Your Hellcat is looking right mighty fine Harp. Excellent work. The dark gull gray wash certainly may be a bit on the stark contrast side but, it definitely came out well. Your exhaust stains look great. They indeed should be on the cream/buff side of color. Wonderful job so far. And, yes, I like it too.

So close... just a semi gloss clear coat on the bird, and some flat coat for the prop and wheels and she's finished.  I tried pigments for the exhaust and gun stains - a new technique for me but I feel like it looks pretty good.  Next time I'll go with a darker gray for the pin wash; I used dark gull gray but it pops a bit too much for my taste - maybe a german/panzer gray next time.  The exhaust looks a little light but I did some research on Hellcat exhaust stains and its pretty tan (see pic).  Overall, really happy with this build; I make progress with each kit, which is all one can really ask I suppose.  

Finished pics tomorrow!

- Harp

Sample Exhaust Photo:

WIP Pics:

JOE RIX

Well harp, all of your time and patience paid off in spades. The stencils look great. And the fact that you worked through a self inflicted knife wound is worth a hardy kudos to you. You the man! The Hellcat overall is looking fantastic.

On my Hellcat I used artist oils thinned with Turpenoid. It works well. Although, I am beginning to use Flory washes more. Love the effect you can achieve with them.

I hope you are healing well and did not require stitches. Definitely looking forward to the weathering.

 

Haha thanks buddy.  No stitches... bout an inch long wound though (bled for a while).  Just got the second clear coat on tonight so weathering will start in earnest on Monday probably.  (I've been working on a 350th Gato Class sub and I figured I'd get it to the point of clearcoating and get em both done at once.)  I had an idea about the weathering...

I've got this AK Interactive Dust Effects pot that I use for dusting up tires and dirtying up armor, and the color is almost an exact neutral gray.  Its enamel based weathering stuff and usually I just airbrush a bit onto the sidewalls and tread then dry brush the tops of the tread with nato black.  That way the treads look a little dirty but the areas that get worn down are less dusty.  I've never tried streaking it, but its enamel, so over a lacquer coat I'd bet it'll work.  I'll add a pic so you can see the color - let me know what you think about the idea.  I'll put a pic of the gato in too just to show her off; she's only my second ship (and my first submarine) so I'm pretty proud of her (just don't inspect the railings on the pilothouse/conning tower too closely!).  Thanks as always for your help.  I owe ya a cold one should the opportunity ever arise!  

Cheers!

Well harp, all of your time and patience paid off in spades. The stencils look great. And the fact that you worked through a self inflicted knife wound is worth a hardy kudos to you. You the man! The Hellcat overall is looking fantastic.

On my Hellcat I used artist oils thinned with Turpenoid. It works well. Although, I am beginning to use Flory washes more. Love the effect you can achieve with them.

I hope you are healing well and did not require stitches. Definitely looking forward to the weathering.

JOE RIX

You are more than welcome harp. I'm simply glad that I am able to help out in any way.

Now for the real stuff. Your Hellcat is looking terific. I always love the stage in a build when the decals go on. Makes it feel like you've got something real. So, I'm curious, what are you using for a gloss coat that has caused the issues you are encountering?

Now, bring that killer kitty home with some dynamite weathering and finishing. Looking forward to your next progress.

 

I use MM gloss acrylic prior to decals and MM lacquer glosscote before weathering.  I've never had any issues like this prior to this build, so I'm thinking it was the MM sea blue.  I've always used enamel but this time I used acrylic and I think it just dried too fast on me and left an orange peel finish.  I thinned it a little more for later coats and got real close to the surface and it seemed to rectify the issue.

I got all the stencils done tonight - the lettering went up to EE, plus there were some D1, D2, A1, A2, etc.  All in all I think it was 34 stencils, some of which had up to 8 that had to go on.  It took a good 4 hours.  Hopefully none silver too badly... they seemed to look okay and I used a precautionary coat of Micro Sol just to be safe.  After all that, I'm thinking my next project will be some sort of armor; I love decaling but those stencils really took it out of me.

I also got the weapons stations painted, and invented a new way to cut myself with an exacto blade in the process.  Don't rest your wrist on a blade-up exacto knife.. (I must have been in the zone cause I didnt even notice til the pool of blood felt wet on my arm).  I also painted little dabs of silver where the formation and landing lights will go - I'm not totally sure it was necessary given the inclusion of clear parts that will be painted clear red, green, etc., but in the past it's produced some really nice results so why change a winning formula.  Glosscote part 1 goes on tomorrow and part 2 on Monday.  Should be weathering by mid week.  Out of curiousity, Joe, what were you using to achieve that nice gray wash?  I usually go with oils but I don't currently have a gray in my arsenal.  I was thinking I could use some super watered down enamel but I'm always nervous about experimenting with washes.  Guess I could pop into Michael's and pick up some gray oil paints.  On the fence about doing exhaust stains too.  Anyone know how common oil stains were on late-war Cats?  Not thinking Skyraider level of stains, but maybe something minor.

I threw some shots of the stenciling in just for fun.  Thanks as always for all the comments, guys.  I truly appreciate all the kind words (I think I'm actually starting to figure this modeling thing out...).

You are more than welcome harp. I'm simply glad that I am able to help out in any way.

Now for the real stuff. Your Hellcat is looking terific. I always love the stage in a build when the decals go on. Makes it feel like you've got something real. So, I'm curious, what are you using for a gloss coat that has caused the issues you are encountering?

Now, bring that killer kitty home with some dynamite weathering and finishing. Looking forward to your next progress.

What a fantastic build sir!  I bet your excited to get the cat weathered.  Great job.

Toshi

Oh wow, lost track of your thread here and now you're almost done, sharp work! 

Maybe a little late here but I agree with Joe. I don't think you saw a lot of chipping, dings, and nicks except on planes based on coral islands where the abrasive dust sandpapered the paint right off. Carrier based aircraft also got much more TLC. Japanese aircraft based off carriers tended to look almost pristine as well unlike island based aircraft with the paint beat all to hell and gone.  

Been a while.. had some issues glosscoating.. got frustrated, finally went back and got it fixed (wet sand, touch ups, wet sand again, more touch ups, 6 total gloss coats...) and did some decals tonight.  Got all the major markings and some stenciling done.  I'll get the rest of the stencils tomorrow and then start clear coating again before weathering.  I'm pretty happy with her so far.  Still have some rough spots on the underside that will need attention (or I'll have to skip a few stencils - still haven't decided which way I'll land on that).  Hoping to have her completely finished by the end of the week.

Joe - thanks for the tips on weathering!  I think some light chipping and medium gray pin wash is the route I'll take with her.  I can't wait to get the mask off the cockpit so I can see the whole thing as a plane rather than some abstract theoretical plane.  Thanks for the comments guys, and HUGE thanks to Joe for all the help along the way!  Cheers!

Looking really nice!

-BD-

Hey There harp. Sorry about the delayed response. Been a bit distracted lately. 

Your overall blue looks terrific. I like the effect you achieved on the bombs and rockets. I also use the sponge technique. It gives nice results.

Now, on to your questions.

Yes, the overall dark sea blue was glossy. I concur that you often don't see much chipping on late war overall dark blue Hellcats. not to say that there wasn't. My opinion would be light chipping but, hey, it's your bird, you can weather as you like.

The mounting stations were painted blue like the rest of the aircraft.

Use a med. to light gray for panel washes. That gives some nice results.

Here's a pic of my Eduard 1/72 F6F-3. It's not the best pic for the purpose but, you can see the effect of a med. gray wash on the right wing.

I hope I was able to be of some help to you. Keep it going. Your doing some great stuff.

mustang1989

Man that's blue alright! Looks nice and smooth!

 

Yeah the wildcat blue on blue on, wait for it, more blue... really leaves something to the imagination doesn't it?

Man that's blue alright! Looks nice and smooth!

Thanks for the replies, fellas.  Pretty big progress in the last week - BEHOLD! NAVY BLUE PAINT!

I also tried a different technique for the bombs/hvars - instead of hairspray and chipping I used a sponge to dab on steel paint to acheive the weathered effect on the ordinance.  I really like the result.  The prop hub is depicted as black on the instructions, but I find that boring.. so I painted it navy blue instead.  Tomorrow I'm going to glosscoat and Sunday I should be laying down decals.

I have a couple questions about the final phases of construction that maybe you guys can help me with:  I never seem to see shots of late war Hellcats too beat up so maybe you guys can clue me in to how much chipping I should do?  Also, is the finish on the navy blue gloss?  I always feel like thats too shiny so I was thinking maybe coating it semi-gloss...?  Are the weapons stations for the HVARs painted fuselage color or steel? (I've never been able to figure that one out.)  Lastly, what color works well with navy blue for panel lining; its so dark I don't feel like black will show up that well, but maybe I'm wrong..

Anyway, heres some pictures of progress and as always, thanks for having a look!

Tremendous work so far Harp. I'm also a member of the "I despise rescribing" school of thought. In fact, when I built my 1/72 Eduard Hellcat I took tiny pieces of sand paper and carefully sanded along the fuselage ribs in order to reduce any damage to them. It took a good bit of time but it saved me having to do any repairs. Those are a bear as they're not panel lines per say but, rather overlapping panels. A bit harder to repair to make look realistic again.

allan

That Cat's looking good, Harp.  And great work on the cockpit!

 

Thanks Allen!  These profipacks are something special.  I really wish Eduard would start making more of em!  Maybe even expand into profipack ships/armor... maybe someday!  I want a corsair (and a P-51!) dang it!

As usual progress has slowed.. kids...

I did manage to get her mostly assembled and I started priming today (did the top and ran out.. guess a trip to Hobbytown on my lunch tomorrow is in order).  I'm really bad at rescribing so I'm pretty proud of the job I did on the fuselage.  There are a couple spots where the tool skipped the groove that ill have to patch and re-prime but overall I'm pretty happy about it so far.  I decided to forego the drop tank and just dress her up loaded for bear.  Six HVARs and two thousand pounders... shes gonna look real mean once done.  Thinking about making fuse wires for the HVARs out of stretched sprue but I'm not sure how anal-retentive I wanna go with the underside.  Here are a few new pics of the primed fuselage and wings.

You are more than welcome. Love what you're doing so far. Looks great. Hmm, rather unfortunate concerning the cowling. Appears you got it in shape though.

That Cat's looking good, Harp.  And great work on the cockpit!

Thanks a ton Joe!  From everything I've seen you are indeed correct - all the late war Hellcats seem to be dark sea blue from head to toe.

Got the wings/stabilizers complete and attached to the bird, also assembled the landing gear tonight (including all the tedious PE parts and tiny struts).  The cowl is assembled but it didnt line up quite right so i had to sand it heavy to correct, and in turn will have to wet sand that to smooth things out, then rescribe a few panel lines.  Fuselage fit is really good.  Had to sand a bit in places and used an 11 blade to remove some excess glue seams.  Gonna give it a coat of silver to check for errors, fix whatever needs fixing, then prime it.  Also assembled the resin wheels/tires which are really good and required almost no cleaning.  The one area where cleaning was needed was sanded down to give it some weight.  Forgot to install the exhaust plate on the underside of the fuselage (whoops!) so I'm going to try and jerry it in there with the use of tape and maybe a pilot hole drilled in the firewall (behind the engine where it will be invisible. I'm hoping to have her painted and decaled by the end of the week.

A few construction photos from the last few days:

harp.ta

 

 

JOE RIX

 

 

harp.ta

 

 

JOE RIX

Splendidly done harp. Your cockpit and engine are sharp looking. I commend you on your work on the PE harness and on those fins. They look just right.

Concerning your question on the need for a centerline tank with full load of ordnance, I personally do not have a definitive answer for you. It's an excellent question though. My thought would be that it would be contingent on the distance required to the target area. I'd also consider that the drop tank would only be needed as far as the target and that the fuel in the drop tank would be used first thus reducing it's weight enroute. Just some random thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Joe.  I'd think that the distance from a task force to island targets (like Iwo) wouldn't be so far as to necessitate a drop tank but I'm not positive.  TOW would certainly be an issue carrying all that oridinance.  Common sense seems to indicate that they'd take it off prior to take off but I'm paranoid about these things and really want to get it right.

 

 

 

 

Sound thinking indeed. Tell you what, I have a number of reference books on the Hellcat and I'll peruse them and see if I can find some clarification for you.

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Joe, if its not too much trouble - while you're perusing that book, does it have any good shots of the landing gear and bays.  The instructions - as good as they are - are a little unclear on the paint for that area.  It says the gear bays should be the same color as the bottom surface (navy blue) but doesn't give a color for the struts.  Some of the images I've seen have them white, some aluminum, some white.  I've also seen the gear bays in chromate green and navy.  I know B-24s had the bays the same color as the underside of the wing (neutral gray) but I've never seen that on a fighter from that era.  Any insights as to those colors (along with the insides of the landing gear doors) would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

 

JOE RIX

 

 

harp.ta

 

 

JOE RIX

Splendidly done harp. Your cockpit and engine are sharp looking. I commend you on your work on the PE harness and on those fins. They look just right.

Concerning your question on the need for a centerline tank with full load of ordnance, I personally do not have a definitive answer for you. It's an excellent question though. My thought would be that it would be contingent on the distance required to the target area. I'd also consider that the drop tank would only be needed as far as the target and that the fuel in the drop tank would be used first thus reducing it's weight enroute. Just some random thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Joe.  I'd think that the distance from a task force to island targets (like Iwo) wouldn't be so far as to necessitate a drop tank but I'm not positive.  TOW would certainly be an issue carrying all that oridinance.  Common sense seems to indicate that they'd take it off prior to take off but I'm paranoid about these things and really want to get it right.

 

 

 

 

Sound thinking indeed. Tell you what, I have a number of reference books on the Hellcat and I'll peruse them and see if I can find some clarification for you.

 

 

Hey Joe, if its not too much trouble - while you're perusing that book, does it have any good shots of the landing gear and bays.  The instructions - as good as they are - are a little unclear on the paint for that area.  It says the gear bays should be the same color as the bottom surface (navy blue) but doesn't give a color for the struts.  Some of the images I've seen have them white, some aluminum, some white.  I've also seen the gear bays in chromate green and navy.  I know B-24s had the bays the same color as the underside of the wing (neutral gray) but I've never seen that on a fighter from that era.  Any insights as to those colors (along with the insides of the landing gear doors) would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

harp.ta

 

 

JOE RIX

Splendidly done harp. Your cockpit and engine are sharp looking. I commend you on your work on the PE harness and on those fins. They look just right.

Concerning your question on the need for a centerline tank with full load of ordnance, I personally do not have a definitive answer for you. It's an excellent question though. My thought would be that it would be contingent on the distance required to the target area. I'd also consider that the drop tank would only be needed as far as the target and that the fuel in the drop tank would be used first thus reducing it's weight enroute. Just some random thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Joe.  I'd think that the distance from a task force to island targets (like Iwo) wouldn't be so far as to necessitate a drop tank but I'm not positive.  TOW would certainly be an issue carrying all that oridinance.  Common sense seems to indicate that they'd take it off prior to take off but I'm paranoid about these things and really want to get it right.

 

Wow, looking great so far. 

JOE RIX

Splendidly done harp. Your cockpit and engine are sharp looking. I commend you on your work on the PE harness and on those fins. They look just right.

Concerning your question on the need for a centerline tank with full load of ordnance, I personally do not have a definitive answer for you. It's an excellent question though. My thought would be that it would be contingent on the distance required to the target area. I'd also consider that the drop tank would only be needed as far as the target and that the fuel in the drop tank would be used first thus reducing it's weight enroute. Just some random thoughts.

 

Thanks Joe.  I'd think that the distance from a task force to island targets (like Iwo) wouldn't be so far as to necessitate a drop tank but I'm not positive.  TOW would certainly be an issue carrying all that oridinance.  Common sense seems to indicate that they'd take it off prior to take off but I'm paranoid about these things and really want to get it right.

Splendidly done harp. Your cockpit and engine are sharp looking. I commend you on your work on the PE harness and on those fins. They look just right.

Concerning your question on the need for a centerline tank with full load of ordnance, I personally do not have a definitive answer for you. It's an excellent question though. My thought would be that it would be contingent on the distance required to the target area. I'd also consider that the drop tank would only be needed as far as the target and that the fuel in the drop tank would be used first thus reducing it's weight enroute. Just some random thoughts.

Modeler's ADD kicked in (started on my 1/350 scale Gato Class sub) and parenting became temporarily harder so its been a while since my last update.  That being said, I got some work done last night.  Got the cockpit glossed up and weathered, drybrushed with aluminum, then coated back to flat.  Also finished the engine and nacelle up.  The ignition wire PE seemed a bit off but I managed to get it presentable.  I also just realized its way easier to install seat belts before assembling the cockpit.  That being said, I think it came out adequately for my 1st try at mutipart harnesses.  As always, thanks for taking a look at my build.

Cheers!