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Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat - USS Lexington [DONE]


Pierpaolo

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Hi!

I'm join in with a special subject , the wildcat recently discovered 3000 meters under the Coral Sea next the USS Lexington wreck

link to the image

 

I will use an Airfix kit in 1/72nd scale with addition of a set of F4F-3 wings from Quickboost and the zoom p.e. set from Eduard

Decal from kit and a sheet included in a Kagero book

 

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welcome aboard and a interesting choice for a build as well.

 

Wow it's still in good condition after all these years, it's a great subject to build.

 

Good luck with the build, will be very interesting to follow and look forward to seeing her in the gallery.

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Hi

Some little progress on my little Wildcat

The quickboost F4F-3 wings conversion set is engineered for the Hasegawa kit , so some work on the wing roots is required

 

Before

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After

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I have also mounted the intricate main gear

26289902267_76e0d9ed0f_b.jpg

 

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gee the gear setup is a bit complicated. Hopefully that new wing joint will be strong enough, CA cement should be enough but you made need to add a couple of pins for support.

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Hi Pierpaolo,

 

this is an interesting conversion, and possibly not as easy as it may seem. 

I will fully support the use of metal pins to strengthen the wing to fuselage joint. Not simple to do well, but I know you will be up to it!

 

You must be freezing in your beautiful city! Perfect for modelling!

Cheers

JR

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There is 15° C temp. and 70% of humidity , perfect for a walk too B)

 

Cockpit almost done , I have to remember to fix the wings before closing the fuselage

Bronze green is a mix of Tamiya paints

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/26/2018 at 3:23 AM, Pierpaolo said:

Hi!

I'm join in with a special subject , the wildcat recently discovered 3000 meters under the Coral Sea next the USS Lexington wreck

 

 

Hi Pierpaolo,

 

Fantastic choice to model. In addition to the wings, are you going to do the F4F-3 cowling and cowl flaps?

 

Late last year, I did an F4F-3 of the USS Lexington for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, but found the Airfix F4F-4 kit too hard to convert (and ended up buying an Admiral F4F-3).

 

I'll have to check out the Kagero decal sheet – what set is it? I used a not-so-good one from Printscale for mine.

 

Following with interest!

 

Regards,

David

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Hi

thanks for reminding me of the different cowlings, it was something I had not thought about, I will have to work on it..

Maybe i can use a cowling from an Airfix Martlet IV ? I have to check

Decals are from this book 

 

3918_rd.jpg

 

It contains some letters for the code number F-5  , the VF-3 logo (Felix the cat) and the killmarks. the red and white stripes and the stars are from the kit

 

sorry for my mistake english 

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Hi Pierpaolo,

 

Nothing to be sorry for!

 

Thanks for the information on the decal sheet. I remember now that the Printscale decals were not correct for VF-3.  As such, I used some of the Airfix decals for the national insignia. I noticed that there was variation in the extent of the red and white stripes on the tail between different planes. I also think the F4F-3s had much less stencil markings applied compared to the F4F-4s.

 

I don’t know what Martlet cowlings would be similar, but I did come across this when I did my Wildcat:

http://www.geocities.jp/yoyuso/fm2/fm2e-1.html#drawings

 

Here’s an image of Thach and O’Hare that was, I believe, taken in April at Hawaii, just a matter of weeks before the Battle of the Coral Sea:

F4F-3A_VF-3_F-1_Thach_and_F-13_O_Hare_April_1942

 

and links to videos from the same/similar session. In the videos, you can see the cowl air intake vents (that the Admiral kit didn’t have!):

 

 

For what it’s worth, some other slight differences:

·      The F4F-3 canopy – there is some additional framing on the early (?) types. I just used strips of painted decals for this.

·      The tail wheel struts do not appear to have a cover

·      Perhaps different ventral aerials as well?

 

Regards,

David

Edited by Dazey
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all

I temporarily glued the wings with a CA glue to make the holes for the pins

 

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The cowl contained in the Martlet IV Airfix kit is too short and suitable for a 9 cylinder wright engine. I think I'll just take the front part of it

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi
Some little progress on my Wildcat
I'm finally ready for closing the fuselage
Cockpit done and glued to the left side
The wings are definitely fixed , filled in the attachment and sanded

 

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the cowling without airscoop was obtained by joining together the front ring of a Martlet IV spare part and the rear part of the kit cowl

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Finally done!

 

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat

VF-3 on the USS Lexington 

Airfix 1/72 with quickboost wings and some improvement

 

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  • Pierpaolo changed the title to Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat - USS Lexington [DONE]

very nicely done!! :thumbsup: I do love the finished you achieved and the weathering looks spot on, a really nicely built model.

 

Thanks for joining us in the build, it's been great to have you along and to follow your build, well done.

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