Here’s one that I’ve finished… for the second time.
It’s Tamiya’s Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat. It’s a really nice model and goes together very well. I initially finished it way back around 1995.
I bought Squadron’s In Action as a reference. While reading it, I decided to update the F4F to an FM2. At that time, no one made a FM-2 in 1/48 scale. The conversion was pretty easy; just add a little height to the top of the rudder, delete the outside guns on the wings and their ejector ports and access panels, change the cowl flap arrangement and delete the air scoop on the front of the cowling. The prop supplied in the kit is wrong for the FM-2. The kit prop is cuffed, but I need a Hamilton Standard prop. I couldn’t find one, so I cut the cuffs off to try to make it look as good as possible. The prop just isn’t the right shape, and I still need to replace it.
I reworked the cockpit pretty extensively. I replaced the IP with a three layer sandwich affair including a clear plastic sheet to represent the glass over the gauges. Added a reflector for the gun site, numerous switches made from really fine wire. Cranks, leavers, map folder, fire extinguisher and cockpit lights. I added a PE harness, but the straps look too narrow. The cockpit was a lot of fun to work on.
This was the first time I used chalk pastels for weathering, and didn’t realize that dulcoat would make them disappear. I tried it a second time, and used a very light coat. Most of it faded, but you can still see some on the wings.
There are two problems I found with the Tamiya kit. The first; I wanted to pose the canopy open, but the sliding section is so thick that it wouldn’t fit without being pushed up. So I decided to vacuum form my own. I build a small, simple vacuum form machine. I made a mistake by not carving my own master; I used the original Tamiya canopy instead. It make the new canopy a little to large.
I didn’t want to use CA or plastic cement to attach the canopy. I played around with some liquid masking tape, but it just wouldn’t hold very well. Since the vacuum formed canopy was too large, I had to pinch the canopy together slightly, then attach it to the fuselage. The canopy gradually sprang back to it’s original shape and one side came loose. I didn’t know what to do, so I just left it the way it was… unsatisfactory.
The other thing wrong with the Tamiya kit is the antenna mast. When I was building the kit, I knew it’s attachment point was worthless. It’s just a tiny nubbin, and as soon as I put it in storage, I knew it would break off, no matter how well it was packed.
I left it at my parents house for safe keeping while I worked seasonal jobs here and there.
Almost twenty years later, when I got it out of the box, the antenna was broken. Here’s how I fixed it… I used two pieces of brass bar stock that were half the antenna’s thickness. I used my razor saw to cut a slot near one end of each piece. I placed the two bars together lining up the notches, then soldered it together. Using files I shaped the bars until it matched the original antenna. I took a small drill bit and cleared the notch of solder. I cut a hole in the fuselage that would accept the new antenna. I cut it to length so that the bottom end would butt against the inside of the fuselage bottom. I didn’t think that I could use CA to glue the new antenna in position. I felt that kind of butt joint would not be very strong. I cut a vertical notch at the bottom of the antenna, and soldered a thin rod in the notch with a small amount sticking out. I then drilled a hole in the navigation light on the bottom of the fuselage that would accept the rod. Now, I had the top and bottom supported. I glued it in, filled and touched up the hole I had made in the navigation light.
From now on, I’m going to do this to every aircraft I build. I’ll build a box inside the plane to accept the square end of the antenna.
The antenna cable was just the right length, so I was able to thread it into the hole at the top of the antenna.
I bought some Gator Glue, and used it to attach the canopy. It worked as well as the liquid masking tape. I had originally dipped the canopy in Future, so I decided to go ahead and attach the front half to the cockpit with CA, and glued some styrene rails to the back half. The rails made it easy to glue the back half to the fuselage.
You may have noticed that the lens cover on the wing leading edge is missing. I don’t think I ever glued it on, and I have no idea where it is in my stash. Hopefully one day I’ll find it and a Hamilton Standard propeller to actually finish this model.
Thanks for looking, and please give me some constructive criticism.
m@