Aesthete Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Grumman F4F-4 WildcatBuNo 5093, Lt. Cdr. John S. Thatch,Officer Commanding VF-3, USS Yorktown,Midway, 1942-06-04Kit: 1/72 Hasegawa F4F-4 Wildcat Afermarket parts: True Details #72455 resin cockpit and wheel well detail set Squadron #9105 vacu canopy Decals: Aeromaster #72-093C F4F-4 Wildcat Aces Pt.1 The following improvements made to this kit were: Inner surfaces of wing halves and rear fuselage halves (rudder) were thinned down to obtain sharp trailing edges. Some panel lines were filled and some added according to reference photos. In addition, the overlapping panels (for example, on the rudder) were represented using thin metal foil. The cockpit was replaced by the True Details resin parts. The canopy was replaced by the Squadron vacu formed item. Since the Squadron canopy is designed to fit the Academy kit, some adjustment work was required for mounting it on the model. The canopy replacement forced widening the fairing above the control panel in the cockpit, which have originally had rather wide margins for placing the thicker kit canopy. This fairing was also thinned down for correct scale representation. The most serious flaw with this kit is just an empty space where the landing gear bay should be. This problem is partially solved by inserting the True Details tub, however some extra work was still required. For instance, the recesses to accommodate the main wheel are just repeated in full size on the resin tub and, since it is designed to fit the kit fuselage having rather thick plastic, these recesses turned out to be much deeper than they should be. Some filling and re-scribing was required to fix this problem. Some additional detail was also added to the rear bulkhead and to the engine compartment interior partially visible in front of the wheel bay. In addition, the fuselage walls around the front of the wheel bay were partially thinned down for the correct skin representation. The air intakes in the forward engine cowling ring were deepened and thinned down to scale. Some detail was added to the rather basic kit parts for the reasonable representation of the Wildcat’s complicated landing gear. The aileron, elevator and rudder hinges molded as solid pieces were improved by cutting out their inner areas. The missing central elements were also added to the fairings covering the hinges of the landing flaps. Too shallow kit exhaust stacks were replaced by scratch built parts and the fuselage panel around them was also somewhat refined by making extra steps, holes etc. A new rounded propeller hub and the visible part of the arrester hook were made from scratch. A larger pneumatic tail wheel provided with the kit was replaced by the solid smaller one which is correct for this particular a/c. The replacement wheel was the part left unused after building the F2A-2 kit as a Dutch Brewster Model 339C. Some further minor improvements made on the model can clearly be seen on the photos. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Stunning build and finish especially given the scale.high quality workmanship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 very nice work , looks great nice job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 What a stunning build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 You've done the USN proud with this build! Outstandingly gorgeous!!! JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Blimey that's good!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Lovely work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuro Nezumi Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Beautifully built and great detail! Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Very nice indeed. .... cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Awesome job ! Looks bigger than 1/72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempestwulf Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Simply stunning. I have a tsudo F4F-3A needing painting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occa Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 What an immaculate build !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aesthete Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Many thanks to everyone for feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 OMG! WHAT AN INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS Wildcat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich G Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Immaculate build, very nice choice of markings, can't find fault with anything you've done there, it looks perfect! Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 That is truly superb in every way! Providing those very well taken pics is also a bonus. I also have this kit with those True details extras and a wing fold set which has been at the back of my mind for a very long time. Very sweet little build. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Excellent craftsmanship, just superb. And in the one true scale - even more impressive. So did you ever get the urge to take up weaving while building Thatch's plane? Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aesthete Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Excellent craftsmanship, just superb. And in the one true scale - even more impressive. So did you ever get the urge to take up weaving while building Thatch's plane? Cheers, Bill ... even more while airbrushing... Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I should know the answer to this question, what with my nickname and all, but why did Thatch have US insignia on port and starboard wings, top and bottom? The normal placement, of course, being port top and starboard bottom. All the builds I've seen of his Midway plane are depicted this way. And I think this is the best one I've seen, by the way! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aesthete Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) The insignia on port and starboard wings, top and bottom, was the standard placement between January 1942 and February 1943. Port top and starboard bottom is correct for his F4F-3 as depicted in early 1942. Some builds of the Thatch's Midway plane represent it heavily weathered, however, because of its really short service life, it didn't actually have an opportunity to achieve a condition for looking this way... Edited August 2, 2014 by Aesthete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pascal JMW Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 hello lovely work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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