Final progress report – F4F-4 Wildcat, F4U-2 Corsair and A6M2 Zero

I have finally decided to finish up the F4F-4 Wildcat as Marion Dufilho’s Wildcat even if I don’t have much information about which Wildcat he flew on August 24, 1942.

 

I know he flew a F4F-4 and I know he was a naval aviator aboard USS Saratoga with Richard Harmer. F-8 could even be the plane he flew or it could be the Wildcat Richard Harmer flew on that same day when he crashed his Wildcat aboard the carrier after being wounded.

I guess I will never know unless his son Tom looks at his father’s log book for that information.

My Forgotten Hobby II is a way to remember a hobby I started back as a kid in 1958, and is a way to motivate me with building what I have in my stash. It is also a way to share the experience and the fun of building model airplane kits some of which are in their boxes since the 1980s.

This being said here are my two other builds…

Richard Harmer’s No. 15 F4U-2 Corsair…

 

Saburo Sakai Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero…

 

Next time on My Forgotten Hobby II?

The choice is yours…

 

Finally decals!

Decalling is always an apprehensive part of building a model kit.

Everything can go wrong…

I knew the Tamiya Zero was an older kit, and the decals had to show their age also.

Even by soaking them a lot they did not detach that easily. But I was finally able to affix them.

It was not the same with the Wildcat or the Corsair which were newer model kits. The Wildcat decals are thicker, but they conformed well.

Instructions were somewhere vague on their precise location, but people will not spot the difference if some decals are a few tenths of millimeters off.

The Corsair decals were more delicate.

Time is of the essence when decalling. There is no need to rush, and I have to let everything settle down until at least next Sunday as I will be on a little vacation.

Weathering before decalling

I have been a little under the weather lately so progress has been a little slower than expected. Yesterday I have decided weathering the three planes instead of adding decals.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report – Done! Except decals

All three builds are now completed. I am thinking of decalling the Wildcat as the one flown by Pug Southerland on August 7, 1942. I had found this beautiful model before on the Internet.

The Zero will be Saburo Sakai’s Mitsubishi A6M2.

Source

Then it will be Richard Harmer’s Corsair.

Progress Report – Finally Making Progress

I have to move on with finishing what I have started. I couldn’t even remember when I started the Corsair. I had to look it up!

August 9, 2019

Almost 40 days ago… 

September 17, 2019

The Zero has received its clear acrylic coat as well as the Wildcat and the Corsair. I have decided to finish up the three models and get them ready for decals.

All canopies were glued with clear acrylic paint which is much better than liquid cement.

 

 

 

 

 

The three propellers had their tips painted yellow.

 

A second coat will be needed. The Corsair had its landing gear glued with Gorilla glue. I still have to glue the doors.

I still have a few parts to glue on before adding decals first the Zero.

Source

The Wildcat will be next, then the Corsair. After I should be able to move on to the next build which I will let my loyal readers choose…

Intermission – Cleaning up the workbench

There is nothing worst than having a messed-up workbench or a worktable.

Yesterday I cleaned up the workbench which is a small kitchen table my son had when he was at the university almost 20 years ago. After cleaning up I took these pictures of the progress I have made with my three builds since the end of my streak.

First, the Zero has been almost completed.

The pilot is checking the cockpit.

The nose was painted and the propeller will get a base coat before being painted silver.

The Corsair is still waiting for a coat of white on its underside, and will be the last one to be completed.

I am still undecided about how to finish it, either as Richard Harmer’s F4U-2 Corsair or a Marine Corsair.

Like the Zero, the F4F-4 Wildcat is almost finished.

The Zero will be finished first probably later next week, then the Wildcat, and then the Corsair.

I will be offline for the weekend. It’s my grandson’s birthday party tomorrow.

I’m back with a new streak…

My brother came to visit me yesterday, but I had some free time early in the morning to take some pictures.

The gunsight had been glued on Wednesday night…

Some canopy scraping was done, but more touching up ahead as you can see here…

I am waiting to use my airbrush for the underside…

Most probably later this morning although it’s pretty windy outside.

Breaking the streak

I guess I should break my streak on WordPress as my brother is coming over today.

On Friday I will probably work with my Badger airbrush which has been long overdue.

I have hand painted the Corsair with the same color as Dufilho’s Wildcat. I will take a photo tomorrow.

I have worked on the Corsair canopy again to scrape away the excess paint seen before. 

 

I will take a photo tomorrow when I will start a new streak on WordPress.

Until then…

F4U-1/2 Progress Report Day 14 – F4F-4 Wildcat

While the F4U-2 was on hold, I went back to Step 4 yesterday morning. I have added parts A17 and A18 as well as parts B20 and B21. The clear parts C1, C3 and C5 will be added after painting.

I then worked on Step 7 which was hard at first to figure out the instructions for the main landing gear.

This is where dry fitting and the use of precision needle cement come in handy.

Steps 8 and 9 will have to wait until I start painting although I glued the pitot tube. I won’t be using the drop tanks for this project.

I will use this as a reference…

Pug Southerland’s Wildcat who flew with the same squadron as Marion Dufilho. Except for F 12, it should look like Marion Dufilho’s F4F-4.

Also as reference… this! 

http://hsfeatures.com/f4f4rf_1.htm

Photos taken from the link above.

 

F4U-1/2 Progress Report Day 13 – F4F-4 Wildcat

Steps 2 and 3 were completed last evening, and even a little more than I was expecting…

Very few cockpit details will be viewed from the outside once this assembly will be glued to the fuselage.

I am still pondering if I will use my airbrush with all the zinc chromate I have left or if zinc chromate is the proper colour.

So I went searching on the Internet, and lo and behold…

Hey guys, I have been doing research on Grumman F4Fs for about 15 years and have amassed more references than any one person should have. For Grumman built F4Fs, the interior cockpit color is a “Grumman Bronze Green,” and its pretty dark, way darker than the generic zinc chromate. I use either Testor Model Master “Euro I Green” or Humbrol #88 “Deck Green.” All other interior surfaces are a ““Grumman Gray” which has been matched to FS 36440, and this would include the gear well area that Tamiya calls out as “white,”. Good luck and let me know if ya need any other assistance and enjoy the Tamiya F4F, its one of the best kits on the market (but then again, I am biased!!”

It always pays to search the Internet.

About a little more than I was expecting? The wings were glued as well as the engine parts.

The old Monogram Wildcat is standing guard…

Love at first sight!