A few months ago I suffered an eye
injury (detached retina) that kept me away from my workbench for a couple of
months. This model is the first one I built after recovering, before I
regained full vision in my left eye (I still only have 85-90% vision).
Italeri's 1/72 scale Grumman F6F
Hellcat is full of detail and very well moulded with virtually no flash or
sinkholes. It falls together when you shake the box. I have built
the Airfix and Academy Hellcats and this one is the best of the three. The
only major problem was with the engine, which had the valve pushrods moulded
on the back instead of the front , but a little work with a sharp knife and
some glue soon put that right, by cutting off the crankcase attachment ring
and gluing it on the other side.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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I added seatbelts
and a couple of levers and bumps to the cockpit, replaced the exhausts with
pieces of thin (26 awg) wire insulation, opened out the engine cooling flaps
and add brake hoses to the undercarriage with thin sprue. The model was
brush painted with Humbrol enamels and coated with the local brand of floor
polish to protect the decals and even out the paint finish. The canopy
was positioned open because it doesn't sit properly closed , no problem as it
comes in separate parts - as do the wing flaps , you can have them up or down
- I chose down.
Italeri's kits are
, by today's standards, dirt cheap and excellent value for money.
Benny
Israel.
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