Joel_W Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 Getting closer to the finish line. All the major work has been completed with the installation of the centerline gas tank, and getting those strip plastic straps to actually touch and stay in one place while the Extra Thin dried. I still wasn't real happy with the bright tonal quality of both Blues, so I made an overall filter of 12 parts X20-A to 1 drop of Mig FS36622 Gray and over sprayed the top and sides. When dry I used Testors tried and True Dullcoat cut 1:1 with Tamiya Yellow cap to seal everything. Once dry, I was finally able to remove all the masking and see what my Cat looks like. I popped on the prop and the canopy. I'm pretty happy how the random fading of the wings are greater then that of the fuselage, yet it also had evidence of the paint fading. There's still plenty to do:1-The exhaust streaking needs to be more pronounced2-the wheels need the spaces between the spokes to be a lot darker, as you see the brake hub which I'm pretty sure isn't even painted white. 3- All the lights and lenses 4-finish the pitot tube painting5-the Antenna wires6-weather the propSo I'm thinking by Sunday night I should have the final build pictures up.Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Collin Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 That is one sharp looking Cat....meow. Your canopy looks great (one of my worst areas). Cheers Collin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ikon Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 That's a real nice looking Hellcat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Looking good, Joel! Getting close to finish, wow -- looks like you'll have a productive year ahead : ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Very nice job Joel,I like you effort on the engine and on the overall look of the model! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Joel, this build looks great! I think you hit the fading of the top side very well. You can really see the difference in the top of the nose and the sides of the fuselage in the first picture. And from experience, I know it looks even better to the naked eye than in a photo. My photography skills are not very good, but I can not seem to capture the subtle variations in the paint that I can see in person. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 a most appreciated and sincere thanks to Collin , Ikon, Crackerjazz, Gianni , & Tom for taking the time to post such positive comments. You guys really made my day. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Enrywar67 Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 (edited) Beautiful work,bravo Joel a very good model.........the Eduard decal sheet is wrong in colour:the insigna blue 605(star and bar) infact should be more darker than the non specular sea blu 607......Ciao from Italy Ps:have you checked your references about trim tab?? Edited January 6, 2018 by Enrywar67 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom G Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Great work Joel. I really like your model. It is an excellent representation of the Hellcat. I like the tri-color paint scheme the best. You have faded it just right. Tom G. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 On 1/6/2018 at 2:50 PM, Enrywar67 said: Beautiful work,bravo Joel a very good model.........the Eduard decal sheet is wrong in colour:the insigna blue 605(star and bar) infact should be more darker than the non specular sea blu 607......Ciao from Italy Ps:have you checked your references about trim tab?? Enrywar67, Thanks so much for the thumbs up, it's much appreciated. The fuselage stars and bars blue is darker in real life. Actually, it's the same color as the one on the top of the wing. Might be the effect of the two different base colors showing through due to the lighting I use for photographs, but what it is at this point is what it's going to stay. I totally forgot about the trim tab issue that you pointed out before, so that's staying as is as well. Honestly, at this point, I'm looking forward to finally finishing up the Cat and moving on to my next build. Switching gears and will most likely be building the Eduard/Hasegawa 1/48 scale 1/48 F-86F Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 On 1/7/2018 at 7:38 AM, Tom G said: Great work Joel. I really like your model. It is an excellent representation of the Hellcat. I like the tri-color paint scheme the best. You have faded it just right. Tom G. Tom, Thank you my friend for those more then kind words. It's my best effort with the USN tri color scheme to date. And I've got several more planned. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Really nice cat! I enjoy your builds a lot! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Major Walt Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 I’ve always loved the Navy’s three tone paint scheme but have never been good enough to pull it off. You did it flawlessly!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 On 1/9/2018 at 11:08 PM, kike said: Really nice cat! I enjoy your builds a lot! Kike, Thanks for stopping by, it's always much appreciate. Glad that you enjoy my builds. Not the greatest by any means, but I do enjoy sharing my work with you guys. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 11 hours ago, Major Walt said: I’ve always loved the Navy’s three tone paint scheme but have never been good enough to pull it off. You did it flawlessly!! Major Walt, Thank you sir for that most kind comment, it's greatly appreciated. There's nothing really special, nor difficult about the tri color scheme. Just takes a little more planning. I've seen your work, and you're more then capable of doing the tri color scheme equal to or surpassing my efforts. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 Finally, after 3 1/2 months my F6F-3 has crossed the finish line and is in the books. By no means is it a perfect build, but I did the best I could, and I'm more then satisfied with the final results.Since the last set of pictures, I needed to correct the tire tread wear as there just wasn't any. I used a dark gray chalk to simulate that wear, but no dirt nor grime was added, as those elements just didn't exist on a carrier. I added some exhaust smoke from only the top exhausts but none for the bottom two, so I had to add it after the photo session, so I took a few more pictures to show those additions. One big issue I had was the rudder mast as it just kept on breaking off. If I looked at it to long it snapped right off. I tried Tamiya Extra thin, Model Masters Liquid cement, CCA thin and CCA Gel, & 5 min epoxy, but nothing worked. I did manage to get the antenna on, but the next day the mask had popped off once again. So I had to suck it up, and drill a pilot hole with a #80 drill into a not so wide base. Then I enlarged the opening with the next larger size drill bit. I cut a piece of brass wire and CCA glued it in the hole. Gave it a good 15 min to dry then glued it to the fuselage. 15 min later it was rock solid. I remade the antenna from stretch sprue. At this point I stepped back, took a look, and decided that we've crossed the finish line. Now it's ready for entry into the IPMS Noreastcon and IPMS region 2 Mosquitocon, both this coming April.Thanks to all that have stayed the course, it's much appreciated.Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Wow,Joel, congratulations on another fine build! Someday I want to be able to build that fast. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Hey Joel, Outstanding effort! Love the smooth finish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 (edited) Joel, I know I am just repeating myself here, but this is an absolutely fantastic build! Your skills are highly evolved and are something for me to try to emulate. I am curious about the black lines? on both sides of the fuselage extending from the numbers down to what appears to be some kind of hatch or panel opening. Are they some kind of antennae? Edited January 15, 2018 by JesusNut Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ikon Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Lovely finish! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 So delicious!!! I don't know if valid for this particular subject/airframe,but maybe a little more weathering in the walkways/pit area? Only a very minor consideration my friend,your buils is already beautiful this way,really! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 22 hours ago, crackerjazz said: Wow,Joel, congratulations on another fine build! Someday I want to be able to build that fast. Crackerjazz, Thanks so much my friend for your thumbs up. It's greatly appreciated. I wouldn't think that a 3 1/2 month build is particularly fast in 1/48 scale, more like middle of the road. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 16 hours ago, JesusNut said: Joel, I know I am just repeating myself here, but this is an absolutely fantastic build! Your skills are highly evolved and are something for me to try to emulate. I am curious about the black lines? on both sides of the fuselage extending from the numbers down to what appears to be some kind of hatch or panel opening. Are they some kind of antennae? Tom, Repeat away. Seriously, thanks so much for staying the course. your most positive comments were and are always welcome. The black line seems to be a reference marker for crew and maint personnel to use what I believe is a spring loaded door for a foot support to help them get on to the wing. Why someone at Grumman's decided it was needed is beyond me. It was carried over to the F6F-5 all Glossy Sea Blue scheme as a white line. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 15 hours ago, Ikon said: Lovely finish! Ikon, Thanks so much for the most positive comment, it's always appreciated. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 6 hours ago, kurnass77 said: So delicious!!! I don't know if valid for this particular subject/airframe,but maybe a little more weathering in the walkways/pit area? Only a very minor consideration my friend,your buils is already beautiful this way,really! Gianni Gianni my friend, I did think about a little more weathering, but I decided for my style of weathering, I've taken it about as far as I dare. But my next tri-color scheme will had more paint modulation for sure. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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