Wildcat revisited... Tamiya 1/48
This would be one of my earliest Tamiya kits; built, I think, around 1995. I recently read a magazine article by a fellow modeller about his problems with using the right colour for the topsides & the more I looked at mine , the more dissatisfied I became. With nothing to lose I resolved to improve things by doing several light coats of Lifecolor UA038 non specular blue-grey. I took a chance with leaving the decals in place & cleaning off over spray with a cotton bud & thinners (the decals had probably rusted on by now). Applied a fair bit of weathering & was pleasantly surprised with the result & it certainly looks better than before.
Hope you like it!
Turned out super, Tony...nice "restoration" job. Pretty hard to mess up a Tamiya kit anyhow. 🙂
Thanks Craig. I've only had two problems with this restoration: I broke the radio mast twice in two different places & each time butt joined the break. Somebody up there likes me!
Beautiful Wildcat, Tony.
Thanks Bernd. It was a fun job & stress free.
Looks good to me Tony, Nice work. With the harsh conditions in the PTO its hard to miss on the color (unless you work too hard at it, like us model guys do sometimes). I think the Tamiya kit is timeless and will probably always be a hit.
Thanks Terry. Yuo're so right. There's a color picture on the web of two Corsairs on an island strip. One is in a distinct three color scheme & the other is bleached to a dirty pale bluish grey.
Very nice. 🙂 Love building it myself, great kit.
Many thanks Paul. I have a Hobby Boss FM-1 waiting. It'll be interesting to compare them.
Ended up with a really nice, well-used look! Great job!
Thank you Greg. I really enjoyed doing this one.
Looks great, nice resto.
Thanks Robert.
This model plays the role of a weathered Wildcat very well. Place it in the proper environment and you'd being suspending that moment of disbelief.
If there were a academy award for modeling this build would win.
Two thumbs up Tony.
Kind words indeed Stephen. Many thanks.
Tony, great "save". It really looks the part! I'd say it's artistic, but then you have to get a beret. Well, it is.
Let us know what you think about the FM-1.
Thanks Bernard. The closest I have to a beret is a tartan golf cap. At first sight the HB FM-1 looks OK, with a couple of reservations: the aileron top surface ribs look more like wing fences & the rudder ribs look very heavy; all of which is probably easily fixable. I haven't checked dimensional accuracy, but shape seems OK & surface detail is crisp. There does appear to be a slightly too large gap between the cowling flaps, but that is also fixable I think. I'll be building mine!
Tony, agree. I have the Early one, which I want to give the yellow wings treatment. I noticed the ailerons and the rudder. Dunno what I'd do with the ailerons, maybe scribing to change it. Putty, sanding, or reskining the rudder. Nothing off putting.
I'm glad to have a nonfolding wing version. I had a conversion kit with resin wings for Mr. Tamiyas best, and I wasn't looking forward to that.
A Tam O'Shanter might strike the right sartorial note.
, though I like the Balmoral, myself, and I'm Oirish.
It certainly looks good, Tony, your brave idea of spraying over the decals worked very well.
Thanks George. It helps if you don't have anything to lose! I used Lifecolor's own thinner & had no problems.
Nice looking Wildcat
Thanks George.
Nice work
Thanks P.k.