New Merit Models, Looking for tips/advice

[Warhawk]

Good day everyone, recently I put an order in for four Merit F4F-4 Fighter planes (due to some difficulty finding the old WoW planes) as well as four Merit SBD-3 Dive Bombers. This was due to seeing a few of the gentlemen on this forum showcasing their Merit models and I could not help myself but decided to branch out and try some unofficial minis. Today they arrived in the mail. I'm waiting on some Litko bases to hopefully get them airborne.



So far I have only opened the Wildcats in order to look them over and have yet to open the Dauntless pack. I'm quite pleased with the models, my only possible gripe being the undercarriage seem a little flimsy but that is no problem as I plan to do away with them. Which brings me to my question to you, what would you more hobby savvy chaps suggest? The Wildcats come with no wheel wells and (OK I just opened the SBD's to check) the SBD's appear to have decent wheel wells so there should be no problems there. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

One last question, does anyone know of a good site/resource for how to mark these aircraft as I am not sure which route I want to go (early or mid/late war).

Thanks in advance!

[Warhawk]

One more thing to add, what do people suggest on how to get extra maneuvre decks? I understand the SBD is the "I" deck. I have a number of them with my D3A's but was hoping each plane could have it's own deck. So I'm looking for four "I" decks and four "D" Decks.

[Setarius]

A suggestion on the maneuver decks is to photocopy and laminate the new decks, if you can.

[Naharaht]

The Aichi Val and Stuka models had I decks, Wes. The Vals and the Italian Stuka were not popular, so you ought to be able to find some.

[Jager]

Or find the Fire in the Skies boxed set (Nexus); I know there's a couple down at the Soldiery in Columbus, and some can be found on-line.
Karl

[Warhawk]

Thanks for the answers guys. I'll see what works best. The Fire in the Sky box has what, two "I" decks Karl? Or just one..

[Jager]

Thanks for the answers guys. I'll see what works best. The Fire in the Sky box has what, two "I" decks Karl? Or just one..

Should be two, one land backround, and one sea.
Karl

[Warhawk]

I managed to work on one plane last night. I decided to go with the early war markings, partly because I like the look of them, and partly because it's more challenging than leaving the markings as they are.



One question here, as far as the unit markings go should it be towards the cockpit in front of the star on the fuselage or more towards the tail. Most pictures I've seen the star is larger when in that spot and the unit markings are behind. When it's small it is usually further back and the markings are in front.
Anyway, I also took care of the landing gear by gently cutting them away and gluing them in the wheel wells, not the smoothest job but here it is.





The F4F-4's will be trickier...

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Exactly the same as the way I did mine.
Rob.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Try and get the fire from the skies box. It has 3 I decks. Bought 4 sets from Ludibay.net, for my Kate's, Dauntless and Devastators. He has them on sale at a very reasonable price.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Try and get the fire from the skies box. It has 3 I decks. Bought 4 sets from Ludibay.net, for my Kate's, Dauntless and Devastators. He has them on sale at a very reasonable price.

Thanks Neil.
I just ordered three.
Rob.

[tikkifriend]

Exactly the same as the way I did mine.
Rob.

Mine too

[Warhawk]

Finishing up the markings tonight on the SBD's, just letters to go, and landing gear to be retracted.





Also, these planes come without bombs, this looks about right, after some Olive drab paint.



...just wish I had a few smaller ones to go under the wings.

[Warhawk]

All gear now retracted, squadron markings on two of the four birds B-08 and B-06 (B-07 would exist if I hadn't botched the decal upon placement).
Three out of the four SBD's have been equipped with gifts for the Japanese fleet (I had a fourth bomb but it seemed to fly halfway across the room and explode, AKA disappear entirely). One plane is short a bomb.

[csadn]

Three out of the four SBD's have been equipped with gifts for the Japanese fleet (I had a fourth bomb but it seemed to fly halfway across the room and explode, AKA disappear entirely). One plane is short a bomb.

That's the squadron commander's bird, then -- IIRC, at least three of _Yorktown_'s SBDs suffered Premature Release at Midway.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Finishing up the markings tonight on the SBD's, just letters to go, and landing gear to be retracted.

Glad to see you have your priorities right Wes.
Rob.

[Warhawk]

That's the squadron commander's bird, then -- IIRC, at least three of _Yorktown_'s SBDs suffered Premature Release at Midway.

I didn't know that Chris, thanks for the info. I now have an excuse for losing precious USN ordinance .

[Warhawk]

Glad to see you have your priorities right Wes.
Rob.

And indeed Rob, gotta have one or two to steady the hand. Just careful not to have too many or it has the opposite effect!

[BobP]

Plane on a LITKO stand.


I use a ball bearing glued to the plane. I drill a hole in the model and super glue the bearing in the hole.


This is a LITKO stand with a K&J magnetic ring mount attached to a LITKO flight peg


Another view of the plane on the stand.

Wes this is how I mount my 1/144 planes. I did the same with the SBD & TBD Merit models (haven't taken pic of them). With the magnet and bearing you can change the angle of the plane.

[Warhawk]

Thanks for sharing Bob, that's quite helpful with the visual aid. I'm not sure yet if I want to go the extra step with the ball bearing but it sounds like that's how a few members here do up their models. I'll keep it in mind.

[richard m schwab]

Wes

They look nice !You can also glue a magnet to the plane. That is what i do! Check Amazon and Ebay for copies of DOW and FFTS. The more sets the more cards you collect. I should know, i have three sets of both. Just to have the cards!


Rich

[Warhawk]

Thanks Rich, a few people have mentioned these options. It's good to hear another supporter of the magnets as well as the boxed sets for the cards. Thanks for the tips!

[Naharaht]

Bob, did you paint the undercarriage wheels on the sides of the plane?

[CappyTom]

Good day everyone, recently I put an order in for four Merit F4F-4 Fighter planes (due to some difficulty finding the old WoW planes) as well as four Merit SBD-3 Dive Bombers. This was due to seeing a few of the gentlemen on this forum showcasing their Merit models and I could not help myself but decided to branch out and try some unofficial minis. Today they arrived in the mail. I'm waiting on some Litko bases to hopefully get them airborne.



So far I have only opened the Wildcats in order to look them over and have yet to open the Dauntless pack. I'm quite pleased with the models, my only possible gripe being the undercarriage seem a little flimsy but that is no problem as I plan to do away with them. Which brings me to my question to you, what would you more hobby savvy chaps suggest? The Wildcats come with no wheel wells and (OK I just opened the SBD's to check) the SBD's appear to have decent wheel wells so there should be no problems there. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

One last question, does anyone know of a good site/resource for how to mark these aircraft as I am not sure which route I want to go (early or mid/late war).

Thanks in advance!

You can go to AIM and get decals as well as minis until they get re-released.

Thomas

[BobP]

No David that is an F-Toys Wildcat. The wheels are a separate piece. You can do wheels down or in the up position.

[Warhawk]

Decided not to go the gimbal route, since I'd have to convert my official aircraft too. This is how it turned out;



Might need some tweaking on the next few models though.

[Jager]

Looks good, Wes.
Karl

[richard m schwab]

Wes

That works for me!



Rich

[gully_raker]

Excellent work Wes!
All ready to do their "thing" at the Battle of the Coral Sea.

[Teaticket]

Looks nice Wes.

[Warhawk]

Thanks for the comments guys!

[Franco Lucchini]

Looks great.

If you're still looking for D decks, they came in D.520 packs. Must not be very popular, since they can be found economically.

Is there a good source for Merit models besides eBay?

[Teaticket]

If you are looking for D decks, pm me.

[Warhawk]

Thanks for the tip Allen, I was not aware these used the D deck. Also as far as purchasing the models I got mine from out in BC (can find the name of the company if you want to order from the North). But I remember someone who posted about them said jaguarmodels.com stocks them. I can't seem to figure out how to post a link using my mobile device. Just type in jaguarmodels.com and go to aircraft kits (1:200 scale) and they should come up. Clicking on them individually allows you to add to cart. Never bought from them before so I can't speak on that end but I believe they're out of California.

Peter, I'll shoot you a PM, thanks.

[Franco Lucchini]

Thanks Wes! Merit models and jaquarmodels are in the same town even.

[Jager]

Thanks for the tip Allen, I was not aware these used the D deck. Also as far as purchasing the models I got mine from out in BC (can find the name of the company if you want to order from the North). But I remember someone who posted about them said jaguarmodels.com stocks them. I can't seem to figure out how to post a link using my mobile device. Just type in jaguarmodels.com and go to aircraft kits (1:200 scale) and they should come up. Clicking on them individually allows you to add to cart. Never bought from them before so I can't speak on that end but I believe they're out of California.

Peter, I'll shoot you a PM, thanks.

SDBs would use the I deck.
Karl

[Warhawk]

SDBs would use the I deck.
Karl

Yes, I haven't gotten to my Wildcats yet, I believe Allen was referring to those (earlier in the thread). I have I decks from my Val's that I can use potentially. Thanks for the heads up though Karl.

Edit: When I said "I didn't know these used the 'D' deck" I was meaning that I didn't know the D. 520 used it.

[Franco Lucchini]

Yup, from my meager collection, I could suggest:

I deck: Stukas and Vals
D deck: D.520s and F4F-3s.

Are the WWI and WWII maneuver decks the same (letter for letter)?

Good luck!

[Flying Helmut]

Are the WWI and WWII maneuver decks the same (letter for letter)?

No, completely different!

WGF 'D' slow, super-manoeuverable Fokker Dr1 Triplane; WGS 'D' medium-speed, turns -like-a-brick F4F Wildcat
WGF 'I' agile Nieuport 17 fighter, WGS 'I' chunky Stuka 2-seat dive-bomber

[Franco Lucchini]

Thanks for the warning Tim.

[richard m schwab]

Allen

Interchanging the decks would have made for an interesting game. Fast and maneuverable dive bombers. A Wildcat that could out turn a Zero!




Rich

[Franco Lucchini]

Changing up the decks would provide an air of freshness and eliminate the "grognard commentary"...and after the tar and feathering, my group might let me pull the airplanes out again next decade...

[richard m schwab]

Allen

Your group must suffer from a lack of adventure! To teach them humility make them fly Oscars against P-39`s.



Rich

[Gotham Resident]

I've really got put my decals on mine and get them up and running. I've got a good reason to do this, as I have some custom mini's coming my way as well.

[Franco Lucchini]

Allen

Your group must suffer from a lack of adventure! To teach them humility make them fly Oscars against P-39`s.



Rich

As long as I can find historical precedent, I can avoid being drawn and quartered. Today will be a somewhat even match-up escorting a Stuka home. Eventually, I'll put a swarm of early-warbirds (Vals, Nates, etc.) against some of the mid-war high-damage output planes Ares is putting out recently.

[Warhawk]

So about a month after starting and I finally completed my SBD-3's! I'm sure many of you could accomplish this in an evening or two but here they are at any rate;










Onto the Wildcats soon, these boys will need an escort.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

And very smart they look too, Wingman.
Rob.

[Warhawk]

Thanks wingman!

[Franco Lucchini]

Nice work!

[Warhawk]

Thanks Allen! Might get a Coral Sea battle in this year if all goes well.