Eduard 1/48 F4F-3 wildcat

[kyledehart5]

Really outstanding. There’s some great detail going on in there.

[floki]

That's a beautiful looking engine

[paddy]

anks guys

I took the plunge and opened up the panel above the wing root and balanced the engine mount in place and i think its going to work well

[handiabled]

Great looking engine! This is going to show wonderfully with the panel you opened

[406 Silverado]

I can't get over all the detail in this scale. I don't believe I've ever seen an F4F that has had this much detail. Beautiful work so far Paddy as it's coming together in a fabulous fashion.

[paddy]

[Joe Rix]

Excellent work on getting all that gorgeous detail together and looking sharp. So glad you took the plunge on the panel. Well done.

[kyledehart5]

Love it. Great to open that panel up and show some more of that gorgeous detailing. Looking fantastic

[M1Carbine]

Paddy - Nice detail crammed into a small space. Have th dual combo of this kit and cant wait to sink my sausage fingers into it. Fantastic job so far, tuned in for some more.

-Bob

[paddy]

I suppose the point of these build threads is not to say "look what i did, aren't i clever" but to maybe offer advice to others who want to tread the same path
With that in mind i would say, this upgrade is exceptional quality but of course it doesnt fall together like a less detailed Tamiya shake and bake model. The secret is in build precision, something even a 1/4 mm out like a bulkhead will through everything else out from engine to undercarriage. If the engine is not 100% square to the bulkhead then the outer covers are not going to fit. You get the idea.
Another point might be, most of this needs super glue, basic styrene glues will not work on the 3D print parts. Because most of the fit is complicated and might involve lining things up from several angles you need time to work/position parts which super glue doesnt give you.
The answer is ( and it does work) to dry fit parts together and once perfectly aligned add a little super thin super glue. I did this by creating a small puddle of glue and dipping a cocktail stick in it and carefully touching the stick on the join of parts to be joined. Capillary action takes the glue in to the join and you can then strengthen the join later with the same method if needed.



At this point i would like to have done a bit of painting but i like to use MRP paints and the ones i wanted have had to come to England via Poland and have already been 2 weeks and still not here so it will be a case of careful masking later.
Now i am wondering about opening up the gun bays or maybe just one ?

[Joe Rix]

That is some very worthy feedback Paddy. Seems as though you got everything nailed precisely. Great work there.

[deafpanzer]

Now I think I am too scared to start the same kit that I have in my stash! Amazing work on the details!

[handiabled]

Good advice for the 3d pieces you added. It looks like your efforts to open this up are paying off ten fold!

[406 Silverado]

Thank you for the heads up on the fit and assembly of all of these parts on the nose of this build Paddy. Opened up builds are tricky due to the alignment and fit issues but it looks like you've got that pretty much under control. IMO since this is all opened up I would indeed go for at least one opened up gun bay. This has got to be one of the best Wildcat builds that I've seen in this scale.

[brandonk]

That looks amazing. Great subject with all the new bits to really pimp it out. Love all the details.

[Medicman71]

Man I'd so screw that up. You're doing great work!

[paddy]

Guns guns give me guns
Bit of surgery needed to cut the wings to take the gun bays.To complicat things i am adding flaps as well and you need to cut about 1.5mm of the back of the gunbay so its not seen them the flaps are down

bays and guns are now the familiar 3D and come off their support easily











If you cut the wings along the panel lines you will not be far off





And likewise with the flaps

[paddy]

Gun bays are a bit sparse but actually in the 1/48 scale they look ok, blowing them up out of focus doesnt help. I will get some better pics later

[handiabled]

Wonderfully done detail you are adding to this! I look forward to seeing how the flaps look on this

[406 Silverado]

They may look a little sparse as you say but when they are all installed in the wings it's gonna look perfect. That's the same way I felt about my Fw-190 D-9 gun bays when they weren't installed. You'll see what I mean when that time comes Paddy. Looks great so far.

[ogrejohn]

Jeez that looks so freaking good!

[Joe Rix]

Excellent work on fitting the 3D parts. When all said and done they are going to be a real eye catching enhancement.

[buddho]

That is some packed detail...looks fab!

[floki]

Those are some great looking 3d printed parts

[paddy]

This is turning into a sort of speed build...lol







Flaps were very easy, normally you would have to fold these in PE to get 3D effect but these are flat PE with a 3D print framework.

[Joe Rix]

Wow! Those flaps look great.

[406 Silverado]

Looks like things were made incredibly easy on a number of levels Paddy. I can’t certainly see where it’s coming together quickly.
One of the best Wildcat builds I’ve seen yet.

[buddho]

This is one magnificent build you have going...it is a pleasure to watch it unfold.

(Pardon the PE pun!😏)

[kyledehart5]

Amazing progress. This has been so great to follow along with.

[paddy]

Early stage paint which i call blotchy Blue :-)
Its actually MRP US navy Grey/Blue up (to 1942)







It will change colour again with the flat coat later so dont judge it to hard .