1:48 F4F-4

What a photo-etched set is

A photo-etched fret is a thin metal sheet from which small parts have been chemically etched. They are separated from the fret, bent to shape and glued to the model. Metal holds its shape even at a thickness that injection-molded plastic cannot reach, and so photo-etching aims exactly where a plastic part is inevitably bulkier than the real thing: seat belts, consoles and instrument faces, handles, grilles and thin covers.

The real subject

The designation F4F-4 belongs to the Grumman Wildcat carrier fighter, the machine that bore the brunt of the fighting of US naval aviation in the first years of the war in the Pacific. The F4F-4 version received folding wings, thanks to which markedly more machines fitted into the hangar of an aircraft carrier. The Wildcat was a stocky mid-wing aircraft with a short fuselage and with landing gear that was retracted by hand into the sides of the fuselage.

Working with photo-etched parts

• separate the part with a sharp blade on a hard surface, not by breaking it off between your fingers
• make the bend over the edge of a bending tool along the whole length at once, otherwise the edge will ripple
• glue with a small amount of cyanoacrylate glue; cement for polystyrene will not join metal
• before painting, wash the metal, degrease it and lay a primer underneath
• try the fit of the part dry before you reach for the glue

Which kit the set fits

A photo-etched fret is usually drawn for one particular kit and need not line up on another. Before buying, therefore, check in the manufacturer's instructions which F4F-4 model in 1:48 scale the set is cut for and which areas of the aircraft it covers.

Terms of supply

A photo-etched set is supplied. The kit of the aircraft, the paints and the glue are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.