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Grumman F3F-2 "Flying Barrel" - FINISHED


nimrod54

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On ‎03‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 10:08, Hockeyboy76 said:

I hope you got some good photos, sounds like a great day out. 

 

It was a great day mate, and some of the aircraft on display are not often seen in smaller collections - Canadian Voodoo and a PZL TS-11 'Iskra'' for example - with some great models around the hanger.

 

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

46174435051_82ef7bf6e9_z.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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I took advantage of having the filler out for my Eurofighter build yesterday and added a couple of smears to the top panel of the nose and around the undercarriage join. I am still trying to confirm if there should be a join running down the centreline of the fuselage underside before I scribe that in and then I will have a look at the fuse/wing struts before I start painting.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

And here are a final couple of shots of my visit to the MAM in Coventry with a spotter pal from days of yore. The first shows yours truly about to clamber aboard XL360, and the second is of both of us in situ in the crew area.

 

45275348935_1cc92d8a4b.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

45275349175_8efaf82769.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

 

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1 hour ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

Ladders! I always finding going up much easier than getting down. Glad you took the challenge, you look very chuffed (or is that out of breath:rofl:) sitting there. 

I do look like the cat who got the cream, 😸 but I was pleased that I had got in there. The last cockpit that I got into was a Canberra at an air show some 40 years ago.

 

@Duncan B

 

Thanks for posting the photo of your F3F, some stretched sprue should soon sort out the ridge detail. I have checked a few photos but my search criteria wasn't bringing up a clear enough shot of the underside.  I also see that there is a panel missing on my kit so I will add that too. 

 

Cheers

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10 hours ago, nimrod54 said:

 

 

Thanks for posting the photo of your F3F, some stretched sprue should soon sort out the ridge detail. I have checked a few photos but my search criteria wasn't bringing up a clear enough shot of the underside.  I also see that there is a panel missing on my kit so I will add that too. 

 

Cheers

John, if you want any other information on the details just let me know and I can photograph the kit or the instructions for you.

 

DB

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10 hours ago, Duncan B said:

John, if you want any other information on the details just let me know and I can photograph the kit or the instructions for you.

 

DB

 

Thanks for that Duncan, the photo that you provided above proved useful, I have added the missing details now, scribing in the panel and using stretched sprue for the ridge detail.

 

32331484988_6e45894233_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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As you can see I have added the undercarriage and tailplanes, the undercarriage was a bit tricky, due in the main to a mysterious bend at the top of the legs. There is no evidence of this in photos I have looked at, so it must be warping or a moulding error. What does make it a bit odd though is that the bends are identical in angle and direction. Because I was bothered about breaking the delicate parts I chose to leave things alone and get the best fit that I could, maybe with some gentle heat the parts could be straightened though. The tailplanes went on fine and the butt-joint has been strengthened with CA glue, a bit of a tidy around those joints will see that job finished.

 

46178410142_99d3d69a99_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

As can be the norm with short run kits, the location of parts is sometimes less than positive, and there can be a lot of head scratching before arriving at a solution that works best for you. This is the case with the cabane struts on this build. I am now thinking that I should fix the lower wings and 'N' struts first, followed by a temporary fix of the upper wing with PVA which would then make for a more positive location of the cabanes and also allow me to remove the upper wing to give access for rigging them later.

 

It all sounds good in theory, I guess we will see how good when I put it into practise. :winkgrin:

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4 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

Sounds like a plan, hope it all works out for you. 

Cheers H, I hope that I haven't confused you too much. It confused me when I was coming up with the plan. :DHave you got all the Crimbo shopping done yet? I still have to get a couple more for Mrs N and my Mum then it's job done. :phew:

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16 hours ago, nimrod54 said:

Cheers H, I hope that I haven't confused you too much. It confused me when I was coming up with the plan. :DHave you got all the Crimbo shopping done yet? I still have to get a couple more for Mrs N and my Mum then it's job done. :phew:

All done! Very prepared this year for a change buddy. Had less diy projects to complete, but I feel this will change in the New year. 

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I applied a first coat of Revell Aqua Color Aluminium on the fuselage yesterday afternoon, and brushed on a second coat this morning, It's now time for me to make decision on which of the two Marines Yellow Wing options to pick, so it's either F3F-2 BuNo 0979, 2-MF-10, USMC VMF-2, Captain Carson A. Roberts with Black section markings or F3F-2 BuNo 0976, 2-MF-7, USMC VMF-2, 1st Lieutenant Robert E. Galer with True Blue section markings.

 

46208066532_09a740e47a_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

46208067062_7101bf77d4_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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26 minutes ago, John D.C. Masters said:

I had a good time with my Special Hobby 'Barrel.'  Yours is looking very fine indeed!

Thanks very much John. It's a nice little kit, and whilst it has led to some head scratching at times, I am enjoying the challenge of this build.

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Having decided to go with Robert E. Galer's aircraft I finished the painting of the section and leaders markings on the fuselage using Xtracolor True Blue earlier today. I will leave this to harden off for a couple of days before I make a start on the decals, and meanwhile I can be getting on with painting the yellow on the upper wing.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

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On ‎14‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 09:53, Duncan B said:

It's looking very smart indeed. Must be tiny in 1/72 scale (I might have said that already but I keep saying it's tiny in 1/48 too!).

 

Duncan B

Thanks Duncan, It is quite a tiny model, I have just taken some rough measurements and the span is just over 51/4 inches (135mm). Once I finish the assembly I'll photograph it alongside some thing more familiar in the same scale to give a better comparison.

 

I masked off the blue chevron on the wing last night and was able to get some yellow on the top surface today, remembering to wrap the colour around the leading edge on the underside. I started with a light coat of Halfords White Plastic Primer, and then followed this with a layer of Humbrol 69 Gloss Yellow as a base for a final coat of Humbrol 154 Insignia Yellow. 

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

The masking has now been removed and, once again, I am going to leave it for another couple of days before I do any further work.

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I made a start on adding the decals to the fuselage and wings yesterday and finished off by adding the last few stencils today. Be careful with the stencil placement should you be making this kit, those provided for the long narrow access panels on the nose are incorrect, the port side says that it is the location for the life raft, this is actually located behind the pilots headrest, whilst that panel is an access point for ammunition, The starboard side says it is for the fire extinguisher which, according to reference that I am using, should be around the port wheel bay.

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

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by John L, on Flickr

 

This will be the last job on this build for now before we head off to spend Christmas with our son and his wife over in the Netherlands, so I would like to wish everyone reading this a Merry Christmas. 🎅🎄

 

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That is looking very nice indeed! A kit I may just be forced to pick up, sometime. I already have a built FF-1 Goblin/Delfin, and an F2F-1, so I just need the F3F to complete my collection of Grumman biplane fighters (a collection that in 1/72nd scale can just about fit in one hand).

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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  • 3 weeks later...

@Duncan B's finish of his F3F-2 has given me the required KUTA to push on with my build, so I have done some more work over the past couple of days. I have drilled most of the holes for the rigging in the fuselage and upper and lower wings, with the exception of the pair of holes required in the upper wing, close to the rear struts. The lower wings have also had a pin added to strengthen the kits simple butt-joint, and I have started to add the rigging to the cabane struts, When I have finished rigging those, I will complete the assembly of the fuselage, pre-rig everything else, and tidy up all of those areas that will be inaccessible once I add the  wings.

 

46659163002_ac18bebe54_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

46659163492_fca59a6e1b_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

 

46659163822_ddfdcce762_c.jpg

by John L, on Flickr

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  • 2 weeks later...

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