This build is the 1/48 Eduard F6F-5N Hellcat Nightfighter. This is Eduard’s “Weekend Edition” so it comes with some resin detail accessories like radar pod, gun barrels, exhaust pipes, and under wing antenna. I will also be adding Eduard’s photo etch cockpit detail set. I will be using the decals for VF(N)-90 that was aboard the USS Enterprise in 1945. This scheme is one of the scheme’s that comes in the kit. It will also be mounted on a Eureka XXL resin base that looks like the Enterprise flight deck.
While this sounds like one of my typical builds, I’ve decided to change it up. This aircraft will be built utilizing 6 LED’s and some fiber optic lines to illuminate it. This will be my first time illuminating a 1/48 scale aircraft. The build flow will be slightly different since placement and routing of the lighting needs to be arranged. The area’s I will be illuminating are the recognition lights on the bottom of the fuselage, The wing edge landing light, the wing tip lights, the rear formation light, the two formation lights on the dorsal behind the cockpit, and finally the instrument panel. The instrument panel will be back-lit with red lights just like the real panel. This was done so the pilot could maintain his night vision.
There will be 6 LED’s. One Pico size LED will be mounted in the wing for the landing light. There will be 3 Pico LED’s to backlight the dash. Then there will be two 3mm LED’s, one white and one green. The white one will illuminate the rear formation light and the three recognition lights on the bottom. To make the three different colors of the recognition lights I will paint the clear lens the correct color using Tamiya clear paints. The green LED will provide light to the two dorsal formation lights and the one wingtip light. The red wingtip light will be sourced from one of the red LED’s used to backlight the instrument panel. I will be using a battery for power. I just have not figured out where to place the battery (batteries). The LED’s require 9 to 12 volts so there are many options. If I use a standard 9V battery it will keep the model illuminated for about 12-14 hours. If I use an A23 12V battery it is physically smaller and will keep it illuminated for about 4-5 hours. Once I get to setting up the base, I will tackle the power supply.
So let’s begin. For the record I will be using 0.5mm fiber optic lines. I started with the recognition lights. I taped the fuselage together and drilled the bottom of the holes in the base of where the clear lenses sit using a 0.5mm drill bit on a pin vise. I then took a 1mm sheet of styrene and made a small plate and drilled the holes in the correct locations. This was done to add support to the fiber optic lines once they are mounted. Each 6” fiber optic line was trimmed flush to the surface of the fuselage plastic then it was glued in place using acrylic gel medium to secure the line in place. (HINT: do NOT use CA glues. These will make the fiber optic lines very brittle and they will crack easily.) Once cured I then painted the end of the fiber optic with the Tamiya clear paint and also painted the back side of the clear lens the same color. I took some more sheet styrene and made a 0.5” square box. This will serve as the “light box” for the fiber optic lines. I drilled a 3.0mm hole on one end and four 0.5mm holes on the opposite side. I left the inside white and painted the outside flat black. This was able to fit inside the fuselage behind the cockpit wall. Using the acrylic gel I glued the 3mm white LED in and then installed the three optic lines and glued them in place with the acrylic gel. The fuselage was then taped together and using the 0.5mm drill, I drilled the tail formation light. Opening up the fuselage there was now a channel where the fiber optic could sit. This was glued in place with the acrylic gel and routed to the fourth hole in the light box. After the gel cured the light box was then painted with a second coat of flat black. (HINT: when using LED’s always paint the inside of the model as well as any holders for LED’s with dark color paint to prevent any unwanted light. Flat black paint is your best friend). All the fiber optic lines were then taped down and I added spots of acrylic gel to secure the lines against the model.
Next was running the fiber optic lines in the wings for the wing tip lights. Again these were taped together and drilled into the wing to make a channel for the lines. For the port wing, as luck would have it, the landing light hole was near perfect size for the Pico LED. Some minor sanding to make it smooth then the LED was glued in place with acrylic gel. The optic lines and fine wires of the LED were then routed around the area where they would not interfere with the landing gear bays. They were taped down, glued with acrylic gel then painted the areas with flat black paint. The fiber optic lines were made 12”long because they would need to be cut to size once I am ready to assemble the fuselage. I drilled a hole on the fuselage so the optic line and LED wiring can access the fuselage. I will also need to run the power lines thru the wings. The plan is to run the power lines up the landing gear and use the wire to represent the hydraulic lines of the landing gear.
Next up I will be working on the instrument panel and assembling the cockpit.
You can follow along with more photos and details in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-f6f-5n-hellcat-nightfighter/
9 attached images. Click to enlarge.
