Grumman Hellcat F6F-3 - Eduard Profipack 1:48

[woody37]

Grumman Hellcat F6F-3
Eduard Profipack 1:48

The Grumman Hellcat is famed not for it's beauty, but for it's performance. Admittedly, the opposition over the Pacific grew weaker as more inexperienced Japanese pilots were pressed in to service, but a claimed kill ratio of 19:1 is a pretty impressive score. Even taking in to account inaccuracy of this figure, it is still undeniably good with 75% of aerial victories achieved by the US Navy in the Pacific. It was pushed into service as a stop gap between the Wildcat and the F4U which was under development at the time, but it's rugged and well armoured airframe mated to a powerful engine was a winning combination. The aircraft was regarded as being quite easy to fly, however of the 2400 Hellcats lost during WWII, only 270 were lost in aerial combat compared 1300 lost during training or ferry flights.

The kit
This is another variant release of the reputable Eduard Hellcat. It's regarded as the most detailed and accurate 1:48 Hellcat on the market with plenty of finely moulded detail parts and beautifully restrained recessed panel lines and riveting. A big bonus over the Hasegawa kit is that the canopy can be positioned in the open position from the box and the cowling shape is more accurate. We reviewed the original release HERE back in 2012 with the Hellcat Mk.II that served with the Fleet air Arm, so I'm not going to spend too much time talking through the build, I'll let the pictures do the talking and focus more on the differences provided in this boxing. Firstly, the sprues contained in the pack. These contain three types of engine cowling. The instructions indicate which cowling is used on which of the 5 decal variants included, so it's important to decide which route you want to take before assembling these.

The F6F-3 had a different windscreen than the previously released F6F-5, however both types are contained on the clear sprue. The parts are beautifully clear and thin so distortion is minimal. There are two canopies included, one is for the open position, the other for the closed location, so take care to use the correct part depending how you want to model your aircraft. A sheet of paint masks is provided for the clear parts too.

Taking a closer look at the detail on the plastic sprues, you can see the quality of the moulding. Separate control surfaces are provided however, these are located by tabs in a neutral position. If you want to fit them in an off centre position, the tabs will need removing and possibly the mating edges rounding off for correct location.

One of the criticisms of the Weekend Edition boxing is the lack of later wider style wheels on the plastic sprues. This issue is addressed in the profipack edition with the inclusion of the beautiful Brassin resin wheels which have separate hubs. Paint masks are also included on the masking sheet.

Two frets of etch are included. One fret is the pre-painted type predominantly for the cockpit interior including panels and seatbelts whilst the other provides bomb fins, plug leads for the engine front and a few other details.

The decals
The Profipack boxes usually provide several schemes and this one won't let you down. 5 schemes are included covering 3 years of service, all with the 3 colour camouflage scheme. Register of the colours looks excellent and the inks vivid and sharp. There are enough stencils included without them becoming excessive. Schemes included are:

BuNo 66016 (probably), VF-16, USS Lexington, Hawaii, Sept 1943
BuNo 25813, Lt. C.K. 'Ken' HilderBrandt, VF-33, Ondonga, Dec 1943 - early variant, achieved all his 5 kills in this aircraft
BuNo 40090, VF-1, Lt. William C Moseley, USS Yorktown, June 1944 - shot down, MIA July 4th 1944 in this aircraft
BuNo 40467, Lt. Alexander Vraciu, VF-6, USS Intrepid, Feb 1944 - achieved 3 betty kills in one mission Jan 44, finished was with 19 victories
Lt. Richard E Stambrook, VF-27, USS Princeton, Oct 1944 - shark teeth scheme (BuNo unknown but greater than 40235), he achieved 11 kills

Conclusion
I've nothing of criticism to report on this kit. The quality is superb, cost for these kits is competitive and the 'extras' included really make it a desirable option. If one wanted to be challenging, perhaps the control surfaces could be designed to allow off centre positioning. Construction is pretty standard, so even though there are some small and intricate parts, it isn't for the exclusive construction of experienced builders.

Review sample courtesy of