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On Saturday (24th), I went to Scale Scotland 2022, I had a wonderful time. I bought a few kits but this one especially excited me because I've wanted one for a while and I've liked wildcats/martlets since I went to the FAA museum in RNAS Yeovilton when I was younger. I personally think the martlet/wildcat looks excellent in FAA camo. Today I started working on her. I'm quite happy with the cockpit and landing gear. Because of how small the kit is, construction and initial painting went very quickly I did all if this in one day! This might be a speedbuild depending on whether I'll have more workbench time this week

Hello! Back again with a speedbuild! I made this over the course of six days, after purchasing it at Scale Scotland 2022! I'm pretty happy with the result. WIP thread: here's the model: Thanks for looking!

F4F-3 Wildcat ProfiPACK (82201) 1:48 Eduard Grumman began development work on a new carrier-based fighter in the mid-30s, starting with the F2F, which was a biplane, but it and the successor F3F led to the basic shape of the Wildcat, minus two of the wings. Initially, the new aircraft was outpaced by the Brewster Buffalo and Grumman resigned their aircraft to carry a supercharged version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radial engine, and later new flying surfaces that gave it the needed improvement, receiving orders from the US Navy as a backup-plan in case the Buffalo was a let-down. Initial orders from France were delivered to the British Royal Navy after France fell before delivery, and was designated as the Marlet. The US Navy would adopt the type in late 1941 after the Buffalo turned out to be a disappointment, although it was quite a manoeuvrable little aircraft that saw some service elsewhere. Originally armed with 4 x 0.50 cal machine guns, the F4F-4 was introduced in 1941 with an increased 6 guns to increase the aircraft's weight of fire. Although the armament was increased to 6 guns, the ammunition capacity was not, giving pilots less time with their fingers on the trigger, which was generally disliked by the pilots for obvious reasons. The extra weight from the guns and wing fold gear also reduced performance. It was the primary US Carrier fighter during the early years of America’s war, with production continuing until 1943 when they switched over to building the replacement Hellcat, but one factory continued to make Wildcats for the British Fleet Air Arm (FAA). The Wildcat’s smaller size and slower landing speed was a boon on a smaller carrier that the British Navy operated in large numbers as escort carriers. The Kit This is a much-anticipated brand-new tooling from Eduard, and it seems that they have created yet another highly detailed and well-engineered kit, from which a wide range of variants can be produced for us, the modelling public. It arrives in Eduard’s modern gold themed top-opening box, and inside are five sprues in a dark grey styrene, a clear sprue, a nickel-plated pre-painted fret of Photo-Etch (PE), a sheet of pre-cut kabuki masking tape, a large and a small decal sheet, and the glossy instruction booklet with colour profiles in the rear pages. Detail is exceptional, as we’ve come to expect from Eduard’s engineers, right up there with, if not the best examples of plastic models as of today. There is some judicious use of sliding moulds to improve detail without increasing the part count unduly, the most notable being the rudder, which is hollow and ready for an insert during the build process. Construction begins in the cockpit, which takes over a page of the instructions and starts with the pilot’s foot boards that fit onto a Z-shaped bulkhead, and has the frame that holds the head cushion plus a pressurised bottle and two small PE parts that are only fitted to the later options. The two seat mounts are added to the frame before fitting the seat, which is prepared by adding a small PE strip diagonally across the rear of the seating area, plus a lap-belt for the early versions and four-point belts for wartime versions. The instrument panel is integrated in another frame that encompasses a tank, which is bulked out by adding another part to the other side, then you have a choice of applying a decal to the moulded-in dials, or a two-layer PE instrument panel that is applied in three sections, complete with a fully pre-painted set of dials and surrounds, plus the shiny curved dial glazing finishing. The side consoles are made up from a large number of parts, some of which are PE and pre-painted, with a part choice for early and later versions, then they are slotted into the rear frame and the instrument panel frame to create the cockpit’s tub. The rudder pedals are based on a single styrene part that is decorated by adding PE parts to the centre section, plus tiny little PE parts on each pedal, removing a little of the centre section before adding them. This slips in behind the instrument panel and is joined by a long rectangular lattice panel that mates to the front end of the foot boards. The cockpit is left to one side for a while so that the engine mount assembly can made. This is based upon the firewall, from which a tapered spar projects from each side. The engine mounts, a set of chains and the rear ancillary block of the engine are assembled to the front of the bulkhead, then a boxy assembly with two legs is added to the underside for the first decal option only, a strange clamshell-shaped assembly sits in the top of the mounts, and for most of the decal options there’s a C-shaped assembly that latches onto the sides of the mounts. If you are building the second decal option, the small location tabs should be removed and the part left in the box. The insides of the fuselage have fine ribbing moulded into them, and this is augmented by a number of PE parts, plus the removal of a moulded-in document folder that straddles one to the vertical ribs. Take care when removing this to ensure that the rib is still present once you’re done. There are also small rectangular windows with radiused corners in both sides of the fuselage, which are inserted from outside during closure of the two halves around the cockpit and engine mount. A tiny pip of styrene in front of the leading edge of the wing should be removed for one decal option, but it’s easy to miss as it’s right at the bottom of the page. Unusually for an Eduard kit, the landing gear is built next, even before the wings are considered, and that’s because the struts and retraction jacks are buried deep inside the fuselage, so would be difficult to leave until the end. Each leg is made of three parts with scrap diagrams showing how they are arranged, and once the glue is dry, they are inserted deep into the fuselage, the cylindrical top ends mating with cups that are moulded into the firewall. They are then buttressed by more styrene parts, and the front of the fuselage is able to be closed up by fitting a small insert into the bottom. The diminutive fixed tail strut is made up of two halves that trap a choice of two styles of wheel, and the main wheels are each made of a single tyre and two hubs that slip over the axles at the bottom of the main gear legs, with a pair of small inner doors added to the centreline while the fuselage is inverted. At the same time, the twin exhausts are slid into their troughs under the nose. The wings are next, and as they’re mounted mid-fuselage, they’re totally separate from each other. Each one is made from upper and lower halves, with a small insert with PE mesh parts wedged inside the bulged fairings on the underside before the two halves are closed, and the ailerons added to their position near the tips of the wings. The elevator fins are simple two-part assemblies each, and they’re attached to the tail via the usual tab and slot method, at the same time the wings are slid over their spars. The elevators are moulded as one piece, and clip into the rear of the fins either side of rudder fin, and are then locked in place by adding the rudder panel, which has a slide-moulded triangular hole inside, which is filled by adding an insert before gluing it in place. The very rear of the arrestor hook is slipped inside the fuselage with a clear light above it, and a clear light is inserted into the leading edge of the port wing and outlined by a PE strip. The engine is built up before adding the wings, and we get two banks of the Twin Wasp engine as separate parts, plus push rods and the bell housing that has the drive-shaft projecting from it. All it needs is some wiring for the spark plugs unless you’re going to get yourself some aftermarket for it. The cowling marks another choice for the modeller, with three choices of cowling lip, and a choice of two of the cylindrical sections depending on which decal option you select. One marking option has a panel line filled, a new line scribed and a pair of PE clasps added on both sides of the cowling. The final page finishes off the build with the canopy, starting with a tube sight pushed through the canopy for the first decal option. The other decal choices have a more usual early reflective gunsight inserted into the front of the cockpit before the glazing is started. The rest of the decal options have an alternative screen with no hole in it, and there are two canopy parts depending on whether you want to depict the canopy slid back over the spine or not. There are masks for all the included canopies included on the kabuki tape sheet, but only for the exterior. The model is then finished off with a number of clear lights at the wingtips; twin barrels in each wing leading edge; forward raked antenna on the spine with a clear light just behind it; pitot probe in the port wing leading edge; the single-part prop that has stencil decals supplied with an additional spinner; two bomb shackles for under the wing, and three PE aerials under the fuselage depending on which decal option you have chosen. There is another panel line on the lower cowling to fill for the first decal option here too, and again it’s easy to miss. Markings There are six decal options in the box, spread between one large sheet and another smaller one. The options are from the Wildcat’s earlier service, going back as far as the yellow-wing days before the US joined the war. From the box you can build one of the following: BuNo.1850, Lt. Charles Shields, VF-41, USS Ranger (CV-4), Dec 1940 VMF-111, Army-Navy Manoeuvres, Louisiana, United States, No 1941 Lt. Edward H O’Hara, VF-3, USS Lexington (CV-2), Hawaiian Islands, Apr 1942 BuNo.4019, Capt. Henry T Elrod, VMF-211, Wake Island, Dec 1941 BuNo.2531, Lt. Elbert S McCucskey, VF-42, USS Yorktown (CV-5), May 1942 BuNo.4006 (4008), Capt. John F Carey, VMF-221, Midway Island, Jun 1942 The decals are printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. It’s worth remembering that as of 2021, the carrier film from Eduard decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier-free, making the decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view. It builds up pretty nicely too, and you can see the rest of the pics on the RIF area here. Conclusion Blimey this looks like a nice kit. It’s incredibly well detailed out of the box, but if you have an even larger appetite for detail, there are tons of additional sets that Eduard have made available in time for the release of the kit. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Here are my new 1/72 models, an Italeri C-130 Hercules, an (old) Airfix Mirage III (both in Brazilian camouflage & insignia), and an (old) Revell F4F Wildcat in Royal Navy colours. The C-130 and Mirage are OOB, but the Wildcat (actually a Martlet) has been reworked with manually recessed panel lines, a new scratchbuilt cockpit, true belly windows, etc.. I preferred to represent "new planes" with minimal wear and tear. I'm not sure if I should have used the exact British (RN) colors for the Martlet, maybe I should have used the "equivalent" American colours. Hope you like it, and sorry about the (bad) quality of the pictures.

F4F-4 Wildcat (70047) 1:72 ARMA Hobby Expert Set Grumman began development work on a new fighter in the mid 1930. Originally the new aircraft was outpaced by the Brewster Buffalo and Grumman resigned their aircraft to carry a supercharged version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radial engine. Original orders from France were delivered to the British Royal Navy after France fell. The RN designated the aircraft the Marlet. The US Navy would then adopt the type in late 1941. Originally armed with 4 0.50 cal machine guns the F4F-4 was introduced in 1941 with 6 of these guns. The aircraft also featured a wing fold system to allow more aircraft to be on a carrier. Even though the armament was increased to 6 gun the ammuntion capacity was not, thus actually giving pilots less firing time which was disliked. The extra weight from the guns and wing fold also reduced performance. The Kit This is a new tool kit from ARMA Hobby which seems to have garnered good reviews. The kit arrives on a main plastic sprue, a clear sprue, a small sheet of PE, masks and decals. The moulds are crisp with what feels like the right level of detailing and recessed panel lines for this scale. Construction starts with the cockpit. The instrument panel is attached to the front bulkhead (instruments being provided as decals, behind a PE part). The rudder pedals then fit to the back of this bulkhead and it can be attached to the cockpit floor. The seat can then be attached to the read cockpit bulkhead. PE with decals seatbelts are provided. The rear bulkhead can then be attached to the cockpit floor. Side parts then join the front and rear bulkheads. The cockpit can then be added to the right fuselage. The front bulkhead for the landing gear area can now be added in front of the cockpit with PE details for the gear retraction mechanism going in. The internal parts of the gear mechanism can then go in. We then follow this up with assembling the engine and it's bearers as this goes onto the front side of the gear bulkhead. twin banks of cylinders have their parts added along with a PE wiring harness, the gearbox then fits to the front. At the rear the mounts and exhausts go on along with the oil tank and oil coolers. Once the bearers are on the fuselage can be closed up and the engine mounted to the front. The engine cowls can then be added. This is split in half with a front ring, with different ones being provided for one of the decal options. The propeller can then be fitted. Now the tailplanes and rudder can be fitted along with tail wheel. The wings can now be fitted, these are conventional left/right with uppers and lowers. If using the drop tanks you will need to open up the holes for these. Once the wings are one the complicated landing gear itself needs to be built up. Arma provide a frame to alight some of the parts or this. The ear can then be added to the fuselage and the wheels added. Some nav lights will need to be removed from the kit for this boxing and then wing lights and pitot tubes added. Bomb racks and the drop tanks go on if you are using them. Lastly the canopies and top aerial are fitted. Markings There are printed by Techmod so should pose no problems. 6 marking option are provided for the kit; VMF-121 Capt Foss (26 Aerial Vicotiries) Guadalcanal, Oct/Nov 1942 VF-6, USS Enterprise, April 1942. VGF-26, Ex Operation Torch Aircraft, Guadalcanal April 1943. VF-3, USS Yorktown, Ltd Cmr Thach Battle of Midway June 1942 VGF-29 USS Santee, crash landed by Esn Gallano during Operation Torch Nov 1942 Martlet II, 999 Sqn FAA, HMS Formidable, Algeria Dec 1942. There are also 4 additional bonus markings included; White 50, VMF-121 Capt Foss, Guadalcanal Nov 1941 Black 53, VMF-121 Capt Foss, Guadalcanal Nov 1941 White 1, VF-3, USS Yorktown, Ltd Cmr Thach Battle of Midway June 1942 29-GF-1 VGF-29 USS Santee, crash landed by Esn Gallano during Operation Torch Nov 1942 Conclusion It is great to see this important aircraft being kitted by a new manufacturer. The kit seems to have been very well received by modellers. Very Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Build out of box for Africa GB, lovely kit joy to build. Cheers Jes

This is the old Revell kit build from the box, just with the addition of spares folder decals as I bough her second hand. A simple kit with minimal interior detail, but I did like the surface detail and it looks quite nice built up. I went hard with the weathering as these aircraft tended to get pretty filthy. Not a modern "uberkit" but still a nice build.

Just completed:- Grumman Martlet MkIV FN112/Ø7*D 888 NAS HMS Formidable Operation Torch Nov.1942 Following up on my slowly growing Fleet Air Arm Aces Collection I needed a Martlet IV to represent that flown by Lieutenant DM Jeram during Operation Torch. Dennis Jeram made two claims in this aircraft:- 06.11.42 Bloch 175 Destroyed 09.11.42 Ju88 Shared Destroyed (Italian Markings with a German Crew). The model is the 1/48 Tamiya F4F-4. I converted the Twin Wasp engine to a Wright Cyclone, by removing all of the cylinders and replacing with 9 cylinders in a single bank. Added the ignition cables for the engine, replaced the propeller with a Hamilton standard cut down from a Corsair. Shortened the cord of the cowling and lengthened the fuselage (less complicated than it sounds). Opened up the flaps and built a structure inside. Pilot from an Airfix Hurricane (and I remembered to cut away the floor so the pilot can see through the lower fuselage windows). Paint is Xtracrylix, Decals are Printscale. The real thing for comparison.. I hope you like it and thanks for stopping by...

Martlet complete, this was a lovely little kit with plenty of detail, no real fit issues and brilliant decals, it was really good as a Mojo booster and something different from my usual subjects. Airfix 1/72 Grumman Martlet Mk IV Tamiya XF 77 (EDSG), XF 73 (DSG), Mr Color 26 (Sky) Uschi Fine rigging thread for aerials Weathering with oils.

...but no promises! Having just finished two B-17:s I thought it´d be tempting to try "a little" smaller model, so here we are, wish me luck! V-P

No 888 Naval Air Squadron HMS Formidable November 1942 Here's one I finished last year. It's the Airfix Grumman Martlet Mk IV in 1/72 scale. This is a great little kit which I would recommend to anyone interested in FAA subjects. Construction was fairly straightforward although the undercarriage is very fragile and easily broken. Other than that there were no major problems although I lost a painted and decalled wheel to the CM and was clearing a space on the shelf of shame when I found it quite by chance on the floor of the children's bedroom. It was built OOB except for the seat harness which was either Eduard etch from the spares box or made out of masking tape, I can't remember which! It was painted using Humbrol enamels for the Beige Green and EDSG thinned with white spirit while the Dark Slate Grey was Humbrol acrylic thinned with water. Paints were sprayed using a Harder & Steinbeck Evolution and went on very nicely. Here are a few photos for your enjoment. As usual, all comments are welcome.

Hi All, Just recently completed this kit and thought I'd share it with you guys. The kit was alright but was rather annoying in some places especially when joining the two fuselage halves which left a rather large gap which could have just been me, once the gaps had been filled the rest of the build went well and it was finished in my usual fashion with Vallejo Model Air paints. However for the first time I tried doing an oil wash instead of using Tamiya panel line accent colour which I think turned out alright. Constructive criticism is very much welcome! (I know the aerial wire is rather on the thick side but its some temporary stretched sprue until I can find a better alternative) And now a comparison to the same aircraft I painted up over a year ago

Hello All, Life and work (mainly the latter) has kept me busy recently, and I have bitten off a bit more than I want to chew with some recent projects, so a Mojo-restoration was in order. Enter the Airfix Martlet. A lovely kit to build. Not really any in-progress pictures, since it kind of falls together. Here it is in Winter daylight: And here on the bench next to its US Navy counterpart from a year or so ago (also the new Airfix kit): So now I can attend to the shelf of shame! (or maybe just one more quick one...) Regards, Adrian

From my reference material, this is my understanding ... France and Belgium ordered an export version of the F4F-3, designated by Grumman as G-36A, powered (because of an export embargo on the P&W engine?) by a Wright Cyclone with a single stage two speed supercharger. These were taken over by Britain when France (who had taken over Belgium's order) fell. It was to have six 7.5 millimetre Darne machine guns, with two in the nose cowling and two in each wings. The French had sought some refinements to the G-36 design: A reflector gunsight was fitted and some armour and fuel tank protection was installed. In British service, the aircraft were known as the “Martlet Mk I”. The few which had been built before France’s defeat, were retrofitted to RN standards, including switching out the French radio and throttle. The armament was also changed. The engine cowled guns were dropped and two .50cal (12.7mm) MG fitted in each wing, although the gun positions were uniquely different to that in the F4F3 and other two gun winged variants. The remainder would be completed to the RN's modified specification. Otherwise, these Martlets were similar to F4F-3Bs. However, I can't find an official reference to a F4F-3B variant. I know there's the F4F-3 and F4F-3A. Can someone enlighten me? Also, any idea why the F4F-4B “Martlet Mk IV” reverted to the Wright Cyclone engine? Was it an attempt to improve the performance of folding wing, six gun Wildcats, by using a lighter single row engine than the usual two row Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp? If so, I gather it wasn't entirely successful In trying to improve performance further, Eastern reverted to four guns in their FM1 development of the six gun F4F-4 and then took it further by also using the Wright Cyclone engine in the FM2. Thank you in advance

Airfix is to release in 2016 a 1/72nd Grumman Martlet IV kit - ref.A02074 Source: http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/news/workbench/exclusive-new-2016-announcement-airfix-at-ipms-telford/ V.P.

Grumman Martlet AL246, pics thanks to Merlin 101. AL246 was subject to restoration at the Fleet Air Arm museum. This involved removing the finish it was painted in the 1960's to reveal the original WWII paint. This has revealed the upper surfaces are two-tone green and the lower surface of the aircraft duck egg blue.

Southern Aircraft Company of shoreham, Marlet. This was a modified Avro Baby, only 5 production aircraft were built and this is the only survivor. Pics thanks to mark Mills.