Andre B Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 (edited) Which is the best available 1/72 Hellcat today? Built some during 40 years but untill today I never found a kit of quality and without problems. The worst kits have been the Heller and Italeri kits. Both comes with big problems to take care of. When it comes to the Italeri (also reboxed by Revell) there is problems with the engine, bad fuselage/windshield fit and the smal windows behind the cockpit (concerning variant to build - F6F-3 or F6F-5). There are also problems to get the landing gears and the flaps in correct position. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/162227-italeri-1213-f6f-3-hellcat The older Heller kit... https://www.scalemates.com/kits/158931-heller-272-grumman-f6-f-5-hellcat We have kits from Hasegawa, Academy, eduard. And we have the older kits from Airfix, Frog etc. What can be said and written about them? Cheers / André Edited July 11, 2018 by Andre B Spelling as I am from Sweden... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Though I haven't built mine yet, the Eduard kit looks quite nice. I believe there is a build posted somewhere on this forum. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Eduard, without a doubt. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Eduard. Nuff said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 I've heard about problems with the flaps concerning the eduard kit. True or... ? Someone with experience of building the kit? Cheers / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Flaps - With regards to what? fit? accuracy? posing/movable? I built one a year and a half ago don’t recall any problems. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 hour ago, Tony Oliver said: Flaps - With regards to what? fit? accuracy? posing/movable? I built one a year and a half ago don’t recall any problems. Conserned posable/movable and accurasy. You built your Hellcat with the flaps up. Is there anyone built the eduard kit with the flaps hanging? Cheers / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 If I remember correctly, the Eduard Hellcat hasn't got separate flaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDriskill Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 (edited) The Eduard kits are to my eye the best available, and priced very reasonably to boot.. Dragon also makes a quite nice 1/72 kit, came out about the same time as Eduard in fact, which has a folding wing option. But harder to find, harder to build, pricier, and I vaguely recall some accuracy gripes (though, I confess, not what they were). The old Hasegawa and Academy kits are probably better than Italeri and Heller, and the ancient Airfix and FROG efforts are not worth considering. IMHO Eduard renders them all of no more than academic interest. Edited July 11, 2018 by MDriskill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 (edited) I have the Eduard, Hasegawa, and Academy Hellcat kits, and I agree with Tony- the Eduard kit is the best overall. The Academy kit is a knock-off of the Hasegawa kit. Both can be built as an F6F-3 or -5. Both are very accurate in dimension and outline, but the carb/oil cooler intake at the bottom of the cowling is not nearly as accurate as the Eduard kit, which also has the best cockpit and correct wheel bays. The Hasegawa wheel bays are too shallow (easily fixed) and the Academy wheel bays, while deeper, need to have a section boxed in. None of the three kits have a totally accurate prop/hub, but Eduard's is the best. Resin props are available, BTW. The Academy kit is scribed- the Hasegawa kit is not. (Although, to be fair, the Hellcat had lapped fuselage panels, so not a deal breaker.) The Hasegawa kit has a very simple cockpit and the Academy kit's is better, but not nearly as good as the Eduard kit. The Academy kit also has the parts to do the F6F-5N night fighter, as well as the bomb pylon for the inboard wing center section. The Eduard kit has the best drop tank, but resin aftermarket ones are available. The Eduard R-2800 is the best, too, but once again resin replacements are available. IIRC, the fin on the Academy kit needs reshaping, but easy to do. None of the three kits have provision for dropping the flaps, but RESIN-IM makes these, which I have, and I have attached a link to them below. The Academy kit has the windscreen and hood as separate pieces, but both kits give the early and late windscreen transparencies. I did a lot of work upgrading two Hasegawa kits to do an F6F-3 and a -5N, (Hasegawa also released a revised boxing as an F6F-5N, IIRC) but after detailing the cockpits and deepening the wheel bays, the Eduard kit came out, so back into the boxes they went. Both can be made into very nice models and are readily available at very reasonable prices, but by the time you buy the replacement detail parts, you will have spent more than the Eduard profipak kit. Hope this helps. Mike http://www.hyperscale.com/2014/reviews/accessories/resimcm72014reviewmd_1.htm Edited July 12, 2018 by 72modeler corrected spelling, grammar 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 EDUARD ! No doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Another vote for Eduard. The Dragon kit is the Hasegawa kit with additional parts to fold the wings I believe. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 59 minutes ago, Beard said: If I remember correctly, the Eduard Hellcat hasn't got separate flaps. Correct, but it was something that came up concerning this resin set... http://www.hyperscale.com/2014/reviews/accessories/resimcm72014reviewmd_1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Eduard, no question about it . If you absolutely have to have the flaps deployed, buy the resin aftermarket as well, otherwise I can't imagine why you would go elsewhere. Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 34 minutes ago, 72modeler said: I have the Eduard, Hasegawa, and Academy Hellcat kits, and I agree with Tony- the Eduard kit is the best overall. The Academy kit is a knock-off of the Hasegawa kit. Both can be built as an F6F-3 or -5. Both are very accurate in dimension and outline, but the carb/oil cooler intake at the bottom of the cowling is not nearly as accurate as the Eduard kit, which also has the best cockpit and correct wheel bays. The Hasegawa wheel bays are too shallow (easily fixed) and the Academy wheel bays, while deeper, need lo have a section boxed in. None of the three kits have a totally accurate prop/hub, but Eduard's is the best. Resin props are available, BTW. The Academy kit is scribed- the Hasegawa kit is not. The Hasegawa kit has a very simple cockpit and the Academy kit's is better, but not nearly as good as the Eduard kit. The Academy kit also has the parts to do the F6F-5N night fighter, as well as the bomb pylon for the inboard wing center section. The Eduard kit has the best drop tank, but resin aftermarket ones are available. The Eduard R-2800 is the best, too, but once again resin replacements are available. IIRC, the fin on the Academy kit needs reshaping, but easy to do. None of the three kits have provision for dropping the flaps, but RESIN-IM makes these, which I have, and I have attached a link to them below. The Academy kit has the windscreen and hood as separate pieces, but both kits give the early and late windscreen canopies. I did a lot of work upgrading two Hasegawa kits to do an F6F-3 and a -5N, (Hasegawa also released a revised boxing as an F6F-5N, IIRC) but after detailing the cockpits and deepening the wheel bays, the Eduard kit came out, so back into the boxes they went. Both can be made into very nice models and are readily available at very reasonable prices, but by the time you buy the replacement detail parts, you will have spent more than the Eduard profipak kit. Hope this helps. Mike http://www.hyperscale.com/2014/reviews/accessories/resimcm72014reviewmd_1.htm Thanks Mike, This is what I wanted to read concerning the mentioned kits. Just saying eduard is the best kit doesn't really say anything... Thanks again! Cheers / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 hour ago, Andre B said: Just saying eduard is the best kit doesn't really say anything... Well to me that phrase does say ‘its the best kit’ so what more could one want? You weren’t that specific in your first request as to what areas concerned you. Several people have replied saying ‘eduard’ so I am at a loss now of how to assist you any further. Good day. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C. Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Re Cyber hobby vs Eduard: You might want to refer to this article. You'll need to scroll down to find F6F, but the other comparisons are also interesting. https://obscureco.wordpress.com/category/model-comparisons They both sound excellent, nothing else even close. Bob C 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 (edited) 53 minutes ago, Tony Oliver said: Well to me that phrase does say ‘its the best kit’ so what more could one want? You weren’t that specific in your first request as to what areas concerned you. Several people have replied saying ‘eduard’ so I am at a loss now of how to assist you any further. Good day. Well, actually I asked what can be said and written about them. And I mentioned little about the Italeri kit and didn't just say that it was a bad kit. Mike and Bob C shared their knewledge and experience to anyone interested in an excellent way... /André Edited July 11, 2018 by Andre B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDriskill Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 35 minutes ago, Bob C. said: Re Cyber hobby vs Eduard: You might want to refer to this article. You'll need to scroll down to find F6F, but the other comparisons are also interesting. https://obscureco.wordpress.com/category/model-comparisons They both sound excellent, nothing else even close. Bob C Bob C, thanks for finding that! It’s the very review that I remembered, now that I look at it. And...so filled with detail, that even Andre should be happy...? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve N Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I have the Eduard, Hasegawa, Academy, and Italeri Hellcats. Eduard leaves all the orhers in the dust. Very accurate, well detailed, and flawless fit and engineering. No surprise, since all the other Hellcat kits are at least 25 years old (Hasegawa is over 40) while the Eduard kit was released in 2011. I built the "Weekend Edition" of the Eduard F6F-5 a couple years ago, and it was an absolute delight. The fit was so precise I didn't even use glue on the horizontal stabilizers..they just snapped into place. Eduard even accurately replicated the lapped sheet metal panels on the aft fuselage, a Grumman trademark. I'm not sure about the comment about the "flaps." All the control surfaces of the Eduard kit are molded in place. The only 1/72 Hellcat I know of with separate flaps is the Italeri kit, but overall it's a rather lackuster effort. It's been ages since I looked it over, but I recall being unimpressed by the rather soft detail and overdone panel lines. SN 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 The Italeri: https://www.super-hobby.com/products/F-6F-3-Hellcat.html Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 7 hours ago, Duncan B said: Another vote for Eduard. The Dragon kit is the Hasegawa kit with additional parts to fold the wings I believe. You're thinking of the Dragon F4F Wildcat issue with the carrier deck section. The Dragon F6F has no common parts with the Hasegawa kit, which dates from the 1970's. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 2 hours ago, VMA131Marine said: You're thinking of the Dragon F4F Wildcat issue with the carrier deck section. The Dragon F6F has no common parts with the Hasegawa kit, which dates from the 1970's. Thanks for clearing that up. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 9 hours ago, Andre B said: Just saying eduard is the best kit doesn't really say anything... Charming! Duncan B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 (edited) 20 hours ago, Andre B said: Just saying eduard is the best kit doesn't really say anything... Generally speaking, if you ask for information just say "thank you." People on here are invariably trying to be helpful so there is no need to be snarky if you don't get exactly what you want from your question. I mean, you could have just Googled for kit reviews yourself and found out most of what you wanted to know, and everybody here knows that. We're a polite and helpful bunch, but not so much when it feels like we're being taken for granted. Edited July 12, 2018 by VMA131Marine 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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