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If I had to build only one kit for the rest of my life it would probably be the Eduard Hellcat. This is my third or fourth but I will keep building them.  I have not built a night attack version however so I decided that was the way to go. I bought the weekend edition and then robbed a few parts from other boxings in the stash. I also got some metal gun barrels and a resin drop tank from Quickboost. But I wanted to use the occasion to try some new weathering techniques. 

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I used a black base with Stynylrez which I have to say is one of the single best things you can ever use on a model kit. It makes your surface smooth and fills on minor blemishes. 

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Next I hit areas where I wanted to chip with some Alclad II aircraft aluminum

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Then I tried some liquid mask and then sprayed some yellow chromate from Mig Productions

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I found that the liquid mask does not always come off and getting it to come off can damage the surrounding paint in a way that you don't want. The liquid mask also covered up areas that I thought were too large. So with future Hellcats I might go with chipping solution only. I sprayed some chipping solution over the yellow and then hit it with the base coat and then I faded the top of the aircraft. 

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Then I used some steel wool to scratch and remove the liquid mask. Again, not all of the liquid mask came up. I am still doing some minor repairs and I would like to use a finer steel wool in the future but the effect was pretty good I thought. 

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Along the leading edges of the wings I dabbed some silver paint to better replicate the fine chipping often seen on this area of the F6F. I wish I could have achieved the effect through the liquid mask or chipping solution but in the end I think that it looks 'good enough' to move on. 

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I did take off some paint on the engine cowling so I need to repaint part of that and then weather it back in. I will also be working on the prop, drop tank, wheels and canopy as well. There are some issues that I am having and areas where it is not perfect but I think it is a step in the right direction. I am learning a lot and that is always a good thing. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have finished!  I learned a lot on this kit. I will do my chipping differently in the future thanks to the lessons from this kit. I think it is an Improvement over my last Hellcat. But now I have two Big E Helcats ready for display!

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On 2/3/2017 at 3:01 PM, Bob Beary said:

Nice final result and really nice paint work. And a very neat work area.

 

Where did you get that paint storage rack?

 

Bob

Hi Bob - Here is where I got that paint rack. I need another. They are so convenient!

 

https://www.amazon.com/Beauticom-Acrylic-Display-Organizer-Dimension/dp/B00KIHV28Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1486397927&sr=8-4&keywords=acrylic+paint+rack

 

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Great build! I just picked up the Squadron boxing of the eduard hellcat, and it is a terrific kit!

I just switched to vallejo and ammo paints, and have been wanting to try the chipping fluid for weathering aircraft.

your build help tremendously!!

 

cheers

Mike

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2 hours ago, longmc said:

Great build! I just picked up the Squadron boxing of the eduard hellcat, and it is a terrific kit!

I just switched to vallejo and ammo paints, and have been wanting to try the chipping fluid for weathering aircraft.

your build help tremendously!!

 

cheers

Mike

Yeah. It was a huge trial and error process. I have used the chipping solution before and couldn't get much off and then I tired it on this build and had big flakes coming off which I didn't want!  But I was able to save it in places. I would make a few changes next time but overall it was a positive experience!  Thanks for following along and good luck on your build!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nicely done Cat. your weathering certainly replicates a well used night fighter. 

 

Have you given any thought rather then just a black base coat, to  using the Black basing technique instead? It makes weathering a lot easier.

 

Joel

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks! I used slightly different techniques between the two but in general what I did was take a darker color and sketch the outside of the exhausts with my airbrush then I lightened the color one or two times and worked inward so the lightest color was in the middle. I tried to be a little uneven and I also tried to respect the panel lines. With the N I also used some 'streaking grime' from mig to simulate those oily leaks that I saw on a lot of the pictures. The key there is to make a streak with a sine brush. Let it dry then take a broad brush and get a little bit of thinner on it and gently drag the brush over the streaks int he direction of air flow. I thought it looked pretty good. 

 

The thing with the exhaust stains on the Hellcat is that they all seemed to be a little different. Some were great big and others were smaller, tighter bands. I would start small and work out so that it doesn't get too big. 

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