My first Build: Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat

[Guest]

Well I finally got started this weekend. This is my first ever model, and the first time I have ever used an airbrush. I am pretty happy with how the cockpit turned out. This is moments after spraying it with a very light flat black wash so it looks a little wet still.





Thanks for looking,

Matt

[Centurion3RTR]

"This is my first ever model", you sure lol? From the looks of it this is going to very impressive build Badger, going to keep an eye on this one. Looking good so far bud, keep up the good work.

Have fun, john

[Guest]

Thanks John

[spanner570]

My hat is off to you John on an excellent start to your Wildcat build.

Not only your first model, but the first time use of an airbrush!

I only brush paint, I don't think I have the nerve to try an A/B, so top marks to you for jumping in feet first.

I look forward to more pictures.

Ron

[stona]

Great effort at 1/72 scale. I know how small those damned things are and that looks terrific. Looking forward to the undercarriage now lol.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Thanks guys

(its 1/48)

I glued the major parts together. This was harder than I had anticipated. The glue gets sort of messy. I also got a little carried away and forgot to install the inter-cooler and now its to late :sad:. At least you would only be able to notice if you were looking underneath by the wheel base.







and here is my workspace.

[Guest]

Matt that is looking really nice ,for a first effort its looking like a seasoned modeler at work for sure

Trey

[Guest]

I am a bit worried about masking off the cockpit and priming the whole thing. I am not sure where to place the tape so that I don't leave a large area of the outer fuselage that needs to be primed by hand.

[Guest]

i am only on my fourth model ever,dont count the ones i did as a kid, but your cockpit is a million times better than mine,i have not got the courage to show anything on here yet as they are just not good enough.lol. i think my hands are just too big.well done

[Guest]

Matt several ways of masking,one is to back tape to the very inside of the lip of the cockpit ,another is to mask off the canopy and fit it in place hope that helps

Trey

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice Trey.

Tonight I will hopefully finish up the landing gear and engine. Then the priming and painting of the whole aircraft over the weekend. That part has me a bit nervous.

[Guest]

I am learning this airbrush but had a lot of trouble with paint running and dripping when I was trying to do the preshading. I also accidentally broke the antennae off the the tail but should be able to glue it without to much trouble. I was also not really happy with how gray the paint came out on the underside. I followed the instruction mixing ratio using the recommended paints but the picture on the box looks much whiter.

Some updates:

Primed:



preshaded:



painted underside:

[stona]

I suspect the mix ratio gave you a good representation of the original colour as applied to the full size machine. This will always look too dark on a small model. This is the so called scale effect. At 1/72 scale you may need to lighten a colour by adding 20-30% white (or other suitable lighter hue). This is very subjective and you really have to go with what looks correct to your eye.

One of the joys of airbrushing is a seamless touch up. If you are not happy with your colour go back and lighten various panels with a lighter shade. Then give the whole underside an overspray with a thinned lighter mix. You should be able to get a result with enough variation not to look "flat" and light enough to look in scale.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

I took the day off of work today and among other things made some good progress on my model. I finished painting and then weathered it; a bit to much but I just consider it a learning experience. I still have some painting to do and then glue on the antennae. I also need to coat it with future an put on the decals. Despite some of the mistakes I am pretty pleased with it for being my first go at this.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Guest]

Matt, I do apologise but for some reason this build completely slipped past me. I have to say though that as a build of an aircraft type that is notorious for getting the colours to look right, this looks very good to me. As a first build and a first airbrushed model, what can I say? You have made a great job of it and I can tell from your postings that you really cared how it turned out, well it turned out very good so one to be proud of.