Jump to content

Airfix 1:24 Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat - Finished


Recommended Posts

So, my latest adventure into the wonderful hobby of model building.

The new Airfix 1:24 F6F-5 Hellcat:

spacer.png

 

Going to be doing it in the "Operation SUNFISH" scheme, (only just because I think the other schemes look less interesting, just being blue [;)])

spacer.png

 

As usual, I just dived straight in without thought of photos and have only now thought to take any!  This is being built OTB with the exception of the guns. Bought a replacement brass set (tho can't remember who from!)

The cockpit, fuse and wings went together without many problems. Only issue I faced was when I joined the fuse and wings together and found the fuse was slightly larger than the gap in the wings! No doubt an oversight on my part, but nothing some sanding couldn't fix. 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

Bit of overspray in the cockpit where I got carried away with the rattle can :)

 

 

Have now just finished up the engine, added the extra detail with 0.7mm copper wire as suggested in the instructions..............question, what colour should the copper hoses be? Black??  Thinking I might leave it copper colour to give a bit of 'character'.

spacer.png

 

04.jpg

 

spacer.png

 

 

 

Thats it for now.............more to come..............thinking I have lots of 'free time' due to the current corona situation

Stay safe out there.

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice work so far.  Are the seat belts supplied in the kit?  I like the way they look, well done.  

 

Can you check the ignition cables, I think there should be two cables to each cylinder one on each side connected to different magnetos..  I think the cables ran in dull metallic tubes.  Google Pratt & Whitney R2800 to get a few images..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, another day spent on the engine, finally got all the exhausts on. This is really fiddly, especially since the ignition wires have been added (I think if these had not been added the exhausts would have been much easier). By trial and error I found the easiest way was to fit each 'pack' of exhausts in pieces and then glue together once I got them in place. The first 'set' I assembled the pieces together (some of the exhausts are 2 piece) and then had a devil of a time to get them in place!

@Grey Beema Thanks for your kind words. Yes the set belts are supplied in the kit, not AM parts. As for the ignition cables, I will look into this but too late for this model, I just followed the wiring diagram supplied in the instructions.

 

Anyways, here's how she looks just now...........

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

As always, comments and critique welcome.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

More progress today, got the engine and other related parts fitted, outer panels to follow after dirtying the engine up a bit more. Undecided on whether to leave some or all of the panels off else I'm gonna end up covering a beautiful (in my opinion) engine.

spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png

spacer.png

 

Comments / critique always welcome...........it's how we improve.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can anyone suggest the best glue (type) to enable me to 'temporarily glue' the engine panels in place for paining, but be able to remove some/all the panels afterwards without damaging the underlying paint. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Starspell said:

Can anyone suggest the best glue (type) to enable me to 'temporarily glue' the engine panels in place for paining, but be able to remove some/all the panels afterwards without damaging the underlying paint. Thanks

I quite often use liquid mask to "glue" parts as a temporary measure however it depends on how heavy they are and how much handling they'll get

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, shortCummins said:

liquid mask to "glue" parts as a temporary measure

 

.........great idea, now why didn't I think of that.....doh!     Thanks John :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never used liquid mask, but I use PVA/white glue all the time.  When it's time to come off, run a wet paintbrush around the join and wait a few minutes.  The part in question should pop right off and then you can peel off the excess "skin" with tweezers.

 

Not all water-based adhesives will soften up when re-wetted, so read the label!

 

Your "Cat is coming together nicely.  Out of idle curiosity, how thick is that instruction packet?  I like the way Airfix do them now but it sure takes a lot of paper and ink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I finally took the plunge with this model and have tried pre-shading.

For those brave souls who have gone before me could I please have a little feedback on how it's looking..........I think it looks ok (but the wife thinks it doesn't....but what does she know...lol) If figure if it's not so good then I can just go heavier and cover it all up!

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/23/2020 at 11:42 AM, shortCummins said:

I quite often use liquid mask to "glue" parts as a temporary measure however it depends on how heavy they are and how much handling they'll get

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

That'd get my vote too, I've found Humbrol 'Maskol' worked well for this in the past, but don't leave it for more than a few days (guess how I know that!).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I have continued some more in my first ever attempt at pre-shading. Following on from advise in another thread I have sprayed the grey, and with great care in masking, started on the second color. Think it looks reasonably OK..........what do you guys think?

spacer.png spacer.png  spacer.png spacer.png

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The contrast between the Green and Grey looks to high to me.  Contrast between Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey is not that great, in fact in some wartime images it is difficult to determine at all.

 

mid_000000.jpg?action=e&cat=Photographs THE ROYAL NAVY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. © IWM (A 24533) IWM Non Commercial License

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think you're doing a great job on this kit, but I also have a problem with the colours tbh.  EDSG is a darker bluey-!grey and DSG is a greeny-brown olive drab colour.

 

2020-03-29_06-53-08

 

Feel free to ignore as it is your model, but . . .

 

Regards

 

Martin

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovely work so far. I would say the engine looks too clean, perhaps a little oil staining required, even factory finish would be a bit grimier.
 

Not sure about the camo colours (I’m no expert on British ww2 colours) they look ok to me , but it looks as if the sheen is different on the two, one looks quite matt while the other is at least a satin finish. So maybe some clear varnish required to unify the finish.

Edited by Marklo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments and feedback. WRT the grey/green contrast, @Grey Beema, I did look into the colors a little, https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/urbans-color-reference-charts-part-i/urbans-colour-reference-charts-united-kingdom/  and decided on FS34096 (Dark Slate Grey, Temperate Sea Scheme (FAA)) for the green and FS36118 (Extra Dark Sea Grey, Temperate Sea Scheme (FAA)) for the grey. Don't know how accurate the colors I got actually represent those colors, but it's what the bottles say, so I used it :). Having tried out pre-shading for the first time I am loathed to try change the grey, will kill the pre-shading and I am not going to consider stripping the paint and starting again. I'll just add this to the list of things to remember in the future.........😳

@Marklo, yes the sheens are different, but still have a top clear coat to go on (then decals and weathering) so that will sort that out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Deano353, kit goes together very nicely and I've only needed a little bit of filler. That said, you do have to follow the instructions carefully......very carefully!  The only real issue I had was making the two fuse halves join, the cockpit was slightly too wide so a little filling was needed to  make it a little 'not-so-wide' 😝

My kit is OTB with the exception of some brass gun barrels, tho to be honest, not everything is closed up I wish I hadn't bothered and just gone with the kit ones, guess it depends if you want to leave the ammo covers off or not.

Edited by Starspell
Added extra info on barrels
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, she is finally wearing her colors. Gonna pop her in the airing cupboard for the night, then tomorrow she will get her clear-coat...........Alclad II Klear Kote Gloss ALC-310.

spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png

 

Looking at photos just reminded me that there is a little more white paintwork to be done on the front cowling............just realised!   Best not forget tomorrow.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, here she is.....all decaled up and painted. Still needs another clear coat to seal the decals and then some weathering and then the final assembly of flaps, undercarriage, panels etc.

Appreciate any final comments before I seal this up completely.

spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png spacer.png

 

One question, I got carried away in the early steps and drilled the holes for the 5 inch HVAR's (3 per side), but now when I find myself at the end I note that the HVAR's do not seem to appear on the FAA scheme I am doing!  Does any kind soul know if the FAA version would ever have had these HVAR's or am I going to have to fill the holes back up?? Thanks in advance for any info.

spacer.png spacer.png

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

East Indies Fleet Hellcats were armed with rockets, British Pacific Fleet Hellcats didn’t use them (or from what I’ve seen)..

 

808 NAS HMS Khedive.  I think this is the aircraft you are modelling being armed with rockets.

 

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205160510

 

However, please note the large blast plates that protects the under wing from the rocket blast, and I think the British rocket was a different design.

 

Hope this helps..

Edited by Grey Beema
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Grey Beema...........wow, thank you very much for this info! And yes indeed, this is the very plane I am building, never saw this picture(s) before. Just the one photo shows the rockets being loaded and I assume the blast plates is that seemingly white slightly domed structure under the wing? Not sure how I could duplicate that. I have never been one for scratch stuff, I don't have years worth of parts from old builds etc to dig thru. Guess I'll just stick them on a damm the authenticity 🤪

Edited by Starspell
Typo error
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Starspell said:

@Grey Beema...........wow, thank you very much for this info! And yes indeed, this is the very plane I am building, never saw this picture(s) before. Just the one photo shows the rockets being loaded and I assume the blast plates is that seemingly white slightly domed structure under the wing? Not sure how I could duplicate that. I have never been one for scratch stuff, I don't have years worth of parts from old builds etc to dig thru. Guess I'll just stick them on a damm the authenticity 🤪

You may not be able to use those rockets but you could hang a bomb rack and bomb on the starboard wing root bracket.  I’m not sure from what serial range you could hang a bomb on both wing roots (someone on here is because I’ve read it before) but I’m sure you all Hellcats could be armed with at least one bomb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...