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Tamiya and Trumpeter Wildcats


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Today I have mainly been working on Tamiyas delightful 1/48 scale Wildcat.

I bought the kit in Hong Kong for the princely sum of £7! I've wanted the kit for a while now, I like the lines of the Wildcat and the kit has always attracted positive comment by builders.

Well it's now going to get some from me as well!

At first glance there are fairly few parts and you find yourself thinking it might be a bit sparse, then you look closer.

The cockpit when assembled is pretty damn good, and needs nothing more than a set of seatbelts to finish it off, yet is made up of less than ten parts!

I added some PE belts that I had kicking around, actually British ones but I'm not fussed, better than none at all, that aside the cockpit is totally OOB.

247914548.jpg

247914580.jpg

The paint is Gunze US Navy interior green, washed and dirtied with pastels from Tamiyas brilliant weathering sets.

I now have the airframe pretty much complete and expect I'll start painting it over the weekend. The fit is exemplary throughout, and it needs to be since the rivet detail is mostly raised and will be very hard to replace if lost through sanding seams!

I'm particularly impressed with the one piece tailplane and cowling. Both fit well enough that I can leave them off for painting without fear.

More soon.

Jen.

Edited by desmojen
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Today I have mainly been working on Tamiyas delightful 1/48 scale Wildcat.

I bought the kit in Hong Kong for the princely sum of £7! I've wanted the kit for a while now, I like the lines of the Wildcat and the kit has always attracted positive comment by builders.

Well it's now going to get some from me as well!

At first glance there are fairly few parts and you find yourself thinking it might be a bit sparse, then you look closer.

The cockpit when assembled is pretty damn good, and needs nothing more than a set of seatbelts to finish it off, yet is made up of less than ten parts!

I added some PE belts that I had kicking around, actually British ones but I'm not fussed, better than none at all, that aside the cockpit is totally OOB.

247914548.jpg

247914580.jpg

The paint is Gunze US Navy interior green, washed and dirtied with pastels from Tamiyas brilliant weathering sets.

I now have the airframe pretty much complete and expect I'll start painting it over the weekend. The fit is exemplary throughout, and it needs to be since the rivet detail is mostly raised and will be very hard to replace if lost through sanding seams!

I'm particularly impressed with the one piece tailplane and cowling. Both fit well enough that I can leave them off for painting without fear.

More soon.

Jen.

Hi Jen- its looking good!

The gunze paint for the interior- is it the aquous or the enamel?

most interior greens tend to go very appely green and look crap in my humble estimation. this one seems to be holding its own under scrutiny.

So what scheme you going to finish it?

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Thanks all, even Neil! :rolleyes:

Metalguru, it's the acrylic, can't remember the number off the top of my head but I'll have a check over the weekend and put it in the next build post.

I was going to go for the three tone scheme but the stripey rudder on the earlier two tone has won me over, so light blue grey over light grey it is!

Jen.

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  • 3 months later...

I was going to start a new thread but decided to put this in here since it is another Wildcat!

I've been working on a Trumpy 1/32 Wildcat this last week or so, and thought I'd let you all have a wee peek.

It's a nice kit and so far has been very enjoyable. Here's a couple of shots of the cockpit. First off, the instrument panel and side consoles.

270088468.jpg

270088462.jpg

I fitted the cockpit before I took any pics of it, consequently, it was nearly impossible to get any decent pics of it! :doh:

it's painted in the darker green which I used Gunze euro green for. Weathered by washing and drybrushing. My pilot didn't usually wear chippes so the the floor is relatively unchipped :P

I'd seen others write about the fuselage halves being a bit tricky so I was careful when I got to that point, resulting in a virtually perfect join.

Next up is the engine. A real little sweetheart it is too.

270088469.jpg

270088475.jpg

Having spent several hours carefully building and painting said engine, you can imagine how chuffed I was on dry fitting it within the cowl to find you really can't see it at all! :fraidnot:

Will update further soon.

Jen.

P.S. The Tamiya Wildcat is still ready for paint, has been for ages! :lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...

And the Trumpeter surges ahead! :hobbyhorse:

272103503.jpg

I sprayed it silver using a Tamiya rattle can. Took two goes to get it nice, but it is nice now. I then started a debate on the proper hue of chrome yellow :hmmm:

Having been shunted in three different directions, I ignored everyone and painted it with Xtracrylix RAF Rescue Yellow. I think it looks pretty cool.

The white band is Tamiya flat white which I also used as a basecoat for the yellow. It is preshaded too, but not in the normal way :wicked: so it isn't obvious, which is what I wanted.

I think I will plump for getting some Xtracolour Willow Green for the tail from Bill because I have nothing suitable. The Hu3 emerald would be a tad bright I suspect.

There's plenty to get on with while I'm wating for it though so no worries :D

Jen.

:shrug: (no good reason for the shrug, just doesn't get used enough. Come on guys, support the shrug!)

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Probably not Mike. I don't think it's good enough. It's actually for a magazine, my first ever review kit B)

Jen.

Surely you should let the judges decide that? :hmmm: Way to go on the first review anyway :thumbsup::partytime:

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I was going to start a new thread but decided to put this in here since it is another Wildcat!

I've been working on a Trumpy 1/32 Wildcat this last week or so, and thought I'd let you all have a wee peek.

It's a nice kit and so far has been very enjoyable. Here's a couple of shots of the cockpit. First off, the instrument panel and side consoles.

270088468.jpg

270088462.jpg

I fitted the cockpit before I took any pics of it, consequently, it was nearly impossible to get any decent pics of it! :doh:

it's painted in the darker green which I used Gunze euro green for. Weathered by washing and drybrushing. My pilot didn't usually wear chippes so the the floor is relatively unchipped :P

I'd seen others write about the fuselage halves being a bit tricky so I was careful when I got to that point, resulting in a virtually perfect join.

Next up is the engine. A real little sweetheart it is too.

270088469.jpg

270088475.jpg

Having spent several hours carefully building and painting said engine, you can imagine how chuffed I was on dry fitting it within the cowl to find you really can't see it at all! :fraidnot:

Will update further soon.

Jen.

P.S. The Tamiya Wildcat is still ready for paint, has been for ages! :lol:

Hi Jens

Nice going on the Wildcat, I love the Silver and Yellow scheme on the early ones. After getting a bagging when it first released the Wildcat, it looks like Trumpy have got their act together and produced a real nice kit.

Looking forward to seeing the finished item.

Cheers

Mike

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Jen,

:shrug:

That Trumpy one is looking real good! Can't wait to see it progressing...

:shrug:

Looks like you got a really nice finish from a rattle can with the silver.

:shrug:

Are you going to be entering the Trumpeter comp again this year?

:shrug:

Shruggingly,

Karl. :shrug:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well the big one is finished! The Tamiya one remains stalled, especially since I've recently discovered that I've lost the entire tailplane!!! :deadhorse: Anyone got a spare one?

Quick pic of the Trumpeter one,

276966923.jpg

276966919.jpg

It's a lovely model, there are a few pitfalls waiting to create extra work for you but on the whole a thoroughly enjoyable build.

Model is due to be featured in MAI, I'll let you know when.

Jen.

Edited by desmojen
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