1/48 Hellcat Diorama *Final update - Finished diorama 9/26!*

Jay Jay

Very cool dio. the figures are outstanding as well as the aircraft.  It really looks great that the ammo loader has the belt over his shoulder.  Good idea .

The only tiny criticism I would have is the mechanic would probably be on a ladder or small scaffold and I doubt that the tool box would be on top of the plane.

 

Thanks for the comments. I couldn't find any 48 scale ladders or scaffolds, and my two attempts at scratch building both looked like crap. I do have an actual photo of a mechanic leaning over from the wing just like this on a Hellcat, although I agree it looks awkward. 

Very cool dio. the figures are outstanding as well as the aircraft.  It really looks great that the ammo loader has the belt over his shoulder.  Good idea .

The only tiny criticism I would have is the mechanic would probably be on a ladder or small scaffold and I doubt that the tool box would be on top of the plane.

Great job, bstarr!! Looke like all that hard work was worth the effort!

Pics of the completed diorama.  Comments and criticisms welcome. 

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Cheers, Mike

I really like what you've done with the kit. Lots of talent at work here.

bstarr3

Thanks for the tip F8. Sadly I followed the instructions without checking references for that part. I belove the logo is photo etch. I could probably reposition it without difficulty

 

Your build looks incredible either way.  I've got a 1/32 F6F that I've been working on and I have not touched the engine yet....so glad I saw this, looks like I need to get going on mine!

thanks for the kind words Knight. I definitely have stretched my comfort level with lots of new skills on this project. I'm happy with how it's come out

Thanks for the tip F8. Sadly I followed the instructions without checking references for that part. I belove the logo is photo etch. I could probably reposition it without difficulty

thanks, vol. I'm doing some work on painting the figures today - I should have a finished product in a few days hopefully

This looks so good, I absolutely hate to tell you this.....

But for information the Pratt & Whitney emblem is in the wrong place on your engine.  It is supposed to go just as you have it oriented, but below the shaft.  You have it above the shaft, at the top.  There's a flat angled section centered on the bottom of the front, and it goes on there.  I hate to say this because the engine looks amazing, but only wanted to mention it because I figured you are trying to go for realism with the kind of detail you've put in.  Engine and cockpit are looking amazing...here's a link to a photo of the same engine:

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=27428.0

Thanks, Toshi. It means a lot from someone who does as good of work as you do!

You're doing an excellent job, keep up the fantastic build.

Toshi

Update: plane is finished! Stretched sprue for antenna aerials. Sprayed Mission Models tire black plus a little tan for the exhaust staining. Pics of finished plane, and a few of progress towards the diorama:

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Skunk Modelworks carrier deck display base. Pretty nice plastic base, laser cut balsa deck, and photoetch tie down rails.

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Verlinden resin carrier deck crew. Two armorers, one mechanic, and plane captain.

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Plane captain lost his right foot and I had to carve a new one.

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Thanks, bvallot!  Yeah, doing extra stuff on this kit - the resin engine and cockpit, removing cowling panels and gun bay doors, PE in the cockpit, PE gunbay - has tested my sanity at times, but I'm pleased with how it's coming.  I'm nearly finished with the plane.  Going to do some finishing touches over my dullcoat with pastels tonight, then I'll show some pics.  Here's a sneak peak:

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You're really moving now! Hang in there bstarr. You're tackling quite a lot in this build. Anytime you go off script from the instructions or some typical trend of working a single engine fighter like this it can start to get complicated quickly. There's no one right way to go about it, but there are definitely some better ways to make it less stress for you. You'll find what works for you. =]

Some more work done. 

Chipping effect is evident throughout if you look closely.  Obviously got a little out of hand on the port wing root. 

All markings and stencils on except for a few things on the tail. Completely jacked up the blue insignias meant to go with this marking, so used the included red bordered ones.  I think VF-27 with the cat mouth markings wore those at some point.  Anyway...

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And the belly, after an oil wash in Payne's grey. Got a little agressive removing the wash over that decal and lost a chunk.  

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And one of the Verlinden deck crew figures assembled, to give an idea where we're going with this.  Getting a little nervous about the figure painting...

2017-09-06_12-02-07 by Brian Starr, on Flickr

Finally, some major updates!

I set about following the pattern of multilayer chipping as described on Doog's blog https://doogsmodels.com/2014/10/09/technique-multi-layer-chipping/. So, first, a layer of simple bare metal, done with Vallejo Metal Colour aluminum.  I liked the way it came out and would definitely try this paint for a BMF.

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Then, Vallejo chipping medium followed by Mission Models chromate yellow, which was chipped to reveal some bare aluminum below the primer

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The idea here is that after chipping the paint layer, there will be some areas that show through to primer, others to bare metal. I don't plan to do too much agressive chipping on this kit, as I know carrier planes were kept in pretty good nick.  I mostly wanted to use it as a test ground for a future project, a P-61, which got heavily weathered and chipped.

Gear assembled and installed.  White on the undersurface. Postshaded with white mixed with a little grey.  This was blended back in with a thin coat of white on top.

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Mission Models intermediate blue, postshaded with darker and lighter tones by adding MM USN sea blue and MM white, respectively

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Intermediate blue is one of those colors that I've seen lots of variations of. This is definitely one of the greyer-toned intermediate blues I've seen, but I like the way it came out. Goes on much greyer, and dries to this color.

Mission Models USN/USMC Sea Blue. Postshaded with a couple drops of MM light neutral tan to show some light fading on the top sides of folded wings and the sun exposed areas at the top of the fuselage. Blended back in with a thin coat of base color.

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Tricolor camo and touchups are finished. Next is some light chipping, followed by a coat of Future to prepare for my least favorite part: decals!

Another update - finally looking like a Hellcat!

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Some primer on major seams. Still quite a bit of sanding to do

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20170820_234413[/url">https://flic.kr/p/XFw7fd][url=https://flic.kr/p/XFw7fd]20170820_234413[/url

 Order of operations is definitely tricky when modeling open panels. I've chosen to mask off the open gun bays and engine. The cowling panels and gun bays hatches will be painted off to the side. I'm hoping that any discrepancy in the color won't be as evident since the hatches will be opened and the cowling panels will be down on the deck. I'm almost tempted in retrospect to think about opening panels after painting but I suppose that would present just as many problems as it solves. I've realized after the fact that the very fragile photoetch framing for the engine panels will have to go on afterwards. I painstakingly glued this all in place only to have them rip off when repositioning masking tape.

I've got something crawling around in the back of my head about modeling some combat damage to this plane.  I'll keep thinking about that. I've made this a pretty complicated project already...

Cheers, bvallot. Got the gun bay painted up and installed in the wing.  Looks nice! As an aside, the Eduard waist mounted M2 .50 cals don't fit very well.  They're too small and the barrels are the wrong shape.  I would recommend going with the recommended Aires 4241 wing mounted gun kit.

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bstarr3

 

Bought a cheap $15 UMM photo etch bender, which has definitely been worth it.  Even with it, it's hard to keep lines straight and corners square.  Wanted to put the PE completely together before I try to cut into the wing. 

 

Now you're thinking! ;) Order of operations. Wait to put that add-on together successfully first before cutting and chopping up your wing. =] Don't make more stress on yourself than you need. It's looking good. Keep at it! Right tool for the right job. 

(sorry about the above. Internet trouble)

Delete.

Delete.

Brian,

The long blades are Exacto brand - and yes, a little unweildy unless you have just the right amount to cut off. I can't recall where I got the smaller, wooden handled one - it's probably the most common one I've seen on hobby websites and it works fine for short cuts. I can't recall if it's an Exacto brand - no marks on it.

Your work on the PE is absolutely great! It really tests one's patience no?

Really impressive build.  You're a braver man than I.  My only experience with resin is one set of AM wheels, and I wasn't too fond of them.  Your build is looking great, and my hat's off to you.  Will be following. 

Cheers, Mark

And now some pics.  I spent a couple hours on this

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This is my first time doing a major PE kit, and it is seriously a major kit!  Dozens of tiny parts to make up the framework of the gun bay.  The guns are Eduard resin.  They recommend Aires wing mount resin guns, which have the appropriate barrels.  These are a bit generic. I need to do some painting before I put the rest of it together. 

Bought a cheap $15 UMM photo etch bender, which has definitely been worth it.  Even with it, it's hard to keep lines straight and corners square.  Wanted to put the PE completely together before I try to cut into the wing. I think I'm only going to model one gun bay open, and leave the other one for another kit in the future.