Scott-344627

Go for it! Even if you build it OOB, it will build up into an excellent model. But save a lot of shelf space!

The engine is now completely done save the exhaust piping. Now it is time to go back to the firewall and start working forward.

The engine is finally complete after 2 weeks of work. I still have to add the air intake trunks to the rear of the cylinders but that should be quick. In 1/24 this engine is huge, as you can see compared to the palm of my hand.

The tailwheel area is not very complex, but Airfix did leave off two of the 4 bulkheads so I added them with styrene sheet. I added some details to the tailwheel strut and drilled out the holes in the tailwheel. I also added the extension, retraction spring by winding 0.010" soldier around a piece of 0.020" brass rod. There is a chain drive to extend and retract the tailwheel but unlike the 1/32 Hasegawa Hellcat I did, I chose not to bother here. The Hasegawa Hellcat tailwheel well was painted interior green so a black chain will be visible. In a glossy sea blue wheel well like this one, a black chain will barely be visible. It would be a lot of work for something you really won't be able to see. I already have over 2 months in at this stage of construction, I don't see any gain in spending hours on things that will not be visible. 

I am going to do it in (then) CDR Dave McCampbell's aircraft. Though it was a -5, it was an early production one which still had the -3 windows behind the cockpit. I had to cut them out and used some clear styrene from a CD jewel case to make the windows.

I took a slight detour when my decals arrived. I plan on finishing this model in the markings of CAPT. (then CDR and CAG) David McCampbell's "Minsi III", the leading US Navy ace in WWII and CMH recipient. But there is a hitch. Although CDR McCampbell's Minsi III was an F6F-5, it was an early one that still had the F6F-3 windows behind that cockpit. They were found to be basically useless so they were eventually deleted. The decals I found, by Aerocraft also had a resin conversion to backdate the -5 for McCampbells aircraft, at least as far as the windows go, but I chose not to use it. The clear resin is very clear but the detail work, especially the rivets, does not match particularly well. And it would mean making a big cut in the fuselage which would require a redo a lot of rivets. Instead, I chose to just use the -3 drawings and cut out the windows myself. I marked them on the fuselage in pencil and use my circle template to get the right curvature for the corners. I drilled out the corners and then cut the rest of the window with an X-Acto 1" razor saw. Doing this meant adding some bracing between the pilot's rear bulkhead former and the next one aft. I will cut the windows from the styrene from a CD jewel case. The thickness of the styrene from the jewel case is almost exactly the same as that of the kit so it will work out perfectly. I added the radios, wiring, control cables and permanently attached the cockpit and aft bulkheads. With that the starboard side of the model is complete with the exception of the tail landing gear. There is some additional detailing in the tailwheel well and the fuselage halves will be ready to be joined. 

It is my understanding that at least in the Supermarine factory, they had mats that they would lay on the aircraft and paint the camouflage patterns so the camouflage would have a hard rather than a feathered edge.

The instrument panel is finally finished, completing the cockpit. I can now move onto the radios and avionics behind the cockpit. I added a second yellow tinted reflector glass as well as the spirit level yaw indicator to the gunsight,

Actually, the cockpit opening is huge and I have already dry fitted the cockpit in the fuselage and pretty much everything, with the exception of the plumbing behind the seat, is visible. There is an advantage to working in 1/24!

The side consoles are finally complete. Since I could not find any Waldron cockpit placards I opted for the Eduard set instead. The quality of the placards is outstanding, even the finest stenciling is well delineated. I did not use the kit throttle quadrant and levers, opting to use either the Eduard piece of just scratch building the levers. I used styrene rod to add the control rods for the throttle, mixture and supercharger, as well as the rudder and elevator trim control rods. The fact that the Eduard stuff is already painted saved a lot of time. The interior green they used matched the Tamiya acrylic I am using perfectly. Last up is the instrument panel and the cockpit will be complete. From there it will be on to the engine 

I have been published in 6 editions of FineScale Modeler, including 3 covers.

Details on both sides of the firewall are complete. There was an annoying amount of ejection pin marks which needed to be filled. They were not deep so it was not a difficult task. The area on the lower edges of the firewall was solid. In the E&M manual it is shown as a piece of stamped aluminum. I thinned the are to about 0.030" thickness and drilled out the holes. Most of the detailing is on the engine side. There is not much point of adding anything more on the cockpit side as the instrument panel and center console will cover it. The small pieces of PE on the tops of the rudder pedals are grooved and say "Grumman". They are out of the Eduard interior kit. I redid the linkages in the pneumatic cylinders for the brakes. I love to do the detail work but it is a waste of time to do it if it will never be seen. The electrical boxes are in place but I will wait until later when the engine is constructed to add the wiring and plumbing. At this point it is time to start painting! 

The floor and both sides of the pilot's bulkhead are now complete and ready for painting. The seat is scratch built out of 0.005" brass sheet and styrene. The parachute/seat cushion is made from Milliput. I ground off the sides of the rudder troughs and replaced with them with brass sheet as well.

This might work. DC6V-12V Micro Mini 10mm Coreless Motor Dual 1mm Shaft High Speed Rail Train Car | eBay

I apologize, I was not aware that all images had to be approved beforehand.