I just noticed that I took these photos before doing the wing-tip lights. They were done (I promise) using wood glue. 

 

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Thanks for looking - and as ever - any tips, notes, or criticisms most welcome. 

 

Bruce

 

 

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Hello Bruce ... love the work. Nothing wrong with rattlecans. Been using them for 3 years until i was able to finally get a new airbrush in may. The hurricane is very unique i like it in the aluminum/silver dope. And those hellcats covered all types and came in just about every garish color. Ive seen pink, bright yellow, bright blue, and purple in photos. 

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1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hello Bruce ... love the work. Nothing wrong with rattlecans. Been using them for 3 years until i was able to finally get a new airbrush in may. The hurricane is very unique i like it in the aluminum/silver dope. And those hellcats covered all types and came in just about every garish color. Ive seen pink, bright yellow, bright blue, and purple in photos. 

Thanks so much. Good to know there's some wiggle room for accuracy on the type and colour! 

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A couple of absolute beauties.  I particularly like the Hurricane.  A great nmf and wear and tear on the anti-glare panel.  I think there's a Hurricane flying in this scheme, or very similar, today. 

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15 hours ago, Spitfire31 said:

Interesting Hurricane scheme, very well implemented.

 

Wouldn't the prop blades have yellow tips, though?

 

Smart looking model!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

You are right... Totally forgot that! Thanks for the reminder. I will fix. 

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13 hours ago, John D.C. Masters said:

Very very interesting indeed!  The Hurricane is stunning and the Hellcat is certainly an original.  Nice work with the spray cans.  I'm in the same boat.

Thanks John... if you are in that boat then I do recommend giving Molotow a go - or at least if you want tones / shades that can be hard to find. They are quite forgiving, spray at low pressure, and they have a rather nice semi-matt finish. The Hellcat didn't have any varnishing done. That's just the can finish. And it's pretty tough stuff so you can weather all over it without worry. Do prime first though - as tape lifts the paint straight off in chunks otherwise! 

 

 

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15 hours ago, Meatbox8 said:

A couple of absolute beauties.  I particularly like the Hurricane.  A great nmf and wear and tear on the anti-glare panel.  I think there's a Hurricane flying in this scheme, or very similar, today. 

 

The anti-glare panel wear and tear was the result of error... Some of the black came off with the tape - so I decided to embrace it and add to it! 

 

Thanks for the kind words. 

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