1/48 Eduard F6F-5N Hellcat Nightfighter - Special Build

Started by David Kopielski · 22 · 3 years ago
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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 10 months ago:

    Looking great indeed, David!
    Great homemade decals, too.

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    George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 10 months ago:

    Looks great, David. How did you make the white decals? I have made my own decals before, but I can't make white decals on my printer. I would love to find a way to make white decals at home.

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    David Kopielski said 3 years, 10 months ago:

    I have clear and white film decal paper.I color match the background of what the decal is going on and then add a border around the decal. Print on the white film sheet. Then I can then trim as needed and apply.

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    David Kopielski said 3 years, 10 months ago:

    The F6F-5N Nightfigher is now finished. I had a brass nameplate made and used it as the front of the battery box. The box was built out of sheet styrene. The end caps just press in for battery access. The end cap on the right side is just temporary. I will be adding a switch to turn the lights off and on. The switch is on order and then once it arrives, I can design the end cap and I will 3-D print it for a better fit and to make the power switch not so noticeable. Overall this is a very nice kit with the exception of the decals. Even though I had to build it in a different order than the instructions due to the lighting, everything fit well.

    The final pictures have different stages. The first ones are without the nameplate and light off. Then lights on with the battery sitting outside camera frame. Then the final photos are with everything on. The last photo was a Photoshop with a “sunset at sea” background. Thanks for following along and hope this encourages some of you to add lighting to your builds.

    14 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Louis Gardner said 3 years, 10 months ago:

    Hello David, @davids_models
    This is a fantastic looking Hellcat. I have been watching it come to life, and the very last photo you posted looks very realistic. I am very impressed with your work. It looks great and I'll bet you are very proud of how it turned out. The article you posted today in the headlines section was very informative too.

    Well done !

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    George R Blair Jr said 3 years, 10 months ago:

    Terrific job, David. The lighting is impressive, as is the sunset picture of your model.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 10 months ago:

    That's a fantastic Job, David! I am off to the headlines!