rmcclure Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Hi All, Here's my rendition of Accurate Miniatures' superb 1/48 Grumman F3F-1. There are reviews all over the Internet saying what a gem this kit is and I won't be claiming any different. There are a few niggles (that undercarriage!!) but this was a bit like building an Eduard kit - the quality of fit and build is entirely proportional to the time spent dry fitting and familiarising oneself with instructions and research material. Tamigawa, it isn't. The PE rigging that comes with the kit looks great once it's in but it will bend easily in the installation process and it's hard to get it straight again so thorough prep is the order of the day here too. There's very little in the way of weathering here as these aeroplanes were kept spotless by their crews and, as far as I'm aware, never saw action although they built themselves a very fine reputation for being a pilot's fighter plane. I really enjoyed painting this colour scheme and am pretty pleased with the way it's come out. Having said that, I used Citadel's new (-ish) silver - Runefang Steel, IIRC - and I don't know if new name equals new formula but I much preferred it when it was Mithril Silver. My next Yellow Wing bird that needs silver lacquer will get Tamiya Chrome Silver, instead. I used that on the canopy frame to get a little variety and far preferred the finish. Other than that, it was Tamiya acrylics everywhere except for Mr Hobby H329, a fine version of FS13538 for the top wings. I had a decal disaster when using some Tamiya tape to gently clamp the wings together when gluing the struts - even after 4 coats of Klear the National Insignia on the tops wings came off with the tape. Mal at Miracle Masks came to the rescue and after a Mayday email, I had masks to paint the insignia three days later. How about that for service?! Apart from the top wings then, the decals are from the kit everywhere else and they performed very nicely indeed. Enough chat and on with the pictures. I hope you enjoy looking and comments are always welcome. Cheers all, Roger 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunnylurve Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 OMG That's beautiful! Nuffink else to say! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Looks incredible. Fantastic job. Tom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 very nice work ,looks great 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Beautiful model of that tubby little yellow wing charmer! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmcclure Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Thanks to everyone for the very kind comments. It really was a fun kit to build and one that makes you want to put your best efforts into it. I'd love to see this brand resurrected. Cheers, Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveinns Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I like it ! Lots of character for a portly 'plane. I like the interwar markings too. Thanks for posting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 That is nice ! Great job all round 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 That is such a beautiful looking build. The F3 is such a definitive fighter of the 1930s and yours captures that perfectly. Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicE1 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 That's very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Cracking job on a very charismatic aircraft,well photographed too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Great job Roger, looks fantastic! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 That is very nice! Lovely work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOAN Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Great build so far ! I love the way you've done the silver dope : more grey and less silver. Very inspiring work. olivier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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