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1/24 Airfix F6F-5 Hellcat "Kicked Up A Notch": New eBook Now Available!


chuck540z3

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14 hours ago, Alex said:

I think this is the right choice.  The F6F was a carrier plane, and so did not get nearly as beat up as aircraft operating from land bases.  Plus, since this is a -5 variant, your plane would not have been delivered to its air group until some time in 1944 - so you are inevitably modeling it at some point during a pretty brief career, even if it was one of the ~50% of them that made it intact all the way to the end of the war.  I’ve never seen a photo of an F6F-5 that looked anywhere even close to as beat up as, for instance, the Marine F4F-3s that operated from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.


I don’t have any evidence for this, just a general feeling. The Navy tends to be pretty clean and tidy in everything they do, mostly because untidiness on ships is dangerous.

 

I can imagine aircraft getting cleaned down after flights to keep the deck and hangar tidy, and also to wash off the salt. This is what Navy types do with small boats and other equipment.

 

Richard 

 

Now we need a carrier man to say how it really was

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I dunno, Hellcats could get very grubby, even the -5's painted with more durable GSB.

 

Look at those filthy wing roots and fuselage sides. The exhaust stacks left a distinctly light-toned, tan-gray-ish stains on GSB, as opposed to a darker stain on the Intermediate Blue used on -3 fuselages. Also interesting to note the varying sheen of different surfaces, from super glossy stabilizers to dead flat leading edge/wing roots and everything in between.

xkyIYlH.jpg

 

Again interesting to note the super glossy tail planes and the difference in sheen over the rest of the airframe, as well as the absolutely filthy wings and fuselage sides.

6BDgFUP.jpg

 

Delightfully grubby!

M0dOMNB.jpg

 

Even McCampbell's famous Minsi III was a dirty birdy.

UYtclfn.jpg

 

Look at those grimy wings!

KNf2xiS.jpg

 

Needless to say, I'm in the weathered camp, so +1 for a beat up bird, Chuck. :punk:

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5 hours ago, TAG said:

I dunno, Hellcats could get very grubby, even the -5's painted with more durable GSB.

 

Look at those filthy wing roots and fuselage sides. The exhaust stacks left a distinctly light-toned, tan-gray-ish stains on GSB, as opposed to a darker stain on the Intermediate Blue used on -3 fuselages. Also interesting to note the varying sheen of different surfaces, from super glossy stabilizers to dead flat leading edge/wing roots and everything in between.

xkyIYlH.jpg

 

Again interesting to note the super glossy tail planes and the difference in sheen over the rest of the airframe, as well as the absolutely filthy wings and fuselage sides.

6BDgFUP.jpg

 

Delightfully grubby!

M0dOMNB.jpg

 

Even McCampbell's famous Minsi III was a dirty birdy.

UYtclfn.jpg

 

Look at those grimy wings!

KNf2xiS.jpg

 

Needless to say, I'm in the weathered camp, so +1 for a beat up bird, Chuck. :punk:


I’m not sure those pictures disagree with what I thought. Obviously some are post mission, which you’d expect to be somewhat dirty 

 

The pre mission pictures show aeroplanes with clean, shiny wings. I’m not saying they got painted and valeted, there’s definitely damage to paintwork from pilots boots. What there isn’t is acres of salt spray, exhaust blacking or mud


Anyway, I’m not building this plane, I’m confident Chuck is going to dazzle us all

 

Richard

 

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May 9/21

 

 

With all the responses wanting a weathered aircraft, I’m sure glad I asked!  Having said that, it won’t be really beat up, but it will look well used..

 

 

The cockpit is almost done and like all my other cockpits, here is the sequence I use:

 

 

  1. Gloss Black Lacquer of all parts.
  2. Mask off those areas that are to remain black, then paint with the interior color, in this case Model Master Interior Green Enamel (FS34151).  While I like MRP paint better for spray application, you need to brush paint touch-ups and MRP paints do not brush very well, if at all.  In order to get a very fine coat of paint without any dusty paint turbulence, I thinned the paint heavily with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner 400.
  3. After the enamel has dried for at least a day, paint repairs of all colors are made, including the application of other colors like red on switches, etc.
  4. Spray a thin coat of Tamiya X-22 Acrylic Clear Gloss.  This will not only prepare the paint for the application of several decal placards and gauges, but it will also make the parts easier to handle with your bare hands without the paint rubbing off.
  5. Apply cockpit decals.  For this I used both the Airscale decals and the kit ones, which are both excellent!
  6. Dry brush silver enamel on black areas to make detail pop, as well as painted areas where you want aluminum showing through due to wear.  With the X-22 acrylic undercoat, cleanup is easy with paint solvent.
  7. Add a dark wash to those areas you want to accentuate.  For this I use The Detailer in Black, which is water soluble and easy to use.
  8. Apply Tamiya pastels as you see fit to create some grime.
  9. Dull coat all parts to knock down the shine.
  10. Add a small drop of Future/Pledge to all gauges to bring the shine back.
  11. Fully assemble cockpit parts.

 

 

Here are the cockpit parts after paint and a coat of X-22.

 

 

pgRMit.jpg

 

 

If you use the Airscale side panels, the surface detail must be sanded smooth, removing small switches and handles.  The Airscale PE parts have holes where the switches were, so I drilled holes and added small bits of wire to create new ones.  For other cockpit details, I bought a selection of ANYZ handles, knobs and switches.  Although a bit too small at 1/32, they still worked out fairly well.

 

 

8GVzCP.jpg

 

 

Here is a good example.  On the left I added a handle that I painted red, which is the “Carburetor Protected Air Control”, while in the middle of the top dial on the center console, I added a knob for the “Ammunition Rounds Counter”.  The Airscale IP and gauge decal have a hole where these parts are to be placed, so I drilled them out and glued the stem of the ANYZ part into them.  I added many other switches and knobs throughout the cockpit in the same manor.

 

 

yD9dz4.jpg

 

 

The right side wall, showing off the Adriatic resin.  These are mostly Airscale decals, partly because many of them are missing in the kit decals.  Note how that big decal on the lower left side sucked down over the raised detail, giving the appearance of red circuit breakers with labels under each one. 

 

 

FhdrRX.jpg

 

 

The left side wall, with more of the same.

 

 

Lh7khG.jpg

 

The back wall, which is mostly Adriatic resin.

 

 

iWK6gd.jpg

 

 

The lower front area.  The floor and pedals are a lot dirtier than they look under this bright light.

 

 

L1h3Tw.jpg

 

 

Major cockpit parts all glued to the left side, as per kit instructions.  Since the rear wall is all resin, I used CA glue applied from the rear.

 

 

UsVltR.jpg

 

 

MPQzWW.jpg

 

 

fHMh6b.jpg

 

With the seat dry fit, you can still see quite a bit of all the detail behind it, but not much underneath it.  I will be using HGW fabric seat belts that need to be threaded through the “towel bar” on the headrest, so I left it off for now.

 

 

 

Zcezkp.jpg

 

ESkPQ2.jpg

 

 

 

Next step is to add the rear landing gear well, then I can close up the fuselage, with a major step done!

 

 

Thanks for all your comments and looking in.

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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  • chuck540z3 changed the title to 1/24 Airfix F6F-5 Hellcat "Kicked Up A Notch" May 9/21: Cockpit Done!

May 10/21

 

 

Thank you everyone!  I fully realize that this cockpit is way too clean for a battle-weary aircraft at sea, but I also don’t want to hide all the fine detail of the Airscale instruments and Adriatic resin under a bunch of grime.  Further, as I have experienced many times before, WWII fighter cockpits are dark to begin with due to shadows, so dark washes and dirt make them even darker, so you can’t see much from above.  I will concentrate all weathering to the outside instead!

 

 

 

12 hours ago, zaxos345 said:

Really goergeous Chuck!!! 

What about seat belts? Are you going to add any??

 

John

 

 

Glad you asked John!

 

 

As mentioned earlier I am using HGW fabric seatbelts, which I’ve used 4 times before in 1/32 scale on my Mustang, Spitfire, Harvard and Tempest.  They can be really hard to assemble and even harder to install, so here are some tips:

 

 

  1. The instructions are always terrible, so try to find a pic of some fully assembled ones as a guide, assuming they are done correctly.
  2. Some of the fabric pieces have a cardboard-like backing, so make sure you only have fabric to deal with.
  3. Sometimes the fabric pieces are not pre-cut, so cut the parts out very carefully along the edges of the belts, otherwise they won’t fit in the PE buckles.
  4. With the fabric parts cut out, rub them all into a ball with your fingers to wrinkle them.  They are quite tough, so you won’t tear them unless you pull on them hard.
  5. Cut out the PE parts from the fret one at a time as required.  Many of them look the same and you want to make sure you are dealing with the correct part at all times.
  6. Most belts have fine stitching on them, so ensure this always stays to the outside.
  7. Assemble the belts according to the instructions and photographs, using tweezers to get the belts into the tiny PE slots.
  8. Use thin CA glue on a microbrush or toothpick to glue the ends of the belts around the buckles and other PE hardware.  If you make a bit of a mess, clean up with CA glue debonder, that will not harm the belts.
  9. Despite wrinkling the fabric, the belts will have a life of their own due to stiffness and will not lay down naturally on their own.  Don’t worry about it, because CA glue will fix that later.
  10. The lap belts on WWII aircraft look too large for scale, but they really aren’t.  They were made wide on purpose to distribute pressure along the torso.
  11. The shoulder harnesses are much narrower and in most cases like this Hellcat, they connect to the lap belts with one connection.  Make sure to keep their length reasonable, because too long or too short will look wrong (which it is).
  12. Dry fit the lap belts in a position you want, that will look fairly natural while still showing off the hardware and belt details.
  13. Once you have decided on belt orientation, glue the belts in place with CA glue, starting with a small droplet of glue on the side of the seat where it is anchored, then place the belt over the glue and hold in place for a few seconds.  If a bit of glue leaks out, quickly dab it up quickly with a clean microbrush before it dries.
  14. Glue the other end(s) of the belts, again by adding a small droplet of glue to the seats, then placing the belt on top of it.  If you glue the seat belt instead, it may make a mess as you try to position it on the seats.  I’ve tried other glues that are easier to clean up like Gator Grip, etc., but they take too long to dry and aren’t as strong.
  15. Glue portions of the belts like the pull straps and other features that might stick out, back to the belts.  This is real picky and hard to do, but very necessary to make the belts look natural.
  16. Glue the shoulder harnesses the same way as the lap belts, making sure the length is about where the lap belts lock together.
  17. Gravity and the weight of the buckles keep all belts fairly taught on the real deal.  Glue the belts to try and replicate that look.
  18. If you have any areas that are shiny due to CA glue, spray with dull coat.
  19. When you are finished, dirty up the belts a bit with pastels, followed by a damp microbrush.  Tamiya “Oil Stain” is my favorite for just about everything.

 

 

So here is what you are given for instructions by HGW on the left, which are hard to understand.  I tried to find a pic of these belts assembled by others, but the only one I found had a few parts wrong, but I did still have a pic from my Mustang belts on the right, which are very similar.  With a good pic in hand, this made assembly much easier.

 

 

mq9tAT.jpg

 

 

Here are the belts assembled with all the PE parts labeled for your future reference.  The ends of the main shoulder harnesses had to be cut slightly thinner to accommodate the tiny slot in PE7 & 8.  At this stage, all the belts have been glued to themselves after insertion through the buckles, with the 4 pull straps glued to the main belts to keep them from sticking up in the air.

 

 

xjAKqR.jpg

 

 

Here they are glued to the seat with a bit of pastel grime.  I got lucky and had no CA glue show, mostly because at 1/24 scale they are much wider than I am used to.

 

 

 

KTBJ0c.jpg

 

 

As noted earlier, I inserted pins into styrene rod to accommodate the belt attachments at the side.  Note how stiff the belt is at the top, without any glue holding it in place.

 

mQlE68.jpg

 

 

The shoulder harnesses are positioned about the right length to fit the lap belts as a single assembly.

 

 

MJhPdT.jpg

 

 

The seat is now glued into the cockpit with the shoulder harnesses draped over the 2 “towel bars” on the seat and the Adriatic armor- plated headrest, which is finely detailed, as are the tops of the seat on either side- also Adriatic resin.  This harness should be glued to the back of the seat, which is possible from the side but also risky I’ll make a mess, so I think I’ll just leave it as is.  If it starts to relax and not look natural, I can always glue the harness to the top towel bar, holding it steady in place.

 

 

FsxZwe.jpg

 

 

From the top.

 

 

4oaDfj.jpg

 

 

ds1cCK.jpg

 

 

 

 

That’s it for now.  Thanks for checking in!

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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  • chuck540z3 changed the title to 1/24 Airfix F6F-5 Hellcat "Kicked Up A Notch" May 10/21: HGW Fabric Seat Belts

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