Grumman F3F-3 1/32 Revell

[artoor_k]

Hello,

 

After vintage X-1 time has come for vintage F3F-3

Of course Revell did it easiest way so...guys in Revell took and Monogram 1/32 Gulfhawk and changed engine cowling only. So we have suitable cowling and nothing more. Upper wings are too short, rear wall of cockpit has an antenna but no headrest

There is no chance for acquiring correction set so I have to live with shorter wing. I don't wanna to spend few weeks scratchbuilding all that is wrong but there will be few upgrades...

 

Cockpit has seatbelts and engine has wiring

 

I had to scratchbuild new instrument panel because there was only decal which was...well...not enough:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by artoor_k

[Joe Hegedus]

If you got a second kit, it's not hard to extend the wing yourself; just a matter of putting the cuts in the right place and splicing together.  Shouldn't be hard to find a secondhand kit for a reasonable price (less than the correction set even).

[artoor_k]

21 minutes ago, Joe Hegedus said:

If you got a second kit, it's not hard to extend the wing yourself; just a matter of putting the cuts in the right place and splicing together.  Shouldn't be hard to find a secondhand kit for a reasonable price (less than the correction set even).

 

Here in Poland? No way... Cheapest one from ebay costs 59$ with shipping. No chance by now...

[Troy Molitor]

Mike West at Lone star, makes a resin wing.  Another option for you.  

[ltdann]

I would suggest that you do a F3F-2. The forward fuselage of the F3F-3 was significantly different. Hard to spot in photos, but most certainly different

 

Rich 

[Astro32]

It's a surprisingly good kit in it's own right. I have a first issue of it. I'll find some Gulfhawk decals for it, or extend the upper wing with sheet stock and eliminate the fabric effect along the way, which is too exaggerated for my liking; actually I'll do that no matter what. Good luck with it and enjoy!

[artoor_k]

No another kit nor resin wing. Believe me, this second hand kit was not cheap , here it costs like f.ex. 1/32 FW-190D from Hasegawa. I don't want to know how much I would have to pay for resin correction set. So this time I just glue it together and treat it as a vintage set which was kit of kits in childhood times

 

Anyway I've learned some things that needs to be remembered while building vintage models:

-old model means old styrene. Old styrene means fragile styrene. Smaller the part, more fragile then
-bigger model, fewer details
-people at Monogram were clever. Check documentation (especially photos) before blaming anybody for decal error
-people at Monogram were also lazy. One new part doesn't make different aiplane Check your documentation often. Some things aren't difficult in shape and can be built from scratch in no-time
-check fit before sanding, sometimes  flash is really something important
-there is no such thing as thin enough plastic profile to restore raised panel lines. If you think is thin enough then it needs to be thined more
-water-based putty doesn't harm paint. Watered cotton bud used for putty polishing does
-all mechanisms are working better when knobs are metal or made of new styrene profiles
-sometimes montage sequence in instruction is logical
-aluminium foil from yoghurt seal is perfect for seat belts

 

After learning these rules I could put Grumman on it's own wheels Now I'm waiting for AK Rigging line to finish this one

[John1]

WOW!!  Got any detail pictures?  You did a fantastic job.

 

 

[artoor_k]

1 minute ago, John1 said:

WOW!!  Got any detail pictures?  You did a fantastic job.

 

 

Thank you Today I'll be rigging it so there will be more photos

[artoor_k]

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