Been following your build for a while and it is coming along very well . The engine looks super ! Shame though that most of the cockpit won't be seen .

Looking forward to more progress

Many thanks for your kind comments!!!

@Nick: Why do you hate the aircraft?

@Terri: The pit is box-stock except of the seat (which can be seen). So there is notg much lost when the pit is close.

@all: Progress will slightly slow down now, as I wait for some stuff. I ordered Vector Wildcat wheels and Brownings gun barrels via Ebay from a Russian source. And some Quickboost Mk.8 gun sights from Luckymodel. Hope this will arrive fast, but probably it will take a while.

For the moment there is still enough to do, but little to be seen ... so updates will be not as regular.

Again many thanks for watching!

all the best

Steffen

A long time ago I read Edwin Hoyt's book "Men of the Gambier Bay". The Gambier Bay was a jeep carrier in TF TAffy 3 supporting the invasion of Leyte Gulf. She was one of three jeep carriers in Taffy 3 and when the Japanese battle fleet attacked she was in the middle of ground support operations. Her airplane compliment cosisted of Avenger bombers and GM-2 Wildcats.
Can you just imagine what it must have been like for those pilots coming back to their carrier, low on fuel and ammunition only to find it under fire from Japanese battleships? What they did was attack. Battleships, cruisers and destroyes. Most of Taffy 3 got away. The Gambier Bay was lost, and most of her planes had to ditch in the sea from AA damage and lack of fuel.
Since reading that book I have loved to see Wildcats in airshows and have wanted to do one of the Men Of the Gambier Bay.
Later

I don't know why

I just don't like it!!


Cheers Nick

Hi Bruce and Nick

Yeah, the Escort Carrier sure had some hard fights. This machine will be from VF-26 on USS Santee October 1944.. at least according to the decal instructions by Techmod.

Nick, I rather find the Wildcats cute but suum cuique.

all the best

Steffen

Just a small update

as I wrote: progress is slow. I also had some problems with the engine, as the spaces were not equal (my fault) still I hope most of this will be hidden later. This is again a picture J-L or Rowan would not post ... but what the heck, I am not as good as them either.



BTW I just removed the brush hair and the cent is normal size .. I should put a finger in the pix

all the best

Steffen

Hello Stefen. from now on you have made a great start and I am prety sure that you will come out with an exceptional peice of kite.I am glad to see someone else tackling the FM Wildcat and to pay tribute to the beautiful job Sergei is doing for the hobby. Horrido mien man! Regards, jean.

Many Thanks Jean!

Yes it is coming together and the most difficult part (attaching the replacement front fuselage) went very well without any trouble. But there still are a few bad jobs left (like attaching the ingnition wires) and I have to wait for some stuff that I did not think of earlier .. esp. the gun sight is critical, but wheels and gun barrels will also add a lot to the look (but I do not need them before painting)...

I fully agree that Sergei did an outstanding job on this conversion!! Looking forward to the Hs126 stuff .. yummi.

all the best

Steffen

Looking great!
Good work on all round. I'll have to second the opions already expressed, that engine sure looks sweet.

Many thanks Eetu!

Well, the problem is the photos. When you see it in front of you it all looks o.k. or even good but when photographed you (I) see every damn mistake, issue, brush hair you name it. Wish I could build as clean as J-L or Rowan ... but I don't.

I am fixing the ailerons today, so maybe I take another pic later ...

all the best

Steffen

O.k. so here is the picture

I attached the ailerons but did not install any hinges or actuators. Despite earlier other plans I also glue the engine as I want to ensure a very good fit and alignment befor I hit it with paint. I still need to wire it. the hood is not yet glued because of the ingnition wires and the need of some further adjustment (again for a very good fit):



The front canopy is glued but depending on how fast I will get the gun sight I might chose to temporarily glue the aft part with Maskol. I plan to use the sliding section of the Sword kit which is Vacu and thus pretty thin. (the wind shield is from the HB kit)

all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

It's looking very good! Are you just using the Sword kit for a few spares like the canopy? I built it when it came out and thought it had a rather nice resin cockpit. I trashed the kit when I left London, but in retrospect I wish I'd saved the "office" from it to maybe use in another build.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Rowan

Well I started mine (just som testfitting and attaching the firewall IIRC), but the fit and accuracy was very bad. The resin is still sealed and I have 2 vac canopies (one left for you) .. so, do you want it? I cannot guarantee it is complete, but it looks so ... and of course no cost for you. I just want to show the canopy open on this one.

all the best

Steffen
(P.S. I still owe you one even if you'd take the Sword kit ! )

Hi Steffen

Thank you very much indeed, I'd love it! - that is very kind of you offer.

Of course, it immediately raises crazy ambitious ideas of a comparison build! That could be rather interesting, but is definitely a project for a later date.

All the best and thanks again

Rowan

My updates are getting smaller and smaller



and I still do not have a giant €-cent

all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

That is a lovely gunsight! I think I've got some Quickboost gunsights tucked away and, stupidly, I've never got round to using them...

All the best

Rowan

Well, it is small and you cannot see much of the detail once it is installed, but it's such small things that spice up the model.

I did some more unpleasant work today. That's why it is not much. I drilled some holes and glued in the ignition wires (one end only for the moment)



all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen
Nice work on that gunsight and the engine is coming along nicely as well. It's turning into a very nice aircraft.
tim

Thanks Tim

I try, but I also fail quite often.

Here is the model so far ... closing in for some pain(t). I did not want to paint the thin wires. I hope to tone them down with the flat coat and a dark wash. If it does not work so be it (se above). Fingers crossed I may make the campaign deadline ...



all the best

Steffen

another small update, but this fiddly stuff is nothing for my big fat fingers ...



hope I can get some paint on over the weekend as I need to finish it by next thursday (I drive home for a week and thus would miss the deadline) ... we'll see.

all the best

Steffen

Keep it hot! For the gunsight i am now converted to the quickboost ones , USN or Luftwaffe they are really great! Concerning the canopy I have used a Falcon one as the sliding part is thin like in reality and fits the model perfectly. Best regards, jean.

Cheers Jean

the Mk.VIII gunsight is quickboost. For the sliding hood I will use the vacu part from the sword kit (as I wrote above). Not sure yet for the front part. I will probably use the kit wind shield.

thanks for watching!

all the best

Steffen

Hi all

primer is on! I need to do a few adjustments, but nothing major. Looks very good to me...



all the best

Steffen

And now for some colour. I applied ANA623 from JPS (Jens Popp) and a good layer of Klear on top of it



all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

It's looking really good! I've still got to try JPS paints one of these days - I keep meaning to, but never get round to it. I'm looking forward to seeing your 'Cat with the decals on.

All the best

Rowan