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Eduard 1/48 F6F-5 Late, 10,000th Hellcat, BuNo. 78854 - FINISHED!


dnl42

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2 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

...

Your Hellcat is looking excellent - I really like your solution for the drop tank seam, I used plasticard and it's definitely over-scaled looking.

Yeah, I'm happy with the primed tank. I'll continue to use these AFT details for these seams. I bought them for some older raised-panel line models in the stash, so this is a great bonus usage. 

f6f-bellytank1.jpg

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Thatnks @Alan P! I used a darker gray on the case to better match photos of this aircraft on TICONDEROGA--Eduard would have it lighter.

 

The airframe is assembled and true. I glued the wing-tip lights on with Formula 560 Canopy Glue, shaped them to make sure they fit perfectly, and then removed them. They'll re-appear in the final steps.

f6f-airframe.jpg

Eduard provides an inset on the inner face of the wingtip lenses to represent the bulbs. I painted them with The Army Painter Warpaints, Pure Red and Greenskin.

 

I retrieved the Obscureco 13'1" prop from my stash and the Master barrels showed up today. I thought the barrels would just slide in, but I'll need to drill out the holes for diameter and depth. 

f6f-barrels.jpg

 

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The MLG are done. A little fiddly, I mounted the struts and then fit G17/22 and G18/20 to ensure alignment. Once dry, the rest of the parts were attached off-model. Hm, missed a little seam clean-up...

f6f-MLG.jpg

 

With MLG, engine, cowl,and  drop tank all dry-fitted, she's looking good!

f6f-airframe2.jpg

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I decided to dress up the kit prop's most glaring defect. With that, she's ready for the paint shop.

f6f-prop.jpg

The next update will be mid-month, after I return from a vacation in the RV. :bye:

 

-- 

dnl

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks @Bertie Psmith! The first photo I found had a horizontal flange.

f6f-flange0.jpg  

 

Looking through all my photos, I see more vertical than horizontal. I'll need to think on this... :hmmm:

f6f-flange1.jpg

 

I returned from my RV trip to Bishop CA in the Eastern Sierra region, where the temp was a toasty 40C. A trip south to the Alabama Hills area netted this bonus likely flying out from Star Wars Canyon, which was not too far away.

manzanar-5695-xga.jpg

 

Back to our subject. With the airframe and other sub-assemblies built, it was time for priming. The airframe needed some Mr Surfacer 1200 to fill in a little bit of wing-fuselage gap that I was able to confine to the bottom surface.

f6f-rootgaps.jpg

 

And everything else is ready for the paint shop.

f6f-ready4paint.jpg

 

Thanks for watching! :bye:

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Done thinking about the tank.

 

First, I now understand the seam difference. The horizontal seam is on the Mk 4 Mod-1 Universal 150 gallon centerline tank while the previous tank had a vertical seam. Per NF-92, Grumman F6F Hellcat;

Quote

Service Change #83, issued on 9 April 1945 provided the means to install the Navy's new universal 150 gallon drop tank on the F6F series of aircraft. The change was applicable to F6F-3/3E/3N BuNos 04775 to 04958, 08798 to 09047, 25721 to 26195, 39999 to 43137 and 65890 to 66244. F6F-5/5E/5N BuNos 58000 to 58999, 69992-72991. and 77295 to 79787. Grumman was responsible for aircraft 79788 and subsequent. British Hellcats were FN-320 to FN-449, JV-100 to JV-324, JW-700 to JW-899, JX-670, JX-739 to JX-999, and JZ-775 to JZ-994.  The weight change was a 7.8 lb increase located 122" aft of the reference datum. These tanks were rarely seen on F6Fs but were used on F7Fs, F8Fs and post-war aircraft like the Grumman AF Guardian.

And of course, this is covered in Tailspin Topics. This should eventually apply to my subject. But not as-delivered.

 

Most importantly though is primary evidence. This photo on TICONDEROGA photo shows a vertical seam.

Grumman-F6-F-5-Hellcat-VBF-87-White-76-n

I do see the seam is cut away at the forward slings.

 

Looking at the drawing in NF-92, the Eduard tank is blissfully undetailed. I'll try to improve it per the drawing.

 

With that, I've stripped the tank and will start again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's my revised belly tank based on the F6F Hellcat Mk 2 150 Gallon Centerline Drop Tank shown in NF92.

 

The first job was to revise the pylon shape with files and remove those goofy strap bottom halves. The fuel cap and access panels are from Archer Fine Transfers Access panels and piano hinge resin. The standing seam is from Evergreen strip instead of the AFT resin panel lines as the drawing and photos show a much more prominent standing seam. The tank vent(?) is from Evergreen rod. Evergreen tube and rod were used for the sway-brace fillets(?) and sway braces. Finally, brass wire and Evergreen strip were used for the straps. I may add some Albion tubing to the straps.

f6f-bellytank6.jpg

 

Hope you like it. :bye:

-- 

dnl

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On 9/8/2021 at 3:20 AM, dnl42 said:

What are your thoughts on the prop hub color? Is it blue or black?

 

It could be blue but I'd go with gloss black for the contrast and effect.

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8 hours ago, Alan P said:

I used C365 for mine as well, I thought it was more like the postwar blue but in hindsight it's probably ideal for both types 👍

I tested both C14 and C365; the others were too blue. C14 is lighter and more gray while C365 is bluer and darker. The blue isn't showing well in my simple workbench photos. I  know my camera (Galaxy 10 phone) is sensitive to backgrounds. My honey is deep into nature and astrophotography. She spends a lot of time "developing" photos--apparently one doesn't dare post an un-postprocessed photo! 😱

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The airframe is painted. I brush-painted the belly tank fill cap with The Army Painter Warpaints Pure Red.

f6f-paint1.jpg

Because I have special skills, 2 sets of Master barrels were needed for this model...6 barrels are mounted as expected, 3 are inside the starboard wing. I managed to lose 2 when they fell into the holes while dry fitting; I pushed the third in trying to adjust it post gluing... :wall:

At least they don't rattle around.

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'special skills' cracked me up 😂

 

I'm still trying to identify the mystery rattle on mine, I suspect one of the little fuel control handles has fallen off somewhere along the line 🤔

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With the GB end looming large, I've got to get something done each day, like the canopy, made easier with the provided masks and quick-drying Mr Color! :penguin:

f6f-canopy.jpg

This is the 3rd attempt at this photo. Both prior times had a stray dog hair... the stuff get everywhere!

 

 

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Good progress again. We won't say anything about the stencils and let that be "watter" under the bridge ;)

Your partner's photos are stunning by the way!

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Thanks @Col.! She really does some fine work

 

A little boring, but the stencils are on.

f6f-stencils.jpg

 

I'm concerned about the opacity of the LF Models decals. The light blue backing paper is fairly visible behind the decals, so I cannot imagine them on dark blue. With that, I ordered Colors & Markings of F6F-5 HELLCATS PART1 from Furball Aero-Design. Hopefully they'll make it in time.

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