Tamiya 1:48 Wildcat F4F-3 Conversion (Complete)

We've definitely got the nicest bunch of guys I imagine a forum can have. =] Many thanks to all of you. Really, it makes me happy to know that you all enjoyed it and to pay it forward all the tips and tricks I've picked up over the years or through my education. I just hope my wife lets me keep at this just a bit longer. 

Britt -

Worthy of any museum display, thanks for a great WIP and all of the photos. Excellent job.

Patrick

That thing is freaking increadible.  I love all the detail that you've packed into it!  It's truly a GREAT model!

Fantastic job!  You put a lot of extra effort into this build, and it shows.  This is fast becoming one of my favorite birds.  The history alone is impressive, but there is something about that fat body that appeals to me.  Thanks for sharing this WIP.  It was a joy to follow.

D

This is one of the nicer builds I've seen Britt! All the details are really spot on. Thank you very much for all the work you put into the WIP and for sharing it all with us. Really great job on this!!

This is the most comprehensive WIP that I've ever seen!

Toshi

Simply Wow!

You have built a masterpiece, exceptional work. Very well done.

Ok, seriously jealous of your modelling skills! That is one awesome Wildcat!

Complete. =]

Very happy to see this bad boy back to life. I absolutely feel better about this one versus that first one but there is about 6 years of experience between them. She's still far from perfect. I still struggle with AM canopies fitting precisely onto the dash. I can eventually get it there, but it just takes more work than I feel it ought to for something that should seem to just happen a little easier. I see so many others here on the forum lick out these clean and sharp canopy/windscreens. I like mine to reflect a little dust and grime and usage, but in terms of construction I just don't feel I'm quite there yet. Maybe I'm over thinking it. Anyhow, I redid the windscreen to help it sit down a little better but really it was the Eduard PE that wasn't cooperating with me as it needed. Just goes to show you how tricky that stuff can be. After some CA and some shaping, I did my best to help this appear as it looks on the real Wildcat. There's a few other little things here and there, but it's not worth harping on. I am very happy with the outcome, and if this happens to be the last -3 I ever get to build then I suppose I can live with that. 

Last few add-ons...

Among the last fiddly parts to go on were the antenna whips underneath the fuselage. Here is a pretty match up to a fairly recognizable photo of O'Hare and Thach. You can see the three antennas and another object with a fairing that seems to operate as a transmitter of some sort. The HobbyBoss kit represents this but it is a little small. I cut this piece off and buffed it up a little with some scratchbuilding. The back three are located at the 6 o'clock position but the most forward whip is at about the 6:30 spot. I lucked out and happened to find a pic of a -3 that was trimmed back enough in flight revealing it's belly and the whip was just faint enough for the film to capture it...in the 6:30 position. I wanted to build an operational Wildcat that was ready to roll off so I included these antennas. You'll note that I've attached them on access panels. I do not know for sure that this is correct. I could not find a direct example of precisely where they hook up. So I used a little what might make sense and went for it. I wanted to make that point for those out there wanting an accurate reference. I'd hate to steer you wrong. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

I never heard from the guys at Beech18 so I did my best to make a mock up of what's happening here with the cowl flap actuators. Sort of speaks for itself. Naturally, almost none of this is visible but I don't care. =D I'm happy it's there!

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

The pitot tube I considered using from the HB kit broke while sanding. Didn't break my heart at all. I already wanted to build my own stronger version that was going to kick its ass anyhow. This is 0.8mm brass tube with stretched sprue passed through it until the thickest part fits nice and flush at the end. I leave an appropriate amount of length and sand it into shape. A drop of Tamiya ETC allows for a snip of plastic rod to add the little fin on top. Much stronger!!

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

One thing I kept noticing on the wartime -3s from '42 was this extra box and hosing on the right side of the prop reduction box. I never could identify it, but it seems to be auxillary venting from the spark plug line...my best guess based on location and hook ups. You can see it here pretty well with a photo-op between O'Hare and Thach. Anybody out there that might happen to know exactly what it is, then I'm all ears. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Here's how mine came out with a little scratching. Now she's ready to crank!

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

And here's a little walk around of the completed F4F-3A that O'Hare flew on his legendary MOH flight. The base is being borrowed from the Dauntless I built about a year back until I can pick up that block of cypress and make some more. I wanted to shoot her on a carrier deck. =P

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

One small thing to note I may have left out is the bowing along the cowling panel that covers the landing gear and undercarriage. It's on every Wildcat I've ever seen and I believe it's due to the gearing that swings 90º outward. I suppose it's possible that it pushes into this panel a bit and over time bows it outward. It does not appear to be manufactured this way as a means to vent air from this area behind the engine. If anyone out there can provide some insight into this I'm happy to learn what's actually going on here. In any event, I sanded this part razor this during construction and CAREFULLY convinced it outward away from the fuselage. It's a little thing that I think goes a long way in modeling the Wildcat. You'll see better in different views throughout the walk around. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Some cockpit views...a little tricky to get done with the lighting but I managed this.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

And that pretty much wraps up this F4F-3A conversion. I doubt there's a cheaper way to do it. Most -3s did have the carb scoop on top so that would be one area where you didn't require any big changes to the cowl ring. Other than that, aquiring a HB kit as cheap as possible is probably one of the better options out there for modelers. The JPS conversion set was kind of a dud in this case and also hard to find, but it did provide some extras for those wanting to go the distance. But there's nothing on this cat that can't be scratched or provided by Eduard's PE to accomplish should that be desired. I hope you all enjoy and if there's any questions or thoughts to share then please drop them here.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

(edit with new base)

Finally got around to making a base for this particular navy plane. Here's a few from that.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Thanks everyone. Rooster, I realize you're kindly pulling my leg...but if you should at all be looking for something specific just shoot me a message. We can work something out. I'm about to start reaching a point here real soon where I'm running out of room to keep these reasonably around the house. The new ones are eventually going to need homes LOL. All the planes I build are for my son. I grew up watching my dad paint marsh and bayou scenes and ducks (as we're duck hunters) and taxidermy to boot. It all seemed too cool that lurking underneath the surface my dad wasn't too bad an artist alongside being a working man and it was all of this that made me stop and think a little harder about what I was looking at throughout the day. I started doing model aircraft when I graduated from college because of a 1:72 F-15 my father mostly put together himself as I was 8. As I caught the bug for it I saw the opportunity to hopefully provide my son with something to look up to. The last of these men that fought in this war are dying. I felt it was important that my son take an interest in this part of our history as their sacrafices have literally paved the way to afford the way of life we enjoy today.

I had planned to post the completed pictures tonight but after a long day, I'm a little too tired to do it now so I'll bang it out in the morning. Again, thanks guys.

There are not enough superlatives to adequately describe this F-4.  All I can muster is WOW. 

I am speechless!

Toshi

bvallot

Questions, comments, critiques....hit me. =]

Ok so as for comments: The attention to detail you are showing is the most impressive I've ever seen! It's really made a difference with all the landing gear work you've done since there is so much to see on the wildcat. So for critiques: I've got nothing! As far as questions: I've only got one, can I have this when you're done with it?

Thanks Aggieman! I hope y'all are doing okay with all the flooding. And thanks to you too silentbob. =] Hopefully, this weekend I can get her wrapped up. There's a wooden block of cypress I have waiting for me at a shop in Pontchatoula. Once I can get up there to pick it up, I'll be able to cut it in to the size of blocks I started using as a display. For now I'll just borrow the display I made for my Dauntless to film with since they're both Navy birds. I might take a couple of extra pics once I build the new one.

=]

Your cat is gorgeous.

Last update for this thread. I'm just about done with all the last little things. It's amazing how much longer the little things can take to wrap up. =]

So in reviewing all the items I aim to include on this build I either find something I hadn't noticed previously or confirm that a part did exist on a particular variant or some such like that. It's dumbfounding how long you can stare at a picture and still find something new. Case in point...I finally managed to locate a few pics of the engine mounts around the cowl ring. I was beginning to wonder if the wildcat even had any and then bam! It was in my reference book staring at me all along. =P  I'd have like to have addressed this earlier, but it's still an easy fix. Another item I finally pulled the trigger on is located on the drag link that secures the landing gear. I'll start with that one.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

I have not been able to identify what this part is, but it seems to be some kind of pump or filter. There's a fairly large hose that comes from it, so it seems to be involved with the engine oil. That's my best guess. Scratched it out and was pretty pleased with the outcome. I apologize my pictures couldn't quite get the detail. It is pretty tiny, but very do-able with some basic scratchbuilding skills. Just simple shapes and Tamiya ETC...I LOVE this stuff. =]

Finally able to get back to the landing gear and address the last couple of hoses and whatnot. Brakelines, Fuel line from the main fuel tank from under the cockpit, fuel filter lines, etc. Glad to finally get it hooked up. I'm not sure if there's a better way to go about this...I will admit that attaching the brakelines to the firewall was a huge pain in the ass. 1:48 scale makes it difficult to reach into these cramped spaces. I encourage others out there to do what makes the most sense to you. I don't know if this was exactly the best way to have gone about it, but it's in there....so...just glad my little boy wasn't around to learn some new words he shouldn't be saying for a while. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

And a quick walkaround the undercarriage. You'll note on the oleo strut above the shinier chrome finish shown here with a strip of aluminum foil that there's a thin flat bar standing out from the rest of the leg. This bar aided in retracting the landing gear. The kit part from Tamiya seemed to fashion this onto the landing gear leg but only very crudely. I sanded down whatever it was that was present and made it as you see here. A little thing that stands out and makes a difference. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Onto the cowl...the mounts were simple...I cut and shaped some plastic strip--sanded thin--and white glued them into place at the 1, 3, and 5 o'clock positions around the cowl and mirrored the other side. These positions are a little relative as I adjusted them to match up to the piston they corresponded to. I thinned out my Grumman Grey and painted them with a fine tip brush. Pow! Back in action. =D 

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

I figured I show the gunsight real quick as well. The -3 had the N-2A reflector so I decided to keep what Tamiya offers and just modify it. Clear acetate makes up the glass.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Signal lights were cut and replaced with clear sprue. Eduard's PE fret came in handy there. They offer 3 different sizes of a tear drop shape to utilize.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

The landing light on the left wing provided a last minute surprise. Just a few days ago while looking at a few O'Hare pics, I saw a photograph of Butch in the cockpit of a -3 for a photo-op after his famous ace making mission. The photographer's vantage point allows the viewer to see just under the left wing revealing a convex surface to the landing light. I scratched my head for two days and came up with this.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

I used the kit part to cut out a circle in the same thin acetate sheet that was juuuuust larger than the Tamiya part. This will allow for the convex shape to protrude outward while still matching up to the light's outer edge. I next sanded a piece of sprue I had been working with to bend and shape the new circle lens. The reflector hub is made with the shiny side of Aluminum foil. I find this is much more convincing than trying to paint this part with a pigment. Way back during construction of the wings I had drilled a tiny hole and placed a small strip of plastic rod (I'm talking damn small) to represent the filament. The foil was cut out using the same glass kit part as a mold to make it match up and was set smooth into place with a Q-tip on top of a strong white glue. The lens was glued on top after that. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

And that's about where she stands for now. I've got a short list of things to tighten up, then it's time for the pretty pictures! =]

Questions, comments, critiques....hit me. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Thanks Andy. Yeah that NATO Black is a winner for sure. I need to get more actually if that let's you know how often I use it.  =D

And thanks to you too Joe. There's more than a few tips I've picked up from you to put together this cat.

Keeping the great work going Britt! I like the Nato Black for the prop, it does give a nice worn look. I use it on tires but I'll have to start using it for props too. Close to the finish line!

Thanks Chris. =] 

goldhammer

Been awhile since I looked in on the thread.  I'm doing Trumpy's -3 and -4 in 1/32

 

Glad to hear it. I've been wanting to ask someone about their experience with it...thoughts and opinions?? Trying to cram everything in at 1:48 is a challenge but I'm willing to bet it's much more forgiving at 1:32. I feel like I recall someone like Swanny doing the hell out this. 

Looking forward to seeing your build! =]

Increadible detailing and paintwork!  

Wow, I'm trying to be quick here to drop a brief update before having to start on dinner, but I want to say to Toshi, Mark, Mike, Andy, Dman, Chris, and Hammer and Tanker thank you very much and you guys are too kind. I am happy to share what's on my bench as I'm happy to get to see what each of you all are up to. Chris, if you have any other questions about something I'm fooling with that I didn't cover well enough, then don't hesitate to ask. That's what this forum is all about. =] I've learned plenty from the guys on Finescale and other places too, so I'm definitely about paying it forward. Hammer and Tanker I must be getting soft or something because I happen to catch your post in my email a few days ago and a simple thing like that actually did a lot to brighten a pretty difficult day. I think having a kid makes you more sentimental and emotional cause lately it seems it takes a lot less to stir my pot. =] So thanks guys. I'm glad this WIP is stirring in some of you out there as well. 

Start your engines!

I finally got to a spot in the build where I felt confident about putting on the exhaust manifold. With parts that protrude or can catch and especially with the delicate stuff, I'm normally waiting as long as I can before attaching them. This didn't seem to be such a tough obstacle to tackle. Measuring and re-measuring paid off and this was a simple glue and drop in place. =]  I'll take it!! My only small issue I'm chewing on right now is how far down the exhaust stacks protude downward out of the cowling. Every picture I've seen of aircraft from back in the day shows it to be fairly flushed. The forward part of my build dips down a little too much. I suppose I can deal with it. But for anyone else out there, it should be level to the fuselage and no lower than what you see at the tip of the exhaust. 

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

You can see more of what I mean in the bottom, larger picture on the right.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Small potatoes I guess. I am very happy with how this came out. It was worth the time and effort. I hope more people out there go after rigging up there own exhaust mani. =]

Here's a look at the exhaust staining. I had a hard time getting pictures of this feature on the wildcat. I don't know how lean fuel mixtures ever got on Navy wildcats or how much staining was ever made or left on, but I didn't want this cat to be too filthy. So, I settled for this.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

This was done in light, thin layers starting with NATO Brown and Flat Black and capping it off with a Sky Grey from Tamiya. Editor's note: that whole get this done quickly thing didn't happen. lol Mommy came home early. It's now after 9:30p and everyone is in bed. =P

The Prop!

The Curtis three blade electric, variable pitch propeller. The prop was painted a base coat of Duraluminum from Alclad with the hub being painted in White Aluminum. I've always seen the hub of wildcats glow a bit brighter than other metal parts pictured with it. The cuffs saw the same Duraluminum coat but was dusted with Alclad's Magnesium afterwards. I wanted a bit of texture in the contrast from the White Aluminum prop hub. Later, I lightly buffed the cuffs to bring out the Duraluminum underneath. The Magnesium was lightly sprayed from about 9 to 10 inches out with the other parts masked. The cuffs were apparently added to the -3 in an effort to increase airflow over the engine to help with cooling. 

For the black I use NATO Black for the most part. It's comes off as a lighter, faded looking black next to your standard Flat Black. I feel it represents what's seen in reality a bit better than some factory fresh paint job. If I want a considerably more faded look, I just add a bit of grey or white to the mix. If not, regular NATO Black works perfectly well. =] I put this on in thin coats. On the back side, I leave a little metal showing. I've noticed in many photos of the back side of props how the metal seems to peek through as if it's been buffed down almost. I'm not sure how long this process takes, but it is a feature to give my props that adds a bit of interest and since this is a USN wildcat I suppose I'll include it here. The yellow was masked and painted last in this instance. Once this was complete, a coat of clear goes down to place the decals on the prop blades. Afterwards, I put a flat coat down to allow for some dusting of my NATO Black again over the decals. I find this takes down that brand new sticker look and helps it blend with the rest of the painting. This all gets followed up with the flat coat after. =]

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

This part was a little difficult to film. I'm sorry these were some of the best pictures I could get of this at the moment. The top left pic shows the decals over clear and the rest show the progression. The Detailer in Black was pulled out to add a bit of pop here in there in the creases where necessary.

I came back to the skid strips again since some of my lighter colors disappeared with the clear and flat coats. This was brought back to life with some color pencils from Faber and Castelle (I may need to double check that). They have a water color quality to them as well which makes them very useful here for weathering both very tiny, specific details and lines as well as blending to whatever end. I have a silver and white out for this part. Honestly, best $3 you can spend. 

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

I start out by dropping in some worn in rivet color over sections that would see high wear and lightly scribbling in with the side of the white pencil in broader areas. With a fine brush and a bit of spit straight from my mouth, I dampened my brush to slowly blend these marks in to my liking. Left to right and top to bottom shows the progression.

Once this was done I set this with light coats of Alclad's Light Sheen. I've only recently started adding this to my weathering and painting repertoire. Even amonst "flat" paints on aircraft there is still some amount of reflectivity present within the material(metal)/paint. As I've seen in WW2 aircraft, this seems to be more present due to the grease and grime that stains the surface of the aircraft. The undersurface is especially shiny what with all the oil that clings and runs down the aircraft. You can see this in radial engine planes still nowadays at the air shows that tour the country. All these aircraft have a greasy, shinier bottom underbelly than on top. So for this build, I've lightly coated the cowl and sides of the fuselage near the cockpit. I do this slowly so as not to over do it. The wings get a treatment with light sprays from front to back much in the same way Lawdog does his condensation streaks across his wings. I allow this to concentrate a bit along the forward most spar (where there's a panel line) as I've seen in many photos. I'll also show some attention to spots where hands go to push and pull the plane into place along the flight deck. Leading edges and sides of wings and the base of the vertical stab and leading edges of the horizontal stabs all get this treatment. Any place that I feel this has gotten a bit out of hand will get followed up with the Flat coat to correct it. I know this is very difficult to see in pictures, but to the eye this has really become that last little thing that helps make the plane pop to life. A little goes a long way. I mostly limit this to greasier, oil stained parts of the plane.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

That's a wrap for tonight. I've got the tires done but pictures were not coming out well at all due to the contrast with my iPhone camera lens and the lighting in my kitchen. The gunsight is complete, the canopy and windscreen are complete and just need to be glued in. I'll do those next. Really all that's left pretty much just amounts to the bells and whistles.

Untitled by Britt Vallot, on Flickr

Questions, comments, or critiques are all welcomed.

=]