I'm doing the Vraciu Hellcat from VF-16 #32 from the U.S.S. Lexington. I am making my own VF-16 "Fighting Airedales" logo and kill markings. I did not paint the decals I just copied them from the web and corrected the colors. I scanned my cowl to get the right color for the background because I have to print on white decal paper because my printer can't print white.

Dion

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

Man.... Dion.... WOW.... Definitely worth the wait to see this!!
and you haven't even finished!!!!

keep Going DION!!!!!!!!![sm=thumbup.gif]

Tomas

BTW ... I know I am interested in what AIRBRUSH or spray gun you are using to paint with....
AND did you paint the belly 1st then the top and then the middle or start at the bottom lightest color and work your way up??
How many days total to paint what we see here??

Thanks

Tomas

Hey Guys

where do we get the stars and bars decals with yhe red outline?
Ron

You can oder a set of paint stencils from Gary Sibert ( www.getstencils.com ) If you are doing the CMP Hellcat, he has made them for Dion and I so he already has the correct sizes.

Thanks Tomas, I thought you'd like her! I started painting today and I only worked for a few hours on it. The paint dries really fast so you can move right along. I use two types of airbrush, a cheap copy of an expensive double action airbrush and a really cheap siphon feed airbrush. The siphon feed is really great for laying down lots of paint over a large area, then I get the edges with the double action airbrush. Nothing fancy, but they work for me. Start with the bottom and work your way to the top of the fuselage. Then go back over any small areas where you might have some overspray.

I printed out the kill markings on white decal paper. I seal them with Top Flite Lustercote flat clear. I then cut out each kill marking and stuck them on individually. More work but it looks more realistic in my opinion.

First picture is of my airbrush set, not much but it works for me!

Next is the kill markings completed.

And the last picture is one of Hal's Hellcat! He is moving right along on his also, so we should be done about the same time!

Hi Dion,your hellcat looks very nice so far.I just got gone with my cat,the weathering took much longer then I thought,but came out very nice.
Dion will you let us know when your parts well be ready.I would like two canopies if I could.I have one of your fuel tanks,but could not use it because I had the bally pan on when I ordered it from you,if you or some body needs it I have it,still no luck with the landing gear doors on seirra,s gear with 4"" tries.
thanks Fred

Post some pictures please .

Can you just use 3-3/4" tires ? If not, you could put some styrene sheet on the backside of the doors to make them larger. Then blend in some more styrene on the outside and fiberglass over that.

Hi Halh,no that wont work because the sturt hits the door and will not let the door go all the way down to the wing.I will try to cut the door to let the sturt sissor come through the door.I will have to live with that,if I cant find a bigger door.
Fred

It now appears to me that your retracts are not recessed far enough into the wing. Would like to see a picture of your problem.

Thanks Fred, and congrats on your Cat! Like Hal said let's see some pictures. I will have parts finished soon, I will let everyone know.

As far as my parts are concerned, they are provided as is. They work for me very well, but not everything I do can be duplicated by everybody. In the same way I can't duplicate many things that others do, so I'm sorry if my parts don't work for you. I want to add that my parts are not for a stock CMP Hellcat, everything I provide except the canopy requires you to do some basic modifications to the airframe. My personal favorite saying is, "If there is a will there is a way". You could attach your drop tank to a finished plane very easily, I know if I wanted it on the plane it would be attached period! Many times the attitude you take regardless of your skill level when looking at a project, will determine if you succeed or fail. Just thought I'd share some of my philosophy.

Dion

Got some more detailing done. When I started making the letters it occurred to me that I have no idea what was painted on the various hatches. If anyone has any input please share your knowledge on the subject! I printed the names and things on white decal paper with the appropriate background color. I think I’ll print the black letters on the underside of the wing on the white paper also, that way it will not show any hazing under the decal. So far everything on here was printed on my cheap $29 printer! Lol

Dion

Hi again Luke . . . [8D]

I have just the book for you. It shows all the markings and their respective colors, as well as the proper font characteristics. I will copy the pages and send them to you via e-mail. Anybody else who would like this info I would be glad to help out.

Ernie Card . . . alias Hellcat41

Hi Ernie, Thanks bud, I'd really appreciate that!

Here is a picture of the plane I'm doing, he has a few more kills in this picture:

Hey Guys,halh you are right the gear is not recessed enough in the wing,but the plane is done and Im not going to redo the wheel wells now so I have to live with it,maybe by cutting the doors they will work.Dion,your parts are the best I have seen I will take another look at the tank.I wish these parts were out when I started this plane.I will get some pics soon.I,m not as good as some of you guys but the cat looks nice and Im very happy with it.
Fred

Luke, the Cat is looking good in her colors. you have done good with it for sure![sm=thumbup.gif]
amazing that it started life as an ARF.

now about that lawn...............[8D]

Spend that much time on R/C airplanes and something's gotta give...... at least it's cut!

Andy

Thanks T! I did think about posting a picture of my yard, but then I thought no one will say anything or even notice with the Hellcat in the picture! You guys are right, I've been neglecting my yard to finish these projects! I keep the front yard much nicer than I do the back, so to the passer by I still look good. No more plane pictures in the back!

John McGowan is coming over today for a Hellcat build session and he's also bringing some BBQ Ribs! I see what he is up too! He knows one of my weeknesses! Diet is deffinetely off!

Dion

Luke, it is truly OUTSTANDING!!! I'm very impressed with the results there big guy. I guess you have disproved that old saying about how you can't make a purse out of a sows ear...Hal, you better start squirting some paint on yours too!



I gotta tell you, I'm looking at all these full build wood kits I have lying around wondering if they really worth keeping? I'm thinking the BARF BUG has gotten to me...LOL! THANKS for the inspiration!

Chilipecker look at post #1125 that is my fuselage on the far right. I have the wings painted and I am working on the star/bar using the stencils from www.getstencils.com

Thanks CP! It was much easier than building a kit, that's for sure, I put this thing together in 5 months working off and on. A kit built to the same level would have taken much longer. Hal is a little ahead of me on the build, he has just not posted many pictures!

Had a great time and build session with another RCU member, John McGowen. It was a hot day, but we worked undeterred as any modeling fanatics would. Look at the first picture, that’s John setting up his Hellcat for the little aft window. On this cockpit installation we did some weighing of removed material, the fiberglass cockpit area that was removed weighed 1oz! And since the cockpit is so close to the CG I don’t feel it adds that much to the final weight. The next picture shows John cutting out the widow, look at how he works; you can tell he’s an artist! And finally his cockpit is painted and installed minus final detailing. We also added a sliding canopy but I didn’t take pictures. Thanks John, had a great time and those ribs were tasty!!!

Dion

Folks, I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Luke and for his knack of this hobby. He is a naturally talented craftsman( I was absent from that class that day he was taking lessons, LOL and his attention to detail is something to behold. GAWD, he's GOOD!!!!!
Luke, thanks so much for having me over and for giving me guidance on my plane. You dont know how much I appreciate your help. (lets see here...., this time I brought over ribs- I wonder what a big sirloin and baked tater would do ? LOL)
Talk to ya soon- and tell Patrick I said hello too.
John

I have painted the star/bar on my Hellcat fuse . I am having a hard time getting the pictures I took of the steps to load onto the website.

Looking good Hal !! I bet it wont be long for you now to get her flying. Are you going to be #31 or #32 on the side of the fuse? Luke and I are going to have a 1 number difference on our planes I think (us southern boys gotta stay ganged together . How do you like the stencil from getstencils.com? Are they hard to work with or did you have any problem with them during your painting?
Thanks,....
John

I think I am going with number 13 . The only tricky part is getting the backing that holds the vynl . It doesn't come off easy.