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Hello everyone … Longshot here but has anyone ever seen an F6F Hellcat in either of the Atlantic ASW schemes. The differences between the two are listed in @Tailspin Turtle’s thread here. http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2011/09/world-war-ii-asw-schemes-versus-norfolk.html?m=1 I have seen F4F’s, TBM/F’s, Dauntless’s, and various patrol types in the schemes. Yet to date Ive never seen the Hellcat, or for that matter a Corsair ? Im not shocked because most of these were slated for the Pacific or allied use in other Camouflage's. However I thought Hellcats and Corsairs were used in composite squadrons at the end of the war ? I know some of those units served in the Atlantic. Though so far I’m guessing these were the wildcat equipped units. I know I have seen at least one photo of an Atlantic scheme being used in the Pacific North-west. I believe the aircraft were wildcats but possibly Avengers ? Maybe a transfer to a different theater after being painted. Dennis

Time for "Old Model Night" (and i'm not talking about Catherine Deneuvre). I recently repaired this long-stored build from 2007. Presented for your review is the Hasegawa F6F-3 Hellcat, painted in what's generally agreed to be one of two front runners in the "Most Overdone F6F Paint Schemes ever" department. First, the executive summary: Kit: Hasegawa F6F-3 Hellcat, kit #09134 Scale: 1/48th (Grummans look best in 48th scale) Additional parts used: Ultracast Block Tread Tyres, part no. 48187 Jaguar F6F-3 resin cockpit set, part no. 64803 Nose ring sourced from Otaki F6F-3 kit no. OT2-29-600 Sliding portion of canopy from Squadron, part no. 9614. Propeller sleeve bearing made from K&S Aluminium tubing. Machine gun barrels sourced from Stainless Steel hypo needle tubing from Small Parts, Inc. Paints used: Model Master Decals Used: Probably sourced from Aeromaster sheet 48-069 Build Overview: This model was worked on from 2003 to 2007, surviving a couple of relocations. It was originally started after the Tamiya F4F-4 but before the F4U-2, so its one of the so called "Vero Beach" projects from when i was a flight instructor... at the dawn of the 21st Century. The Hasegawa cowling was modified by sawing off the front cowling ring, and replacing it with the nose ring from the Otaki F6F-3 kit (already a separate part). The discontinuities were filled with a composite of squares of Evergreen strip stock, over which was laid a coat of Zap A Gap CA before it was sanded to shape. the upper profile of the cowling was filed down extensively to remove the odd, slightly ballooned upper contours, and i drilled out all of the dzus fasterners on the cowling and accessory section of the fuselage and plugged the holes with small diameter Evergreen rod. Not what i would describe as completely successful. I created a sleeve bearing from 2 telescoping pieces of K&S tubing to allow for easy installation and transport. I substituted a Jaguar Resins cockpit detail set for the Hasegawa kit parts. It's an improvement over the Hasegawa parts, but not a dramatic one. I used the Hasegawa kit windscreen but substituted a Squadron/Falcon ClearVax canopy for the sliding section. To better locate the machine gun barrels, i fashioned sleeves made from Evergreen Tubing and inserted these into the wing leading edge and sanded them flush. I notched out the wingtips and fashioned replacement lights from clear acrylic. What i *should* have done was drill out some holes from the backside and add some Clear Red and Clear green to represent the lights. However, at the time i was under the impression the lens covers were painted red and green; not the bulbs. For the white position lights in the tail, my go-to material of choice is a small diameter piece of Evergreen or Plastruct rod. Not very well seen in photos, but i inserted an LSO light in the left wing leading edge made from round section clear...piece of something, sanded it flush with the wing leading edge, and masked off a rectangular window shape and painted over it. I added brake lines to the struts from small diameter lead wire and replaced the kit wheels with tyres by Ultracast. I went ahead and used the somewhat clunky and simplified drop tank. Towards the end of the build, i just wanted to get it finished so i took the lazy way out. The model was painted overall in Model Master enamels, though i did alter the Intermediate and Non Spec Sea Blues somewhat. The model was then clear coated for decals with Future. Most of the decals were sourced (i think) from an old AeroMaster sheet. I needed to slice the front end of the unique catmouth markings, to help them conform to the front of the cowling. Then there was a little bit of brush painting to fill in some discontinuities at the curvy part. Panel line wash was done (i think) with Model Master Gloss Engine Grey, FS 16081. A bit overpowering for the white-painted lower surfaces, and i've since steered away from using contrasty washes against white under surfaces. A lighter shade of grey would have worked better. For its time it was a significant model in my collection, which is why i decided to repair it. I would go about building a Hellcat somewhat differently now, but i would still use the Hasegawa kit. There are better solutions to the cowling issues, but to my eye its the only thing on the kit that to my eye doesn't quite look right. These kits can be found on the vendor's second-hand tables relatively cheaply and i found it to be a pretty easy build. I prefer this kit to the newer Eduard one, mainly because of issues with the fit of the cowling and the wing trailing edges. The Eduard gear struts also look unusually long, and the Eduard propeller blades aren't very good. I find the 3-piece wing arrangement of the Hasegawa kit more reliable with respect to getting the alignment right. Also, the Eduard drop tank may be a bit better in terms of scale fidelity but i suspect its difficult to install. I don't see many Eduard Hellcats sporting drop tanks and to me anyways it's an important part of the "look". Hope you enjoy the photos and as always.... FLY NAVY.

We are only a few days away so I wanted to get my thread established. Coming from my recent successes with after-market Corsairs and my deep affection for surplus birds, I figured a nice segue would be this little Grumman Hellcat kit from Eduard, with a distinct "l'aire de la Française". Decals from Berna; kit from Eduard; my new-found love of the hairspray technique...Mmmm...🤪 What I really wanted was a Nakajima Ki-43 from 1946, really early on, but I could not get the decals. So 1953 it is. Here are some starter images...Box top... Sprue... and the decals... See you all in just over a week! --John

Last completion for the year. This one was a mojo restorer having not built anything in months. Went together fairly easily (build thread here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234950869-172-italeri-f6f-hellcat/). Only issues were with the canopy (always my weak point). Brush painted with Tamiya acrylics. According to the box it is in the markings of 1844 Squadron, British Pacific Fleet, HMS Indomitable 1944-45, however a photo in a book I have of the same aircraft (looking a bit the worse for wear after an encounter with the barrier wire) indicates that it is from 1839 Squadron. Thanks for looking. Simon