Airfix A19004 Grumman F6-F5 Hellcat

Product Information

The new aircraft was also much more than just a ‘big Wildcat’, even though its similar profile may lead many to think that was the case.

Using the base model shell as his project datum, his first task was to create a fuselage skeleton, using plotted data from the manufacturing drawings and following where the natural construction formers were placed by the Grumman engineers back in 1942 when producing the actual aircraft. The trade off is that if i use a 1mm wire inside it to give a nice tight look to the lines then it's going to be harder to shape after the engine is glued in.

The surface texture is quite rough so a good sanding with Tamiya sanding sponges (or similar) will go a long way - I did not quite sand enough .

It would have been better to have sprue attachments that are not visible at the rear of these barrel ends. As the new 1/24th scale Grumman F6F-5 Hellcatproject was at a relatively mature stage by the time of its triumphant Telford 2018 announcement, designer Chris had already negotiated the potentially stressful stage of receiving the first test frame components produced by the new model tooling. So I messed it up a bit and bent a few things and I'll make a decision tonight about whether it's going on. I realised quite early that, if I wanted some flexibility but also hold (sound like my wife talking about hairspray) I needed to line my lines with something.Unfortunately, his aircraft sustained significant damage during these actions and he himself had been wounded by shrapnel, a situation made all the worse when he noticed four Zeros on his tail, all lining up for an easy victory. I was a bit mean to spend a small fortune on scale nuts for the ends of the sparkplugs so I used 1mm evergreen hexagonal rod, drilled and painted silver then sliced into thin slivers and slipped over the end of the sparkplug before the ignition wire was attached.

The box will contain multiples of each and every component frame of the new kit and as we have already seen, several members of the team will be presented with a complete set of parts, not just the lead designer on the project. To help us gain a better understanding of this detail ‘layering’ process, Chris has kindly supplied us with this fascinating series of CAD screenshot images, illustrating how he gradually applied the detail to one of the fuselage sections of the Hellcat kit, starting with his basic shape, then gradually applying all the detail this size of kit allows him to incorporate. It shows up better in actuality than the photo but the effect is VERY subtle, maybe too subtle to be worthwhile. It will save you lots of head scratching and paging back and forward - the instructions themselves are well presented and can make for good bedtime reading.

As crucial as the creation of the skeleton model undoubtedly is, the feature most readily associated with Airfix 1/24th scale kits is detail and Chris spent many hours in front of his computer, using all the reference material available to him, incorporating as much fine detail into the Hellcat CAD files as he possibly could. Needing to land his aircraft immediately and quickly running out of options, Brown radioed his intention to ditch ahead of a destroyer and asked if they would be good enough to pick him up, only to have USS Essex come to his aid and offer to take him if he would land immediately. While grouping parts to be painted, I noticed the instrument panel (part E44) had misshaped instrument holes.

Taking his guidance from the actual construction methods employed by Grumman during the development and manufacture of the real aeroplane, once the iconic shape of the aircraft had been accurately represented, it had to be de-constructed, for the want of a better description, producing individual components for plastic kit manufacture, whilst at the same time ensuring the highest possible levels of detail and accuracy were applied to each individual component. He was fortunate enough to be granted access to original manufacturing drawings, as well as arranging to scan a suitable aircraft, which is part of the Flying Heritage Collection in Seattle. A wonderful build with lots of detail you have done that is impressive and, again, teases me to begin a build of this kit. This next selection of images feature Paramjit’s latest Hellcat build, only finished a couple of days ago.

The F6F-5 Hellcat did not enter the war until roughly the last 6 months, so although well used, they were not around long enough on carrier decks to be abused with heavy weathering like the F6F-3s, although the big fuel tank that was interchangeable with the "3s" was usually filthy. This was a completely redesigned aircraft in every respect, from its massive new engine to the rugged, wide-track undercarriage which made deck handling much more assured than with its predecessor – significantly, the Hellcat was 60% heavier than the Wildcat and a true fighting thoroughbred. Most light grey plastic and clear parts remained attached to the sprue and appeared in good condition.