1:48 Tamiya Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat

No, not at all Darren.  I enjoy the criticism.  It's another way of seeing something outside your own perspective.  When it comes to modeling, I'm still reaching out and learning as I go, but I only know one way.  So I just do the best with what I've got.

I sat back and laughed after I thought about your post just now (one of those "Hmpf" moments), cause I actually try to work towards the dirt and grease, and wear and tear occurring randomly...but....I know there's a cause behind every effect.  So maybe I do let my thinking and planning get the better of me here and there.  Something to think about. =]  

I can tell you that I pick the plane I'm doing based on the heroics and service of the pilot.  So I research everything I can about the man, the plane, the time period, etc.  When it comes down to the plane, I compile all the photos I can on it before I start.  So I do my best to represent what was happening with the plane.

Tell me more about this spanish method of weathering.  Is this a reference to Vallejo and MiG? Or something else entirely?

I don't think you need input from us...I think we need to be asking you questions. What a great in-progress thread you've got going. It's looking absolutely beautiful. The one bit of input I'll put in is about the weathering. This is my opinion, mind you. Being an artist, your finish has an "artistic" look to it, which is absolutely fine and very pleasing to the eye. To me, though, weathering like that doesn't capture the realistic look. By that, I mean the artistic style weathering has almost a uniform appearance. When you look at actual pictures, though, the weathering in regards to individual panels and such is rather random. I hope you don't take this as a critique of you model. It's a discussion that has been on-going for quite awhile in the modeling community, especially when the "Spanish" method of weathering hit the scene. It's very pleasing to the eye, but not very realistic. In the end, it all depends on what you want out of a model. It seems you're striving for realism, so I thought I'd put forth my thoughts, for what they're worth.

Actually Glenn I know just what you mean.  I've always spaced out my buys over time on an "as needed basis."  What I've used in the past to place that aluminum aircraft base coat was Tamiya's Flat Aluminum [XF-16].  A much cheaper alternative!!  Mostly, I did it out of being brand new to all of this and not knowing any other way of going about it.  I have an SBD-1 flown by Joseph Sailer Jr that I'm thinking about putting on here to ask about.  I started that one in Flat Aluminum and even had a Flat Aluminum wash along weathered parts of the fuselage which I think worked out nicely.  So I would steer you in that direction. =]  

I'll try to get a photo up here later on to show you what I mean.  But I honestly can't praise the Alclad enough.  I'm finding it to live up to it's reputation.  Here's a site that I know of that does an excellent job of describing how it all breaks down:    www.swannysmodels.com/Alclad.html

But definitely the Tamiya Flat Aluminum.  It's an acrylic, but in terms of results...I like it. 

I use that to complement the actual paint surface though.  Not to stand alone.  I don't think it has enough character to do that for a natural metal surface.  Model Master has a metalizer which is an enamel I believe that I seen to work very well.  It requires buffing I think and time to set which I can't really help you out with since I've never fooled with it.  Perhaps someone else here can add on to this.  I have seen it in stores to be cheaper though.  I would suggest looking into that. =]

I'm really enjoying watching your build. I have one question in regards to the natural metal finish, have you tried a different paint brand other than Alclad? It's kinda pricey for me, and I was wondering if another type would give a similar result, or if the Alclad was just that much better.

Glenn

Also, I forgot to mention when I paint whites on an aircraft like this, I almost never use just plain stark white.  Here I added a little Tamiya Buff [XF-57] to Tamiya Flat White [XF-2] to come up with a warmer looking white.  ...it's the little things... =]

Next I painted the skid walkways.  I never put decals down.  I don't like how they turn out.  They're too boring for me.  When I paint these on there, I leave a little of the under surface show through in places.  Based on the typical gait pattern of the average adult and along with the whole "don't step on a crack or you break your mother's back" theory, I try to predict the most worn parts and surfaces of the wing.  Also, if you've got your guys servicing certain panels more than others....hoses and what not dragging along the aircraft and such, then you can expect more wear relative to that spot.  Just makes sense. ;)

2013-05-20 00.13.53 by brittvallot, on Flickr

The next thing you notice is how I've "lightly" scratched away some of the new paint surface in the manner of natural wear and tear.  Acrylic paints lend themselves to this quite well.  I've seen how others accomplish this same thing, but I feel less confident with those approaches in my hands.  The Alclad maintains it's surface and looks real nice I think.

2013-05-20 00.13.35 by brittvallot, on Flickr

But tell me what you think.  Also, since this is the first time I'm participating in a forum I want to take the opportunity to ask how some of you go about this first hand.  Methods...outcomes?  I can be honest and say I am somewhat ignorant of how other paints like acrylics vs. enamels work out and how this particular process would work.  I've only ever painted with Tamiya acrylics because I hoped to keep consistent with painting.

Next, I painted the dark blue fields that the star insignia go onto.  I like doing it this way in some instances mainly when I know I'm going to heavily wear a plane.  I find it adds another dimension of depth to the color.  Anything else seems to look a bit off.

2013-05-21 16.09.32 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-05-21 16.09.52 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-05-30 01.48.01 by brittvallot, on Flickr

This photo above here shows Carl's white 2 on the fuselage.  I've found this to be a very unique looking 2 that seems to have been an upside down/inside out 5 no doubt used out of making use of what you have when you don't have much.  There's a decal sheet from Cutting Edge I think that does it right.  Other than that you're on your own.  So in the interest of making something my own, I drew out my own stencil to scale, cut it, and painted that bad boy on there.  This took me two attempts to cut it out right and I couldn't be happier with the results.  I think I nailed it.  If they're are any graphic design guys out there, tell me what you think. =]

2013-05-30 01.30.55 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-05-30 01.29.16 by brittvallot, on Flickr

And here is an example of what I'm talking about. 

2013-05-19 22.56.15 by brittvallot, on Flickr

Now the final color after a coat of future and a clear flat finish will make this a bit darker, so I compensate for it.  This was a frustrating fact I learned early on in my first couple of builds. The answer why has less to do with art and more to do with science.

2013-05-19 22.57.10 by brittvallot, on Flickr

The light isn't directly on it here but you get the point.

2013-05-19 22.58.55 by brittvallot, on Flickr

some post shading showing heavier weathering

2013-05-20 01.33.55 by brittvallot, on Flickr

Here you can also see the trim tab in place.

And I'm back.  This is the part I like most so I'll try not to blow up this forum with photos and keep it relevant.  Also, my lamp puts out the kind of light I want to work in, but it also creates a lot of contrast for photos.  So I apologize beforehand.

What I have going on in these next couple of pics is laying down the panel lines in a dark blue to set up the next layer.  I'm very particular about the tone of the color i'm painting with.  If you're pulling paint straight out of the bottle, then you can probably rest assure it is what it needs to be.  I don't ever do that.  I always mix my own paint to achieve whatever ends I'm looking for.  But what you have to be careful about is the light that you're mixing your paint in.  I would stick to picking your light source as something close to whatever you expect your subject to be viewed in.  That way you limit your surprises. (e.g. if you're in fluorescents, stick to em)

2013-05-13 23.26.28 by brittvallot, on Flickr

So the blue grey I have down on the port wing was a test to see how well I was getting what I wanted.  I tweaked it just a bit and redid my dark blue panel line and continued. 

2013-05-13 23.26.36 by brittvallot, on Flickr

Jester.  I honestly can't believe it my own self. =]  It was a frustrating fit.  But thanks for the enthusiasm.

Wow, nice work so far. Very interested in seeing how the finished colors turn out on top of that basecoat. Can't believe you retracted the gear on this, very cool!

I make use of the zinc chromate primer they used on these aircrafts as a means of adding some depth to the color.  Instead of some simple, flat, out the bottle blue-grey, I like to mix my own paints which I find to work much better at bringing these planes to life.

So in order to do this, I put some light coats of a zinc chromate (a color I mix together...early war this color was quite yellow and later on it was more yellow-green) on the upper surfaces and any flat surface that'd be facing the sun.  I don't usually count the spine of the aircraft among this, but I will post shade along the sides of the spine.  I mostly follow weathering patterns from photos during the war.  However, I will take some liberties in cases where I only find one side photographed of the plane I'm working on.

2013-05-07 23.11.57 by brittvallot, on Flickr

The coats are light so as to preserve the underlying detail present.  On panels that I plan to post shade, I will leave them alone to accomplish this.

2013-05-06 13.28.18 by brittvallot, on Flickr

This was my first venture with Alclad which is why I moved it ahead of the Phantom I'm doing for a friend.  All of this will obviously get covered up, but I like to start my painting process with an aluminum aircraft colored base.  The Alclad provides a very durable surface that I can appreciate for the way I go about painting.  I left a little of the black gloss base showing thru thinking I could use it as pre-shading.  Didn't go like I thought and I ending up going back over my zinc chromate colored coat with the panel-line shading to get what i wanted.  The coats are thin so I never worry.

2013-05-06 13.27.31 by brittvallot, on Flickr

In retrospect, I should've completely finished with the engine and put it in there and glued the cowl onto the fuselage.  I didn't.  I found the quickboost engine made the cowl much harder to attach and it ended up causing a mess I had to resand and repaint.  My only regret.  But I think it worked out just fine.

Fastforwarding a bit.  Here's everything sanded and tidied up and put together.

2013-04-29 13.51.40 by brittvallot, on Flickr

Quickboost Pratt & Whitney R-1830

2013-04-25 18.14.55 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-04-25 18.16.51 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-04-25 18.17.01 by brittvallot, on Flickr

The insane thing I thought was going to turn out brilliant became the one part of this build that nearly made me toss it out the window and start over.  

I have come up with a means of displaying these prop planes on a wooden base I fashion out of oak or hickory.   I like to see these planes as they were meant to be...in the air.  But to just suspend them from some fishing line from the ceiling seemed a bit childish for me.  I want these planes to be beautiful and proud and more than just the sum of their plastic parts.  So what that means is the landing gear gets retracted.  Normally, that isn't much of a problem....but this plane is the Wildcat!  I first thought, "what a great opportunity to test my skills."  ....More like my patience.  If you ever decided to do something as ridiculous as this, my advice would be to obviously expect failure (that keeps your expectations down), and take your time and place the various components one piece at a time.  The following picture is what it will look like when it's in the retracted position.  What I ended up having to do is cut them all off again and place them one at a time in the correct position in order to allow them to fit.  I ruined the first side I started working on and made some brass ones to replace that. I was kind of happy to find I pulled that off.    On the real thing, the upper part of the landing gear has a thin, flat bar that fits into a recess like a piston.  I recommend cutting that off on the kit piece and making it thin just like it should be.  I noticed on the brass counterpart that's what allowed it to squeeze in there at the top.  If you can pull that off, it'll fit.  =]

2013-04-24 23.03.07 by brittvallot, on Flickr

Here I removed the elevators and replaced the hinges with brass rods that i pinched down with a set of pliers and filed into shape.  I'm quite pleased with them and I think it's a nice bump up on the kit, but I'm curious to hear what others think about the size and scale thickness.  I think it worked out well, but when you stare at something long enough....

2013-04-23 00.52.25 by brittvallot, on Flickr

Here's one I wanted to toss in.  I took off the trim tab on the port wing.  I don't have the pic where I fashioned a brass actuator for it to place it back on with, but you will see the result in later pics. 

2013-04-22 12.07.22 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-04-22 01.15.12 by brittvallot, on Flickr

=]

2013-04-21 22.15.11 by brittvallot, on Flickr

I removed the kit's .50 cal barrels and replaced it with brass tubing.  The .50 cal in the middle was slightly retracted in order to allow the ammo belts to feed to the more inboard gun.  I wanted to make something myself instead of jamming some after market part in there.  Master Model makes some really nice things but I tried this out.  I'm happy with the results but I do think the opening of the barrel is too wide and the thickness is a little off for a 1:48 scale.  But honestly that'd be pretty tiny regardless.  There's a tab embossed on the inside of the wing that I found suitable to tack it down to.  The tab is the chute the shell casings drop out from.  Normally, I'd open this, but I found it sufficiently deep enough to leave alone and allow it to be a hard point to place the barrels.  

Well, thanks for the nod Darren.  That's encouraging to hear.  My first degree is a Bachelor of Fine Arts which has given me a firm foundation no matter what medium I'm approaching.  But I'll share something with you I've been finding as I complete each build.  With these last two planes behind me I finally feel like I've reached a milestone (which is partly why I feel like I can share any of this with all of you) but at the same time I come to realize even more where my limits still are when it comes down to scratch building and taking care of the little things.  I've seen sites that blow my mind with what they're doing with some of their builds.  Many of them seem to be Czechs and other eastern Europe type of guys that have no doubt been doing it for their entire lives.  And as humbling as it is to see their process, it is still inspiring and helps me believe that if I keep plugging away at it I can eventually get there.  You know...probably. =P

I'm really hoping to get plenty of feedback, and I would certainly like to hear yours as well. I'm going to be putting up a bunch of photos today.  Anywhere along the way you happen to know a nicer way to do something...throw it at me. =]

I've always believed I have a certain "ceiling" that I can attain in model building. One of the reasons is that I'm not that artistic-minded. This thread is a perfect example. Those able to view things with an artistic eye are able, in my view, to go further than the average guy building models, no matter how long they've been building. I just can't attain that "artistic" look, no matter how hard or long I try. Great job on the build!

Very good detailing!

Nice, I just bought the same kit! I always liked the Wildcat.

Thanks! The paint chipping is Tamiya's Flat Aluminum [XF-16] dry brushed onto everything.  I try not to overdo it, and I try to place myself in the shoes of the pilot and engineers working on everything.  I consider where they're feet might go...how they'd step on or around certain parts, etc. The straps around the O2 tank are painted in Tamiya's TitaniumSilver [X-32].  The tank itself is of a color that's akin to a bronze looking metal.  Everything I've seen of any O2 tank like this commonly had this color this early in the war.  Paint schemes to organize better came later on from what I've found.

If anybody can show they were incorporating this in the Pacific this early I would certainly like to hear.  Whether it's broad or isolated....I like details! 

That Aires stuff looks great and your attention to detail is really paying off! I like the aluminum underneath the missing chips!

Here I have the cockpit displayed and already primed.

2013-04-18 07.31.44 by brittvallot, on Flickr

and painted!

2013-04-19 00.17.17 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-04-19 00.17.50 by brittvallot, on Flickr

I took some extra care with the leather headrest. I'm an art guy so I wanted to show the deeper reds and wear that the leather would show.  So that's hand painted.  The cockpit is Bronze Green.

Here's a look at the differences between the kit engine and the quickboost. You'll later see where I opened up the spaces for the intercooler and carburetor scoops.

2013-04-18 07.32.18 by brittvallot, on Flickr

2013-04-18 08.26.32 by brittvallot, on Flickr

It's not complete, but this offers a glimpse at what I started.  I waited to see how the engine would fit as I continued working.  I did have to go back and adjust the duct for the carburetor. I later closed up the sides of course.  and carefully!  There isn't a lot of room with the quickboost engine.