1/32 Trumpeter F6F-5N Hellcat

Gallery Article by Mark Doherty on Dec 15 2009

 

This is a very nice kit with a complete engine, cockpit, even radios etc. in the fuselage. Much to my delight the kit even contains a small carrier tractor used to move the aircraft around the deck. The rivet detail is also quite impressive on a model that is well thought out and actually goes together quite well. Although I did have a few problems with the wing fit to the fuselage it was easily sorted. Perhaps the best part of this model is the well detailed cockpit. I did not add any photo-etch to the cockpit choosing to make my own placards from spare decals and add any little extras from spare bits and pieces. I also weathered the cockpit to give a perspective of depth. The kit comes with a glass panel that represents the front instrument panel of the aircraft. I found the best method of dealing with this was to drillout the holes for the instruments, use the instrument panel sheet that fits behind the glass and then use 'clear-fix' to replace the glass. This worked well. I also added the radar scope from cylindrical plastic rod.

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I have built several Hellcats in the past from various manufacturers and at various scales, but none had an engine like this kit. The fit to the cowling/fuselage is very tight and close inspection of the photo on the side of the box will indicate that even in this photo the engine is not sitting right. The clear cowling gives the modeler plenty of options if they want the engine exposed. I decided to keep it hidden as I had made a mistake or two in building it.

I finished the model with Hannants ACRYLIC, then Valego gloss spray (I think this is a brilliant but expensive product). The panel lines are filled with Humbrol Satin Black Enamel and I used silver ink for the rivets. The decals are superb, no real problems here. Plenty of setting solution was used as the decals are very large. I let the surface stay very wet so I could move the decals into place easily. Finally I used a mixture of Tamiya Flat Base X21 and Xtracrylic Flat Varnish (heated for the best results) to give the matt finish. Weathering was done using chalks.

My first ARC submission, enjoy.

Mark Doherty

Photos and text © by Mark Doherty