Both done +++ Two Continental F4F Wildcats: France & Belgium

NARSES2 · October 18, 2015, 07:25:10 AM

Quote from: zenrat on October 18, 2015, 02:54:46 AM
Abserlootlee here also.

Quote from: Captain Canada on October 16, 2015, 06:48:33 AM
Quote from: Nils on October 16, 2015, 12:43:01 AM
looks great, it reminds me of the French Aeronavale Wildcat ive seen at the Brugges modelshow a few years ago

The etch-a-sketch maps were always unpredictable...

Odd. This is the second reference to etch a sketch recently - the other one was when I goggled "how to make thermite" last week...

Beware the knock on the door

Dizzyfugu · October 18, 2015, 07:55:01 AM

Hmmm, since the final decals from the Ukraine did not materialize (yet), I started with the Belgian one. So, taking the museum Martlet as benchmark, the scheme looks like this:

A pair of 1:72 Grumman G-36As, a.k.a. F4F Wildcat/Martlet - the Belgian one by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A pair of 1:72 Grumman G-36As, a.k.a. F4F Wildcat/Martlet - the Belgian one by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Took some time to figure the tones out. Theoretically, Humbrol 88 and 123 should be right - I tried that, and it looked shockingly horrible. So I devised mixes for the upper tones: the dark, greenish grey is a mix of 2/3 Humbrol 91 and 1/3 32, while the lighter green is a mix of 2/3 Humbrol 120 and 1/3 149. The underside was painted with stock Humbrol 122.
Shading was done with lighter mixes and tones - in the light green, some Humbrol 31 was added, while the shading on the dark grey is RLM 74(!) from Modelmaster. Below, I used Humbrol 23.
Still looks weird and rather like an exhibition piece - and now imagine the colorful Belgian roundels on THAT base...

zenrat · October 19, 2015, 03:36:23 AM

"Still looks weird"
No, it looks awesome. Can't wait to see it with the roundels on.

Captain Canada · October 19, 2015, 06:12:22 AM

It sure does. Looks great in those colours.

Dizzyfugu · October 19, 2015, 09:21:05 AM

Thank you. Here's progress, and a family picture. Looks as if the Belgian Wildcat will be finished before the French one...

A pair of 1:72 Grumman G-36As, a.k.a. F4F Wildcat/Martlet - the Belgian one by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A pair of 1:72 Grumman G-36As, a.k.a. F4F Wildcat/Martlet - a French and a Belgian one by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Spey_Phantom · October 19, 2015, 11:22:05 AM

wow, looks amazing

ive started a Belgian wildcat (Grumman G-36A, Martlet Mk.1) a few years ago, but i never got it started like they you did yours.
as for color scheme, i was planning on using the Gloster Gladiator scheme

a friend of mine made pencil drawing of a Belgian wildcat in this scheme, but i cant seem to find it right now.

here's a pic of the Belgian gladiator, this is the scheme i had in mind, with the red comet allong the fuselage

Dizzyfugu · October 20, 2015, 12:50:00 AM

Yes, that is a pre-war option, too - but I recently built the Avions Fairey Fawn whif in this livery:

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Besides, I found the combo of a British naval scheme with Belgian roundels too attractive. And it is certainly colorful!

NARSES2 · October 20, 2015, 07:45:18 AM

They do look good side by side

Dizzyfugu · October 20, 2015, 08:09:52 AM

Thanks a lot. They actually look better than expected, despite just being color variations. Only the Belgian F4F has some minor mods. But the costumes work well, and both look pretty convincing.

Dizzyfugu · October 24, 2015, 06:10:42 AM

The second one has been finished first, so behold the Belgian aircraft with the info for both Wildcats - the French one is hopefully to follow soon...

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and some European air forces in 1940.

Grumman fighter development began with the two-seat Grumman FF biplane. The FF was the first U.S. naval fighter with a retractable landing gear. The wheels retracted into the fuselage, leaving the tires visibly exposed, flush with sides of the fuselage. Two single-seat biplane designs followed, the F2F and F3F, which established the general fuselage outlines of what would become the F4F Wildcat.

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In 1935, while the F3F was still undergoing flight-testing, Grumman started work on its next biplane fighter, the G-16. At the time, the U.S. Navy favored a monoplane design, the Brewster F2A-1, ordering production early in 1936. However, an order was also placed for Grumman's G-16 (given the navy designation XF4F-1) as a backup in case the Brewster monoplane proved to be unsatisfactory.

It was clear to Grumman that the XF4F-1 would be inferior to the Brewster monoplane, so Grumman abandoned the XF4F-1, designing instead a new monoplane fighter, the XF4F-2. The overall performance of Grumman's new monoplane was considered inferior to the Brewster Buffalo. The XF4F-2 was marginally faster, but the Buffalo was more maneuverable, so the Brewster aircraft was judged superior and was chosen for production.

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

After losing out to Brewster, Grumman completely rebuilt the prototype as the XF4F-3 with new wings and tail and a supercharged version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radial engine. Testing of the new XF4F-3 led to an order for F4F-3 production models, the first of which was completed in February 1940. This modernized aircraft met a lot of international interest, and several orders were places.

France ordered the type, powered by a Wright R-1820 "Cyclone 9" radial engine, to be based on board of the aircraft carrier 'Béarn' and to replace the outdated Dewoitine D.376 fighters. From the order of 24 machines only about a dozen aircraft were delivered in time before France fell to the Axis powers, the remaining order went instead to the British Royal Navy, who christened the new fighter the "Martlet.

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The French G-36A's saw a short but intense career over the Channel, but they remained based at land since the 'Béarn' was on a mission in the Caribbean Sea: after the defeat of France in June 1940 the carrier was docked at Martinique, and at that time all French G-36s were already destroyed.

Further orders came from Greece and Belgium. The naval Wildcats destined for Greece were directly delivered to the Royal Navy, too, while the Belgian G-36s were purely land-based, lacked the wing folding mechanism and shared much of the equipment of the French order, including different instruments and a reversed throttle installation. Much like the French aircraft, a small number was delivered and ready for service in May 1940, but these had no impact on the German invasion and all aircraft were destroyed within a few days, most of them on the ground.

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Specifications:
Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft (11.58 m)
Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.60 m)
Loaded weight: 7,000 lb (3,200 kg)

Powerplant:
1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 double-row radial engine, 1,200 hp (900 kW)

Performance:
Maximum speed: 331 mph (531 km/h)
Range: 845 mi (1,360 km)
Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,303 ft/min (11.7 m/s)

Armament:
France: 6x 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the outer wings;
Belgium: 6x 7,62mm (0.303") Browning Mk II machine guns (350 rounds per gun), one synchronized pair above the engine, firing through the propeller, the other four in the outer wings

1:72 Grumman G-36A, aircraft 'R-17' of 3/II Groupe de Chasse ('Cocottes Rouges') de l' Aeronautique Militaire Belge; Brustem (Belgium), May 1940 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Spey_Phantom · October 24, 2015, 08:49:13 AM

wow, fantastic result

Captain Canada · October 24, 2015, 09:07:14 AM

For sure ! That's a gorgeous little bird there. Love the camo and markings on her. The spinner looks excellent as well.

Glenn Gilbertson · October 24, 2015, 09:11:09 AM

That looks terrific - believable backstory, too!

Dizzyfugu · October 24, 2015, 10:07:28 AM

Thank you very much. The Belgian Wildcat is really bright and colorful - the pics do it IMHO not really justice. It's an odd result, but looks very good!

JasonW · October 24, 2015, 06:31:48 PM

Looks great!

What kit did the prop spinner come from?