Miguelito's plane old Blitz attempt - FINISHED -

[mjatx]

Well, if the stars align, I will be attempting one last Blitz this weekend. This time, I'm going with what I hope will be a simple build. The Academy 1/72 F4F-4 Wildcat.


The decals provided are for a plane based in the Atlantic; however, the color scheme provided in the instructions is incorrect (I would expect nothing less from Academy). By mid 1943, Wildcats in the Atlantic wore a Dark Gull Grey over White scheme similar to this one.


Hopefully, I'm able to get the scheme somewhere close, otherwise, the kit will be built straight out of the box.

More than likely, I'll be shooting for approximately an 8pm CST (Austin, TX) start time tomorrow night (August 29).

[jssel]

This will be good. I have done several Academy fighters in Blitz fashion and they work very well. The Wildcat is on my shoert list.

[mjatx]

Alright, I spent a little time tonight clearing off the bench and reviewing the instructions/sprues to lay out my plan of attack. I've also put together a playlist for tomorrow's festivities.

Here are the instructions and sprues....seems simple enough. Famous last words.




Now I'm off to get a good nights rest, because tomorrow night, there will be none. One supply I noticed I need to replace before tomorrow is beer, other than that, everything should be good to go.

[jssel]

Good Luck. When I was in Mineral Wells it was Lone Star and Coors

[mjatx]

Well, I'm getting a later start that anticipated. I suppose that gives me more time tomorrow. My kit, Academy's 1/72 F4F-4 Wildcat, was first released in 1987. The details (or mostly lack of) show some of the late 80s finest work. Speaking of 1987, the first week of August 1987 found this Bob Seger's "Shakedown" sitting at the top of Billboard's Top 100 in the US.



This song was from Beverly Hills Cop II. In my opinion, not as good as the original film, but still enjoyable with Eddie Murphy at the top of his game. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award, but lost out to "I've had the time of my life" from the movie Dirty Dancing.

Now it's time to get to work. As you can see, the kit is ready to go, and so am I. So 9:10:11pm CST is the official start time.


I imagine I'll be building and posting this one solo for most of the night. Unless some people from Down Under wake up early and catch me before I call it a night.

[jssel]

Seger. A great way to start it up. Michigan home grown boy.

[mjatx]

Bob Seger stayed at the number 1 spot for just a few days in August. Then the next number 1 on Billboard's Top 100 in August of 1987 was U2's "I still haven't found what I'm looking for".



This was a really big hit in the US. I remember every track from Joshua Tree and it seemed like U2 was on the radio 24 hours a day. However, I still haven't found what I'm looking for, peaked only at #6 in the UK.

As for the kit, it's going together very well. My biggest issue with this kit, is the cockpit, or lack thereof. Academy provides a man-shaped blob for the entire details. While I'd love to finish out the office a little better, my biggest concern is being able to look down the cockpit and see the ground. To prevent that, I cut a piece of plastic and inserted it there.




The engine is pretty nice, and while the landing gear look very flimsy, once you get them together, they're pretty well detailed too...other than the wheels.


I got the fuselage together, and it actually has a nice fit, and all the sub-assemblies.


So after almost 3.5 hours, here's how it stands.


Now, I'm going to spray a coat of primer over it, then hit the sack. I'll see just how good a fit it is in the morning, then fix seams, and move on to final coats of paint.

[jssel]

And now U2. This is great. Filling in the kits lack of detail nicely.

[mjatx]

Well, it's 9:00am and here's how the model looks after last night's blast of primer.


There's a very small seam along the top, and the wings-to-fuselage connection needs some very slight work.

U2 spent two weeks at the top spot in August 1987. Then another song from a movie replaced them at #1. Madonna's "Who's that Girl?"...from the movie "Who's that Girl?" starring Madonna.


I never saw this movie, and honestly, this song doesn't even crack the top 20 on my list of favorite Madonna songs. On the positive side for Jeff, she's from Michigan too.

[Arcwelder]

I don't think you missed much.. Madge's 80s cinematic outings were notoriously poor.. unlike the model, which is getting there!

[jssel]

This is looking very sharp. The Pressures of time don't seem to bother you one bit. But you must be getting hungry by now.

[mjatx]

I really need to take a look at the paint on have on hand before I start a Blitz. Of course, I didn't have any Dark Gull Grey on hand, which meant it was time to go to the lab. After all, how hard can it be to make a dark grey? So a little Tamiya Flat White, mixed with a little Tamiya Nato Black....and then a little more Flat White.




It may be a tad too dark, but I think it's close enough. Also, I sprayed a little more of the plane than was necessary. I couldn't remember how much area to cover with grey, so I overdid it, rather than come back in the house and find the picture.

Now, I'll let it dry a little, add some tape to the wings and horizontal stabilizers than it's back to the garage for the final coat.

I'm very happy with my progress, but I'm even happier with the kit. So far so good...knock on wood.

[mjatx]

This is looking very sharp. The Pressures of time don't seem to bother you one bit. But you must be getting hungry by now.

Actually, I'm not much of a breakfast person, and I don't drink coffee much. I did make breakfast for the kids...pancakes and bacon....but I forgot to photo it before it was gone. One demerit for my Blitz report.

[jssel]

Aaaaaah bacon. Your colors look good to me.

[fredk]

Coming on well.
mmmmmm...............bacon buttie