1/72 Airfix Grumman Wildcat and Nakajima Kate 'Dogfight Double'

[Stew Dapple]

The Wildcat coming on nicely Stew,

Definitely going to get the Dog-fight Double with the Kate (When SWMBO) allows me. LOL.

Simon.

Thanks Simon, I'm enjoying it so far... the box is a bit big to sneak in the house unnoticed though, so probably best to get permission beforehand...

Fabulous job Stew, the colourcoats paints look to be a great match. Disappointed to learn that bananas were not available for masking, so just for you, and to retain my reputation with my son, who when he was growing up was amazed at my ability to be able to recall a song for almost any situation, I give you this, enjoy.

https://youtu.be/VUoMKuHwSjQ

Thank you John - do you know I've never heard the full version of that song, I do remember my grandfather was quite fond of the tune, he used to occasionally start singing the chorus without any warning

The Wildcat is coming along very nicely and its time you gave a masterclass on 1/72 crewmen. They look awesome, (even Kryton )

Thanks Julian, I was pleased with how they came out - I would be happy if Airfix used these figures for all of their new kits as the detail is well done and it really does show up well, but I was intrigued to see that the new Fokker and BE2 kits will feature 'digitally sculpted' crew members - I'm not entirely sure what that means but I hope that at some point we might see dedicated crew figures for each new kit, well-designed and wearing the appropriate gear... probably a pipe dream as most modellers don't use the crew figures any more, but with decent figures perhaps more modellers might...

I think the Wildcat is just about glossy enough for transfers now:

... though I don't know when that will happen, as after work tomorrow I am off for a long weekend in rural Aberdeenshire to see the folks and meet their new pup Millie.

I did start the Kate, most of the cockpit interior builds onto the upper-wing centre section and there is a lot of detail there:

I did take the liberty of flipping the TAG's seat to face the rear, as it will be displayed on the stand as if in a dogfight so I can't imagine he would be calmly facing forward as if there wasn't a Wildcat bearing down on him... I'm guessing the chair was on some sort of swivel so have fixed it that way, if anyone knows better please let me know - obviously it won't help me but perhaps some future builders...

Incidentally most of the detail painting is a mixture of the instructions call-outs, guesswork, other modellers' work on the internet and my own speculative fancy, there isn't much in the way of reference that I could find.

Cheers,

Stew

[stevej60]

Excellent progress Stew.

[sean]

Tidy looking office Stew,

Sean

[Blogs On]

As always, with your builds Stew I am taken with your neat and tidy painting.

Regards

Darren

[Stew Dapple]

Excellent progress Stew.

Thanks Steve, it hasn't really been that much work but you do progress quickly when everything fits nicely together

Tidy looking office Stew,

Sean

Thanks Sean. I'd be interested to know what the thing that looks like a milk crate is, if anyone knows?

As always, with your builds Stew I am taken with your neat and tidy painting.

Regards

Darren

Thanks very much indeed Darren

I fitted the joystick and rudder pedals and installed the crew - a couple of points if you are intending to use them:

• Airfix advise adding them toward the end of the build, I'd advise adding them as soon as possible as it's a tight fit in there
• They also advise cutting the TAG's legs off at the knee - this might be necessary if he is facing forward, or they may have meant the navigator, who has to get his big feet into a very small area. I wiggled him about until I found a way that fitted but it would have been easier to 'take his boots off, surgically'.

The cockpit as a whole is very nice and fits together very well, the instrument panel transfers are... pretty good, but if you are building it without crew and with all the windows open it could be worth investing in either the Eduard etched set or the Yahu etched panel which will surely follow this kit if they haven't been released already. I didn't use the transfer for the radio as it didn't seem to match the moulded detail or to conform to the raised surfaces, so I just painted the buttons on.

Cheers,

Stew

[MikeR]

Coming along nicely, Stew!

I've actually made a start on my own B5N kit and I think you've handled the interior in the best way, getting it all painted before glueing the wing halves together. I stuck them together before painting the interior which means I've had to very careful not to get paint on the inner face of the bomb aimers transparencies.

I was going to make mine the Shokaku aircraft, but I think I'll probably change over to the second option as I've found that the kit doesn't give the correct bombload for that aircraft.

Mike.

Edited November 20, 2015 by MikeR

[Stew Dapple]

Thanks Mike, that same thought regarding the clear parts that fit into the lower wing did occur to me as 'potentially problematical' - I did clip the upper and lower wings together with pegs when I sprayed the cockpit floor though, as I believe the part ahead of the pilot on the lower wing (between the rudder pedals sort of area) will be visible afterwards, albeit perhaps only to the terminally nosey individual who happens to be in possession of a fibre-optic endoscope

I'm guessing you are referring to the 'regular' kit, I'm disappointed to hear about the bombs as:

1. There are so many bombs in there
2. I wanted to build the Shokaku version as well...

Is there a workaround/alternative bombload or could I get away with using the correct rack but leaving it empty perhaps?

Sometimes ignorance is bliss; other times, less so

Cheers,

Stew

[Gremlin56]

Looking great Stew, the Wildcat is coming along in leaps and bounds and the Kate cockpit looks the works, certainly with the crew added.

[Winenut]

Hi Stew,

I've been away for AGES.

But I'm back and in awe of your pilots.

How on earth you get them so clean and realistic looking I'll never know.

I leave them out now most of the time but I'm inspired to have a crack again!!

Builds look damn good by the way

Cheers!

[rob85]

Stew the CP on that Kate looks so good! Really sharp and detailed, nice work!

Looking forward to how this one turns out, I have been thinking about doing some Japanese builds

Rob

[Stew Dapple]

Looking great Stew, the Wildcat is coming along in leaps and bounds and the Kate cockpit looks the works, certainly with the crew added.

Thanks Julian, I'm happy with the progress of the Wildcat and impressed with the detail provided for that and the Kate's cockpits - I'll breathe a little easier once I have established that I can actually close up the fuselage around it though

Hi Stew,

I've been away for AGES.

But I'm back and in awe of your pilots.

How on earth you get them so clean and realistic looking I'll never know.

I leave them out now most of the time but I'm inspired to have a crack again!!

Builds look damn good by the way

Cheers!

Bruce, nice to see you back, I was wondering just the other day where you had got to! Hope all is well with you? The crew figures are very nicely sculpted and that really does make all the difference, that stuff about silk purses and pigs' ears is true...

Stew the CP on that Kate looks so good! Really sharp and detailed, nice work!

Looking forward to how this one turns out, I have been thinking about doing some Japanese builds

Rob

Thanks Rob, it does make up into a busy looking cockpit, though I think the crew will hide most of it anyway... but at least there is photographic proof of the detail anyway - I will be making a couple more Japanese subjects at least, and if Airfix bring out some more and some more USN aircraft I will probably be forced to buy and build them...

I'm still in Aberdeen - now with added snow - until Monday, so progress will be... well I was going to say 'limited' but in fact 'non-existent' is the word I was looking for. I had a very pleasant couple of hours with Jamie (who was kind enough to deliver my latest paint order to my parents' house, something I am sure he does not do for everybody) and Gill of Sovereign Hobbies a.k.a. Colourcoats paints - thank you both, that was most enjoyable and amusing

Cheers,

Stew

[sean]

The figures look very good in place, although going by their posture, they seem to be waiting for the

fuselage to be closed up as well,

Any chance of Jamie and Gill starting house calls to N. Ireland?, I'd like to get some of those paints,

Sean

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

It was good to see you again Stew, and it was nice to meet your parents. Thanks for the tea!

I get fairly regular enquires from islands, mostly Ireland and Malta! I wish there was a courier out there who was less obsessed with speed and could just send stuff by surface transport. It would make postage outwith the UK so much easier.

If you read the prohibitions on just about any of the couriers' sites (or speak to their customer services agents) you'll find they don't really want to transport much besides blank paper. Liquids, valuable metals, personal possessions, anything with a face value (e.g. concert tickets) etc etc etc are all banned. They should all have a transport manager anyway so all they're missing is a 26 second training course for their drivers on how not to kick packages marked "fragile" or with LQ stickers and how to pull the safety pin out of a fire extinguisher.

But Stew already absorbed a long rant from me on the subject of postage so I wont make him read it all again!

[Stew Dapple]

The figures look very good in place, although going by their posture, they seem to be waiting for the

fuselage to be closed up as well,

Any chance of Jamie and Gill starting house calls to N. Ireland?, I'd like to get some of those paints,

Sean

Thanks Sean - to get free deliveries all you have to do is to have your parents move to Aberdeenshire, anywhere closer to Turriff than the local post office

It was good to see you again Stew, and it was nice to meet your parents. Thanks for the tea!

Thanks Jamie, I think you missed my Dad, no idea where he had wandered off to, he's always up to something about the place. It was good to see you again too, was saying to my parents afterwards that it was nice to be able to discuss different shades of aircraft paint without seeing the other person's eyes glaze over after a few seconds...

Completely gratuitous paint shot:

Oh yeah baby

Normal service resumes shortly I hope...

Cheers,

Stew

[rob85]

That blue looks stunning!!

Rob

[CedB]

"... it was nice to be able to discuss different shades of aircraft paint without seeing the other person's eyes glaze over..." and I guess it's also nice to have a group of fellow modellers to share with who you know will see your post of "Oh yeah baby " and react with pleasure for you and just a little envy

[Stew Dapple]

That blue looks stunning!!

Rob

Not half Rob, I think it is one of the pre-war Dutch Air Force blues, I need to have a thorough sort-out and re-grouping of my paints as I think I may have lost control of the paint-stash at this point

"... it was nice to be able to discuss different shades of aircraft paint without seeing the other person's eyes glaze over..." and I guess it's also nice to have a group of fellow modellers to share with who you know will see your post of "Oh yeah baby " and react with pleasure for you and just a little envy

Absolutely Ced, the forum is a godsend to those of us who don't have, or are unable to attend, a model club nearby... but it doesn't quite have the back-and-forth spontaneity of 'live' conversation. One can't replace the other, but it is nice to have both

Mindful of my experience of poking the Wildcat's observation window in, I fitted and masked the Kate's windows before glueing the wing- and fuselage-halves together:

The windows are rather thick and distorting but I don't think much would be visible through them in any case. You might be tempted to replace the wing-windows with Micro Kristal Klear or Contacta Clear and I think that would work, but the fuselage windows have a subtle curve that I don't think a pva-type clear adhesive would be able to replicate, so they would end up looking a bit flat, I think... or maybe they are small enough to get away with it, in any case I thought it best to stick with the kit parts.

I then glued the upper and lower wing-halves, and the fuselage halves, then 'clicked' them together to hold in position while they set:

Once I am happy that they are cured I will attach them to each other. After that, according to the instructions, the stabilisers and rudder...

Cheers,

Stew

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Something I always thought curious about the Japanese designs was that the designers rarely used the full span of the trailing edge of the wing for control surfaces. Everyone else made used the whole lot up with flap and aileron. The Japanese tended towards smaller but more complicated flaps.

[Stew Dapple]

Something I always thought curious about the Japanese designs was that the designers rarely used the full span of the trailing edge of the wing for control surfaces. Everyone else made used the whole lot up with flap and aileron. The Japanese tended towards smaller but more complicated flaps.

I hadn't noticed that, but it's an interesting point - you would think with carrier-borne aircraft the designer's attitude to flaps would translate to approximately 'the more the merrier'. Presumably this didn't happen by accident, I wonder if the flaps were simply more efficient (albeit more complicated) or if it was just that the flaps provided were adequate for their purpose and didn't need to be any bigger?

I got the canopy masked - Airfix provide a choice of parts for a fully-closed-up, closed-up-with-open-gunner's-canopy or fully-opened-up arrangement - I went with the second; I was tempted to do fully-opened but despite the box-art for the Dogfight Double set and the standard-kit boxing showing this I thought on reflection that you'd probably want your canopy closed up when in action.

The Peewit mask set has pre-cut shapes for all the canopy options and at £2.99 is likely to be substantially cheaper than the Eduard set when that becomes available. I haven't masked a kit myself since the Defiants I built earlier in the year, I'm quite happy to pay £3 for someone else to do that for me... if only I could get them to come round and stick the little bits of tape on as well it would be perfect

Cheers,

Stew

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good afternoon Stew

Patrice

[Noah Greggs]

Very nice Stew! You sure do build quick!!!!!

[Cookenbacher]

They're looking good Stew, and no matter how many times I see it, your crew painting abilities always amaze.

[James G]

Lovely work Stew

[Stew Dapple]

Good afternoon Stew

Patrice

Merci Patrice

Very nice Stew! You sure do build quick!!!!!

Thanks Noah, it keeps me out of trouble, you know

They're looking good Stew, and no matter how many times I see it, your crew painting abilities always amaze.

Thanks very much Cookie

Lovely work Stew

Thank you James

I got some very good advice from Nick Millman regarding various aspects of the paintwork for the Kate - Nick please accept my apologies if I have misinterpreted/misunderstood/ignored-and-went-merrily-on-my-way with any of it. I used the Colourcoats Nakajima Amber-Grey ACJ17 for the decking under the canopy and will use it for the undersides too; if like me you are familiar with the idea of 'IJN Grey' as being a sort of light grey with perhaps a faint hint of blue...

... apprently not. It's not that far from RLM02 but with a more brownish tint. It should be noted that the AK Interactive version of Ame-Iro, which should be pretty much the same colour, is less brown and more grey - which is consistent with the weathering of this paint over time. There is a lot more to it than alluded to here, Nick does cover both the colour and the effects of time and the environment upon it in his guide to painting the Zero.

For the interior canopy framing colour I went with the AK Nakajima Interior Green sprayed on the outside (of course) so that it will show through on the inside as the 'correct' colour, as far as it can be seen anyway and given that it is very difficult to say what the interior colour of the framing was anyway

With that done, I attached the fuselage to the wings and added the rudder:

... added the tailplanes, flaps (I used the raised ones, but separate dropped flaps are included) and ailerons:

I painted the coaming forward of the pilot in the same blue-black as used on the cowling and attached the canopy with Gator's Grip. The canopy fits incredibly well, but make sure you know where it fits before you commit to glue - it sounds obvious I know but there is some 'wiggle-room' there.

Incidentally I have mentioned before that the kit instructions indicate you can add the crew toward the end before fitting the canopy - again I advise you to fit them before adding the fuselage to the upper wings as I am now certain that adding the crew after this would take at least five years off your life.

It's looking like an aeroplane now rather than a collection of components. The instructions indicate that construction of the engine is next *rubs hands together briskly*

Cheers,

Stew

[Spookytooth]

Looking good Stew.

Will point out the crew problem to SWMBO when she builds hers. (Still have not got mine yet)

Simon.