[Tamiya F4F-4 built as FM-1 Wildcat - 1/48 - FINISHED]

Here is what I'm currently working on.  From everything I've read the kit goes together very well and easily:

 

Of course I've decided to complicate things considerably by adding a bunch of aftermarket, including a wing fold set from Wolfpack that allows you to build the kit as the FM-1.   I happened to get very lucky and find this kit on eBay with all the aftermarket shown below, aside from the Wolfpack set, for under $50 with shipping from Greece of all places.  The Aires set alone, which has a ton of resin and PE components, retails for $55 or over, so I figured why not?

 

The Aires set is a bit overwhelming, with lots of detail pieces, but a decent upgrade over the already nicely detailed Tamiya kit:

 

 

The Wolfpack wing fold seems to be nicely done.  It might be tricky trying to add the Aires gun bays to the wings, however, given that the Wolfpack wings are resin and a solid piece.  Also, the FM-1 (built by Eastern) only had two guns per wing rather than three as with the F3F-4 Grumman version, so I'll need to modify the gun bays a bit which shouldn't be too difficult.

Couple of more pictures of the Atlantic paint scheme, including a picture of a FM-1 that is part of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum collection.  I'm in the DC area, unfortunately it looks like it's not on display at the moment (and I believe the museum is closed due to Covid).  Oh well.  

 

 

[My Non-LSM]

Nice work Kevin!  Good to see you here too  

[Big Day]

Good luck Harv!

[Accurate Miniatures F3F-1 and F3F-2 1/48 -- Completed (new member saying hello)]

Thanks guys, really appreciate it.  I do enjoy posting my WIP builds not just to get all the much needed assistance and feedback as I slowly make my way up the learning curve, but also I enjoy the camaraderie and not building in a vacuum.  I've certainly gotten a lot of help from folks on the other forum (which is dedicated to model ships), but I think I would likewise benefit from folks here who are so well versed in the plastic medium and flying things rather than swimming things.

Rob, you aren't kidding when you said I haven't chosen the easiest path.  I did the same thing with some ship kits, deciding to start with a 1/700 kit with full aftermarket instead of a 1/350 one. I think I've gone half blind trying to get it together with the microscopic PE add-ons!  

I thought the 1/72 kits would be inexpensive, easy kits to learn on but they were tough!  Putting aside the size, the fact that they were biplanes, the relatively complicated color schemes, some warped parts (I needed to build a cowl for the F4B-4), and it being my first foray into plastic models in probably three and a half decades, made for a rough road -- learned a lot, and came up with a lot of new colorful language.  Oh, and I mistakenly bought Tamiya PS line paint for the yellow wings not realizing I should have gotten the TS line, and the paint runs really hot!  Needed to weather the planes more heavily than I originally intended to blend in the mess.  They came out ok I suppose for my first time.

 

 

[Accurate Miniatures F3F-1 and F3F-2 1/48 -- Completed (new member saying hello)]

Here's a question for everyone - I just started building an F4F-4 Wildcat (to be built as the FM-1 using the Wolfpack wing fold conversion set and Aires super detail set).  Is it worth me starting a log here?  Or should I just post final pictures when I'm done?  I know this is a 1/32 and up site, so don't want to muck things up with my punier builds.  

[Accurate Miniatures F3F-1 and F3F-2 1/48 -- Completed (new member saying hello)]

Enough about me, here are some pictures of my second pair of models using the excellent Accurate Miniatures F3F-1 and F3F-2 kits.  These were built using the Eduard F3F PE set, Yellow Wings Decals (not sure I actually used any now that I think of it), and Montex masks/stencils.  For paints, I mostly used Vallejo (including Vallejo Metal Color for the aluminum and other metal finishes), but did use Mr. Surfacer and Tamiya rattle can primers, and decanted Tamiya "Camel Yellow" for the yellow top wing.  For the US insignia on the wings, I painted those using the Montex stencils rather than using the kit decals.  I went with very light shading/weathering, using Vallejo washes, and used EZ-line "Fine" for the rigging.

Sorry for the poor quality of pictures, but here goes:

F3F-1:

 

F3F-2:

[Accurate Miniatures F3F-1 and F3F-2 1/48 -- Completed (new member saying hello)]

Hi everyone,

I've been sorta hiding in the bushes the past year seeing all the great work on here.  I know @Clunkmeister from another forum, and he encouraged me to set up an account and post my work here.  So, here goes!  I just started plastic modeling in the past year, before that working on wooden ship models and ship in bottle models, and having other hobbies like pen turning.   The plastic world is a lot different from when I was a kid with all the amazing aftermarket, higher quality kits, airbrushes, acrylic paints, and of course, internet forums where folks kindly share their builds, tips and experiences.

When I got back into plastic last summer, I started with the Accurate Miniatures F4B-4 and P-6E double box set in 1/72 scale (along with Starfighter resin aftermarket and decals).  I figured I'd start small to get my feet wet, but man, that scale is a bit too small for me.  I did learn a lot though, and was bit by the plastic bug.  So now I have a good sized stash.  I have a bunch of kits in the 1/48 scale, which I'm planning to work on to get my skills up before tackling the 1/32 kits I have from Zoukei Mura, Trumpeter, Wingnut Wings, etc.

Hope you don't mind me posting here!