Looking for 1/32 Hellcat recommendations

[AlbertD]

I'm not after any specific version of the aircraft, I just want a nice representative of the airplane. It seems like most of the kits have been around a while. I thought about the Airfix 1/24 but I really want to stick with 32nd scale.

 

Thanks for any guidance. 

[Juggernut]

Well, it's a case of pick your poison, either/or....  You can get the old Hasegawa kit that has some "issues" and is very old, complete with raised panel lines, deep trenches for others, inaccurate cockpit but yet is fairly accurate in overall shape and detail but it does have some issues; like the smile on the cowl is a bit wonky I believe among others (I never noticed it but I'm not a real Hellcat afficanado so I probably wouldn't).  The alternative is a Trumpeter offering which looks like a Hellcat but is noticeably portly, especially around the cockpit area.  The detail is ok and the cockpit is better than the Hasegawa offering, probably builds easier (I've never built the Trumpeter kit - I had one but immediately sold it when I saw it was "fat").  I have a Hasegawa F6F-3/5 kit with some aftermarket to make it a little better.  I choose that over the Trumpeter kit but your preference may differ.

 

Until someone offers up a top notch quality F6F (Tamiya, et. al.), those are the only two options.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Juggernut

[AlbertD]

5 minutes ago, Juggernut said:

Well, it's a case of pick your poison, either/or....  You can get the old Hasegawa kit that has some "issues" and is very old, complete with raised panel lines, deep trenches for others, inaccurate cockpit but yet is fairly accurate in overall shape and detail but it does have some issues; like the smile on the cowl is a bit wonky I believe among others (I never noticed it but I'm not a real Hellcat afficanado so I probably wouldn't).  The alternative is a Trumpeter offering which looks like a Hellcat but is noticeably portly, especially around the cockpit area.  The detail is ok and the cockpit is better than the Hasegawa offering, probably builds easier (I've never built the Trumpeter kit - I had one but immediately sold it when I saw it was "fat").  I have a Hasegawa F6F-3/5 kit with some aftermarket to make it a little better.  I choose that over the Trumpeter kit but your preference may differ.

 

Until someone offers up a top notch quality F6F (Tamiya, et. al.), those are the only two options.

We can only hope someone comes up with an updated kit. It's such an important plane and would be a popular kit if it's well done. Thanks for the comparison of the kits.

[Kagemusha]

There's always this path...

[AlbertD]

1 hour ago, Kagemusha said:

There's always this path...

That looks like quite a project. It might be a bit much for me though. 

[CRAZY IVAN5]

2 hours ago, AlbertD said:

That looks like quite a project. It might be a bit much for me though. 

Yes it does , I know it would be too much for me and I'd really like to have a Hellcat. I know you would prefer 1/32  but TBH the pickings are slim, might want to reconsider the Airfix 1/24  Hellcat. It's about the best there is for large scale Hellcats. Like you I'm kind of surprised[ and disappointed ] that someone hasn't done a really good  one yet[ I don't consider Trumpeter's offering very good at all] I had one and ..... after going through the contents in the box , promptly packed it up and sold it to a friend of mine[ yes, he's still a friend]. While the Hellcat isn't my all time fav, I still want one and I maybe getting an Airfix Hellcat[ a little big perhaps ,have to fold the wings] .

[CRAZY IVAN5]

After doing a quick review on line , it seems as though the Airfix Hellcat is kind of hard to come by. Getting a little thin on the ground, crap! 

[thierry laurent]

Hasegawa fuselage with Trumpeter wings ...?

[LSP_Mike]

Hasegawa.

[BiggTim]

1 hour ago, LSP_Mike said:

Hasegawa.

X2.

[petrov27]

Having tried to improve the Trumpeter kit cockpit area and still being unsatisfied with it, I would say Hasegawa personally despite the age of the kit and lack of detail.

 

The airfix looks good though - I have been holding out for a conversion to a dash three to build it myself but may give in and do as a dash-5

[kalashnikov-47]

I've built the Trumpeter kit but I'm not really happy with the overall shape.  I bought a Hasegawa kit from ebay for a future project.

[CRAZY IVAN5]

On 10/6/2023 at 7:04 AM, BiggTim said:

X2.

X3

[BiggTim]

16 hours ago, CRAZY IVAN5 said:

X3

It doesn't take a lot of work to make the Hasegawa kit look like a Hellcat pretty much out of the box. And if you want to jazz it up, there are lots of things out there to help. Here's my example:

https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=2401

and there are way better ones out there.

 

[CRAZY IVAN5]

8 minutes ago, BiggTim said:

It doesn't take a lot of work to make the Hasegawa kit look like a Hellcat pretty much out of the box. And if you want to jazz it up, there are lots of things out there to help. Here's my example:

https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=2401

and there are way better ones out there.

 

Nice! If I were in the market for a big scale Hellcat , I would go back to the old but good Hasegawa . As you've shown , with a bit of work ,it can be turned into a good Hellcat . We really could use a new state of the art Hellcat in 1/32. the Airfix Hellcat while it's 1/24 scale is getting harder to pin down. IIRC the Hasegawa Hellcat can be done  as a-3 or as a-5.