This build is the first of a series of Grumman ‘cats that I plan to build in time. The kit is the revered Tamiya offering with the pronounced rivet details. This kit went together exceptionally well, no surprise there. I finished this one a few months back.

The only modifications to the kit were cutting away the cockpit floor, Eduard Zoom PE, and Techmod decals for Howard S Packard’s White 18, which he flew with VF-6 in ’42 if I’m not mistaken. The reason I chose this was of mild consequence, as I happen to have found the F3A-2 kit from Special Hobby that has markings for his Buffalo, wherein he had great combat success before moving to the Wildcat. I thought it would be neat to build both planes, merely as conversation pieces. 🙂 I typically have a tough time deciding markings, so any little excuse to sway myself goes a long way in resolving the issue.

Paints were a combination of Vallejo and MM acrylics. I had actually decided to do White 18 after spraying the base colors, which on most Blue/Gray F4Fs carries the blue low onto the fuselage. Because of this I had to respray the gray further up, and in my attempt to blend the two, may have gone overboard on the post-shading… But I’m happy with it.

Sealed the paint with Future, decaled, then Vallejo acrylic Matt varnish was sprayed to seal for an oil wash. Slight post shaping was once again applied with a Matt varish mix to finish it off.

I hope you enjoy!

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.