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F6F-5N weathering


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Hey fellas,

I have the Eduard kit and am making the night version, but am stumped about how to weather it. I really like the heavy weathered look but don't really have any reference pics.

Can some of you guys post your pics?

Thanks,

Kevin

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USN and USMC F6F-5Ns typically weren't weathered to any great extent. The Gloss Sea Blue was known to be a very tough paint and the Navy's anti-corrosion measures helped prevent a lot of those issues for carrier-based aircraft.

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^^^^ What he said. Less is more. And little or NO paint chipping. Exposed metal and salt air don't mix well.

It's funny because when looking at some pics of carrier based F4U's (both WW2 and Korea), you do occasionally find aircraft with heavy chipping / scuff marks (mostly on the inner wing sections). Haven't seen any pics of F6F's in that shape. Invariably, they look almost in mint condition. At best maybe a couple of very small chips on the prop, canopy or wing leading edges. Best you can do if you want to go with weathering is to apply some decent exhaust staining. Don't do what some folks do and add heavy residue from the weapons, trailing back half the wing. Just wasn't there..

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I think that has to do with the paint supplier used by Grumman vs. Vought or Goodyear. Others have noted that in the past. That's why I cringe when I see Hellcats all beaten up, looking like they flew through a cloud of BBs. You really didn't see that.

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Excellent, thanks for the info!

So far the only thing I've done is the usual pre-shading. Were the Hellcat control surfaces fabric covered?

Thanks for the comments. I guess if I want a really dirty plane I'll get a Tamiya Corsair

Kevin

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They do look pretty clean and well maintained compared to some pics of Corsairs I've seen.

Thanks for the photos.

Since the control surfaces were fabric, I will give them a lighter shade of blue to break it up a bit.

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If you like heavy weathering, then apply heavy weathering. I built this back in 1997 using the Hasegawa kit with a Verlinden cockpit and engine. In 1998, it took 3rd at the Chino, CA Planes of Fame contest. In 2000, it took a 2nd place at the IPMS Fort Worth TX show. In 2001, it took Best Aircraft and Best Weathered at ModCon in West Virginia. Later that year I sold it for $200

Is it accurate? Not even close.....the actual aircraft this model depicts had a gloss finish to the point the reflection of the national insignia can be seen on the wing. The actual markings weren't close to being faded and there was almost no weathering on the airframe outside of the exhaust streaks.

At no time was the accuracy of the weathering questioned at three different shows, in three different states across the country.

I weathered it like this because I wanted to and it looked good. It's a plastic model, build it like you want to build it and paint it the way you want to paint it.

img047_zpstthoxbwo.jpg

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If you look closely at the pics showing the -5Ns, the paint looks to be in great shape, lacking in chipping and fading, but the dust and dirt is plenty, as well as heavy exhaust staining, if you decide to go that route. Good luck with your build.

Cheers

Brad

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Kevin, there is not very much that i can add to this thread which hasn't been said already. The glossy sea blue paint tended to degrade to a semi gloss or a flat (though that might have been due to dried salt spray accumulation) but aside from very small minor scratches along the leading edges and along the cockpit sills, there wasn't much exposed paint.

The most important weathering feature on any Hellcat is the exhaust streak. It is a make-or-break aspect of the model. The master of the F6F exhaust streak is Jason Brewer, but here is my attempt...

DHF6F-5NStbd055.jpg

DHF6F-5NPort074.jpg

DHF6F-5NStbd061.jpg

DHF6F-5NPort074A.jpg

DHF6F-5NFwd008A.jpg

DHF6F-5NPort005A.jpg

DHF6F-5NPort045.jpg

Apologies for the bad photography; some of my earlier efforts (2009)

david

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Here are a couple I based my land based Marine F6F. Unsure from where I got these.

VMF-541-03.jpg

VMFN-451.jpg

Does anyone do decals for these birds? Love to have a US F6F with something other than a plain nose or sharkmouth

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Superscale 48-717 (Think that is what I used for this).

FWII%20244.jpg

The Eduard F6F-5N Profipack boxing also has markings for this aircraft in the box. Eagle Strike or Aeromaster (can't remember which) also covered this aircraft on one of their sheets.

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Looks like I have some hunting to do, not much since I'd just buy the Eduard kit anyways (having those markings just means it'll be the Profipack instead of the Weekend)

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