dnl42 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 I have the Eduard 1/48 F6F-5 and HB 1/48 F6F-5N in my stash. I have read comments about HB's over-large canopy; comparing the 2 canopies does indeed show a substantial difference. The HB sliding portion is 22.3 mm wide by 16.5 mm long. Eduard's closed sliding portion is 17.7 mm wide by 14.4 mm long, which matches the 1/48 drawing in Aircraft Monograph 20, F6F Hellcat by A Jarski & W. Pajdosz. My other reference, of course, is Naval Fighters 92, Grumman F6F Hellcat by C. Meyer and S. Ginter. Don't forget, Meyer flew the F6F as project pilot. With that, I'm going with the Eduard kit. The Eduard PE I have is for HB, so that won't be used. I have the D-Mold F6F-5 cowling for Hasegawa--I'll see if it's useful. The sprues are probably well known, but here they are The masks are for the canopy and wheels. I'm currently leaning to ‘Death and Destruction’, BuNo 72534, ENS Donald McPherson, D, Bill Kingston, Jr., and Lyttleton Ward, VF-83, USS Essex, May 5th, 1945 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Eye-catching box art on this particular kit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted June 24, 2021 Author Share Posted June 24, 2021 (edited) I see @Thom216 is working on the Encore rebox of this kit and particularly the same markings. With that, I'm now looking at the 10,000th Hellcat or perhaps McCampbell's Minsi III. Edited June 24, 2021 by dnl42 misspelled McCampbell's name... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 27 minutes ago, dnl42 said: I see @Thom216 is working on the Encore rebox of this kit and particularly the same markings. With that, I'm now looking at the 10,000th Hellcat or perhaps McCambell's Minsi III. I saw that too. No reason we can't have two for Death n Destruction.😈 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted June 24, 2021 Author Share Posted June 24, 2021 Hm, McCampbell's Minsi III is an early F6F-5, with side windows. The Eduard kit includes the clear plastic, but I'd have to cut the openings in the fuselage sides. In any event, I have decals for both (Techmod & LF Models) on order, so I'll decide later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 8, 2021 Author Share Posted July 8, 2021 With the LF Models decals on the way, I'll choose the 10,000th Hellcat, BuNo. 78854. Per F6F Hellcat in Detail & Scale, I'll need to delete the forward spine navigation light. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 Decals are in! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Nice choice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 Thanks @Thom216! Finally, the painting and sticking has commenced! I first thinned the seat sides and back. Looking over the cockpit after it was assembled, I should have rounded off the back vertical sides of the seat... Here's the cockpit. Quite a few very small bits in this, which is good, but a Very Bad(TM) interior green color match. The final cockpit, with most of the small bits still attached. And here's the fuselage closed up 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 that PE is very fiddly isn't it, looking good 👍 rgds John(shortCummins) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 Yes, great work on the cockpit - a 1/48 McCampbell would be quite at home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 Great work on the cockpit and the PE. I couldn't fiddle with the teeniest little levers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 Incredible details, the tiny PE controls are very well posed there? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 Thanks @shortCummins, @Cookenbacher, @Thom216, and @Alan P! I did try to get the levers posed as shown in the Pilot's Manual. BTW, I found that the best way to attache the port-side console levers. one aft and one forward, was to drill #80 holes into the plastic at the appropriate angles. I also had the canopy slide lock lever (PE45) in the correct position (forward on the dial, not down as shown in Eduard's instructions), but it decided to wander off at some point. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 The belly tank is done. The forward braces were a surprisingly sloppy fit; I needed to add a 10 mil shim. More problematic though was the missing equatorial seam. I've applied Archer Finer Transfers Resin Panel Lines decals. They're intended to repair raised panel line details. We'll see how it looks under paint. We'll also see how long those forward braces last--Albion tubing replacements may well be in the offing. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 that Archer seam looks promising rgds John(shirtCummins) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Beema Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 I did tube for the supports on a MkI I did. I also sanded off the straps and made new longer ones that went from fuselage, under the tank and back again.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 Thanks @shortCummins and @Grey Beema! The Archer resin decals work very well in general. This standing seam should be a little sharper and stand a little prouder, but I think it will do. Eduard's supports may well be replaced. I did so on their 1/48 Lysander III SD. The Albion version looked much better and was mechanically secure. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 The cowling. Quite a bit of careful hand clamping was needed to get the sides aligned with the front. FWIW, here's the difference between the Eduard and D-Mold cowlings; the D-Mold is intended for the Hasegawa Thanks for looking... 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Great work so far, lovely cockpit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 Thanks @Roberto! I even managed to get it into the fuselage with all the small bits attached! I need some advice. First, what are your thoughts on the cowling interior, light gray, interior green, or ZCY? https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Hellcat/VBF87/pages/Grumman-F6F-5-Hellcat-VBF-87-White-76-named-10,000th-Hellcat-CV-14-USS-Ticonderoga-June-1945-03.html Second, the above photo clearly shows a dark propeller hub, while all the others (hit Previous and Next) show a white hub? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 @dnl42 ...pending other answers, I painted the interior of my cowling interior green, but I've some doubts about it... No idea about the hubs, sorry, I will closely follow the incoming answers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 52 minutes ago, dnl42 said: Thanks @Roberto! I even managed to get it into the fuselage with all the small bits attached! I need some advice. First, what are your thoughts on the cowling interior, light gray, interior green, or ZCY? https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Hellcat/VBF87/pages/Grumman-F6F-5-Hellcat-VBF-87-White-76-named-10,000th-Hellcat-CV-14-USS-Ticonderoga-June-1945-03.html Second, the above photo clearly shows a dark propeller hub, while all the others (hit Previous and Next) show a white hub? if it was my model I'd opt for a white hub if only to add an extra bit of visual interest. looking good so far rgds John(shortCummins) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Sovereign Hobbies has some great paint guides: https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/us-navy-usmc-aircraft-colours-around-ww2 Since this is a very late -5, I'd go with Yellow Zinc Chromate for the cowl interior. For what it's worth, I've seen a color photo of -5 with a YZC panel 'frames' and cowl interior, and I've seen a pic of a -3 with light grey in the same places. 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 @shortCummins, thanks for the input. I will indeed go with white and that's shown on TICONDEROGA. @Cookenbacher, I have a copy of that photo on disk. While looking for that color photo, I found I also have a photo of the engine and nose being built for this aircraft. The interior and exterior are the same light color. I expect that's the primer, so I'm going to with ZCY. Thanks for the input! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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