Completed - Yaks Revell Grumman Martlet V in 1/32

[yak face]

Heres my Revell Martlet V in 1/32 . A reasonable kit to say it was tooled in 1969 , quite accurate and a good basis for enhancement
Seat belts were MDC etched brass , all other extra detailing scratch built .
I first decided to build a Martlet after reading Captain Eric 'Winkle'Browns book 'Wings on my sleeve'. The Martlet was a particular favourite of this remarkable man ,who sadly passed away in 2016. I would recommend reading this book if youve any interest in aircraft or naval aviation , or at least googling Captain Eric Brown to see the story of this gentleman and true hero. The build thread can be found here http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/revell-1-32-grumman-martlet-v.29204/
.heres the pics in 2 lots , thanks to all who have had the patience to follow this one , comments criticisms welcome , cheers tony

 

[yak face]

 

[BigZimmo]

Tony, you proved it again. Oldie but Goldie !! You have made a beauty from this oldtimer kit!!!
Absolutely well done, mate!!!!

Cheers
Stefan

 

[Steve Jones]

WOW! Stunning work Tony. The detailing is awesome. A real credit to your building talents. You must be very pleased.

 

[Vaughan]

Great result Tony worth the time you have spent on scratch building those wing folds and a great paint job to boot. One to be proud of (by the way great photography shows the plane off to great effect)

 

[papa 695]

It as been a pleasure to watch the build thread of this one Tony, and the finished article is just outstanding. A real credit to your building skills.

 

[stillp]

Damn, that's good!

Pete

 

[Steve O]

Very nice indeed Tony, superb job and another to be proud of.

Steve.

 

[colin m]

A top notch job. The wing fold mechanism looks quite splendid. I can't remember if you riveted, or this old kit had its own rivets.

 

[yak face]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments , colin the kit had raised panel lines and rivets which in this case were perfectly correct as the wildcat had overlapping panels and prominent rivets. I had to re instate them in a few places but kept them intact. After painting and decalling I used a very well worn piece of 1200 grit wet and dry paper and rubbed the whole airframe . This rubbed off the paint on the rivets and panel lines slightly which highlights them nicely. The exception to this was the outer wing panels which were flush riveted , so I had to sand these back , being careful to leave the ones round the gun access panels . Cheers tony

 

[Fernando N]

Superb finish Tony, great paint job and the wing fold mechanism is an eye catcher.
One to be proud of.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Tony
Stunning. The attention to detail and those folded wings are simply superb.
Jim

 

[yak face]

Thanks guys , I did a lot of browsing of photos and also found a great video that helped with a lot of the details. Its one from Kermit Weeks ,who runs the Fantasy of Flight museum in Florida with lots of flying exhibits. His enthusiasm for the aircraft is incredible and hes also made lots of youtube videos. This one is the first of a three part 'Kermie cam' video of him doing a pre flight check on his FM2 Wildcat (different engine , taller tail , minor cockpit differences to my martlet v , but everything else the same) and gave me some superb references for the wingfold, wing stays, nav lights etc . and just look at those panel joints and huge rivets on the fuselage ! most of the modern tooled recessed rivet and panel lines models are just not realistic for some of these old birds! score one for the old school !Have a look and if youve got time look at the other two videos where he takes it up for a spin all while wearing the headcam , brilliant stuff, thank god there are people like him keeping these great aircraft flying .

cheers tony

 

[Deleted member 5819]

Hi Tony now that is a awesome piece of work .
Pete

 

[Dave W]

That's a great piece of work Tony. I've read Eric's book as well.Theres an Interesting account of him shooting down an FW200 Condor in one of these.And I visited Kermit Weeks airfield in Florida back in 2001. Left the family in Orlando and drove down there for the day with my father in law.Well worth a visit if you get the chance.

 

[yak face]

Thanks dave , id love to visit fantasy of flight , some fantastic aircraft and a lot of them airworthy too . Cheers tony

 

[Mickc1440]

All the extra work you've put into this Tony has really paid off, what a beauty.

 

[yak face]

Cheers mick , i enjoy the challenge of detailing these old kits , ive got a 1/32 revell p-38 lightning and the 1/32 mosquito in the stash which will eventually get the same treatment

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Nice!

 

[spanner570]

Tha's got a reet grand result there owd lad! Now't so certin.

Love.
Alex (Hurricane) Higgins