1/48 Hasegawa F6F5 Hellcat

by Jeroen Berkvens

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Hi everyone, greetings from sunny Holland!  Just 3 weeks ago my son Job was born.  I would like to dedicate this article to him!
Being the father of 4 kids (3 boys and a girl) doesn't always make it easy to get some modelling done, but every once in a while (let's say 3 times a year) I am able to finish something that looks acceptable. Here are some pictures of Grumman Hellcat 'lucky 7' that was flown from the USS Cabot (VF-29) by 10.33 victory ace ensign Robert Murray.  I found a picture of his Hellcat in the wonderful book 'Hellcat aces of WW2' from the fantastic (bible of modellers) Osprey aircraft of the aces series.
I am a somewhat lazy modeller, but I have one vow that I am proud of and that is that I always strive to make 'one of a kind' models.  The Osprey series is a real help to achieve this.  I try to find an aircraft which I think looks special and then I will go through my huge decal-scrapbox to see if it is possible to build it.  In this case it wasn't that hard.  All necessary decals were soon found or made and I went to work.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

The Hasegawa Hellcat is a treat to build.  An out of the box build can be done in a few days even for a guy with limited time available.  I painted it with Humbrol enamels and added Eduard seatbelts to the cockpit.  Decals were of course from old faithful (my scrapbox of which a photo is added).  Decals were put into place with the help of Microsol and after drying it, the model was futured twice to make it shine more and prevent the decals from going anywhere.  No further weathering was applied.  I think a bright and shiny model can also look great!

My next submission will probably be a Finnish Brewster Buffalo.  I look forward to building it and I promise I will share it with you in the coming year.

Happy modelling!!!

Jeroen

Photos and text © by Jeroen Berkvens