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F4F-4 Wildcat B5N2 Kate Airfix Dogfight Double


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Thanks @Jackson Duvalier & @The Spadgent--Johnny, regarding the reference to silly putty--this was a poor attempt at dead pan humor on my part--I was referring to a time you remarked ninjas must use my work bench as a dojo :laugh:--the silly putty really bought it home--just want to ensure my humor keeps pace with my improving skills 🙌  Thank you for the tip on on photographing--very smart... best, Erwin

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Hello everyone, it is time for a landing gear bay bulkhead & fuselage update. 

 

Based on recommendations from Eduard and Sovereign Hobbies websites, I replicated Grumman Grey with Light Gull Grey (Mission Models Paint MMP-063).  I have to agree with Johnny @The Spadgent, Airfix did a great job with the bulkhead, but I since I had sunk money into the Eduard set, I went ahead and used it.  No doubt the PE improved the look, but I suspect most of this effort will be hard to see--a very different case than a P-51 well with the inner gears down. 

 

I then painted the bicycle chains Tamiya Gunmetal based on my bicycle, 🙂 but more authoritatively, based on references in Danna Bell's book and walk arounds at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola.  As many of you know, the F4F-4's landing gear was hand cranked so I used a bicycle as a guide to weather and build depth.  While this area was behind the engine, I believe this portion of the aircraft was well maintained--especially on a newer carrier based aircraft at Midway.  Looking at the F4F-3 wreck photos from USS Lexington wreck, the F4F-4 from the USS Hornet wreck, and multiple photos in Bell's book, I believe this rear wheel bay area were not as grunged up you might think on a carrier based operational aircraft--that said, I bet a Cactus Air Force F4F-4 would present more opportunities for weathering.   In order to accomplish the slightly used look, I used AK Landing Gear Wash & Gears and Bearings to create a slight weather effect/build depth.

 

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One item that pre-plexed me during this build--and I just decided to move forward with a medium-high level of confidence--was the fuselage color under the cockpit "floor" on an early war Wildcat F4F-3s/F4F-4s.  Some references state this area was Interior green--based on period pictures in @Dana Bell's book, I suspect it was painted Bronze Green--the standard Grumman primer was Grumman Grey (Flat Gull Grey).  The period photos in Mr Bell's book and Detail and Scale are of a color darker than Grumman Grey and I am not convinced they are Interior Green--it looks darker than IG (my understanding this finish became more prevalent during Grumman's Hellcat production run).  Given this, I think the primary interior finishes for an early war, Grumman built Wildcat would be Grumman Grey and Bronze Green (cockpit area). Welcome any thoughts on this topic (I dont have the authoritative answers, just want to share the outcomes of my research).  You might also note a few ejector pin marks in the fuselage--I decided to not to worry about these since they wont be seen behind the instrument panel and wheel bay bulkhead --I saw G @giemme get away with this a few times, so I figured I would give it a shot--:whistle::laugh:

 

 

 

DSCN3276

 

 

Next up will be putting the fuselage together and building the wings.  I must say, Airfix has given us a really great starting point with this model--especially for the price point.  I am a little dismayed the aftermarket industry did not provide us with a resin tank for underneath the floor or more updates for the gear bay area--just look what they have delivered for the Airfix 1/72 P-40B.  Maybe I am going to easy on Airfix here.  Just so no one thinks I am on Airfix's payroll, I noted that Arma Hobby intends to release a 1/72 Wildcat that appears to have most these interior details included--I wonder how much this will cost?  Regardless, I have decided to press forward, because I do not think the tanks are visible on a 1/72 aircraft (the under fuselage windows are very dark & the under cockpit tank is far from "touching" the underside transparency--the oil tank wont be seen unless a light goes up the gear bay area).  All that said, I will be scratching the lower wheel bay intercoolers as they are seen pretty readily from the rear of the aircraft.

 

Best to all and your thoughts, comments and point outs on areas for improvements to save others from errors I made are appreciated/welcomed

 

Erwin

Edited by VT Red Sox Fan
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1 hour ago, VT Red Sox Fan said:

I noted that Arma Hobby intends to release a 1/72 Wildcat that appears to have most these interior details included--I wonder how much this will cost? 

 

It won't be too prohibitive, maybe 50-100% more than an Airfix kit, which is still quite a bargain all things considered.  Arma's FM-2 Wildcats are really splendid little kits; I don't feel disappointed with the price I paid for them.

 

Your Eduard-enhanced firewall really looks the business.  I think the weathering is just fine for a relatively new shipboard aircraft.

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Wow, that bulkhead is something! The PE detail is amazing, and you did a great painting and (restrained) weathering job, bringing it to life :clap: 

 

Ciao

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On 6/23/2021 at 3:04 AM, giemme said:

Wow, that bulkhead is something! The PE detail is amazing, and you did a great painting and (restrained) weathering job, bringing it to life :clap: 

 

Ciao

G, Seriously, thanks--you really have been an inspiration to stretch my skills from looking at color numbers--which I am still addicted to--too integrating historical research with the art--I still have a ways to go, but I am very happy folks like you & the team have got me here--best, Erwin

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6 hours ago, VT Red Sox Fan said:

I am very happy folks like you & the team have got me here--best, Erwin

 

In the eternal struggle against gravity, entropy, and apathy, nobody can make somebody else better.  You're doing the heavy lifting, my guy-- we're just egging you on for our own amusement.  🙂

 

It is really satisfying to see your modelling get better.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks @Jackson Duvalier & Johnny @The Spadgent--high praise coming from you guys🙌  Next up are some construction shots now that the interior painting mostly sorted out.  

 

First up is painting the pilot. I used Tamiya paints and leveraged the guide in their outstanding 1/32 F4U Corsair.  Given the figure's overall "tan" color, I leveraged Tamiya Brown & Black panel line accents to build depth and color to the figure.

 

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I then glued the fuselage together without issue--great job by Airfix--no pictures of this step given how smooth it went.  Next up were the wings.  I painted the interior of the oil coolers gull grey (Grumman Grey equiv) and the photo etch screens gun metal.  Once this was all sorted out, glued the wings together with tube glue--the warping concerned me but clothes pins, rubber bands and time over came the warpage in the wing halves. 

 

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The wings did not dry fit well for me, but they went on without problem when glued.  Perhaps it is the way the wings are attached really does require cement--either way, I think Airfix should be commended here as the finished result required little effort. I sorted out the seams with a little CA around the cockpit coaming, but most of the seems were quickly eliminated by sanding sticks.  I wanted to get the sanding all done before the cowling was attached as I did not want to risk marring that part.

 

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I decided to mount the engine and cowl so the cammo lines & weathering came together--so it was time to mount the Franken engine and paint the rear of the engine which will be wheel bay's shadows

 

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Thats it for this update--really appreciate everyones input as the Wildcat comes together--Johnny was right that this is a solid kit, everything just fell together--now if we could get G @giemme to take the 1/72 prop fighter jump once 🙂   Best to all & hope everyone is having a great weekend--Erwin 

Edited by VT Red Sox Fan
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On 04/07/2021 at 03:45, VT Red Sox Fan said:

now if we could get G @giemme to take the 1/72 prop fighter jump once 🙂

Here me out, Erwin: NO WAY. :rofl:  :rofl: :rofl: 

 

Great to see it all buttoned up and with wings :clap:


Ciao

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Few quick updates to start the week. 

 

I tried Mission Models Chrome on the propeller & strut--it came out ok, but not as shinny as I would have liked for a chrome.  That said, it did not stink up the house, preserved peace in the family and looked liked like a NMF shy of chrome--perfect for the prop.  Once the metalizing was complete, I painted on Tamiya yellow and sprayed Tamiya Gloss Black to support decals later on (masking as appropriate).  The strut metallic was masked for further painting.

 

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Next up was tackling one of the 2 weakest areas of this kit (in my opinion)--installing scratch intercoolers given Airfix's decision to omit this detail.  (the other is the missing underwing light, but more on than later).  Though not at the @giemme Stuka build level (this is a 1/72 prop after all :laugh:) I used the rudder pedal photo etch and Tamiya putty to create the inter coolers.  The threads on the pedals actually do a great job of replicating the vents in this scale under a wash--and they are much more visible than under a 1/72 scale figure's feet.   I am not going to freak out about the missing oil tank as, this detail is only noticeable if you are looking up the well with a light--the inter-coolers are a rather prominent feature though.    

 

 

While the picture below is of a restored F4F-3, according to period photos found in Detail and Scale & @Dana Bell's book, the F4F-4 had the same lay out as the -3 in this regard.   Based on these references and period photos, I used the blisters as a placement guide.  I also took this opportunity to mask the underside windows as I would be the guy who would forget about them 🙂.

 

F4F-3_12320__ORD__Jan_16___11.jpg My attempt:

 

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I then used part of a salad container to create the gunsight glass which Airfix represented with solid plastic (this reflector gunsight was painted flat black with a silver dot to represent the lens under the glass)

 

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Next up will be masking, priming, pre shading and a walk through the paint scheme.  Best to all and thanks for looking--Erwin

Edited by VT Red Sox Fan
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@The Spadgent you are too kind--I was looking at yours and thinking the wings would look different and interesting folded--your F4F-4 came out smashing 🙌--G, @giemme--its no longer a bug, its a disease--thanks to you guys I now look at a Fine Molds Phantom price as an investment:laugh::whistle:--too think it all started years ago with you, Johnny & Martin @RidgeRunner advising me to "thin my paint" on those F-105s--best, Erwin

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Hello everyone, moving on to a really exciting part of the build--painting!

 

Pictured below is the cleanly primed aircraft and my pre shade effort.  The primer is Tamiya Grey primer and the pre-shade black is 75% thinned Tamiya flat black sprayed at about 12 PSI from my Badger Patriot (basically the lowest pressure where I got consistent flow).  I went a little heavier around the wing fold, control surfaces and frequently opened engine areas.  My objective is to create a base barely breaking up a relatively new aircraft.  When I made P-40E representing a fresh made aircraft, I did not pre-shade, nor did I apply really thin top coats.  G @giemme, Johnny @The Spadgent, & Bill @billn53 pointed out that a well controlled pre-shade/thin top coat could enhance model representing a freshly made machine and reduce the "toy"like feel.  I felt I used this advice to great affect on my Typhoon MK1B/Fw-190 A-8 builds, but these aircraft had significantly more complex schemes than the F4F-4 Wildcat.  Looking forward to how this technique will turn out on the blue top/grey bottom scheme.   

 

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Looking forward to applying a thinned out airbrush scheme to this primed/pre-shaded aircraft.

 

Thank you all for looking--best, Erwin

 

 

Edited by VT Red Sox Fan
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Thanks @billn53, Johnny @The Spadgent & G @giemme--really appreciate the support and your inputs  

 

The top coat painting will go fast, although I think the hard work really was the research surrounding the correct Grey Blue (Mr Hobby) & the underside grey (AK Real color) based off of Color Coates interpretations which I think set the industry standard for WW2 paint chip matches.  With that said, I am excited that I now have their thinner on order, so I can try Color Coats on my Kate or future Hellcat builds.  I also need to thank the gents above along with quite a few others who helped me get to the point where I view the base coat with the same importance as the top coats.

 

Beyond color selection, the key to the outcomes below were thinning the paint and low air brush pressure (about 12 -15 PSI with a 75% thinner mix).  I painted the underside AK's grey first (2 coats followed by touch ups), masked and then touched up the topside pre shade.  The top side was then painted Mr Color Blue Grey (about 12 -15 PSI with a 75% thinner mix)--similar to the grey I did 2 coats.  Based on my conversations on this thread with @Jackson Duvalier, I was tempted to change gears and do a USMC Guadalcanal F4F-4 to show off the weathering with a single touched up thin Blue Grey coat, but I decided to stay the course for a newer Midway USN carrier based aircraft.  As many have reported, I was very pleased with how AK's/Mr Color's paint preformed and will use them again.   I apologize that I forgot to take a picture of the grey underside only, so the photos below pick up with top side painting.

 

I then used Mission Models Gloss Clear Coat--I was super impressed!  It went on oder less and is very durable--it stood up to Tamiya's panel line accents very well (Actually better than the Testors stuff, is thinner and doesnt smell up the place).  About the only thing I want to try that I havent attempted yet is Flory's Model Wash (I believe it is water based--Johnny has got spectacular results in other builds).  My washes and pencil work concentrated on the wing fold area, control surfaces and the engine area with the Tamiya products/pencils I had on hand.  

 

The aircraft is now ready for decals--very happy with how this is turning out compared to period references.  Once thing I noticed is that this model's paint scheme captures how hard the Blue-Grey color is to nail down given various light sources--on the real Wildcat this was also magnified by operational use.  Up next are the decals

 

Thank you all for your thoughts, best Erwin   

 

DSCN3349 DSCN3353 DSCN3354

 

Mission Models Gloss Coat

 

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Tamiya Panel lines/initial dry brushing/pencil work complete--amazing color difference between flash/no flash which seems to correspond to period color photo color differentials

 

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Denote the newly added under wing light Airfix omitted--this was a feature of F4F-4 Wildcats--period photo below from Midway showing this is not a late model add and model's gloss coated/minimally weathered underside

 

crash-f-16-vc-3

 

DSCN3372

 

 

 

Edited by VT Red Sox Fan
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She's looking very good in that lovely paint, Erwin.  

 

Funny enough, I was watching Midway documentaries for inspiration last night whilst fumbling with the new Sword TBF-1 kit.  If you haven't seen John Ford's Midway film, it's a worthy investment of eighteen minutes.  Ford was at Midway and was wounded during the attack.  It's a real period piece: a heaping dose of maudlin patriotism narrated in that stentorian late-thirties announcer accent that nobody ever actually talked like, but it is in full colour and shows lots of interesting aircraft including an odd camouflaged B-17E.

 

I missed that underwing light when I built my F4F-4.  How did you choose to replicate it?

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G @giemme— thank you.  @Jackson Duvalier—great question, I used 3 sources to place the light 1) line drawing in the book “WW2 in Review”(sized to Airfix dimensions on .ppt) 2) Arma Hobby F4F-4 spruce line drawings & 3) the Midway photo above.  I then carefully took a small drill bit that matched the line drawings—with 3 turns I had a well placed/sized light—goal was an indentation not a hole—this was followed by Tamiya silver.  I will create the lens with Microscale’s Krystal Klear when I reinstall the lights after the decals and follow on clear coats—thanks for the question—best, Erwin

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got a few minutes to catch up the blog. 

 

As expected, Airfix's decals went on with no issues.  Just a few quick research items to cover.  (1) Airfix stated this aircraft flew from USS Yorktown (CV-10) at Midway--it did not, it actually flew from USS Yorktown CV-5 before it was sunk--this oversight made me question the decal placement guide & here is what I learned from my research for my interpretation.  (2) The under wing stars are not directly under the top side stars--I used @Dana Bell's book as a reference (used for both wings and fuselage) along with some of the photos below (one of the photos which shows this to great effect are CV-6 Wildcats during the Doolittle Raid--while these had the "meat balls", all one needs for evidence for overpainting/star placement is the Wildcat found near the USS Hornet wreck.)  (3) This Wildcat likely did not have Hamilton Standard propellors--but Airfix provided decals for them (fortunately the stencils at the base of the propellor are good representations of the technical data on what I believe is a Curtiss Electric Constant speed propellor--as an aside, I do not think there were Curtiss Electric seals on the props during this timeframe) (4) I used the photo of Ensign Bass's Wildcat from VF-3 during the battle of Midway to assist with placing the squadron insignia--I am not sure the Squadron insignia's were on this aircraft given my period photo which is very grainy.  Nearly all other VF-3 F4F-4s appear to have the squadron markings on the Hawaii photos taken just before the Battle of Midway   

 

While I am pointing out a lot of where I think Airfix missed the mark, I think it is important to stress the above concerns are relatively minor details--I learn from lots of folks like @Jackson Duvalier who share their research.  To my eye, all the colors are on point & the decal sizes/number/letter fonts look spot on.  I really only bought up my propellor concern as it is easily corrected with what Airfix provided.  I also agree with Johnny @The Spadgent that the clear parts on these kits are amazing--especially for the price point. 

 

Once I settled the decals down with Microscale decal solutions, I applied a Mission Models Flat Clear coat that went on without issue & de-masked--I am now officially a fan.  I always get concerned when I apply a new brand of Flat Clear coat given an outcome on one of @billn53's build (I think it was either an F-105 or F-4).  Following the Flat Clear coat, I applied minor weathering and am getting excited to attach the gear.  It should really compliment the model's engine work--I was really nervous about attempting the Wildcat's very open (in my opinion) engine/well well area, but really think this is working out well. While I look at @giemme's and other super detailed builds, I do not think 1/72 lends itself to making further details of engine/well area worthwhile given how little light penetrates this area.  

 

Thank you all for your thoughts and ideas on how to improve or issues with my research.  Best, Erwin

 

 

Enterprise Wildcats during Doolittle Raid

 

F4Fs_on_elevator_of_USS_Enterprise_(CV-6  

 

Ens Bass from VF-3 (USS Yorktown CV-5) landing on USS Hornet during Battle of Midway

 

Ens_Bass_landing_USS_Hornet_Midway_1942.

 

USS Hornet CV-5 wreck Wildcat

 

e0af6ff8109b357c6c1ad331e01d43a7?impolic

 

thach-23-web

 

Late 1942/early 1943 F4F-4--not blue wheel hubs

 

Grumman_F4F-4_Wildcat_of_VGF-27_aboard_U

 

VF-3 F4F-4s May 1942 in Hawaii

 

F4F-4_Wildcats_of_VF-3_at_Kaneohe_in_May

 

Now on to the model

 

Overview of a decaled/gloss coated F4F-4

 

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Flat coat, de-masked, decaled/ flat coated prop mounter prop--really glad I spent the effort on the engine

 

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The inter coolers made it through masking and painting in the forward wheel wells along with the engine's rear internals

 

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Best build photo showing Grumman Grey/Cammo Grey contrast

 

 

DSCN3387

 

Edited by VT Red Sox Fan
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