F6F-3, VF-6, unusual paint scheme | Forums

[R_Target]

An VF-6 F6F-3 with an unusual field-applied paint scheme. Flown by Alex Vraciu. Includes Unnumbered VF-6 and USN only versions.



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[woofiedog]

Extremely mint detail on this Bird.

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Hunter 82's PC component shop
http://www.magnum-pc.com/
https://usm.channelonline.com/magnum...arch/External/

[chris455]

OUTSTANDING!<div class="ev_tpc_signature">



"If I can't have my P-47, you can take back my whole WWII"- anon

"..........in this game, even the P-47 isn't a P-47."- Fordfan

"It is not entirely advisable to execute turns in the P-47 in the presence of hostile aircraft" - unknown USAAF fighter pilot.

[jarink]

Man, you are the king of the Hellcats!
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My PF movies:Aluminum Eagle, Fire and Rain Snowbirds and Crew 22

[Skull-1]

Great job on this skin.

Three minor quibbles:

1) Alex wore a WHITE helmet, not a tan one. Just an FYI.

2) When he flew this aircraft (nobody actually knows for a fact if the side number was 32) he was a member of VF-16 "Pistol Packin Airdales" not VF-6 which the "Felix the Cat" logo on the nose implies here. I do know several of VF-16s airplanes were inherited from another squadron so it is possible they had a Felix logo on the nose... I don't have my book at hand to check for sure.

3) I'm also thinking the 32 on the tail was *NOT* underlined. VF-6 did that (Alex's BuNo 40467 #19 - Nine victories - Now in flying condition in England at The Fighter Collection) but not sure about VF-16. It should have had a 32 on the sides of the engine cowling though. I *THINK*.


Great job though.

[Skunk_438RCAF]

^^ I dont think he was skinning the pilot.

[Skull-1]

Originally posted by Skunk_438RCAF:
^^ I dont think he was skinning the pilot.

I don't know anything about skinning but I assume the pilot can be modified. Why not?

Also see above as you quoted me while I was editing my post.

A beautiful skin regardless. I saw the VF-6 #19 someone did before and I bet it was this guy. Incredible as well.

[Skull-1]

I just verified my assertions above in "HELLCAT ACES of WORLD WAR 2" by Barrett Tillman. Three different photos of #32 are available.


1) The Squadron Insignia between the dice and the kill markings is the "Airdale" of VF-16, not Felix the Cat of VF-6.


2) The number on the tail is *NOT* underlined. It is also smaller and placed slightly higher on the vertical fin.


3) The 32 on the engine cowling is there.


Maybe you can tweak it some. Here's the Airdale:

http://www.web-birds.com/usn/vf16/Vf16.htm

[jarink]

Originally posted by Skull-1:
I don't know anything about skinning but I assume the pilot can be modified. Why not?

Pilots can be skinned, but they are separate from the aircraft skin.

[R_Target]

Howdy JS! I had held off trying this skin previously for this exact reason, inaccurate information. On page 21 of Tillman's book, there is the one photo of pilots posing in front of the plane I tried to depict. The caption identifies them as VF-6, and the plane behind them as Cdr. (Lt.) Vraciu's. I had always been a little confused by the photo as there are several photos of Vraciu with what appears to be a normally painted F6F-3 marked #32 and with the Pistol Packin' Airdales VF-16 emblem.

Then I was looking through AJ Press Monograph #20 which shows a profile of this plane (the one on page 21 of Tillman's book) with the VF-6 style tail number (underlined), the dice, the three victory flags, and an indistinct unit emblem; which now that I look at the Tillman photo again, it could just as easily be the Airdale as it could be Felix.

So I guess my question is, is the #32 on page 21 of Hellcat Aces with the odd overpainting the same plane as the #32 with a normal factory F6F scheme in photos and depicted in the color profiles of Tillman's book? If so, why the three victory markings when the earlier #19/Gadget from VF-6 had more than three?

Phewwww. It's confusing sometimes. In the end, I went with what I could find because I wanted to do the skin. It's rare to find an F6F-3 that doesn't look exactly like the other three or four thousand F6F-3's. If you could shed any light on these issues I'd greatly appreciate it. If you have any communications with Cdr. Vraciu which could clarify things that would be ideal.

Here's #19/Gadget from VF-6:



And #32 from VF-16: