Enzo the Magnificent Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Way waaaay back at the beginning of the year, we had the Matchbox Classic Groupbuild. In that GB I built the Matchbox Bowing P-12E. I vowed that I would built its US Navy equivalent, the Bowing F4B-4, in this GB. So I'd better get cracking. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Welcome along Enzo, I will follow along as Ive got two of these now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 6, 2022 Author Share Posted October 6, 2022 It's a very simple kit. No cockpit, just a pilot figure. But I think we can forgive it - after all it was first released in 1968. The decals are totally shot, so I found replacements. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 1 hour ago, Enzo Matrix said: It's a very simple kit. No cockpit, just a pilot figure. But I think we can forgive it - after all it was first released in 1968. The decals are totally shot, so I found replacements. I keep looking for those decals myself as well as their P-26 sheets. Unfortunately they're out of stock everywhere Ive checked when I have the $ available. Oh well will keep looking and hopefully will find them someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 Hi Enzo, you will enjoy this kit. It has a very reasonable fit for its age and the details are amazing for a sixties' kit. I am using the same decal sheet. Which option are you going to go for? Have fun. JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 7, 2022 Author Share Posted October 7, 2022 57 minutes ago, jean said: Which option are you going to go for? The one shown on the front of the decal cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 3 hours ago, Enzo Matrix said: The one shown on the front of the decal cover. Same here! I am actually quite sad that I haven't found a single picture of this very airframe with the unit emblem, which is rather impressive. So I will have to pass, unless I do find one with the emblem before completion of the model. Plus the fuselage band is not supposed to have a black border. I will forget about that. Enjoy! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 7, 2022 Author Share Posted October 7, 2022 7 minutes ago, jean said: Plus the fuselage band is not supposed to have a black border. It's just as well that I painted the band on mine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 11, 2022 Author Share Posted October 11, 2022 First step was to paint the cockpit interior - what little there is of it! The model goes together very quickly indeed! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 I neglected to take photos of much of the painting process... I followed my usual process of a clear lacquer pre-primer coat followed by grey plastic primer. The lower wings and the upper wing undersurfaces were sprayed with aluminium. The upper wing top surface (and aileron undersurfaces) were prayed with Fiat Broom Yellow. All of these were car paint from rattle cans. After that, I sprayed the fuselage light grey, using Lifecolor UA-563 FS36622 camouflage grey. Then came the masking... It's a tiny model and the masking is quite fiddly... But I persevered. The section bands are Lifecolor LC-10 while the Willow Green tail surfaces (indicating USS Ranger) are Lifecolor UA-146. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 5 minutes ago, Enzo Matrix said: I neglected to take photos of much of the painting process... For shame Enzo … For shame … Tsk Tsk. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 5 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: For shame Enzo … For shame … Tsk Tsk. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Hi Enzo, this is a fast build, and it looks good so far. All you have to do is put all these pieces together and all will be well. The inside of the Townend ring and the protection plate in front of the engine should be painted blue as well, if it is not already done. Great show. JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 7 minutes ago, jean said: The inside of the Townend ring and the protection plate in front of the engine should be painted blue as well, if it is not already done. The Townend ring is already mounted on the engine with the interior in aluminium. It's going to be a bit difficult to repaint it so I'll just live with it. The engine protection plate can easily be repainted. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 It really does look great! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Yes it does 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 19 hours ago, jean said: The inside of the Townend ring and the protection plate in front of the engine should be painted blue As far as I'm informed the inside of the cowling was US Navy Aircraft Gray as all metal parts on the F4B, including the underside of the ailerons. Great progress, Enzo! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 4 hours ago, Toryu said: As far as I'm informed the inside of the cowling was US Navy Aircraft Gray as all metal parts on the F4B, including the underside of the ailerons. Hi Toryu, re the Townend ring, I have seen photos where aircraft having only half the engine protection plate painted displayed an inside half of the ring painted as well. So I have assumed that in a section leader plane the whole of the ring inner circumference should have to be painted as well. Some units, like VF-3, never painted the ring, be it inside and outside. The protection plate though, was painted as per Navy instructions. Prerogative of command? I am not sure. The underside of the ailerons has always baffled me: some people say the ailerons' underside is bright yellow. Some photos show a potentially different hue than the wing underside, some other photos don't. In doubt, I paint the whole underside silver. Interesting points, but I refuse to stress about. Have fun! JR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 14, 2022 Author Share Posted October 14, 2022 8 minutes ago, jean said: but I refuse to stress about. Have fun! A sensible policy for a better Britmodeller. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Great work here Enzo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 And we're finished! This is not a big model! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 Here's a comparison with the land-based equivalent: The Matchbox P-12E built earlier this year in the Matchbox Classic GB. I call them "Surf & Turf". 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Hi Enzo, this is a beautiful duo! I have the P-12 Matchbox as well, but I will give it a miss at the mo: I need something definitely bigger to work on. Your F4B-4 is looking splendid. Congrats!! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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