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Best hellcat kit to use for an inflight model


fatalbert

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Morning all,just a quikie,I fancy doing a fleet air arm hellcat with its wheels up and in flight,can anyone suggest a particular make that wouldn't break the bank and has a wheels up option,many thanks.......Neil

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And following from my post above,what are the available kits like,I have seen a heller kit on king kits website,it's an old box so I assume it's their own moulding,is it any good?cheers again .....Neil

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I built the Hellcat Mk I from the dual combo set - it's very nice indeed! From the Dual combo set you can make 2 different Royal Navy Hellcats - a Mk I and Mk II. In addition you get the colour cockpit etch and canopy/wheel masks for both aircraft. The etch is fairly simple and gives you a nice instrument panel and seatbelts.

You can also get individual Hellcats but they're are in US Markings - F6F-3 (Mk I) and F6F-5 (Mk II), so you'd need aftermarket markings for Royal Navy Hellcats. You can pick the Profipacks (with mask/etch) up for £12-£14 usually and the basic weekend kits for £7-£8. There is another option as well, the Hellcat nightfighter, with the radar dome and cannons. This is available as a Profipack only but does include both US and Royal Navy markings.

thanks

Mike

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Hi Neil

I can only echo what Mike says above, the Eduard Dual Combo and the Nightfighter Profipack were the way I went and they virtually built themselves - no need for glue on the wing or tail plane joints and likewise on the undercarriage legs - although that won't worry you!

Between the three kits I built a Mk I in TSS with D Day Stripes, a Mk II in TSS with BPF markings and a GSB Nightfighter (based at RAF Drem, just up the road from me!). In my opinion they turned out quite well but my skills aren't quite developed enough to post piccies on here.

I am looking at Fernando's thread about the PR Hellcats and waiting for someone to put me out of my misery with correct shapes/sizes for the camera fairing and then another Dual Combo will be acquired and turned into dust traps on my shelves :thumbsup:

Cheers

DC

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If you are going to hang it up then save yourself a lot of money and get the ARII kit, it is very accurate in profile, and since you aren't going to worry about cockpit detail then this will be your best choice. Airfix did the same kit but with FAA markings so you can kill two birds with one stone. Finding aftermarket FAA Hellcat decals can be a bit difficult, but IMHO your best net is the ARII kit.

Cheers

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If you are going to hang it up then save yourself a lot of money and get the ARII kit, it is very accurate in profile, and since you aren't going to worry about cockpit detail then this will be your best choice. Airfix did the same kit but with FAA markings so you can kill two birds with one stone. Finding aftermarket FAA Hellcat decals can be a bit difficult, but IMHO your best net is the ARII kit.

Cheers

Only trouble is, the OP is looking for a 1/72 kit.

Cheers.

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Only trouble is, the OP is looking for a 1/72 kit.

Cheers.

Thanks for the heads up.

Maybe the Hasegawa then? I don't build that scale very often so I am out of the loop on 1/72 kits.

Cheers

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Thanks for the input everyone,have ordered an eduard twin pack,I also saw a wing fold set so ordered one of those too so I can have a folded machine as well :-)

Edited by fatalbert
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If you are going to hang it up then save yourself a lot of money and get the ARII kit, it is very accurate in profile, and since you aren't going to worry about cockpit detail then this will be your best choice. Airfix did the same kit but with FAA markings so you can kill two birds with one stone. Finding aftermarket FAA Hellcat decals can be a bit difficult, but IMHO your best net is the ARII kit.

Cheers

I'm not sure if Eduard sells their FAA sheet as aftermarket (I know they do for some of their sheets), but it's excellent. I've got the 1/72 boxing and plan on using the leftovers on some cheaper kits to do a full set of FAA Hellcats.

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I have the Eduard faa boxing on order,unfortunately my better half has intercepted it to give me for a birthday preasant lol,will have to wait a few weeks to get my sticky mitts on it.

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  • 6 months later...

If you are going to hang it up then save yourself a lot of money and get the ARII kit, it is very accurate in profile, and since you aren't going to worry about cockpit detail then this will be your best choice. Airfix did the same kit but with FAA markings so you can kill two birds with one stone. Finding aftermarket FAA Hellcat decals can be a bit difficult, but IMHO your best net is the ARII kit.

Cheers

I'll second the Arii/Otaki/Airfix kit in 1/48. I'm making one right now but I've added a resin engine and cockpit and am converting it into a MK2. I would like Airfix to put them back into production as an even cheaper alternative to the already decently priced Eduard weekend kits. Decals in the Airfix kit aren't that great however and mine were yellowed.

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I'll second the Arii/Otaki/Airfix kit in 1/48. I'm making one right now but I've added a resin engine and cockpit and am converting it into a MK2. I would like Airfix to put them back into production as an even cheaper alternative to the already decently priced Eduard weekend kits. Decals in the Airfix kit aren't that great however and mine were yellowed.

Arii kits are still available new from Plazajapan

http://www.plazajapan.com/

down for maintenance, but they were something £4.64! , but post was about the same.

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Neil, go for the Hasegawa kit. Crystal Clear canopy, good fit, and inexpensive (if you buy it on the secondary market). I would recommend a replacement drop tank (Quickboost makes a good one) but the overall shape for the most part is very good. I think the Tamiya F4U-1D propeller makes a big difference but then again i'm anal about Hellcats.

Here is mine. Judge for yourself.

DHF6F5NAirframe031.jpg

DHF6F5NAirframe029.jpg

DHF6F-5NStbd013A.jpg

DHF6F-5NPort005A.jpg

DHF6F-5NStbd055.jpg

Just my opinion. Take it fer what its worth.

D-Fender

Edited by David H
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