Landlubber Mike

Anyone know what part RP52 is supposed to represent?  It's on the spine of the aircraft behind the cockpit.  Is it supposed to be the parachute?  It looks like it has the shape and texture of something like cloth:
 
 

Thanks guys, really appreciate the kind words!

Thanks guys, really appreciate the kind words!

So I spent some time working through the kit and the aftermarket.  The kit is fairly simple to assemble, with only nine or so steps, and can probably be done in a week out of the box.  Interesting way they approach the cockpit - the kit has you assemble the fuselage first, and then run the cockpit up into the fuselage from under the plane.  At least on the last few planes I've built, the cockpit was built first and the fuselage assembled around it. 
 

 
 
The Aires aftermarket packet is a bit overwhelming.  Lots of resin pieces, along with two small sheets of PE!  The kit details are pretty nice, but in the second picture below, you can see some examples of how the Aires set adds a little bit more detail (for the top item, there's actually additional PE you're supposed to add to the part like the gear chains).  Of course, one won't be able to see most of this detail, but I suppose the fun is knowing it's there.  I also have the Eduard PE set for the kit, and it is mostly focused on the cockpit.  Some of the details like the seatbelts and the dashboard are nicer than the Aires set.  I might try both out, or possibly swap out some of the Aires stuff with Eduard PE if it looks nicer.  
 

 

 
 
I'll just have to take a deep breath and figure things out.  Some of the parts are on fairly thick plugs, so it's going to take a lot of work to remove them.   And the instructions are pretty much pictures.  They are fairly well done, but sparse is probably a good way to describe them.  Fingers crossed this goes smoothly...

Hey Roger, agree about the progression.  Interesting stuff.  Apparently the Wildcats were slower than the Zeros but built sturdier and ended the war with a great kill/loss ratio of 6.9 : 1 according to Wikipedia.
 
Actually, a raft sounds a lot more likely.  One would think the parachute would be with the pilot in the cockpit!
 
For resin, you have to use CA and not the typical plastic cement.  I don't know if the white glues work, but had some resin parts in my F4B-4 and P-6E builds that I attached using CA without problem.

So I spent some time working through the kit and the aftermarket.  The kit is fairly simple to assemble, with only nine or so steps, and can probably be done in a week out of the box.  Interesting way they approach the cockpit - the kit has you assemble the fuselage first, and then run the cockpit up into the fuselage from under the plane.  At least on the last few planes I've built, the cockpit was built first and the fuselage assembled around it. 
 

 
 
The Aires aftermarket packet is a bit overwhelming.  Lots of resin pieces, along with two small sheets of PE!  The kit details are pretty nice, but in the second picture below, you can see some examples of how the Aires set adds a little bit more detail (for the top item, there's actually additional PE you're supposed to add to the part like the gear chains).  Of course, one won't be able to see most of this detail, but I suppose the fun is knowing it's there.  I also have the Eduard PE set for the kit, and it is mostly focused on the cockpit.  Some of the details like the seatbelts and the dashboard are nicer than the Aires set.  I might try both out, or possibly swap out some of the Aires stuff with Eduard PE if it looks nicer.  
 

 

 
 
I'll just have to take a deep breath and figure things out.  Some of the parts are on fairly thick plugs, so it's going to take a lot of work to remove them.   And the instructions are pretty much pictures.  They are fairly well done, but sparse is probably a good way to describe them.  Fingers crossed this goes smoothly...

Hey Roger, agree about the progression.  Interesting stuff.  Apparently the Wildcats were slower than the Zeros but built sturdier and ended the war with a great kill/loss ratio of 6.9 : 1 according to Wikipedia.
 
Actually, a raft sounds a lot more likely.  One would think the parachute would be with the pilot in the cockpit!
 
For resin, you have to use CA and not the typical plastic cement.  I don't know if the white glues work, but had some resin parts in my F4B-4 and P-6E builds that I attached using CA without problem.

Anyone know what part RP52 is supposed to represent?  It's on the spine of the aircraft behind the cockpit.  Is it supposed to be the parachute?  It looks like it has the shape and texture of something like cloth:
 
 

So I spent some time working through the kit and the aftermarket.  The kit is fairly simple to assemble, with only nine or so steps, and can probably be done in a week out of the box.  Interesting way they approach the cockpit - the kit has you assemble the fuselage first, and then run the cockpit up into the fuselage from under the plane.  At least on the last few planes I've built, the cockpit was built first and the fuselage assembled around it. 
 

 
 
The Aires aftermarket packet is a bit overwhelming.  Lots of resin pieces, along with two small sheets of PE!  The kit details are pretty nice, but in the second picture below, you can see some examples of how the Aires set adds a little bit more detail (for the top item, there's actually additional PE you're supposed to add to the part like the gear chains).  Of course, one won't be able to see most of this detail, but I suppose the fun is knowing it's there.  I also have the Eduard PE set for the kit, and it is mostly focused on the cockpit.  Some of the details like the seatbelts and the dashboard are nicer than the Aires set.  I might try both out, or possibly swap out some of the Aires stuff with Eduard PE if it looks nicer.  
 

 

 
 
I'll just have to take a deep breath and figure things out.  Some of the parts are on fairly thick plugs, so it's going to take a lot of work to remove them.   And the instructions are pretty much pictures.  They are fairly well done, but sparse is probably a good way to describe them.  Fingers crossed this goes smoothly...

Thanks guys, really appreciate the kind words!

An interesting progression of the Grumman short, fat design philosophy from your previous mid 1930’s Grumman biplanes.  I’ll look forward to watching this.  This was the fighter that held out against the Japanese first string pilots during the interesting part of the Pacific Campaign, the big carrier battles and Guadalcanal.
 
Could RP52 be a inflatable life raft?
 
BTW, what do use to glue resin parts together?
 
Roger

Another book that goes deep into analysis of Midway is "Shattered Sword" by Parshall and Tully. Debunks some earlier books, like Fuchida's.

Great looking, birds, Mike.   Love how they came out.
 
Lou,
I hope you get feeling better and can get to your models.

Finished the F3Fs last night.  Hooray!  Funny how the final details always seem to take me 10x longer to complete than I would have expected.
 

 
 
A few post-build notes:
 
1.  As I mentioned earlier, I decided to add a flat finish to the belly bands and painted areas of the cowl.  I probably could have gone with semi-gloss, but I like the contrast against the tiny aluminum.  
 
2.  For the rigging, I used the kit's PE parts.  I wouldn't say it was an easy process to include them, but they went on much easier than the PE rigging set from Starfighter that I used on my F4B-4 and P-6E.  The material was stiffer, and Accurate miniatures added slots to the wings into which you could slide the rigging.  
 
3.  I added pitot tubes to the right N support.  I ended up using pieces of bug pins for the tubes.  The pins (used to pin bugs in bug collection) are stainless steel and come in various very thin sizes.  The N support already had what looked like the wiring and other hardware, so I just found a pin that seemed to roughly match in size.  
 
4.  The radio antennae wires were made using EZ-Line fine.  It worked like a real charm.  I know some people pooh-pooh it because it's more flat than round, but I think you can only tell that under extreme magnification, at least for the fine size.  It attaches easily with CA and stretches (supposedly up to 7 times its length) so you can get a nice taut line. Seemed much easier than stretched sprue or other materials.  It was a little complicated in that the wires that run from each wing tip to the tail connect ahead of the tail and then run in a combined line to the tail, but I managed to get it to work.
 
5.  The kit has you attach the upper wings, then attach the bottom wings and supports, suggesting that you try to do it all at the same time.  Of course, it's much harder said than done.  On both planes, the right side ended up a couple of millimeters higher than the other.  If I had to do it again, I would probably have attached the bottom wings to the fuselage pre-painting, to avoid any seams and to better set the dihedral.   I think if I had taken that approach, all I would have had to do is manage the angle of the top wing (as opposed to trying to glue the two bottom wings and the top wing, position the struts, etc. all at the same time).  Learning experience for next time.  
 
 
I just wanted to thank everyone who has been looking in and helping me work my way through this.  I really appreciate all the help so thank you!  
 
For my next plane, I'll be doing the Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat kit as the FM-1 version using the Wolfpack wing fold conversion set.  Simpler in the sense that it has limited rigging and a single wing, but I have the big Aires resin/PE detail set and the Wolfpack set, so it will be challenging in other ways.
 

Some final pictures of the F3F-1:
 

Some final pictures of the F3F-2:
 

Thanks man, really appreciate the kind words.  I'm slowly getting the hang of this plastic stuff - a lot trickier than it looks!
 
 
Thank you!  Really appreciate it!
 
 
Get better soon Lou!  I'll try to delay my wife as much as I can  

Hey Lou, thanks for the kind words!  Really appreciate it.  You didn't miss much the last few weeks except for me working out a bunch of new cuss words on things like the cowl, the pitot tubes, etc.
 
You should definitely build that JRS-1!  What a cool looking bird!  I tend to like the quirky stuff.  I'm not itching to build in 1/72 any time soon, but I've been looking for one of those since you mentioned it a few months ago.  They are pretty rare for sure!  
 
Looking at plane "boats" I did come across the Airfix Walrus which is now in the stash.  Ugly looking thing but I like it!  Even found a cool catapult set to build with it to set it up as a diorama when I get a little more skilled.  I'll blame you for inspiring me if my wife finds it  
 

 
 
 

I'm in! I like these Pacific campaign  carrier aircraft. 

BTW, for anyone interested specifically in Midway, I found this analysis very engaging.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd8_vO5zrjo&t=2s
 

I'm in, too.
 
Just finished an ebook on Midway; more like historical fiction. Good quick read. "The Silver Waterfall". Adds some good info on many of the personalities of the participants on both sides. One character featured was Jimmy Thach, the Navy fighter pilot who figured out how to survive and sometimes beat the Zero with the F4F.

Thanks man, really appreciate the kind words.  I'm slowly getting the hang of this plastic stuff - a lot trickier than it looks!
 
 
Thank you!  Really appreciate it!
 
 
Get better soon Lou!  I'll try to delay my wife as much as I can  

Thanks man, really appreciate the kind words.  I'm slowly getting the hang of this plastic stuff - a lot trickier than it looks!
 
 
Thank you!  Really appreciate it!
 
 
Get better soon Lou!  I'll try to delay my wife as much as I can  

Probably logical, but I chose it because the box is in terrible shape and I was worried about keeping the contents secure!  I have a Special Hobby 1/32 Buffalo in Finnish markings that probably should have gone next time wise, but it's a pretty nice kit and with a more complicated camo scheme, and I figured I needed a little more experience.  Your card F4F sounds like a great, yet tricky, project!
 
It has been nice building these in somewhat of a chronological order to follow the development of planes during this time.  Amazing how much development there was, even during war time.
 
 

With the F3Fs completed, I'm going to build the F4F-4 Wildcat, but as the FM-1 version.  The Wildcat was a carrier based fighter that began with the US Navy in 1940 (and was known as the Martlet with the British Royal Navy).  It was built by Grumman, but Grumman ceased making the plane in 1943 to focus on the newer, and more superior, F6F Hellcat.  General Motors/Eastern Aircraft continued making the Wildcat identical to the F4F-4, but reduced the number of guns to four and added wing racks for two 250lb bombs or six rockets.
 
I'm going to build it using the Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat kit.  From everything I read, the kit goes together very well and easily.  
 

 
 
Of course as per my usual, I'm making things more complex for myself by adding a bunch of aftermarket, including a wing fold set from Wolfpack that allows you to build the kit as the FM-1.   I happened to get very lucky and find this kit on eBay with all the aftermarket shown below, aside from the Wolfpack set, for under $50 with shipping from Greece of all places.  The Aires set alone, which has a ton of resin and PE components, retails for $55 or over, so I figured why not?
 

 
 
For the color scheme, it's fairly simple - a nice change from my past yellow wing builds!  Here is sheet from the Wolfpack set, along with a diagram I found of what the scheme looks like (reminds me of the coloring of Great White sharks):
 


 
Finally, here are pictures of an FM-1 in the Smithsonian collection.  While I live in the DC area, unfortunately it looks like it's not on display at the moment (and I believe the museum is closed due to Covid).  Oh well 😕
 
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/eastern-division-fm-1-grumman-f4f-4-wildcat/nasm_A19610122000
 

 

 
Should be a fun build!  Thanks for looking in.