Ventora3300 Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I hope no one minds me getting some ancient kits out again - I love the GB experience and it looks like I may have the time to fit in a simple Wildcat build as a follow on to my (late) finish in the Pacific War GB. For that, I got a hold of some marvelous Battle of the Coral Sea decals and they included a set for a Wildcat so I was keen to use them as the style of paint schemes on the USN aircraft at that time really impressed me. Also, I've been impressed with the new tool Airfix Wildcat builds I've seen in this GB so far, so that has spurred me on to get my old kits built and move on to the new tools. Which kit to use though? I've got a choice between the original Airfix and Frog kits. Both look to be pretty simple but the Frog kit looks to have had more work put into the engine and undercarriage details. I fancy building both kits simultaneously and this is where I got the idea that I could do one as a USN version and the other as a British Martlet (I remember my Dad quoting the Martlet as one of his favourite aircraft so there may be some connection with him growing up and seeing some in WW2). I'll need to do some research on which types of Martlet lined up with which types of Wildcat etc. but that will be an interesting exercise too. (I'm also going to change my photo posting from Flickr to Imgur to see how that works out). Here is the Airfix kit I've got....brand new from 1964! Here is the Frog kit - lovely dark blue plastic. Here are those attractive USN decals.. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) Got started on the Frog Wildcat at last. Pilot's seat and control stick are in on the starboard fuselage half and I did a dry fit of the fuselage halves to try to ensure the seat is central - it actually locates to a slot in a small piece of bulkhead behind the seat headrest. Below-wing windows are mounted to the fuselage halves - needed a fair bit of flash cleaned off. Wing upper and lower sections are together and fuel tanks assembled - these come with the top half wider that the bottom to make a seam appear all round (I think). The stabilisers are one-piece and there is a trim tab actuator on one surface - photos appear to show this as being on the top surface as I guessed. There are also two round marks on the top surfaces which might be pin ejector marks but there again might be access panels - need to check. I 'borrowed' the Frog stand from the bagged kit since it was missing from this purchase, hence the different coloured plastic. As many parts as possible painted on the sprues. The undercarriage is in 'Aluminium' but I think I'll need to do the outer wheel facings in Blue Grey to match to upper surfaces since they are visible when the undercarriage is retracted. I've done the engine gearbox in H65 blue but it is too light - needs to be a darker blue. Engine detail is fairly good and I've started with Black H33 but I am tempted to be adding pushrods and wiring on the front bank of cylinders - that will be new territory for me. The spindle for the prop actually locates between the engine halves rather than behind so I'll need to check for very free rotation before closing up the engine. Prop is Black with Aluminium pitch gear. Cockpit innards in a light green (H120) and inside engine area and cowling in Aluminium. Pilot is in H26 Khaki lightened with some white. Surface detail looks pretty good. I'm thinking that the wheel wells will need building in to avoid the see-through look when the undercarriage is installed. Edited January 18, 2019 by Ventora3300 More detail added 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 3 hours ago, Ventora3300 said: I'm thinking that the wheel wells will need building in to avoid the see-through look when the undercarriage is installed. Don't get too keen on this, the wheel bay was open side to side when the wheels were lowered. I'll be keen to see these come together, remember the the Airfix kit loosely represents a Wildcat FM2 or Mk VI (?), well after Coral Sea. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 (edited) Many thanks for that, Steve, I'll need to get searching for good walk-around pics to get an idea of what you can and can't see when the wheels are down - might need some 'bulkheads' or something to enclose the undercarriage area so that the pilot's feet are not visible! Yes, you are right, I was also having a think on what features of the F4F-4 represented by the kit that I would need to remove to get closer to the F4F-3 which I believe was in service at the time of the Battle of the Coral Sea. I could fill in the extra gun ports and I think that the air intake on top of the cowling might need to go (pity, because its well defined) - I saw some good material on this on some other of the Wildcat builds in BM. Also, I wonder if I need to hide the 'Sto-Wing' detail on the wing roots - this might be a step too far. Another thing is that the exhaust exits behind the cowling on the Frog kit don't appear at all, contrary to the Airfix kit - might need some 'sculpting' here. (Memories of the Frog Sea Furies are coming back). Anyway, I was keen to get started and had a great modelling day yesterday so I'm in fine fettle now to wrestle with these detail issues, I hope! All the best. Mike Edited January 18, 2019 by Ventora3300 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 (edited) Mike, if you haven't found it already, this is useful for sorting them out. http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/wildcatfaaba_1.htm Also, you"re right about the wheel wells, I was thinking side to side but of course they do have bulkheads fore & aft, so no drafty feet for the pilot. ,I forget what my old Frog one was like. Steve. Edited January 19, 2019 by stevehnz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Beema Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Here is some more Martlet information.. http://soyuyo.main.jp/fm2/fm2e-1.html Lots of detail on the different marks and changes required.. Martlet II is close to the F4F-4 with only minor modification required.. I am going to convert the Tamiya 1/48 F4F-4 to a Martlet IV which entails conversion of the engine to a Wright Cyclone, shortening of the cowling and extension of the fuselage... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) On 18/01/2019 at 23:47, stevehnz said: Mike, if you haven't found it already, this is useful for sorting them out. http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/wildcatfaaba_1.htm Also, you"re right about the wheel wells, I was thinking side to side but of course they do have bulkheads fore & aft, so no drafty feet for the pilot. ,I forget what my old Frog one was like. Steve. Thanks again Steve, a mountain of useful info there and it gets my head spinning a bit. However, it really has been a great help in giving me a way forward. I think the Airfix 'Wildcat VI' is a pretty good representation of a Martlet VI / FM-2 with it's Wright Cyclone engine, which will need little alteration if I build it gear up and the Frog kit will give me a good F4F-3 as below. On 19/01/2019 at 09:37, Grey Beema said: Here is some more Martlet information.. http://soyuyo.main.jp/fm2/fm2e-1.html Lots of detail on the different marks and changes required.. Martlet II is close to the F4F-4 with only minor modification required.. I am going to convert the Tamiya 1/48 F4F-4 to a Martlet IV which entails conversion of the engine to a Wright Cyclone, shortening of the cowling and extension of the fuselage... Many thanks, Grey Beema, again a lot of very useful info there. The drawings will particularly come in handy when I launch out on some 'recribing' of wing panels when I make the fold joints disappear. So some more progress on the F4F-3 - I'm going for: 4 x 0.5in m/g's so the outboard gun ports have been filled and associated blisters and ammo tray panel lines above and below sanded out. Looking for something suitable to extend the inner 0.5in guns outside of the ports. No sto-wing system so the engraved fold lines filled above and below and the hinge fairing above removed. New panel lines to be scribed in (gulp!) No additional fuel tanks so hole in the underside of the wings filled. Early type pitot tube so existing hole under port wing filled and another drilled in the leading edge. Exhaust holes drilled out in the underside of the cowling - only marked in on this kit. Single cowl flap each side of the cowling - the additional raised lines indicating four flaps have been sanded out. Stepped prop boss left as is. Cuffed prop left as is. Carb intake on top of cowl left as is. No supercharger intercooler intakes added at 4 and 8 o'clock positions in the cowling (I thought long and hard over this but I have a reference pic below). Add in extending arrestor hook. Add in a bulkhead behind the undercarriage bay (which may well act as the instrument panel as well). Leaves the see-through space. Here is my reference pic - a fixed wing Wildcat coming on deck to join the Blue-Grey Devastators already there - just the time period I was looking for Here are the fuselage and wings modified with a first coat of paint on to reveal any poor filling etc. I've done some silver dry brushing on the engine cylinders but may need some more - here is where I'm try to get to with the Pratt & Whitney R1830 Also re-painted part of the undercarriage legs in 'heat resistant' black paint (to guard against the hot exhaust air when running up), the outer wheel discs in light grey and the pilot now has his leather cap and boots. Edited January 24, 2019 by Ventora3300 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) Undercarriage bay bulkhead and IP are in place and need paint (I think I will do the inside of the undercarriage bay in light grey as I've noted from the reference material) - made from plastic card which I picked up during a post Christmas trip to one of my LMS's - I treated myself to a 'shopping trip' to pick up some scratch building materials, and a couple of kits of course. One of these was the latest new tool Airfix Wildcat IV which comes with the Wright Cyclone engine. Now I just have to get the previous new tool issue of the F4F-4 which comes with the P&W R1830. Lovely kit though and well drooled over... Pilot now has goggles above a face - 'mae west' next. Need some peace and quiet and steady hands to paint in the tyres on the wheels. Did some gentle scribing on the wing upper surfaces just to complete the removal from sight of the sto-wing lines. A couple more won't hurt. I'm going to try some wiring on the engine before I close it up in the fuselage. I found some small brass ferrules which may do to represent the engine exhausts inside the drilled out outlets at the bottom edge of the cowling. Edited January 24, 2019 by Ventora3300 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) The small brass ferrules just popped in to the holes for the exhaust outlets secured with a blob of glue at the back. On the engine, I managed to glue in place a section of hairbrush plastic bristle as pushrods for each of the 14 cylinders - decided not to add more to represent the wiring as the sizes of wire I found were either too small (to see) or too large (and obscured the cylinders). Another time, maybe. Undercarriage is together (some flash to remove and the wheels are together ready for painting of tyres. The pilot has been issued with his 'Mae West'. Engine is in the fuselage now with the rear painted in light grey to form the front wall of the undercarriage bay. The Instrument Panel has the dials dotted in and the pilot has taken his seat. Fuselage closed up now and stabilisers with cowl ring and aerial mast fitted. Tyres have been painted one side with touch up of the wheel discs required. I've cut more plastic hairbrush bristles and put these in the wing holes to represent the 0.5" m/g barrels which protrude slightly and also those flush with the leading edge, and the pitot tube. Main wings fitted with a slight dihedral and now the F4F can balance properly on the stand. Joints will need a little filler. I've put in a small block of plastic to represent the gunsight but need to add a lens. Propellor tip colour decals and manufacturer's logo are on the blades. Canopy is masked. Undercarriage dropped on the floor and I managed to stand on it - it has been repaired but if not up to the job, I'll have to borrow these parts from my bagged version of this kit, which is already missing half the engine (reminder - check before you buy!!) Now we are getting somewhere. Seam filling and main painting next. (Just noticed that one of the prop blade logos has disappeared!!) Edited January 31, 2019 by Ventora3300 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) Seams and joints filled and there does appear to be a definite 'step' between the cowling ring and the fuselage behind. More filler applied... Cowling ring blended in now and blue grey applied to the topsides. Canopy installed (might need a couple of frames re-defined) and following a touch up of the light grey on the undersides of the cowling, we will be ready for transfers/decals. Wheels have been assembled to the undercarriage and that missing prop logo re-applied. While the F4F-3 paintwork was drying, I moved on with the Airfix Martlet VI - this flew together quickly and engine and cockpit interior is painted with prop and rockets following on. I am doing it wheels up and had to add in a couple of pieces of thin plastic to 'fill in' a space in the lower wheel wells created by not using the undercarriage legs, which have two small doors incorporated. Another bit of 'laissez faire' in the old Airfix kits but simple to address. Also, did the additional fuel tanks really have four 'legs' for fixing points? References seem to describe the aerial mast as vertical but I've seen plenty of reference photos which show it angled forward like the F4F - a bit undecided on that. The Martlet VI seems to be hot on the F4F's tail now - I'm going for an 'as delivered' scheme that has light grey on the undersides so that is happening as I post. Edited February 8, 2019 by Ventora3300 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 (edited) Light grey touch ups are done now and prop and undercarriage glued in place. I added in the navigation lights and I think that is a couple of formation lights on the spine behind the cockpit. Decals are on with no trouble except that the tail stripes needed a bit of a trim at the rudder trailing edge. There are some tiny ones on the rudder that give the Bu No. and the aircraft type. I finished this as F-1 Bu.No. 4031 of VF-2 (based on USS Lexington) flying in May 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was flown by Lt. CDR Paul L Ramsey (name below the cockpit starboard side and three battle honours alongside. ) who was the CO of VF-2. Apparently this is the same aircraft flown by 'Butch' O'Hare on his 'Bomber a minute' mission in Feb 1942. Aerial cable is on and the F4F-3 is complete. (Photos show some further improvements that can be made!) I added in some staining from the exhaust outlets and some more from the 0.5" m/g's. I used a sharpie pen on the underwing oil coolers to give the impression of openings. Engine run up completed successfully. This was a really enjoyable build of the old Frog F4F-4 Wildcat kit and the overall detail it has is pretty good. Again, thanks to all who inputted along the way. I'll put the pictures in the Gallery. The Airfix Martlet now m/g ports and lower exhaust ports drilled out and has paint on. I will follow up to finish this before calling this thread finished. Edited February 11, 2019 by Ventora3300 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Well done Mike. That FROG kit has turned really well for its age, the Airfix Martlet is coming along nicely too and not that far behind in the build stakes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 (edited) The Martlet VI has retracted wheels in place and propellor on. Rockets are also on and pilot has his seat. (This is another early Airfix pilot who looks slightly underscale). I added in a small gunsight and headrest just to make him feel at home. I'm quite pleased with how the paint went one - no real need for a second coat, only touch ups where necessary. I didn't need any masking tape because the lines of rivets gave something to paint to! I went for an 'as delivered' scheme as my references tell me that the FM-2 / Martlet VI could be delivered in Olive Drab (H155) / Sea Grey (H27) over Light Grey (H64) I still have to drill out the lower exhaust ports to be a little larger so that I can put in brass ferrules to represent the ends of the exhaust pipes. Obilgatory (for me) engine run in progress! Decals next. The Wildcat VI, a FM-2, was an attempt to improve the performance of the Wildcat. A Wright R-1820-56 Cyclone with a single speed, two-stage supercharger was fitted and had an additional 150 horsepower over previous versions. A Curtiss Electric propeller without cuffs was fitted and could have either a domed or a stepped hub. The cowl had a longer chord than the Mk.I and IV, but was shorter than the Pratt & Whitney cowl. There were no external scoops on the cowl; all of the scoops were between the cylinders. The cowl had one cowl flap per side. The exhausts were routed out a cutout on the fuselage (one per side) and out the bottom. The oil coolers were removed from the lower wings and moved into the accessory bay. The wings were folding and had 4 guns with 430 rounds per gun. To counter the added torque of the new engine, the fin and rudder were enlarged. In addition, the windows on the underside of the airframe were deleted. Serials ranged from JV637-JV902, JW785-JW836 and JZ860-JZ889. Edited February 18, 2019 by Ventora3300 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Tried to apply the Airfix decals but despite a prior coating of Decalfilm, the large upper wing roundels exploded as is their wont. The Royal Navy serial numbers were curling up and not happy about settling down. The underside and fuselage roundels and fin flashes went on OK but of course, I was stuck with having to source new upper wing roundels of the same shades of blue and red - impossible! Fortunately, the spare Frog decals (from the F4F-3 conversion) were still available and behaved immaculately, even when applied directly on top of the Airfix versions. I just had to 'edit' the serial number from JV429 to JV829 so that it fell in the range for FM-2/Marlet VI's. I was struggling with deciding what aircraft code to put on as I could only get a reference pic showing no code at all but I decided to go for 'B', which was actually the Frog '8' with a vertical section (from 'N') added at the left hand side. Makes sense? - probably not. Added a bit of gun and exhaust staining and the canopy has the vertical frames painted in, just the horizontal to go. I did eventually drill out the under exhaust ports a bit more and add in the brass ferrules for exhaust pipes, painted 'gun metal'. You can see the curly state, and light shade of blue, of the Airfix decals in the nameplate on the stand. Frog had the serial numbers in black which I think is correct whereas Airfix just went for blue - well done Frog! Hopefully my editing of the '4' to an '8' is convincing! Also, the large upper wing roundels had a white border on one side which had to be painted out. I tried to apply a bit of silver at the side exhausts as I've seen in reference pics - the hot gasses must have removed the paint on the aircraft sides. ... and the prop still spins... Here is a good reference pic of a Martlet VI which shows I am on the right track. No aircraft letter on this one though - is that possible? And it shows the four-leg support arrangement for the additional fuel tanks. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 This Airfix Martlet VI is complete now with the cockpit framing all painted and the aerial wires on. A comparison pic or two with the F4F-3... Very enjoyable to participate in this GB with these old kits with boundaries expanded a little on the modelling front and another little corner of knowledge garnered with respect to the Wildcat/Martlet series of aircraft - thanks to TEMPESTMK5 (Patrice) for hosting and all in the great BM community who looked in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 They look good Mike. Even though the Frog kit is reputed to be the more accurate of the two, I think your Airfix one has captured the look equally as well, maybe its the more dynamic displaying adds to the effect. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 50 minutes ago, stevehnz said: They look good Mike. Even though the Frog kit is reputed to be the more accurate of the two, I think your Airfix one has captured the look equally as well, maybe its the more dynamic displaying adds to the effect. Steve. Many thanks, Steve. The Frog model does feel a bit more 'tubby' when handling and the tailplane looks a bit larger than on the Airfix one. I must say though, those lines of rivets on the Airfix kit look good under a brushcoat of enamel! Thanks for your help along the way. (Now look out for another Heinkel He.115 (or two) in the Maritime Patrol and Coastal Command GB!). All the best. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.E.SAUNDERS Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 hi ALL , When I saw the beautifully restored P&W WILDCAT Engine it reminded me that I recently ordered a Set of LIVERIES UNLIMITED Multi Scale Engine Decals # AGAX-001 from AIRLINE HOBBY SUPPLY (U.S. ) @ $7.50 USD + p+p cheery "Modellin'" mumbas ! Geoff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 You have made a great job of these two veterans Mike, and they look fantastic when displayed as a pair. It may not have seemed like it at the time, but you have probably gained more from putting these older kits together, in both modelling experience and satisfaction. Keep up the good work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 On 28/02/2019 at 01:23, G.E.SAUNDERS said: hi ALL , When I saw the beautifully restored P&W WILDCAT Engine it reminded me that I recently ordered a Set of LIVERIES UNLIMITED Multi Scale Engine Decals # AGAX-001 from AIRLINE HOBBY SUPPLY (U.S. ) @ $7.50 USD + p+p cheery "Modellin'" mumbas ! Geoff Decals for engines sounded intriguing...I had a look online and see they are manufacturer's logos etc. It looks like you still have to create the wiring and pushrods for radial engines the hard way, I think. Thanks. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 18 hours ago, nimrod54 said: You have made a great job of these two veterans Mike, and they look fantastic when displayed as a pair. It may not have seemed like it at the time, but you have probably gained more from putting these older kits together, in both modelling experience and satisfaction. Keep up the good work. Many thanks, John, much appreciated. I definitely do get a lot out of doing these old kits and it may be because they are a bit more of a 'blank canvas' with which you can get a bit creative and artistic. This little Airfix Wildcat kit actually went together beautifully with no filling required, just a bit of gentle sanding across the fuselage seams. Also, whether I was just lucky with the topside paint (Humbrol tins as usual), it went on in one coat with no masking and the colour contrasts were nice and low and I didn't feel I had to constantly return to it for touch-ups, and hence make a mess of the paint boundaries. I've got the new tool Airfix versions now and I was keen to give them a go while I had all the learned info in my head but....I've picked up another old kit in the 'Maritime Patrol and Coastal Command' GB to soldier on with. After that excellent Prowler, I'll be looking in to your 'Trainer GB' builds for more enjoyment- it's great, this modelling! All the best. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 (edited) Good afternoon Mike Very nice looking pair of Willdcat you have built 👍.. Patrice Edited March 1, 2019 by TEMPESTMK5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 3 hours ago, TEMPESTMK5 said: Good afternoon Mike Very nice looking pair of Hellcat you have built 👍.. Patrice Many thanks, Patrice, but you meant Wildcats didn't you? Maybe I'll do the vintage Airfix and Frog Hellcats next time round... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 3 hours ago, Ventora3300 said: Many thanks, Patrice, but you meant Wildcats didn't you? Maybe I'll do the vintage Airfix and Frog Hellcats next time round... Oups !! Willdcat of course sorry for my mistake .. Patrice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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