I am looking for any general advice, but am really interested in the weathering. I tried to do a little, but not go overboard.

Thanks for any comments.

You know, I think overall it's not bad. One comment I would make concerning the weathering is that some areas look very clean while others are weathered. Maybe try for a more even weathered appearance.

The invasion markings are very good. I'm impressed.

Also, you might wanna try drilling out those gun ports. Seems small but is very noticeable. I have yet to drill'em out on my mustang either.

Seeing your tires reminds me how much I hate kit tires. The seam you get running down the middle of them is always horrible and if you fix it, you lose most of the tread. I think I'm going to have to start stocking up on some resin wheels to remedy this problem.

Tin_Can

Thanks for the comments. It is good to hear the feedback. It's funny, but I never even thought to put much thought into the tires; I am glad that now I know I need to take time with them to make them look good too.

As for the mentioned gun ports...excuse my ignorance, but I'm not sure what they are...Are they the little gun stubs at the front of the wing? and then if you drill them out, do you replace them with something?

Thanks again.

Yes, the little stubs on the leading edge of the wings are the gun ports. Do you replace them with anything? It all depends on the plane your modeling and will take looking at some reference photo's to see what you need to do. Let's look at your Hellcat. Here's a reference pic I found on the web:

http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/NARG/images/hellcat10.jpg

If you look at the plane in the foreground, you can see the guns sticking out of the wing and they vary in length. This is something not easily done since your plane is nearly complete. What I would have done is after the wing was assembled, drilled out the stubs and inserted copper tubing to simulate the guns. I think you can still make yours look good if you simply drill out the holes to simulate the gun ports. Use a drill bit smaller than the diameter of the stuff so you leave some of the stub in place so it represents the barrell. Before you start drilling, use the point of your hobby knife to make a small indentation in the center of the gunport. This indentation serves as a guide to ensure you place the drill bit in the center and give something for the drill bit to bite into when you start. Otherwise, the drill bit my slide off the smooth plastic and damage your finish.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, by all means leave them alone and keep it in mind for your next project.

I see no problem with sanding away the centre of the tyre tread. It strikes me as a bit silly that it is fashionable to 'weather' the airframe and then make the tyres look like new. A tyre with a bald centre strip would still be serviceable and more appropriate for a high hour airframe. Also, if it was on a land based aircraft which was operating from grass the tread area would likely have a shiny appearance as grass actually polishes the rubber.

I like what you have done. The prop blades are very realistic.

Regards Dave

That's a fair opinion but I personally just don't like the way the manufacturers construct the tires and would rather have a one-piece tire with which I could adjust however I want.

Hi newtothegame

That looks very nice. :-)

My suggestion concerns the exhaust stains on the upper surfaces. On real Hellcats, they are often pale-coloured near the engine cowling - I guess where the paint is scorched.

You could relicate this nicely with light grey/brown pastels to get a subtle blended effect.

Hope this helps

All the best

Rowan

i think that your weathering should have a more "overall" look and no topic if you know what i mean . Else you have done a nice try