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Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat - 1/48 Tamiya and 1/72 Airfix #FINISHED#


nimrod54

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This is the second (and third) of my builds and because they are the same aircraft type, I thought that I would combine them into a single build thread. Here are the box content shots for both kits.

 

First the !/48 Tamiya boxing.

 

40815988982_672008a5cd_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

40815987372_e054db1acb_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

39963345405_924d4104a2_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

And now for the 1/72 Airfix boxing

 

40815991342_4b0c2b1cdc_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

40815990172_93ff205079_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

If nothing else, then at least this will be an interesting comparison.

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wow John, you will be busy!

 

A big one and a little one, nice! I've never built one of these but can see myself one day.

 

Good luck with both of them, I do hope you can get them both in the gallery.

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Great idea, and it is a neat little plane.

As an added bonus, that way you can check that your specs are of the right strength!

Have fun!

 

JR

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7 minutes ago, jean said:

Great idea, and it is a neat little plane.

As an added bonus, that way you can check that your specs are of the right strength!

Have fun!

 

JR

It should certainly be fun Jean. I did think about folding the wings on the Airfix kit, but it would be a shame to spoil the look of this lovely little aircraft, so I am no sure about that now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

With most of my GB involvement coming along in the first quarterof the year, this is proving to be quite a busy time for modelling at the moment. I think that with some careful planning, and providing there are no hold ups, I should manage to finish the models which I have on the go at present, on time.

 

The past couple of days have seen these two builds receiving some attention. The cockpits have been partially assembled and painted with Colourcoats USN/USAAF Interior Green and USN Light Grey forward of the firewall and in the underfloor area. My choice of grey may be a bit off for the experts, I'm not sure if it should be a bit lighter, but it is close enough for me and I can now get on with detailing the cockpits and closing the fuselages.

 

1/72 Airfix

 

39323185830_94641d3a07_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

1/48 Tamiya

 

39323182000_8f806cd3f6_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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Today has been a bits o' day, I have been doing bits o' this and bits o' that. :winkgrin: I did manage some work on the two 'cross-kitties' though and the Tamiya cockpit is almost there now, with the Airfix one not too far behind. 

 

Airfix

I have painted the details on the forward bulkhead and this has had a wash with some Citadel Nuln Oil. The decals have been added to the cockpit and I have dry assembled the parts for the photo. I still have to fit a set of Eduard belts to the seat.

 

39472168610_661bd6f705_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

39472167880_dc40656fed_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

Tamiya

As with the Airfix kit, the forward bulkhead details have been painted and washed over. I have fitted a set of Eduard belts to the seat and the cockpit has been detail painted and assembled, some dry brushing should wrap this up and then I can make a start on assembly of the bulkhead undercarriage parts.

 

39472167310_278c8919a5_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

39472166620_287b4baecc_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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In view f the Tamiya kit, the wee Airfix sibling has nothing to be ashamed of. It is actually quite impressively detailed. This is a kit that is definitely on my wish list, for my Operation Torch theme.

Great job John!

 

Have fun!!!

JR

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I agree Jean, the Airfix kit has plenty of detail for this scale. I purchased some Eduard belts for the seat (something which the Tamiya kit lacks too) but these could easily be made from tape. It would be well worth the investment for your Operation Torch project.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have done a bit of work on the Airfix over the past couple of days. Yesterday saw the completion of the cockpit after fitting a set of Eduard seatbelts and fixing the instrument panel in place, and today I assembled the undercarriage legs and closed up the fuselage. I'll bring the Tamiya kit up to the same stage before continuing with this one.

 

41807966242_2b526fb02f_c.jpg%5B

by John L, on Flickr

 

41807965712_bb799a27e3_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

41807964842_7bb6abba3f_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

40951884015_62c015d3c2_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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  • 2 weeks later...

As with the Hornet build, this has been held up whilst I wrapped up a couple of other models, but a small amount of progress has been made.

 

The Airfix Wildcat has had the wings added.

 

41341433144_ba46b96e05_b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

42061685251_cde767e675_b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

Whilst on the Tamiya Wildcat the wings have been assembled and dry fitted. The next job on this one is to paint/assemble the undercarriage legs then the wings can be permanently fixed, before some engine assembly on both models.

 

42061684751_9c9870d753_b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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12 hours ago, trickyrich said:

great little production line we have going on here, they are starting to look the part now.

Thanks Rich, I hope to try and get things moving along on these now.

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Just a small update to show this weeks progress on the Wildcats. With most of the effort going into bringing the Tamiya kit up to the same build point as the Airfix build, the wings have been permanently fixed in place and the undercarriage painted and assembled. This can be left off until after painting which will make masking up much easier. The next job is a check and tidy up of the seams and then I can start to get some paint on them.

 

40443063730_9aa40904b6_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have been making slow progress with these and the Airfix kit has received a coat of primer today, I'll try and add some colour over the weekend.

 

42630021182_ea6b1702bc_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

The Tamiya kit needs the seams rubbing down and some of the rivet detail knocking back before I can start painting.

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Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..... no, no, I mustn't get distracted,  I sprayed the underside of the Airfix kit using some Colourcoats USN Light Grey, and today after masking the underside with white tack worms and tape, the upper surfaces and sides had the same company's USN Blue Grey applied.

 

28840351878_c5b0bfb235_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

28840352848_fcfb3b15da_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

I have also made a start the Tamiya kit seams and, after reading some online comments about the raised rivet details causing issues at the decaling stage, I have knocked those details back a little.

 

28840755578_e459b168c6_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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1 hour ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

Looking good dude. Envious of your bench time.

Thanks mate. I've got to get some serious bench time in while I can, with Caron going down to three days in school from September, I will be spending two days of doing what I am told (not counting weekends of course). :whip:

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Your Wildcats are looking good and will be a great addition to you collection.

 

Its a pity that Tamiya don't do a four gun, Wright powered Martlet in 1/48.  I think you have to go in the direction of Hobbyboss FM-1 to do the equivalent of a Torch Martlet MkIV (unless someone knows different).  At some point I have to do a purchase for my collection of FAA Aces to add  Lt Cmdr DM Jerams 888 NASMartlet IV FN112/Ø7*D.

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