Greetings Everyone!
Well, It has been over a year since I last posted a completed build and I'm happy to finally share another one. I just finished this Hellcat for the Pacific Carrier Aviation & 1944 GB's. This is the Eduard 1/72 F6F-3 Hellcat Profipack and let me tell you, it is one beauty of a kit. I used Techmod decals to depict "Little Joe" of VF-51 on board CVL-30 USS San Jacinto.
I used Model Master enamels paints overall. The panel wash is Flory Wash and the exhaust and gun/gun chute staining was achieved with pastels and pigments. A prismacolor silver pencil was used for chipping. Am parts used were an Ultracast seat w/ harness and Master metal gun barrels. I added copper wire for the brake lines on the landing gear. Weathering was done with lightened shades of dark sea blue then an overall dusting of Tamiya light gray highly thinned with 91% iso-alcohol.
I was set back on this build when not once, but twice, my Mr. Cear Coat Gloss orange peeled on me on the wings. The first time I completely stripped the paint and repainted. When the same thing occurred the second time I'd run out of gumption to strip again. Plus, I now needed new insignia decals. Thus, I ordered an Eduard F6F-3 Weekend Edition kit for replacement parts. One of the beauties of the engineering on this kit is that the wings slide very snugly into slots in the fuselage. So snugly that initially I had not even glued the wings on. So, I was able to pop the original wings off and replace them new ones from the WE kit. The problem with the orange peeling seemed to stem from applying it over the gloss MM paint. I remedied the problem by applying a light flat coat first followed by the gloss coat. Go figure.
The moral of the story is that I simply refused to give up despite the insanely frustrating set backs. I was not about to toss it or put it up for a shelf queen. It just took some time, perseverance and patience. And it paid off for me. Rather happy with the finished product. So, when you face similar circumstances don't give up. Just step away for a bit and simply give some thought to a solution. Many of which can be found right here amongst you awesome folks.
If you have not had the opportunity to build one of Eduard's Hellcats, whether it be in 1/72 or 1/48, then I highly recommend that you do. They are marvelously detailed and engineered.
Enough said. Time for some pics:
Now for an added touch:
Thank You all for having a look. I wlecome all comments whether they be pro or con.
ENJOY!!