dutik Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) Hi, folks! This is my NAM GB entry. Something esoteric for the theater of operations, but a wellknown Grumman fighter: A Hellcat, but in French livery. They used them for ground support, based on dry ground, still wearing the wellknown Glossy Sea Blue. So a lot of dust and chipping ahead...! All the good stuff: Trumpies Hellcat. It's an Mark 3. will make it into a Mark 5. Eduards selfadhesive interior PE Eduards gunbay for show Eduards canopy mask Barracudas post-war wheels Berna decals French marking Enjoy! - dutik Edited January 13, 2015 by dutik KiwiZac, AndersN, Nick32 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girlscanplay2 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Dutik, Well we are off building, your Hellcat will be great! Happy building, we are all going to have fun! Teresa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Stoner Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Yep, this is going to be fun and very cool! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Paul Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Dutik, Shes going to look outstanding in the worn out blue paint! Great Choice and I'm looking forward to seeing her come to life! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 A not so well known but excellent option - great dutik Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderdriver Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 THAT"s COOOOL!!! looking forward to this one jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimW Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Outstanding! I have some after-market decals for French Hellcats. This should be inspiring! Tim W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Yep, gonna be a good one !.......Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutik Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 First steps first: First time I used Eduards self adhesive PE. I am not impressed. They look nice in the blister, but paint rubs down easily. Faced the same problems as AndersN with his Bearcat - the PE parts are too large for the kit parts. Had to use precision sheet metal shears to cut some parts down without damaging the paint as well as to enlarge one misaligned slot for cockpit wall stringers and to add some styrene at another location. Large PE parts are difficult to remove from the backing sheet without bending them, while the small parts are difficult to hold. OK, there is one advantage: Tweezer launched parts tend to stick to your arm to be saved instead of going down to the floor forever. I am not convinced with the glue effect: In contrast to oldfashioned superglu or decals the selfadhesive PE does not stick well to the surface, tend to move somewhat after final application (i. e. to rotate or slide sideways) and to come off when handling the styrene kit parts. Coloration is also somewhat odd... OK, no more whining. Managed to fit the PE to the kit parts. The Interior green paint at hand didn't fit Eduards green, so I mixed the proper shade using Vallejos. Worked well, but I have to paint some more coats instead of one or two. Not a biggie, but slowing down work. Also made some touchups where the PE lost some paint as well as to hide shiny edges. While paint was drying started folding the first gunbay. This is "plain jane" Eduard PE and it works as I know it: very well. No problems here. Nice finding: I discovered two full PE sets in my blister Nice compensation for the hassle with the selfadhesive parts... Well, maybe this is some kind of "modeller bail-out program"? So I will take care of the blister and the instructions to sell the surplus set. Regards - dutik whiskytngofxtrt, Derek B, AndersN and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderdriver Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 This is why I stopped using most P/E stuff, plus I get the satisfaction of painting it myself. I have guys in my club who would be lost without it?????????? LOVE the choice for your build watch'in you jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutik Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Spent some time this evening to add more precolored gizmos to the pit: Looks nice when done. Reglued the PE at the right console with superglue, because it peeled off again and again. Bonded now forever! The instrument paneel is ready, but I will leave it off until the cockpit is glued into the fuselage. Dry fitting revealed some gaps around the frontal bulkhead to be filled and sanded; and I don't want to scratch the nice instrument paneel. Working at the throttle quadrant (left upper corner). Its huge, so I cut off some chunks with a saw and sanded it as flat as possible without damaging the levers. Also scrapped off the wrong lever runnig across the front face. Now I will mate this with the PE backside of the Eduard set and fit it to the left console. Also shortened the lower "shelf" of the left console. there is no such thing at the real plane, just some instruments at the side wall and a lot of plumbing. I made a compromise by keeping a short piece to help glueing it. Want to add the visible plumbing and wiring below the left console and at the rear wall. Does anybody know what was the colour of the compressed air bottle? I guess this one is used to lower the undercarriage. That's it for today. Enjoy - dutik whiskytngofxtrt and LSP_Paul 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Paul Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Spent some time this evening to add more precolored gizmos to the pit: Looks nice when done. Reglued the PE at the right console with superglue, because it peeled off again and again. Bonded now forever! The instrument paneel is ready, but I will leave it off until the cockpit is glued into the fuselage. Dry fitting revealed some gaps around the frontal bulkhead to be filled and sanded; and I don't want to scratch the nice instrument paneel. Working at the throttle quadrant (left upper corner). Its huge, so I cut off some chunks with a saw and sanded it as flat as possible without damaging the levers. Also scrapped off the wrong lever runnig across the front face. Now I will mate this with the PE backside of the Eduard set and fit it to the left console. Also shortened the lower "shelf" of the left console. there is no such thing at the real plane, just some instruments at the side wall and a lot of plumbing. I made a compromise by keeping a short piece to help glueing it. Want to add the visible plumbing and wiring below the left console and at the rear wall. Does anybody know what was the colour of the compressed air bottle? I guess this one is used to lower the undercarriage. That's it for today. Enjoy - dutik Hi Dutik! Shes looking awesome and great work! The compressed air bottle would be ZC yellow or Unpainted Aluminum. Keep up the great work my friend, Paul whiskytngofxtrt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutik Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Journey onward: Added some plumbing to the rear bulkhead. Not to scale, but at the correct locations to make the cockpit look busy. Trumpeters handwheel was a solid blob (hey, I know the can make nice handwheels, proven by their armor kits!), so I replaced it with a PE part from the bitbox. Cut off the headrest, made a new one and placed it more to the top. The right paneel is ready now. The left one got the throttle quadrant added, but needs some more PE as well as some red and green insignia painted here and there. Started making the PE seatbelts. Somewhat fiddly, but nice when ready. Base paint is on. All accents and highlights are done. Wash (pinwash only) done. Next painting step is micropainting of chips and wear, followed by dusting with pigments and a final flat clearcote. Then I am ready to glue the parts together and into the fuselage. Enjoy! - dutik Paul in Napier, KiwiZac and whiskytngofxtrt 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Looking good !..........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutik Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 There is a work related break ahead, so 2 more images to go Dryfitted: And forced into the fuselage: Needs some more dryfitting and a little bit of sanding here and there to be glued when the painting was done. Not bad for the moment. We shall see when time has come... - dutik Uncarina, KiwiZac, whiskytngofxtrt and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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