Trumpeter 1/32 Grumman Wildcat early version

[BarryW]

Vaughan - I found that the wings are best glued to the fuselage before closing the fuselage with cement applied inside. Be careful about the dihedral though.

 

[Vaughan]

Barry, I should have dry fitted all the parts before closing the fuselage. Oh well you live and learn. I'm sure I will work around it somehow, it will just be a real fiddle.

Vaughan

 

[BarryW]

Sorry Vaughan - I had a problem loading the last lot of images before I posted and did not realise you had already closed up the fuselage. Its looking very good I have to say...

I am delayed with mine as I have decided to source a new undercarriage (had a bit of luck...) which should arrive within a week.

 

[Vaughan]

Well luckily after having a long think and a trawl of the many modelling forums I came up with a save on the fitting of the wings. Several build reviews had made comment about the poorly fitting wings and if possible, as Barry had suggested, to fit them first to the fuselage halves before buttoning it all up. Luckily for me there was an alternative which involved gluing the top half of the wing with the tab on to the fuselage first thus creating a near perfect fit and then follow up with the bottom half. I'm now half way through the process and all seems to be good.

There's a fair amount of detail inside the wings so I thought I might have the inspection covers for the cartridge belt feeds open, but typically there are some very nice ejector pin marks on the inside of the covers so filling and sanding will be required. The same again with the wing flaps, this time I have opted to cover them with thin plastic card as filling and then sanding would have been near impossible. So having done all that hard work fiddling about with PE hinges and once offered up to the wings on a dry fit the flaps hardly move. Next will be to attach the lower halves of the wings and maybe work out a way of freeing up the flaps more.

Vaughan

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[Vaughan]

Hi All not much progress at the moment but I have completed the prop usual colour of black and silver. The tips should be painted red,yellow and blue and I would normally mask and spray them but the kit did supply decals. So I gave them a go and to my surprise they worked. Needed a bit of decalsoft and I'm pleased with the result. I then followed up with some dry brushing on the tips and leading edge.

Vaughan

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[Vaughan]

Here's a further update for anyone who's interested. I've masked the canopy and attached the front section. The Wildcat has had a coat of grey primer and I pre-shaded the wings with yellow and a drop of brown followed up with straight yellow. The result is nice and subtle. The next step will be to mask off the wings in readiness for the aluminium.

Vaughan.

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[BarryW]

That is very nicely done... Yellow is such a difficult colour to handle. What brand of paint Vaughan?

 

[Vaughan]

Thanks Barry it's Vallejo Gold Yellow. I find you just have to build it up in layers and be patient. By the way how's the Martlett coming on?

Vaughan

 

[papa 695]

Thats looking sweet Vaughan some great work

 

[BarryW]

Done. Pics posted here Vaughan

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/aircraft-pictures/16850-rnas-martlett-iii.html

 

[Vaughan]

The wings are masked off so I can make a start on the tail section, first pre-shading with black and then following up with black and a drop of white. This hasn't produced the desired effect I was after, so I will have to post shade with true black airbrushing with a fine needle. Once I'm happy I will mask it off in readiness for the aluminium on the fuselage and wings. I have also made a tentative start with the aluminium and sprayed the canopy. Once cured I will apply a coat of Klear to protect it. Later today or maybe tomorrow morning I'll attempt to spray the engine cowling and control flaps.

Vaughan

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[Vaughan]

The canopy had a coat of klear yesterday and today I've given it a dark dirt wash to high light the rivet detail and then removed the masking. I'm pleased with the result. Still yet to sort out the post shading on the tail section once done I will mask it off ready for the aluminium. There's no escaping it I'm running out of other stuff to do.

Vaughan

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[treyzx10r]

That wash really made the rivets pop Vaughan,looking forward to seeing you tackle that aluminum!

 

[Vaughan]

Thanks Trey.

Vaughan

 

[Vaughan]

Here's my progress over the last two days. I masked off the tail section I hope I've got the profile right. Then the upper wing surface running over the leading edge and wing tips. Loaded up my Iwata BR with Vallejo Aluminium ( after shaking it till I thought my arm was going to fall off)and off I went. The paint went down well and I built up the layers slowly. This morning I took the masking off and I'm please with the results I will now have to allow the aluminium to cure for 48 hours and then seal with some Klear.

Vaughan

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[AVB99]

That's amazing! I really appreciate the skills that you guys have.

Aidan

 

[Vaughan]

Cheers Aidan.

Vaughan

 

[flyjoe180]

Looking great Vaughan, the aluminium looks fantastic.

 

[treyzx10r]

Awesome masking technique ,nice crisp lines and no blow outs ! NMF is looking super clean Vaughan!

 

[Vaughan]

Thanks guys here's a quick sneak preview. I've sprayed the engine cowl and added the black band including a wash to highlight the rivet detail it's looking a little dull so will have to work on that one, but the rest I'm pleased with.

Vaughan

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