Revell F4F-4 / FM-2 Double Build

[Cicchino]

Guys,

 

With a couple of builds nearing the finish line (SC-1 and P-47N) which I hope to post in RFI very soon, I started to get a feel for my next build - the Revell F4F-4 Wildcat. This kit was one of the earliest I remember building and I remember struggling mightily with both the undercarriage and the wingfold. Being somewhat more experienced and hopefully a little bit smarter, I want to add the kit to my collection. I think Revell captured the essence of the Wildcat really well, but I will give it a modern treatment with some aftermarket and likely some 3d parts I'll draw up and print along the way. 

 

It's going to be finished in an Operation Torch scheme; color pics show off some really interesting tones and weathering that I'll try and capture. 

 

Here are the first pics - the inner and outer upper wings are assembled with an healthy dose of sprue goo backing up the joint. The whole build was predicated on getting that joint done well, and I think I have a good starting point, there is a gap, but there is minimal if any step between the parts.  Everything else is just taped together. Probably won't kick off in earnest for another 10 days or so as we have a quick trip to Bonaire coming up next week. 

 

Looking forward to this build and trip down memory lane - wish me luck!

 

Thanks for dropping by

 

 

John

 

 

Edited July 18 by Cicchino
Title Update

[LSP_Kevin]

Looking forward to this one, John! I have several of these kits in various states of disrepair, and have been intending to tackle at least a couple of them at some point - one as an FM-2 conversion. Perhaps you'll inspire me!

 

Kev

[Cicchino]

1 hour ago, LSP_Kevin said:

one as an FM-2 conversion.

 

Kev, 

 

I think we've all had that thought 😃 This may be from 20 years ago - and still sitting...

 

   

 

One day...

 

 

John

[Cicchino]

Guys ,

 

Back from some traveling and with other builds working their way through the painting process, I’ve enjoyed finally getting a chance to do some building.

 

As mentioned previously, this whole build is predicated on getting an acceptable result with the wing join. After joining the upper wing inner and outer sections and backing it with sprue glue; I found the wing to be both slightly warped and very flimsy. To try and rectify both, I epoxied a brass spar along the inner surface of the upper wing.

 

 

I’m not sure it totally achieved the intended result - the wing is definitely stiffer, but the bend is still there. I’m not quite sure what solution will work in the end, but I’ll continue to work it as the build progresses.

 

Plastic strip was used to box in the shell ejector chutes on the lower wing (right in front of the 1969 Copyright!) Each was sprayed with Pale Burt Metal before closing them up. 

 

  

 

Styrene tube was added to close each of the oversized machine gun openings. These are seated on some channel stock mounted on a styrene strip to keep them level.

Ultimately these will be faired in and drilled out to accept a 1/16” (1.6mm) brass tube to represent the machine gun blast tubes. This view also highlights the next challenge in the build: sorting out the surface details on the wings. 

  

 

Shell ejection chutes filled in nicely. 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by

 

 

John

Edited July 1 by Cicchino

[Oldbaldguy]

I did the same thing a couple of months ago with the same kit.  With a little work and persistence, it will turn out pretty darn decent.  I was not much impressed with the original Revell prop and scratched a new one that looks less cartoonish.  Were I to do it over again, I would not have spent so much time in the wheel wells - you just can't see most of what I did in there.  A 3D motor and a good bit of scratch work in the cockpit are well worth the effort, however.  These old kits from our yoot - mine anyway - are a lot of fun to build and hold their own against many more recent kits.

[Cicchino]

1 hour ago, Oldbaldguy said:

Were I to do it over again, I would not have spent so much time in the wheel wells - you just can't see most of what I did in there.

 

Interesting; after sticking my head and camera inside an F4F-4 wheel well down at Valiant Air Command in Titusville FL, I was thinking I could design a complete 3D replacement module from the landing gear bulkhead to the rear of the engine. I'm enjoying 3d design and I think the challenge of doing something that is a 1 piece drop in fit would be cool, sort of the Airscale cockpit approach. Need to get past the wings first. I'll relook at your build as well. 

 

Thanks for your comments!

 

 

Regards

 

 

John

[Oldbaldguy]

2 hours ago, Cicchino said:

 

Interesting; after sticking my head and camera inside an F4F-4 wheel well down at Valiant Air Command in Titusville FL, I was thinking I could design a complete 3D replacement module from the landing gear bulkhead to the rear of the engine. I'm enjoying 3d design and I think the challenge of doing something that is a 1 piece drop in fit would be cool, sort of the Airscale cockpit approach. Need to get past the wings first. I'll relook at your build as well. 

 

Thanks for your comments!

 

 

Regards

 

 

John

And therein lies the rub.  You can get your head, hands, camera, flashlight, mirrors, a small child and all sorts of other stuff up in that big void where the gear goes on a 1:1, but none of that is gonna happen in 1:32.  Inspired by JayW's need for accuracy in all things, I did hoses, lines, wiring, gears, sprockets, chains, oil tank, electrical boxes, engine mount, accessory case, full exhaust, et al., and was pretty proud of it all but when I closed up the fuselage, things went from pretty darn cool to where did it go by the time the glue dried.  What appears to be a gaping hole in either side of the fuselage is actually smaller than the wheels and is filled with all those gear struts, doors, brake lines and keel structure.  It becomes dark and really hard to see much of anything going on inside.  I would love to see you 3D that part of the airplane but I think Revell sort of blew it off for a reason.  On the other hand, the cockpit is a gaping hole that really needs attention because you can readily see into it.  And the engine front and prop look more Mattel than Revell.  3D improvements would work wonders there - I used mostly PE and card stock.  Official disclaimer:  This is my experience with the kit but I am a hack modeler.  Your results would likely vary.  You do you and we'll admire it.

[Cicchino]

Guys, 

 

Thought I could draw up and print a quick upgrade to the F4F horizontal stabilizers, replacing the solid molded bumps with some more to scale brackets based on Aircorps plans. I printed plenty of both the inner and outer brackets which are actually slightly different shapes and the central hinge bracket which is visible within the vertical stabilizer. These test shots haven't even been fully cleaned up yet.

 

 

 

However, I ran into a SNAFU: the bracket flanges need to go on the top and bottom outer surfaces of the horizontal stabilizer while the loop goes in the opened slot; the brittleness of the resin prevents simply twisting them into place. Not sure how to get past it just yet. I've opened the slot more hoping to get closer. Think, think, think..

 

    

 

Hopefully will have a solution to show you soon. 

 

Thanks for dropping by!

 

 

John

[Oldbaldguy]

Those hinges are really nifty.   Sooooooo much better than what I kludged together.  However, I cut the elevators off the stabs so they could be drooped a bit.  That would definitely solve your hinge issue if you did that.

[LSP_Kevin]

If you solve it, I could use a set or two myself!

 

Kev

[Cicchino]

Guys, 

 

On 7/8/2026 at 9:57 PM, Oldbaldguy said:

Those hinges are really nifty.   Sooooooo much better than what I kludged together.  However, I cut the elevators off the stabs so they could be drooped a bit.  That would definitely solve your hinge issue if you did that.

 

Can't thank you enough for this suggestion. I went back and looked at references and almost all F4F's had the elevators drooped at rest, so it made for a pretty easy decision. I cut up both kits I had while I was at it, using an ultrasonic knife for the difficult fore-aft outboard cut and a razor saw for the rest. The ultrasonic knife is an absolute game changer! I don't know what plastic Revell was using in 1969, but the blue plastic is hard as rock and tough as nails, really had to work to separate the flaps; the newer gray was extremely soft by comparison. I'll get these cleaned up and the elevator hinge brackets attached next and see how we look. 

 

 

But since I seemingly can't leave well enough alone, I was trying g to figure out what to do with the second kit, and with thanks or curses to LSP Kev, and then stumbling onto the 3 critical drawings I needed in the Aircorps Library (the engine accessory cowl dimensions, the engine cowl ordinates, and the rudder assembly construction,) I've now set off on this path as well; I figured if I didn't do it now, I never would.
 

 

 

 

 

I'm now going to proceed with a double Wildcat build, something I've never done before. With the Meteor F.3 design finishing up, I now may have a second 3D conversion in the works ( well at least in the 'this just might work' phase). 

 

Thanks for dropping by!

 

 

John

 

[Oldbaldguy]

This is gonna be more fun than I don't know what!  Not to cause thread drift, but, now that my ancient Revell Wildcat is behind me and yours is just beginning, I plan to do the same thing to my ancient, first edition Revell Corsair.  That ultrasonic knife looks mighty interesting.  Carry on, please.

[Jim Barry]

Great work! Love the version counts on your project saves! 
 

I too have this 1969 F4F in the stash. 

[Cicchino]

17 minutes ago, Jim Barry said:

Love the version counts on your project saves! 

Thanks Jim, 

 

Thankfully I started this design in an existing file 😥 , although I'm no stranger to a big number!!!

 

Regards

 

John

[Cicchino]

Guys, 

 

In a first for me, I used ordinates in an Aircorps blueprint for the FM-2 to design the new cowling (Fusion360), and I can't believe how well it turned out. It'll obviously be refined with surface details and I need to think through how I want it to attach to the fuselage, but for a first go I am super excited. Here are the two fuselages taped up for comparison. And kudos to 1969 Revell design team; the fuselage matches the blueprint based print almost perfectly! Taller rudder next on the drawing board.

 

 

In other work, the wing machine gun openings were plugged so that they could be sized appropriately; the FM-2 had the outer gun completely plugged.

 

  

 

 

 I've started dressing up the elevators and horizontal stabilizers, adding a rod in each of the hinge bracket openings. The hinge brackets (not shown) have all been resized by about 125% and printed to fit the kit.  Rivet detail on the stabilizers will need to be removed and replaced with indents per the references, and I'll probably tone down the stitching on the elevators.

 

  

 

I've decided on these subjects as well:

  

 

Thanks for dropping by!

 

Regards, John