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Hi all here I present to you my first full build of 2023 It’s finished as F4F-3 (1850) 41-F-4 flown by Lt. Charles Shileds of VF-41 USS Ranger in December 1940 At the beginning of January I was undecided on what to build next so I asked my wife to pick a kit from me stash and to choose the markings! And my wife picked the Eduard F4F-3 Wildcat and chose the early pre-war markings i started this by the end of the first week of January. The only issues I had with the kit was the rather fiddly undercarriage I don’t know if it was something i did or something to do with the kit parts but I had a major misalignment problem later on in the build one wingtip was a good 4mm higher than the other and that’s when I noticed the misalignment of the undercarriage although everything was glued to where it should be so I had to shorten one of the undercarriage legs to get it to sit horizontally! Question I don’t know whether to give it a wash to accentuate the panel lines and rivets if so can any recommend what to use ? Paints used were mainly from the MR Hobby Aqueous and Mr.Metalcolor ranges and some tamiya acrylics the decals are of the new type from Eduard and I bit the bullet in peeling the carrier film off and I must say It went better than expected with the decals only lifting in a couple of areas. I throughly enjoyed this build from start to finish despite the aforementioned issues hope you like it and thanks for looking happy modelling

Good day modelling mates! Not 100% sure and would love some input. Did the late F4F-3 have shoulder harness or only lap seat belts? I'm building the Trumpeter 1/32 F4F-3 Late version. I'll work on getting a thread going with pics for I am always searching this site, but should also contribute so that I can get some good feedback/criticism as I get back into this hobby. Thanks all!! KJ

Hello all, I’ve built this Wildcat and base as this year saw the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea), and a tribute to the USS Lexington (CV-2) and her crew. Apologies if the post is a bit text– and photo-heavy… there are a few images of modifications/progress at the end of the post. Although there has been subsequent debate on how much the fate of Australia depended upon the outcome of this battle, it stopped the Japanese from trying to take Port Moresby, New Guinea, by sea (they then attempted to take it from an overland route). It is also considered a strategic defeat for Imperial Japan that affected the outcome of the Battle of Midway one month later. During the battle, the USS Lexington (CV-2), A.K.A. Lady Lex, was lost along with 216 of her crewmen. In May this year, my family attended a commemoration on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea held in Brisbane. We were very lucky to meet, Cecil Wiswell, 92 years of age (and his son), who had served on the ill-fated Lexington. They had travelled to Australia for commemorations held in a number of cities for the battle. For those interested, here is a snippet featuring Mr Wiswell at the Townsville commemoration: http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/honour-for-our-heroes/news-story/fcfc6657b1aeb3725e627227bd77b957 Anyway, I wanted to do a model that in a small way commemorated the battle, particularly those who perished aboard the Lexington. The model represents the aircraft of John Thach (as this was the only option for a Lexington-embarked plane). He did not take part in the Battle of the Coral Sea, but this plane is reported to have been lost with the Lexington in the battle: The decals were from a Wildcat/Martlet aces set from Printscale, with the exception of the wing insignia (pilfered from the Airfix kit as they were a better size. They also behaved much better). Paints: Vallejo Modelair, followed by gloss coat and oil washes. Modifications: Riveting added; Intercooler air intakes inside the cowl were scratch-built from PE; Wiring added to the engine; Scratch-built gunsight and painted decal strips for the canopy framing; Hollowed-out sprue for exhausts to replace the kit’s (left), and drilled out holes in the fuselage for them: The kit tailwheel was pretty ordinary, so I modified one from another kit, and drilled out a hole for it. The navigation and formation lights were coloured, transparent plastic that was glued into place and sanded to shape: The carrier deck was painted with a mix of royal blue and some RLM?? grey to represent USN deck blue 20-B, and Vallejo primer for the light blue-grey flight deck markings. This was the scheme the Lexington received in Hawaii in April 1942, the month before the Battle of the Coral Sea. USN WWII tiedowns were PE from Tom’s Modelworks. Cockpit and landing gear bay details: FWIW, I had tried pre-shading for the first time, but I don’t think it made any difference: And in its new home: There, a third model finished for 2017. Happy New Year to all BMers! Comments and criticism welcome, and thanks for looking. Regards, David

Hello All, I am wanting to buy a few of the Airfix 172 F4F-4 Wildcats, as I see them pretty cheap at the moment. I would like to backdate/convert one to a -3 variant in British markings. I read that some had folding wings, some didn't. All had the two-flap cowl and 4 guns? On converting one to a Gloss Sea Blue late variant, say a FM-2, too much surgery and best to buy a whole different kit? Thanks for any advice/light you can shed. Jeffer

Starting this kit is an attempt at regaining my interest in modeling. Lost interest due to the mad cow attack and my father having a heart attack. His time is up, he is 82 smoked for 70 years, but has excellent lungs. According to Admiral's instructions you can build an F4F-3, F4F-3A, F4F-3P and a Martlett Mk III and I think if you don't cut the fuselage you can build a Martlett Mk I. This is the first step - cut the fuselage. I am not so sure of the second cut though. I am wondering if these instructions a for their FM2. Thanks for looking. Stephen