My latest build. Not quite MRR related . . .

[Erik W]

OK, yes, yes, another non-RR build from me.  But hey, this is the Crew Lounge isn’t it (note, John moved this thread to the Weathering, Detailing, and Scratchbuilding section)?!  After taking a break from building anything once I finished my N scale Fowler boxcar seen here, https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=55365.msg760492#msg760492  , I had the hankering to build an F6F-5 Hellcat USN fighter plane.  Something I’ve wanted to build a model of for at least 40 years.  I finally got around to it!  Haha.  I heard the Eduard 1/72 scale kits were good.  This is a great little kit.  I’ve always liked the striped tails seen on planes from VF-12’s carrier air group.  I found aftermarket decals that would do the trick.  The resin figures are from Czech Masters.  The deck is laser cut plywood from a Ukrainian company I found on eBay.  The chocks are scratch built out of styrene.  The wood frame around the deck is 3/16” x 1” basswood, stained natural oak.  The brass name plate I had custom made at a local trophy shop.  For the most part I built the plane straight from the box.  I did add extra detailing to both the engine and the cockpit using styrene, and brass and phosphor bronze wire.  Particularly to the front of the engine area that can be seen through the opening in the engine cowling.  That said, it’s hard to see the cockpit and engine detail, but at least I know it’s there!  I also detailed the rockets with .002” copper wire stripped from N scale decoder wires.  Some extra styrene strip was applied to the drop tank to add detail.  Anyway, without further ado, here are the photos.









































Erik

[Erik W]

Here are some in-progress photos.  For something that was one piece, the laser cut plywood deck took a lot of effort.  The real carrier flight decks in WWII were made of wood to save weight. They were stained blue gray as part of the camouflage scheme on the ships. I started by staining select boards using washes of black, gray, brown, or umber.  I then airbrushed the tie down strips a dark blue gray, which were metal on the real thing.  This was followed by hand painting the top of the tie down strips a slightly lighter shade of blue gray.  Next, I lightly airbrushed the blue gray deck stain, applying the coat thin enough to be able to see some of the board color underneath.  I then masked and airbrushed the white deck stripes. Spraying a light coat.  Next I used the tip of a razor blade to scratch and damage the paint on some of the boards.  Lastly, I sealed the deck by spraying on a clear coat.



























Thanks for looking!
Erik

[dem34]

Well, it was on a train at some point.

[MVW]

 

You went the whole nine yards! Stunning.

Jim

[rodsup9000]

 Awesome work

[EJN]

Have had this for several years, on my someday list...

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[packers#1]

You went the whole nine yards! Stunning.

Jim

I see what you did there 

But yes, absolutely stunning work!

[peteski]

A superb mini-diorama!  Outstanding, especially considering it is 1:72 scale!

[Erik W]

Thanks for the kind words guys!  I see John pulled this thread over from the Crew Lounge to this forum.  That's fitting.  I actually used some of the photos from others here of how you finish wood structures to help me get the ideas of how I wanted the deck to look, so there is definitely some cross over.

This project was one of those that really pushed back on me at times.  After spending all the time getting the plane built, airbrushing the base coat of glossy sea blue went sideways,  I've been airbrushing for decades, so was surprised, and mortified, that the finish on the model was fuzzy, or orange peel like.  I noticed after the fact that the very tip of the needle of my airbrush was bent at a 90 degree angle!  The remedy was to use 8000 and 10000 grit polishing cloth to knock down the fuzz, and then spray layers of gloss coat with polishing in between coats.  Time consuming, but it fixed the problem.  The next issue happened after I painstakingly applied a home made wash (Turpenoid and oil paint) in all the panel lines.  It looked great.  When I sprayed a clear coat on top though, it wound up liquefying again and flowing out of some of the panel lines.  When all was said and done though, I think it looks more realistic than what I started with since the panel lines don't look too overdone.

Does that ever happen to you guys where you have an idea of how a build is going to go and then it takes on a life of it's own?  It was only after I got the last flat coat on all the sub assemblies, and the weathering done that I knew the model would turn out like I had hoped it would.  I had been truly pained when I realized the base coat was fuzzy!  I thought I'd ruined the whole thing.  That's been one of my definitions of a good modeler for a while now.  Not that we are just good at building things, but that when we screw something up, we're able to trouble shoot intelligently, and fix it.

Erik

[davefoxx]

That is just freakin’ badass, @Erik W.  I love it.  The well-detailed deck is a perfect way to display it.

DFF

[Erik W]

Hey Dave,

Thanks!  I actually had a more ambitious idea of building a launch diorama that featured a scratch built island structure of an Essex class carrier with a portion of the deck.  It would be about 2 feet long by 1 foot deep.  In addition to the Hellcat, I would have an SB2C Helldiver and TBF Avenger with their wings folded.  That idea came and went quickly.  It would probably be the same amount of time and effort as building a small layout!

A cool launch scene.



Essex class island.


Erik

[GaryHinshaw]

Absolutely exquisite.