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Ōtaki F6F-3 Hellcat - Sullivan GB - finished!

Started by Eric Berg · 92 ≡ · ↻ 8 months ago

Viewing 76 - 90 of 92 posts

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Louis Gardner said 9 months, 3 weeks ago:

Eric Berg (@eb801)
I'm going to chime in here and echo what has already been said. It's looking GREAT ! Two thumbs up my friend.
Eric Berg said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Almost Finished

Thanks everyone! @lgardner, @gwskat, @gblair,@fiveten, and @johnb. Appreciate the comments.

I can see the finish line just up ahead. Prop attached and all weathering completed. But...as luck would have it, the Modeler's Curse struck at the last minute and I broke the antenna mask off. I glued it back on but several days later I broke it again while in the middle of rigging. And then I ran out of my favorite Uschi thread and it seems every online hobby shop is out of stock. I will have to use EZ Line instead which is a bit too thick for my liking but it does the job. The mast is back on with EZ attached.
George R Blair Jr said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Looks great, Eric (@eb801). You have the same luck I do. It wouldn't be a normal kit if something didn't break off, if paint didn't run out, if something got lost in the carpet, or be taking final photos and discover I left something off. I think this is a spectacular build of an elderly kit.
Eric Berg said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Regarding your last comment, George @gblair, all I have to say is "ain't that the truth"!
John vd Biggelaar said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Looks fantastic, Eric @eb801
The EZ line might look a little thinner once stretched.
Spiros Pendedekas said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Looking super, my friend @eb801! Hope all works well with the antenna wire.
gary sausmikat said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Oh man! Don't you hate that.
I use the EZ Line Fine but I will have to look into the Uschi product. I try to add a small wire pin to any masts I attach for added support.
And I agree with George's comment, too. Just part of the FUN!
Looks great Eric! Up on Headlines soon...
Eric Berg said 9 months, 1 week ago:
Just Part of the Fun!

@gwskat, @gblair, @fiveteen @johnb, @lgardner:

It sure is! I finally got the antenna rigged. After breaking off the tail mast and main mast several times and not having much luck with EZ Line - hey that's what I get for actually ordering "heavy" instead of "fine" - and getting extremely frustrated, I switched to the old stand by: invisible sewing thread. Much better.

Here it is complete with yellow wheel chocks that Otaki included in the kit. A few more touch ups and I will be posting this in the headlines soon:
1. I experimented painting the thread black. Not sure I like the results. Also used white glue to make tiny insulators at the attachment points.

2. wheel chocks
gary sausmikat said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Congrats! A fine job all around, Eric...Well done!
John vd Biggelaar said 9 months, 1 week ago:

The sewing thread as antenna wire looks good to me, Eric @eb801
As do the insulators.
The wheel chocks are a nice addition, good idea of Otaki to include them.
Spiros Pendedekas said 9 months, 1 week ago:

Well done on the aerial wire, my friend @eb801!
Louis Gardner said 9 months ago:

Eric Berg (@eb801)
I'm going to jump on the band wagon and echo what the guys said above. You did an excellent job with this. It definitely looks the part. For me the aerial antennae's are the hardest part of the build too, besides painting figures... and notice I don't normally add figures to my models.

I'm looking forward to seeing it in the headlines section soon.

Thank you for contributing to our group.
Eric Berg said 9 months ago:
Ain't Done Yet!

I thought I was finished with this kit... but noooooo. Next day the thread antennas drooped like crazy. What to do? I used a hair dryer to heat the thread and indeed it did tighten up. But an hour later it drooped again. And again. Never had this happen before. Fortunately my order for a new roll of EZ Line Fine showed up and "Bingo"!

I pronounce this Cat finished at last! Thanks to you guys for following along and all great Hellcat info. I will post final photos and an article later this week in Headlines.
1. tail mast broke off 3 times and this is what's left of it. Also added a rubber cable shock from white glue

2. main mast broke off twice! ##$%$%@*!!!

3. I'll clean this up.

4. we'll just call this area, "damaged due to bad luck and hastily repaired down below".
John vd Biggelaar said 9 months ago:

Congratulations on finishing this Hellcat, Eric @eb801
She looks really nice.
For some reason I also struggle with getting the antenna wires and masts to attach nicely. I think yours do look quite nice.
Eric Berg said 9 months ago:

Thank you John @johnb. You are way too kind.

Viewing 76 - 90 of 92 posts

Jim Sullivan Memorial Group Build

Ōtaki F6F-3 Hellcat - Sullivan GB - finished!