What a great build!  Very nicely done, and a fantastic tribute.
But in truth....like Marine Lt. DeBlanc said....he never felt he was a hero.  To his mind, he was well trained, capable, competent, mission oriented, and felt he was doing nothing more than "his duty".
Men like him are lucky.  There are probably thousands of men just like him that felt nothing at all when putting themselves at the ultimate risk to complete their mission.  Very few of them are recognized as they should be.  And far, far more of them never came home.
BUT....men like Lt. DeBlanc, with their selfless, unstinting courage, utterly personify the reason The Congressional Medal of Honor is awarded:  The love of fellow man. 
It all began on December 9, 1861 Iowa Senator James W. Grimes introduced S. No. 82 in the United States Senate, a bill designed to "promote the efficiency of the Navy" by authorizing the production and distribution of   "medals of honor". On December 21st the bill was passed, authorizing 200 such medals be produced "which shall be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen and marines as shall distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities during the present war (Civil War)." President Lincoln signed the bill and the (Navy) Medal of Honor was born.
Many times I've looked at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society page.  It's stunning....so humbling.  Go see:  http://www.cmohs.org/
John 15:13 says it all - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
If you ever travel down south....go pay your respects.  He's in the Saint Michael's Cemetery, Saint Martinville, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, near Lafeyette.
The people who run the cemetary will help with finding the plot.  I want to go pay my respects one day.

Semper Fi, Marine.  HooRah!

Beautiful build. And a poignant pose from the pilot figure.

That's one gorgeous model! Beautifully done - painting and weathering are superb.

OT, what was the shutter speed on the image of the spinning prop?

Excellent build Dog, same for paint and weathering. Awesome picture with the spinning prop, it looks like a full size one.

Have you tried Flory Washes? I love how they leavy streaks and grime and it's so easy to apply and wipe off.

What a fantastic looking build Law!!!

Absolutely gorgeous Wildcat.

Thanks for your feedback, Joe.

On the prop, very clever. And no wonder it looks so real.

You know Joe, I have this same Tamiya Wildcat which is to be part of my up-coming CV-8 Hornet project. It will be built out-of-the box and, at my skill ldevel, will not come close to what you have done; so you have not helped me at all! Really great job; and thanks for sharing your build with us.

Greatmaker

 

The tower, the tower! Rapunzel, Repunzel!

 

My experience is with single engine fighters. This thing has four engines. It's a whole different type of flying....all together. 

It's a whole different type of flying...

Greg

She's a real beaut, Joe. Great work as usual and again, thanks for sharing the WIP.

 

 

lawdog114

 

I keep a premixed bottle of XF-64 Red Brown and XF-1 Flat Black which is diluted with 91% alcohol. I use it as a weathering post shade. For darker colors I add a touch more black.  

 

 

 

How do you apply the post shade? (Looks really good)

Also, tell me about the spinning prop in the last shot.

 

Thanks all. Waaaay too kind though. 

Greg, I airbrush it at low pressure, maybe 5 psi, and get in close, especially in areas that get dirty, like the cowl and the underside.  It takes practice and you need a fine needle or an airbrush capable of such.  

The prop....lol. I was trying to be clever and see if anyone noticed. Well, the ONLY plane I've ever gotten the prop to spin freely on is the Tamiya Wildcat. The normal black grommets don't normally cut it. Here I just used my airbrush (empty) to make the prop spin as I held the camera with other hand as I snapped a bunch until it looked good.  I tried to take the picture so you couldn't tell that nobody was in the cockpit.

Thanks for noticing guys...

Another museum quality build. It never ceases to amaze me how you manage to get such good color separation with what appears to be very light coats of paint. Plus the paint cover looks so even.  When I try to apply lighter coats it always seems to get splotchy and I end up putting to many coats to even it out. Plus I don't seem to get nice color separation. Did you use the old fan method to get the prop spin?

The tower, the tower! Rapunzel, Repunzel!

She's a real beaut, Joe. Great work as usual and again, thanks for sharing the WIP.

lawdog114

 

I keep a premixed bottle of XF-64 Red Brown and XF-1 Flat Black which is diluted with 91% alcohol. I use it as a weathering post shade. For darker colors I add a touch more black.  

How do you apply the post shade? (Looks really good)

Also, tell me about the spinning prop in the last shot.

Truly excellent, Joe. Magnificant !! 

BK

Really nice finale! Great job and I love that spinning prop.

Max

You knocked it right outta the park again Joe, super work! And great ruts in the base where the wheels tore up the dirt/sand, love the little details like this!

Love it Joe! Thanks for sharing another great build

Very beautifully executed Joe. Really stunning work on your part. You have certainly done a fitting tribute. Always enjoy your patience and attention to detail and effect. Thanks for sharing your Wildcat with us.

Nicest Cat I've seen on FSM. Great job Joe.

No words really....simply amazing!! Fantastic thread and build. I'm really glad you did a WIP and cant wait for the next one! You really did a nice honor to DeBlanc here. 

Thanks guys....

"My job was to protect the dive bombers. Now I'm not a hero, but I have to live with my conscience.  If I didn't do what I was supposed to do I was derilicting my duty".  Jefferson DeBlanc

....he said as he went on to shoot down 5 enemy aircraft on a one way mission with a leaking full tank.  I wholeheartedly disagree, you are a hero.  Lesser men would have turned around.  Here is my homage to DeBlanc and the rest of those brave men who held the line in those early days in the Pacific.  

Comments criticisms welcome...

That is some really good work Law. I love the weathering technique.

Looking forward to your next post.

Fantastic work so far Law. I wired the P&W for a Corsair I did once and I can Say it deffinately adds to the detail. Looking forward to your next post.

Greatmaker

Amazing work as always Joe.  I don't know how you do the pit but it always looks like you masked and airbrushed every tiny detail.  I know if tried making this plane all I could make would be "a hat, or a brooch, or a pterodactyl....." Thanks for sharing

 

"There's a sale at Penney's!"......

Gamera

Funny, I was watching the 'Dogfights' episode with LeBlanc about a month or so ago. He talked about his rescue, 'Some people don't know what they're worth but I do... I'm worth a 10 lb. bag of rice.'  

 

....was one of my inspirations for this build.  The Old Cajun. He was an entertaining story teller indeed.  Jim Swett too, "prop stuck up like a middle finger".  What a great series, which has inspired many of my builds. I wish these brave men were still with us but unfortunately they are almost all gone now.  

Thanks for the kind words all... 

Really gorgeous work Joe. I'm glad you chose to share your F4F build with us. I'm certainly picking up some tips from you for when I get around to mine that I have. I'm with you in that I will always pick up an Ultracast seat if it is available for the subject I'm building. They are excellent resin upgrades. And, yes, I have a few Tamiya kits from HL that I either scored with 40% coupon or on the clearance shelf. As a matter of fact, I've probably found more deals on the clearance shelf. Keep that stellar stuff coming.

WOW. Beautiful work, Joe. I am stunned.

Amazing work as always Joe.  I don't know how you do the pit but it always looks like you masked and airbrushed every tiny detail.  I know if tried making this plane all I could make would be "a hat, or a brooch, or a pterodactyl....." Thanks for sharing