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Hasegawa 1/32 Hellcat Cowl


Lucio Martino

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The upper corners of the lower intake should have a bit of "pinch" to them, where they blend in to the rest of the forward cowl section, hard to describe; the Hasegawa kit doesn't represent that. It's very subtle. I've seen some original Hellcat cowls. Even in 1:1 scale it's very subtle. However in 1/32 scale I believe it's enough to be worth looking into.

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Well, getting back at the subject at hand: IMHO i think the general size and shape of the Hasegawa Hellcat, in several aspects, is far better than the Trumpeter offering, and with a little TLC, like re-scribing some parts and updating the "front office" it'll turn all right!!!

 

Jack (only Has-Hellcats equiped, intentionally...... :innocent: )

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If you look at the Hasegawa cowling in profile, the radius of the nose ring is too sharp; it almost looks like a hard corner. The profile of the 48th scale cowling was much better in that regard, but borked because of the shape of the oil cooler/ induction air inlet.

 

I think there's enough thickness in the cowling that you could re-profile it by hand.

 

-d-

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Well, getting back at the subject at hand: IMHO i think the general size and shape of the Hasegawa Hellcat, in several aspects, is far better than the Trumpeter offering, and with a little TLC, like re-scribing some parts and updating the "front office" it'll turn all right!!!

 

Jack (only Has-Hellcats equiped, intentionally...... :innocent: )

I've been going by the old (but still good) 1975 IPMS QUARTERLY review of the Hasegawa F6F. According to the article, the vertical fin is slightly too tall and the tail wheel well opening needs to be re adjusted... but i don't consider either one of those particularly difficult.

 

A.L. Bentley has made a set of Hellcat plans, but i do not have them.

 

One thing Scott Murphy did correctly point out, is that Hasegawa set the floor in the cockpit too high. This resulted in a foreshortening of things like the seat and instrument panel. Like the Trumpeter P-40B, but to a less extreme degree. A pain in the butt, but fixable.

 

Finally the thing which bothers me is... there's something amiss with the windscreen and canopy. I haven't yet taken measurements but my gut tells me the canopy is too short in length, and Hasegawa compensated by making the windscreen base too long in profile. The spacing between the armored glass at the top and the windscreen "Bow" seems too great. That's what tipped me off.

 

I know its seems like a trivial thing, but having built 3 72nd scale and one 48th scale Hasegawa Hellcats, this jumps out at me and i can't let it go.

 

However, having said that i honestly believe the Hasegawa kit is a much better starting point than Trumpeter. There's a lot of aftermarket out there that will help greatly. The Falcon canopy, sadly, incorporates all the errors of the Hasegawa one.

 

-d-

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David, thanks for all the info, appreciate it.

 

Indeed in general i'd say that "first looks" at both 32nd scale Hellcats (hasegawa and Trumpeter) i've always found the trump version being "squated" and too bulky in fuselage appearance, so i'm sure with the availlable AM items the Has version might turn out pretty good.

 

J.

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David, thanks for all the info, appreciate it.

 

Indeed in general i'd say that "first looks" at both 32nd scale Hellcats (hasegawa and Trumpeter) i've always found the trump version being "squated" and too bulky in fuselage appearance, so i'm sure with the availlable AM items the Has version might turn out pretty good.

 

J.

Yeah, i have 2 of em. I've cut one from the sprues, test fitted it, doing a lot of hmm-ing, errr-ing..... and tried to assess how much aftermarket i can find to bring it roughly up to par with the Tamiya Corsair. I'd say the one thing that intimidates me more than anything else are the wheel wells. The cockpit by comparison, not so bad.

 

If you ever get a chance to look at it you need to look at Rodney Williams' build of the kit as an F6F-3.... that dates back to the '90s i think. It is THE standard by which all other Hellcat builds are judged.  Fricking amazing.

 

-d-

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