Eduard 1:48 Grumman F6F-3 Kit #84135
Right off the get go Imma gonna say two things: I'm not happy with Eduard's rendition of the stars and bars and seeking replacements. I've got two for the fuselage but the wings are an odd size. Second, its Eduard so nuff said about the build. The one issue was the 500 part landing gear build, or maybe it was nine and a couple of very tiny hooks. Painting, all Tamiya, starting with the bottom. White would be two stark for a well used, land based aircraft so I toned it down a bit with my lightest grey. I was thinking ahead here about weathering. My Tamiya Panel Liner Browns would be too dark so I searched around and found that Mr. Hobby makes a grey brown, similar but oil based. They want you to use their brand to remove the excess but I found that house brand odorless thinner for oil based paint and enamels and it works very well. The right wing has been done
Next I sprayed the tops of the airfoil surfaces Semi-Gloss Sea Blue using Tamiya, XF-17 Sea Blue -6 parts, XF-8 Flat Blue -6 parts, XF-53 Neutral Grey – 1 part. I figured masking flat surfaces would be easier than the contours of the wings. On next, Intermediate Blue, Tamiya XF-18 Medium Blue and XF-2 Flat White: 3/1. Lastly, Tamiya XF-17 Sea Blue for Non Specular Sea Blue on the leading edges and upper fuselage. I used Vallejo Satin Varnish for the upper wings and Winsor & Newton Matte Varnish for the rest. On the propeller I used The Army Painter Warpaints Anti Shine Matte Varnish. Decals went on fine. This model depicts one that is flown by Lt. C. K. "Ken" Hildebrantd of VF-33, based in the Solomans. He downed four Zekes and a Hamp in this aircraft from Sept 14 to Dec 24 1943
I'm surprised at the over-spray between the two colours
Nice Hellcat. Looks very realistic.
It'd be nice if Eduard would do for the Hellcat what they did for the Fw-190, updating it.
Thank you very much Tom @tcinla. I have two of their early 190s and they scare me to death
Lovely looking Cat George.
Thank you Neil
Excellent build and super result, George!
Appreciated Spiros
Nice Build George, @blackadder57, I really the tricolor scheme. You did a great job on it.
Thanks a lot Walt
Definitely liking this Hellcat, George @blackadder57
The painting of the tri-color scheme and weathering looks perfect.
Thanks John
G’day George (@blackadder57),
This is another great build.
One thing I had a problem with when I built my Avenger was finding a satin clear for the upper surfaces, but I didn’t try the Vallejo satin.
Liked!
Thank you Michael @michaelt I mentioned above that I used Winsor & Newtons Matt for the other final coat. This is the best matt I have ever used and needs to be brushed on in very fine coats. I have just received a bottle of their Satin Varnish which I will be testing shortly. Brett Green at Hyperscale uses these for final coats and airbrushes them on. The bottles I have are 8 fl.oz in size and should last a long time. I found this article about airbrushing them on but haven't personally tried it yet
I’ve tried to airbrush the Vellajo clear gloss but couldn’t seem to get it thin enough so I have brushed that on.
Trouble is, it seems to act more like an envelope than a paint - it doesn’t sand and peels off rather than stick to the surface.
I have successfully sprayed their clear matt, though, and it seems to work well.
I don’t think I have tried their satin because of the problems I had with the gloss.
Great job, George!
Thanks Gary
Nice work, George.
Thank you John
Very nice looking Hellcat, George.
Thanks Dan
Heck of a Hellcat, George.
I didn’t know I could hit two buttons on a single post until I viewed your post .
I hit both ‘applaud’ and ‘liked’ and that seems deserving.
Thanks for the paint mixture info, as Tamiya always sprays well for me.
Much appreciated another George
Great looking Hellcat, George @blackadder57! 🤩 Well done all around, sir! The only Hellcat I've built was the elderly Monogram kit and that was back in 1989, and it can't compare to this. 👏
Thanks Gary @garybrantley I did that one too a few years ago; a right pain in the keester it was. Scratched a cockpit and did a few mods to make it a drone
Very nice build George. Thanks for the color formula breakdowns. I too have the older Eduard 190-5 & -8. As I understand it they are a bear to build if you do not want to have everything opened up. If only they had said that on the box top.
Thanks Russell @russjurco I started one and put it away. What I did though may be the secret to getting it right if you want the panels to fit in the closed position. Before gluing anything together I started with the left gun panel and ground away. I can then test fit it over the upper wing half and see where the obstructions are and I can focus on these areas. Easier than going in blind with the wing halves glued together, methinks
Got it. I thought it was what was under the panels that was the problem. Now I will test fit everything before gluing. And I will check with my local IPMS to see if there is anyone who wants to do an opened up build.
@russjurco That as well but I found the area around the panel lip was an issue too, at least on mine
A good-lookin' Hellcat - well done!
Thank you