Trumpeter F4F-3 Wildcat, going to try a prewar yellow wings.

[dmthamade]

On 4/8/2026 at 11:35 PM, Ayovan said:

That looks sharp. The Vellejo aluminum looks great.

 

I like the Vallejo Metal colors, look fine especially on a weathered finish, or a new  lacquer finish. Very easy to work with.

13 hours ago, Aptivaboy said:

Ecology jail, lol!

 

The green tail looks great. Tom Doll had an actual piece of a Ranger SB2U Willow Green rudder and it looks quite close to what you have there. The fabric had faded quite a bit, but otherwise it looks reasonably close.  

 

Squadron has Willow Green in their acrylic range (Squadron Colors USN Willow Green Acrylic Airbrush Paint (15ml Bottle) - Squadron.com). Hopefully, it isn't on the forbidden list in the Great White North. 

 

Cheers! 

 

The green was a little work to match, OOB paints wer'nt available to me. Other builds used close enough paints, Interior green or Zinc Chromate green were suggested , i settled on Mr. Color Russian Green(1) #135 as suggested by the Trumpeter callouts. Never heard of the Squadron Colors line, did have a look around the link you provided. They do have a lot of colors, the bottles look like Vallejo paints. Will keep in mind if i need a hard to find color. I'll have to look into whether they will ship to Canada, most places won't ship paints to Canada. 

 

Couple of pics with decals applied. These were printed by Microscale, worked well with their solvents but did have to go with stronger setting solutions in a couple of areas.

 

 

Don

[csavaglio]

Looks great!  I don't know if there's an out of bottle green that matches willow green.  I know there wasn't before. 

 

I chickened out and did a black tailed one and the -3 late and -4 in the stash will be blue and maybe an Atlantic scheme one 

[Ayovan]

The yellow wing paint scheme has never been one of my favorites, but that is rather spectacular. Nice job.

[Dpgsbody55]

Looks great.  Very colourful. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[geedubelyer]

Looks great Don

 

Love your choice of scheme for this one 

[denders]

17 hours ago, dmthamade said:

 Never heard of the Squadron Colors line, did have a look around the link you provided. They do have a lot of colors, the bottles look like Vallejo paints. Will keep in mind if i need a hard to find color. I'll have to look into whether they will ship to Canada, most places won't ship paints to Canada. 

They are what used to be Scale Colors by Jeff Herne. They are mixed and bottled in Georgia. Send an email to Brandon at info@squadron.com. He’ll answer. 

[Out2gtcha]

Man I missed this one!

 

Great work, and the paint really amps it up.

Looking awesome!

[dmthamade]

On 4/10/2026 at 9:57 PM, csavaglio said:

Looks great!  I don't know if there's an out of bottle green that matches willow green.  I know there wasn't before. 

 

I chickened out and did a black tailed one and the -3 late and -4 in the stash will be blue and maybe an Atlantic scheme one 

Did find a "close enough" in the Trumpeter instructions. Found listings of exact matches that were out of reach or expensive for one bottle. Have to admit that the black tail was tempting, but i wanted as much color on the build. Blue would definitely be a great option.

On 4/10/2026 at 11:35 PM, Ayovan said:

The yellow wing paint scheme has never been one of my favorites, but that is rather spectacular. Nice job.

 

Not my normal choice for a warplane, wanted something different and the hobby shop selection was limited.

On 4/11/2026 at 1:17 AM, Dpgsbody55 said:

Looks great.  Very colourful. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

Have to say, US Navy had some colorful schemes over the years. My favorite for color were the Vietnam Era/CAG birds/Bicentennial/Pre TPS schemes.

On 4/11/2026 at 2:05 AM, geedubelyer said:

Looks great Don

 

Love your choice of scheme for this one 

 

👍Tempted to do another Yellow Wings, not a big selection of kits available right now. Cost is a factor.

On 4/11/2026 at 8:43 AM, denders said:

They are what used to be Scale Colors by Jeff Herne. They are mixed and bottled in Georgia. Send an email to Brandon at info@squadron.com. He’ll answer. 

 

Will keep in mind if the need for hard to find comes up. Acrylic paint IIRC doesn't have the same limitations as solvent paint.

On 4/11/2026 at 10:30 AM, Out2gtcha said:

Man I missed this one!

 

Great work, and the paint really amps it up.

Looking awesome!

👍Hopefully will finish this week.

 

Don

[dmthamade]

Well, i finished the build. It's a simple kit, mostly uncomplicated, but put up a fight. The decals also were affected by the clear coat, spraybomb Tamiya glosscoat. Not easily seen, but the clear caused very small wrinkles.  Have to think that someone with more patience and talent, plus some aftermarket, would be able to turn out a fine build. Pic time.

 

 

 

Don

[Aptivaboy]

Excellent work. The panel line washes or highlights on the wings look outstanding; understated yet clearly visible. All in all, a really classy build! 

 

Bob

[Phantom2]

Very nice Wildcat, Don!  

 

I like the very subdued weathering, excellent work.

 

Stefan 

[dmthamade]

On 4/16/2026 at 2:36 AM, Phantom2 said:

Very nice Wildcat, Don!  

 

I like the very subdued weathering, excellent work.

 

Stefan 

 

On 4/16/2026 at 1:15 AM, Aptivaboy said:

Excellent work. The panel line washes or highlights on the wings look outstanding; understated yet clearly visible. All in all, a really classy build! 

 

Bob

 

The weathering was kept to a minimum, the panel lines and rivets needed a wash. The build looked like a 7year olds X-mas toy with the glosscoat and colors, the wash and a light flat coat left it with a eggshell like sheen. The gunsight pointed upwards if installed as supplied, had to CAREFULLY open up the hole in the windscreen. Even so, i jarred it at some point, it still points upwards now...have to say, for all the self inflicted problems, i do like the flashy colors.

 

Don

[Dpgsbody55]

Great looking Wildcat.  I've had this kit in my stash for years with the idea of doing what you've done, and this build has answered some questions Ive had.  Love the finish too.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

 

[Kenneth Joy]

On 4/15/2026 at 10:14 PM, dmthamade said:

Well, i finished the build. It's a simple kit, mostly uncomplicated, but put up a fight. The decals also were affected by the clear coat, spraybomb Tamiya glosscoat. Not easily seen, but the clear caused very small wrinkles.  Have to think that someone with more patience and talent, plus some aftermarket, would be able to turn out a fine build. Pic time.

 

 

 

Don

I love it...just a really cool prewar scheme 

[dmthamade]

On 4/19/2026 at 1:46 AM, Dpgsbody55 said:

Great looking Wildcat.  I've had this kit in my stash for years with the idea of doing what you've done, and this build has answered some questions Ive had.  Love the finish too.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

 

 

👍Have to say, i should have worked out the gear, because now i have a build sitting on its belly...Patience will get you there. I think the Wildcat is easier than the Hellcat your doing.

On 4/26/2026 at 11:37 AM, Kenneth Joy said:

I love it...just a really cool prewar scheme 

The flashy colors are a big change from the typical drab finishes. I've looked at the Devastator yellow wings, but if i were to do another yellow wing i think i would opt for the Dauntless.

 

Don