Back from oblivion: trying to save an Eduard 1/72 F6-F3 Hellcat

[PattheCat]

Hello britmodellers,

 

After the Tamiya Zero fiasco I decided in august that "balance" had to be maintained and took a 1/72 kit out of the shelf of doom.

And again left it aside for the "Fork-tailed" devil STGB. Which for me, ended as well as a failure.

 

 

So no more choice now but to repolish up my image, even if I'm conscious it has no chance to ever shine as briliantly as our Magnificent Enzo @Enzo the Magnificent 😉

More serously, Eduard's 1/72 F6-F3 Hellcat really is a very nice little kit and it would be a shame to leave it unfinished.

 

About two years ago I think, I fully paintedit and the paint I used (Gunze aqueous H316) for the undersurfaces never cured. Even after removing it and repainting using a new jar! And there were quite a lot of scratches on the plastic that I saw after painting. So out of the way it went.

 

Here it is as it was in august after removing all the paint with IPA and a session with very fine sanding cloth .

Some repairs were needed - broken guns (location drilled) and aileron hinge (rebuilt with filler). Still an antenna on the tail to scratch build. And .... who's d...  enough to "re"scribe panel lines where there were none .... 🙃. Also, part of the extra fine rivet detail was lost but I thought it was still OK.

 

 

 

 

Pat

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by PattheCat
Moved to KUTA 2022 on 12/16/2022. Thank you Enzo.

[Jackson Duvalier]

Looks like a decent blank canvas now.  Hope your next paint application goes smoothly!

[bigbadbadge]

Good luck for the new paint,  it certainly cleaned up well.

Chris

[stevehnz]

I'll look forward to a better result this time Pat.

Steve.

[IanC]

For a moment I thought I was looking at an old Matchbox two-colour kit from days of yore. No painting necessary! 😀

[PattheCat]

11 hours ago, IanC said:

For a moment I thought I was looking at an old Matchbox two-colour kit from days of yore. No painting necessary! 😀

 

That's how I felt when opening the box

 

 

Similarity with Matchbox doesn't stop there, it's a very simple kit also. But with up to date (surface) detail. 

[PattheCat]

Hi everybody,

 

So here we go again (since wednesday in fact).

 

Some panel lines were rescribed and the canopy frame received a coat of US interior green (Gunze aqueous H058 - "old" version)

 

 

Then a coat of primer (Stynylrez "metal")

 

 

 

A minor flaw ... or two to handle. I can't accuse the cat this time, it's definitely a hair .... or two of mine 🧐

 

I do like this metal colour. I think it would look real good as "aluminium dope" under semi-gloss vanish. What do you think? (it would also make it easier for super slow builders like me and myself 😇)

 

Have a nice evening.

 

Pat.

[PattheCat]

Hello fellow britmodellers,

 

I painted the undersurfaces yesterday but lighting was very poor so I waited to take a pic.

 

Clearly H316, after trying two different pots, was out of question.

 

I decided that a pure white also wasn't applicable to my build

- being too "flashy" IMHO

- after looking at a very interesting topic here with the invaluable input of Nick Millman and Don Mac Intyre (Thank you guys)  - so NEVER warm white undersides for USN planes except thru weathering.

- as the aircraft I want to depict was freshly delivered and I won't apply weathering to subdue it

 

What I did is to add just a dab of Tamiya XF-83 medium sea grey to XF-2 flat white to obtain a more sober and still "cold" white. I won't delve into the matter of specular and non specular paints, I don't have the necessary knowledge. The whole plane shall receive a satin clear coat.

 

So, after varying proportions of MSG were tested on a mule (finally approximately 4%), here is the result against different white backrounds for a comparison:

 

 

I'd appreciate to know your opinion about "my" insignia white before I apply a last light finishing coat (I find it still somewhat too greyish). But being quite stubborn I can't guarantee I'll follow your wise advices  

 

I wish a Merry Christmas to all with tons of fantastic gifts for modelling purposes under the tree (or whatever else you're wishing for)

May you and your loved ones fare well, be in good health and be happy.

 

Friendly regards.

Pat.

[PattheCat]

Hi everybody,

Another small step forward. Navy blue (Gunze H54) was applied over the wings and tailplanes. Painting these first will make masking for the intermediate blue easier.

 

 

Further airbrushing tomorrow. Now busy prepping the small parts.

 

I hope you're enjoying relaxing end-of-year holidays.

 

Cheers.

Pat.

[Adm Lord De Univers]

On 24/12/2022 at 12:11, PattheCat said:

 

I'd appreciate to know your opinion about "my" insignia white before I apply a last light finishing coat (I find it still somewhat too greyish).

Probably too late now, but given this part of the plane will naturally be somewhat shaded, it looks to me to be an ideal mix.

 

Thank you for the link above, my own two cents is that anytime white is called for, I blast it with at least 5 different shades (from brilliant to a light grey, sometimes misting over with the actual colour to blend) - really, to help draw out contouring, or trying to get light effects, but also so there isn't just one petulent white blob offending my lordly gaze.

 

David

 

Ps. I have the Airfix Saturn V and two space shuttles in the pile...send me any leftover whites please.

[PattheCat]

2 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

Probably too late now, but given this part of the plane will naturally be somewhat shaded, it looks to me to be an ideal mix.

 

Next time I'll try with less MSG to just avoid a blinding white.

 

2 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

Thank you for the link above, my own two cents is that anytime white is called for, I blast it with at least 5 different shades (from brilliant to a light grey, sometimes misting over with the actual colour to blend) - really, to help draw out contouring, or trying to get light effects, but also so there isn't just one petulent white blob offending my lordly gaze.

I'm definitily too lazy for multiple shades like you do 🥱

2 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

Ps. I have the Airfix Saturn V and two space shuttles in the pile...send me any leftover whites please.

I'd like to oblige but if it's like the other way round, shipment (gift under 45€ so without import fees) from Belgium would still be around 20 quids .... worse, it may be discarded as containing "flammable" paints as the goods nature must be declared. I worked as an after sales officer in a shipping company and we had one of our trucks destroyed by a fire that originated in the cargo. The insurer asked for the goods manifest and examined the wreck, they found there was paint and aerosols in a package. You don't want to know what happened next.

IMHO, as white is used on spacecraft for heat reflection, wouldn't a pure white with pre-shading of some panels be a better option? (I don't build "rockets")

 

Sorry and thanks for your comments.

Pat.

[Adm Lord De Univers]

3 hours ago, PattheCat said:

I'm definitily too lazy for multiple shades like you do 🥱

All done one after the other to help blend it in, no airbrush cleaning inbetween! Emphasis on 'blast' it on. I haven't mastered the technique yet by any means.

 

3 hours ago, PattheCat said:

IMHO, as white is used on spacecraft for heat reflection, wouldn't a pure white with pre-shading of some panels be a better option? (I don't build "rockets")

Quite true, although one of them is going to be a night light in a toddler's room, launching from the pad (light in the exhaust). Well that's the plan, but it can be slightly toy like as it'll have a limited life. The other one, I will need to consider a bit more, I have hundreds of photos of a couple of them. But you can see from the link below, it ranges from a brilliant white to a, er, 'poo' brown and everywhere inbetween (even on the launchpad):

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Discovery#/media/File%3ASpace_Shuttle_Discovery_under_a_full_moon%2C_03-11-09.jpg

 

Sorry for tangent, but -in short -  I'm a fan of your underbelly 'white'. (And have a real dislike of white-white in general, it seems).

 

David

[PattheCat]

 

5 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

All done one after the other to help blend it in, no airbrush cleaning inbetween! Emphasis on 'blast' it on. I haven't mastered the technique yet by any means.

 

Quite true, although one of them is going to be a night light in a toddler's room, launching from the pad (light in the exhaust). Well that's the plan, but it can be slightly toy like as it'll have a limited life. The other one, I will need to consider a bit more, I have hundreds of photos of a couple of them. But you can see from the link below, it ranges from a brilliant white to a, er, 'poo' brown and everywhere inbetween (even on the launchpad):

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Discovery#/media/File%3ASpace_Shuttle_Discovery_under_a_full_moon%2C_03-11-09.jpg

 

Sorry for tangent, but -in short -  I'm a fan of your underbelly 'white'. (And have a real dislike of white-white in general, it seems).

 

David

 

Medium sea grey is my first choice for a cold white. When I want a warmer white I add a slight bit of Tamiya deck tan to white (I think that Gunze "radome" and "sail" colours would also be no bad choices to obtain warm "off-" whites).

You have the shuttle before launch and after atmospheric reentry, so for the night light maybe colder whites and warmer tones for your other build.

 

Cheers.

Pat.

[PattheCat]

Hello fellows,

no mellow yellow done(- ovan)

but the two blues well:

 

 

 

I'd like to soften the too neat separation line between colours and will probably try to "smooth" it with some freehand spraying.

 

Also touch-ups required, here:

 

and there:

 

If all goes well, I'll post pics after the tidying-up.

 

May you Britmodellers and your family all enjoy a happy, healthy and prosperous year 2023.

 

Pat.