Seamus Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Evening all, Whilst I've been waiting for various bits for my Battle of Brtain project to arrive, I've made a start on another model I;ve wanted to build for a while. One of the highlights of my year was seeing The Fighter Collections Hellcat return to the air for the first time in seven years or so. As someone who travels to many shows, I like to build where possible particular aircraft that I've seen and photographed, and this is one them. It really is a stunning machine DX_2014_100 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr DX_2014_036 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr This particular aircraft is a marking option in Eduard's F6F-3 kit, but I'm actually using their F6F-5 kit, which I happened to have in the stash, as it has all the necessary parts to backdate it. I've acquired a set of aftermarket decals for the markings, although there is a problem, as the code number (19) on the undercarriage doors are in white, not black- the paint guide would have you paint the undersides in FS36440 for some reason... I've had a look around t'interweb for some generic code decals, with no luck, so will have to think about a way around that.... Having built a Fleet Air Arm example a couple of years ago, I'm pretty familiar with this superb kit. I've finished off the interior with as much of the Photo Etch that I could manage- throttle levers and such like are just too small in this scale!- and am letting the matt varnish cure before sealing up the fuselage tomorrow. Apologies for the funny white balance in the photo, my camera doesn't seem to like the green, which isn't quite so yellow in the flesh. I'd fix it, but the pub is calling! In the interests of completeness, here's one I made earlier... Time for a pint or two! Cheers, Shaun 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azureglo Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Nice work, Shaun but don't wuss out on them levers and doojiggys, its more fun than Temple Bar on a Saturday night! Have a look at my WIP, I'm levering away like a little bollix (© Brendan O'Caroll) . BTW You'll surely be taking a little Jameson with yer pint no? Anil Late of Clontarf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Jamesons? Not for me, I wouldn't let such a spirit taint a perfectly acceptable bottle of ale. Wychwood's Hobgoblin is more than delicious as it is As for the Photo Etch, fair play indeed. I'd be more ambitious were it not for a lack of suitable equipment i.e. tweezers that are capable of holding such fine pieces. I fear a visit to eBay is long overdue. That said, I'm not convinced it's more exciting than my one (and only) visit to Temple Bar, which was thoroughly excellent, especially on a Sunday afternoon during a World Cup. That was indeed a fine environment in which to witness England knock out Ecuador (2006), even if the local population, fresh from watching a UCD gaelic football match, had no idea whatsoever what was going in the match, or the game they had just watched for that matter! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 A rather unproductive Saturday has stunted progression a little on this one, but I have the engine more or less complete now. The PE ignition wires are being stubborn and refusing to stick down, even with the help of CA accelerator, although when inside the cowling, all looks well. The main components have also been glued together awaiting clean up. I've made a start on filling the locating holes for the rockets as TFC's example has little use for them these days. More soon, Cheers, Shaun 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Moving swiftly on, the Hellcat is primed, polished and all but ready for paint. I've dry fitted the tailplane for the time being as leaving them off will aid masking, whilst the cowling is just tacked on with white glue for now. Preferably, I'd have left the wings off as well, but they were such a tight fit, forcing them in for a dry fit popped the fuselage open behind the cockpit, so I've had to glue them in place.Should make a start on the white undersides tomorrow all being well. I've had no luck so far hunting down some replacement black code numbers for the undersides, so if anyone has any from an Eduard kit they'd be willing to spare I'd be hugely grateful Cheers,Shaun 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metodi Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroubos Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Looking good! I love this kit, so easy to build and it turns out so well. I spent most of the time cleaning up the seams on the fuselage, careful to maintain the overlapping panel effect - looks so good on this kit. Didn't even need any glue on the wings or tailplanes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 Thanks both Update time and the Hellcat is now wearing her colours. I had a bit of a mare with the GSB, with my pot having perished a little since it was last opened and turning into a bit of a gloopy mess. Being reluctant to have to shell out on postage for another tin from Hannants having just placed an order, I risked using it, which after two blocked nozzle-filled sessions is acceptable. Matters weren't helped by a seam I noticed on top of the nose (probably from forcing the wings in earlier in the build) after the initial coat went down, forcing a quick scrape, fill and sand repair ahead of the second coat. So, a bit more drama than I'd have liked, but she's pretty much ready for decals now, excusing any other mishaps I might spot.It's fairly obvious the colours don't match The Fighter Collection's example, but I think that's a reflection of TFC's use of inaccurate colours as the Xtracolor looks pretty good to my eye. So, it won't be an exact replica of the TFC bird, more a representation I guess...Decals should follow in a day or two all being wellThanks for looking,Shaun 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenCJ Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 She looks really nice Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks chap Finally got around to applying the decals this afternoon. The bulk of the markings come from a Print Scale sheet, and were disappointing. They've settled down with no issues, but the colour density isn't the best, with the whites especially being almost translucent. It's not so bad as to be noticeable from a few feet, but does rather mar the finish up close. I also had to slice and dice the kill markings from the Eduard sheet as the aftermarket ones were pretty much just blobs of red and white. All very disappointing having forked out on the aftermarket, definitely would expect better...That's all been given a final coat of Klear which I'll let cure overnight before weathering tomorrow. Looking back through my shots, the aircraft is flawless except for the heavy streaking and staining from the engine, so I'll probably keep it to just that, although there is a temptation to add a light wash to the underside panel lines and undercarriage, just to give them some definition.Thanks for looking, comments welcomedShaun 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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