CliffB Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Despite already being well behind schedule with my Carriers Ahoy! and RAF 100 builds, I've decided to make a start on this GB too. I'll be making the Hellcat from this box of 'goodies' (I use the term loosely....) Although the 'Fighters Four' boxing is more recent, I think the moulds date from the 1950s or early 60s. The kit is pretty basic, with some massive raised detail. Fortunately though, the positions of the decals are not marked on the plastic. You'll note the period features of a moulded-in pilot and also a total absence of wheel wells. Also of interest is the one-piece wing that slots through the fuselage (just like on a cheap styrofoam glider!). I'll be modifying the decals to represent a Hellcat of VF-74 aboard USS Kasaan Bay. I found this picture on the web. It was apparantly taken in August 1944 while the Kasaan Bay was operating in the Mediterranean. The Hellcats flew missions over Southern France. The Hellcat in the kit seems to be of vaguely the right type, as it has rockets and cockpit side windows (here endeth the limit of my Hellcat knowledge!). I'll be starting it tomorrow, as a bit of light relief Cheers Cliff 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Early -5 cat with the rear windows. I think the rockets may have been retrofitted to the early -5’s but I could be wrong ? Just some decals to be good. Star & Bars along with #’s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Beema Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 (edited) Go for it - VF-74. I think one of the differences between the -3 and -5 was the RP wiring. Most of the operations for Dragoon were ground attack ops. The aircraft in the photo has the three sets of RP stubs on each wing but a bomb on the starboard wing root crutch. There is another thread on here about the bomb armament of Hellcats. I think it might be about Op Meridian Hellcat IIs (FAA -5) but it's worth looking for and having a read up. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235036033-800-nas-hellcat-armament-midlate-44/&tab=comments#comment-2994481 Not much in the way of decals, Stars and Bars with no blue background (a Grumman thing) not sure if the 23 on the tail has a symbol over the top. 23 on u/c doors and engine cowl. There must be a set of decals for that.. Looking forward to this build... Edited May 8, 2018 by Grey Beema 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Ok so i dug up some info and a couple of photos. A clearer one than the one you posted and another. Heres a quote from “Wiki” Throughout July, she engaged in ASW patrol and flight operations in the Mediterranean before rehearsing for the assault on Southern France. Kasaan Bay departed Malta on 12 August, and 3 days later arrived in the invasion area off the French Riviera. In one of the few instances in which F6Fs operated in combat from a CVE, F6F-5s and -5Ns assigned to the 24-plane squadrons VF-74 aboard Kasaan Bay and VOF-1 aboard Tulagi carried out a variety of missions in support of the landings and fighting inland. The CVEs conducted operations in concert with British escort carriers. Limited opportunities for air-to-air combat presented themselves but Kasaan Bay pilots shot down two German aircraft. She completed her assignment on 30 August and departed Oran, Algeria on 6 September, arriving Norfolk 12 days later. Here are the photos I hope these help you. Dennis 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadbear Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Good choice of subject, the kit is certainly basic. Until now I wasn’t aware that Hellcats were used in the Mediterranean. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 Thank you so much for all your help with this one guys . It's much appreciated. Those extra resources are great and I was pleased to learn from the 'armament thread', that Dragoon Hellcats used rockets too. I'll probably go with those (as I have them), and add an empty bomb cradle under the starboard wing root. Like you Threadbear, I too was unaware that Hellcat's had operated in the Med. I only found out because I had to look really hard to find anything in my stash that would fit in with this GB's theme! I've done virtually nothing with the kit today, other than push fit the three main parts together (with absolutely no trimming) - to be honest, the parts go together remarkably well. At 1/96 scale, the model is quite small and may present some problems with decals. Whilst the kit provides the stars (and the bars will be easy enough to create), the numbers may be tricky - I may have to accept some compromises on size and/or style. Let's wait and see though.... Cheers Cliff 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Hello @CliffB ... For #’s try looking at 1/48 or 1/72 U.S.N. serial numbers in white ? Not the larger ID numbers on the tail. Im thinking the bureau numbers which might actually be a good size for your tail ID numbers in 1/96. The plus side it would be a close match to the font. If you were in the U.S. i would just send you some from my stash. If you ask someone probably has some spare. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 Thanks for the decal tip Dennis . I'll start looking soon. I've made a very small amount of progress today - mainly, deciding what to do with the raised panel lines I've decided to sand most of them off, but leave the major elements as are. Here's a 'before and after' shot... I know that many of you would rescribe. For me though, much of the appeal of 1/100 (aka 1/96), is that the choice of kits is very limited and most of these are pretty ancient. Whilst I'm happy to make some improvements, I also like to keep some of the old character. So this build is not only about building a Mediterranean Hellcat, it's also about building an old Lindberg kit . Just wait 'till you see my Me.262 entry!! Cheers Cliff 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 A quick update. Having finished removing all the excess panel lines, I glued the fuselage and flying surfaces together. Although the fit was reasonably good, there are gaps around the mainplane where it slots through the fuselage. I decided on a two-stage approach to filling these gaps. I started by glooping PVA glue into the inside, in order to 'back' the gaps and give to me something to fill against when I do the second stage from the outside (probably using Perfect Plastic Putty). Once the PVA was dry, I added the engine/cowling and that was the main construction finished! Just the joints need tidying up. Cheers Cliff 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 A little more progress to report. Having sorted out the joints I then tackled the cockpit. Not much to do - I just filled the gap behind the pilot with some plasticard armour and then painted the various blobs (I'll be sorting out the antenna in due course - at the moment it looks more like a wire cutter!) Then I fitted the canopy, which to be honest is pretty poor. It's too narrow, is extremely brittle (as a result mine now has two small cracks in it) and lacks clarity. I've dipped in Klear which has helped a bit. I'm sure it will be fine when painted up though . As you can see, I've also had to replace one of the gun barrels (which I managed to knock off), and will also need to replace some raised lines which I lost when sanding the joints - I'll do this using stretched sprue. Cheers Cliff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 21, 2018 Author Share Posted May 21, 2018 Some more progress today. The canopy has been masked, antennas sorted and guns reworked (again). Underneath, I've added a bomb cradle, as promised. It's just something that I found in my spares box, so I'm sure is not 100%. Having taken these photos, something was niggling me as not looking right. And then it dawned on me - it was the windscreen. The kit has a horizontal bar above the windscreen, but '23' does not. Looking at around, it seems as though the kit's canopy is early pattern (-3 ?), whereas '23' has a later pattern (-5 ?). Whilst I'm perfectly happy to fit a dodgy bomb cradle, the windscreen is bugging me. So first job tomorrow will be to remove the offending masking and see what I can do to rectify things. It's all part of the fun (seriously)! Cliff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 After a brief diversion to start my Me.262 STGB build, I'm back now with the Hellcat. I managed to sand back the inappropriate canopy framing and then polish everything smooth again. So here is the Hellcat again, this time with canopy framing that more closely resembles that of -5. With just about the simplest paint and decal scheme possible, I'm now hoping for a straightforward cruise to the finish line. Cheers Cliff 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Great work Cliff,can't say I've ever seen this kit in the flesh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 20 hours ago, stevej60 said: Great work Cliff,can't say I've ever seen this kit in the flesh. Thanks Steve. It's quite a rare beast (at least in the UK). It's obviously pretty crude, but to my inexpert eyes the overall shape looks OK The primer's on now and a little bit of colour. First job tomorrow is to paint the engine (it's moulded as a single piece c/w cowling, so no chance to paint before assembly), then on with the blue. Cheers Cliff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 Completed at last! It's been painted using Xtracrylix Gloss Sea Blue (don't let the tin of Humbrol Gloss Black confuse you ), and the decals were cobbled together from a variety of sources. The stars were a mixture of the kit's decals and some from my spares box. These were laid over bars cut from white decal sheet. Annoyingly, the photoflood lamps are picking up the cut edges of some of the decals - something that's not visible in natural light. The tail numbers come from an Airfix Vertol sheet. Originally saying '86' (or '98'?), they could be bodged into a reasonable '23'. The smaller, 2mm high numbers came from this decal sheet. The supplier's eBay shop is well worth a visit if you need small decals - a real Alladin's Cave I'll post a few more pictures in the Gallery, but in the meantime a big 'thank you' to all who organised the GB and all who supported the build. Along the way I've learnt a lot more about Hellcats and also about Operation Dragoon, so that can't be bad! Cheers Cliff 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Very nice looking Hellcat Cliff Happy you were able to get the #’s you needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Wow that is a silky smooth surface, well done!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Very nice looking Hellcat Cliff Happy you were able to get the #’s you needed. Thanks Dennis. I'm looking forward to your proposed Corsair STGB to get another of the 'Fighters Four' built (fingers crossed). 1 hour ago, janneman36 said: Wow that is a silky smooth surface, well done!! Thanks janneman36. The finish is mostly down to the Xtracrylix (which sprays beautifully), then topped off with a couple of thin brush coats of Klear. Definitely not a scale a sheen I know, but looks nice in the cabinet . Cheers Cliff 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Excellent result Cliff especially for how small it is. Beautiful job. Well done. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Look's a stunner Cliff,first class job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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