There has quite a bit of discussion about this remarkable ARF. Although technically ARF stands for "Almost Ready to Fly" I treat it as "Almost Ready to FINISH", meaning I am using the prebuilt structures to apply my own finishing techniques. Since the fuselage and cowl are already fiberglass with cast-in panel lines and some flush rivet detail, a simple prep and repaint is really all that is needed. The wing, stab and all control surfaces (flaps, ailerons, elevators and rudder) are all covered with some type of iron on plastic and then painted. In the limited time I had my Hellcat (and other CMP birds - 4 in all), the iron on covering has sucombed to the intense heat here in Southern California, especially in my hobby shack built out back. Quite a few wrinkles and some chipping of the paint occurred. Consequently, I have decided to go with .75 ounce fiberglass cloth and (new for me) Deft brand finish to brush on over the cloth. As I go along, I will not only show how I did it, but what specific products I used. In the beginning, I would strongly suggest that anyone choosing warbirds as their main interest in R/C seriously consider picking up a small compressor and some painting guns - most of this is available from places like Harbor Freight at very reasonable prices. To me, finishing a warbird is probably just as important if not more so than the building part of the project. This is where your model can really shine - the realism that can be had through glassing and painting is second to none. In the first few pics, I show the stripping of one half of the wing - if you look closely, you can see some of the wrinkles and chipping.....

randy