1/24 Airfix F6F-5 Hellcat "Kicked Up A Notch": New eBook Now Available!

[chuck540z3]

April 12/22

 

 

Well, I’m finally done!  This model took me almost exactly a year to build, which is normal for my past efforts, including not much modeling during the summer months, which here in Canada isn’t very long.  I really enjoyed this kit, because it had just the right amount of quality, details and flaws to keep me challenged throughout.  Before I forget them all, here are a few of the main positives and negatives:

 

 

Positive

 

·       Excellent detail and I didn’t have to recover hardly any fasteners or panel lines

·       The kit is fairly accurate

·       Big!  All of the detail is easy to see

·       The engine is a detailed model in itself

·       Stressed skin on fuselage and wings

·       Great instructions, although there are a few errors in Step 140 and 141.  F24 is F28, F25 is F29 and F37 is F41

·       The aftermarket is strong for this kit, as used below

 

Negative

 

·       All large parts are very rough, which requires careful sanding to remove, while still retaining the stressed skin look

·       Just about every join is too tight, so most joins need to be altered by sanding and trimming to fit

·       There are a lot of parts and detail that will never be seen again unless you open up extra panels, etc..  (eg.  Behind the seat radio and tanks)   The instructions should alert to this, before you put in a lot of wasted effort.

·       Seams lines are significant in almost all of the parts

·       Tail antenna should have been a separate part.  It’s always in the way and I’m surprised I didn’t break it, despite banging it around many times

·       Airfix customer support was poor.  Despite a clearly miscast Sprue F that had flaws (short shot the above parts F28 and F29, amongst a few others), Airfix made me pay for shipping a few replacement parts.  It’s not the $20 I had to pay, but the principle where they really dropped the ball and took no responsibility, that I found so annoying

 

 

To recap, here is the laundry list of the kits used to create this Hellcat:

 

·       Airfix 1/24 Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat Kit, A19004

·       Aerocraft Brass Landing Gear

·       Airscale Instrument Panel

·       ANYZ Spark Plugs and Wiring set, AN011, AN013, AN015, AN016, AN017

·       ANYZ Dials, Knobs, Switches and Cockpit Handles. AN028, AN029, AN030

·       HGW Seatbelts, 124511

·       Barracuda Diamond Tread Tires/wheels, BR24412

·       Eduard Canopy Masks, LX006

·       DN Models Paint Masks for Insignias, Letters and Numbers

·       DN Models Paint Masks for Canopy, Wheels, Lights

·       Fundekals Grumman F-6F-5 Hellcat Decals

·       Adriatic Models Cockpit Resin Details

 

And other than extensive research on the internet, this was my main reference:

 

·       Detail & Scale, F6F Hellcat, by Bert Kinzey and Chris Sakal

 

 

My build thread for this model is here at LSP:

 

 

1/24 Airfix F6F-5 Hellcat, Kicked Up A Notch

 

 

And now the final pics with a few comments.  The F6F-5 Hellcat did not enter the war until roughly the last 6 months, so although well used, they were not around long enough on carrier decks to be abused with heavy weathering like the F6F-3’s, although the big fuel tank that was interchangeable with the "3's" was usually filthy.  They were also mostly dark gloss blue in their entirety including the wheel wells, so showing off color contrasts on such a dark scheme is difficult, which is why I chose the VF-12 fighter squadron of the USS Randolph during May of 1945, which was disbanded only 4 months later in September after the end of the war.  While this scheme is very popular and not very unique, it does show off a lot of contrasting white and the DN paint masks for this scheme were readily available.  Since I put so much effort into the engine area, I left most of the cowling panels off as it would be "under maintenance" and due to the modifications I made to the engine area, they wouldn't have fit anyway. 

 

 

First a fun one, to show how big this model is with its 21” wingspan and 17” fuselage, which was hard to photograph in its entirety within my fairly big 26” photo booth I only use for final pics.  Here it is (along with the edges of the booth in the background), next to my 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire, which appears tiny in comparison.

 

 

 

 

And a bit of a walkaround

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, Hellcat wheels toe-in a bit...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rear antenna spring was made from fine computer wire twisted around a needle.  Tiny hole was drilled using a #80 bit, and the line is dark nylon sewing thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antenna base extension and insulator was made from wire insulation, while side connection to fuselage is a 90 degree ANYZ connector that was drilled out and attached with a pin.

 

 

 

 

It is critical that you trim and dry fit the navigation light lenses before painting, because they don’t fit at all without doing so.  The blue/green light against a dark blue background obviously doesn't show up very well.

 

 

 

 

The tail hook assembly works really well, although this may be the last time anyone sees it

 

 

 

 

The cockpit is really hard to photograph, but can be seen very well with the naked eye at this large scale.  Here’s a few attempts to show off the beautiful Airscale PE/ Decals and Adriatic Resin improvements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a few of the undersides, which will likely never be seen again with the super fragile antenna now installed on the top.  This is very hard to photograph because it looks too clean under bright lights against a dark background, so you’ll have to take my work for it that it’s a lot dirtier than it looks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This angle shows those oil lines into the firewall just left of the air intake I had such difficulty in locating earlier.  Thanks to Craig’s help, I think we sorted them out correctly now.

 

 

 

 

So that’s it for this build and the only dilemma I have now is where the heck I’m going to place this big pig in my modeling room!  I have no shelf space left, but I’m sure I will find somewhere to place it until I start my next project, likely next October or so when the weather becomes cold again.  Until then, I will always be lurking these forums for tips, comments and your interesting builds.

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited December 7, 2022 by chuck540z3

[JayW]

The bar is so high on LSP.  With master modelers like you Chuck.  This example is so very worthy of the site.  And Airfix, if they are aware of this build, should be proud and thankful.  It ought to sell more kits!  I enjoyed watching it come along over the last year.

[John Stambaugh]

Congratulations Chuck! Truly a superlative build. 

 I am inspired. Thank you for sharing your big cat with us. 

Take care and hope to hear from you again soon.  John S.

[Dadeo911]

Wow.  As always you have done some amazing and very informative work.

 

Thank you for sharing,

 

Chris

[Rockie Yarwood]

Thanks Chuck, for taking us on an another amazing journey. I really enjoyed following along, and must say the result of your work is spectacular.

 

Cheers,  Rockie

[tomfomes]

Congratulations to a fantastic build! Everything is perfect: attention to detail, paint job, photography and all the useful information along the way. Thank you for that. Can't wait for your next project to start. Hope it's a jet! 

 

Tomas

[Jaro]

Congratulations!. Your attention to details makes all your models to stay in different league! And this one is no exception!

[tomprobert]

What a beautiful model. Attention to detail has been stunning throughout and it’s been a joy to follow your very informative WIP. The end result is up there with the best I’ve seen from this kit. 

 

With this model slowly moving up my ‘to do pile’ I’ve bookmarked your thread for reference when the time comes. 
 

All the best,

Tom

[Collin]

Stunning build of one of my favorite aircraft.

 

I am about 99.9% on the side of getting this kit after seeing your build.

 

Now all I need is to find is a seated pilot figure to make it 100%.

 

Cheers

Collin

[Sasha As]

Great job! The model looks great!!!

[Jim Barry]

Really nice build. Love it. What a thing to add to a collection! 

[Bobs Buckles]

Incredible work, Chuck!

Well done 

 

Bob 

[Nighthawk Calling 1]

This build has been a joy to follow, the end result is outstanding. You sir are a true wizard with plastic, paint and glue. Congratulations on an outstanding model. 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Nighthawk Calling 1

[Porkbits]

Goddam, you're almost convinced that if a miniature person could hop into that pit the engine would actually start.....amazing.

[aircommando130]

Awesome job Chuck as always! I saved it to reference when building mine!

What's up next???? 1/48 B-1B "Kicked up a notch"????!!!!!

 

Cheers...Ron