Bob Dedmon, Williamsburg, Virginia
Bob built Tamiya’s 1/48 scale F4F-4 Wildcat and writes: “This is a very nice kit out of the box, one of Tamiya’s shake-and-bake kits; I chose a kit option of a Wildcat from the USS Ranger at the beginning of World War II. To scratchbuild the wing folds and interiors, I removed about 1mm of plastic from the inside of the wings, except in the flap area, then separated them along the fold lines, saving the lower fold panel for a finishing touch. Referencing photos, I built the ribs, spars, and stiffeners from sheet styrene. The cables are invisible thread and styrene rod. I strengthened the wing fold with a piece if 1/16" brass shaved, trimmed, and twisted to shape to support the outer panels. I formed the fold hinges and wing locks from .020" and .030" rod and routed cables through lightening holes at the front of the wing. The port wing has an extra pair of lines for the pitot system. If it wasn’t for folding the wings, I think I could have finished this kit in a week or so … including time to ride shotgun on a pair of *** daughters!”