Airfix A19004 Grumman F6-F5 Hellcat

Product Information

Aerocraft's 1/24 scale Hellcat Undercarriage Set comprises five parts in lost wax brass castings, two pieces of brass rod and two resin undercarriage doors. Before starting this model, I determined that I wanted to capitalize on the options offered. I wanted one wing folded with flaps up, and the other wing extended with flaps down and gun bays open. While the wings could be folded and unfolded manually (normally hydraulically), I am well aware that the flaps work in unison on both wings. This is my disclaimer on displaying the model in an “unnatural” way! Let’s see what grief I get from this decision, especially at a contest!!! Outer/folding wing assembly begins with gun bays, forward and rear wing spars, bulkheads, and other structural parts being glued to the lower wing. The fit was extremely tight in places and I used clamps to make sure everything was seated where it needed to be. Construction continues with building parts of the wing fold mechanism. The guns and ammo containers need to be added before the wing top is attached and show very nice detail. Care is needed removing and sanding large sprue attachments from the separate gun barrel ends as they are very close to the front. I was a little careless and sanded some of the nice muzzle ends flat. It would have been better to have sprue attachments that are not visible at the rear of these barrel ends.

October 24, 1944- the battle of Leyte Gulf in the Pacific. Lt. Carl Allen brown Jr. A member of vf-27 flying f6f-5 'paper doll' From the USS price ton shot down 5 enemy 'zekes' Before evading a further 4 that were competing to shoot him down. His machine was damaged and he was Wounded but brown was able to land safely on the USS Essex after the Princeton was Sunk. Skill level: 4 (expert). Dimensions of completed kit: length of fuselage 16. 7 in X width of wingspan 21. 4 in. Number of parts: 572. Skeletal engine detail which whilst still impressive, represents a relatively early stage in the models development Adding a little colour, this screenshot shows engine air intake detail and how the fuselage will accept the fully constructed engine Painting the inside of the undercarriage bays was easy: use the same colour as underside of aircraft.Looking much more like a real Hellcat, this image has most of the surface detail applied, including rivet and fastener detail Exploded view of the engine assembly detail, which would almost make an attractive model display in its own right Casting of the brass parts is perfect, and the only cleanup required is the removal of a small casting stub on the top of the main legs. The big question was, could Airfix follow up on the home run they hit with their masterful Hawker Typhoon. i’m here to tell you that from what I’ve seen so far, the answer is a resounding YES!

Here is my first 24th scale build in 40 years - how time flies. This is the fantastic Airfix Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat - the obligatory box art shot (Airfix currently has the best box art IMHO). This change of mind return policy is in addition to, and does not affect your rights under the Australian Consumer Law including any rights you may have in respect of faulty items. To return faulty items see our Returning Faulty Items policy. Similarly, the tail wheel leg is a single piece. The tail wheel strut and its retraction struts are well detailed. Another view of Paramjit’s latest impressive Hellcat build, featuring the scheme worn by Lt. Carl A Brown Jr. when he downed five Japanese Zeros in the same sortie, to gain the coveted ‘Ace in a day’ statusO, what can I say about this kit? Well, it is rather large and quite complex. The stressed skin effect is great! But some issues to be aware of: According to the paint instructions the sliding part of the canopy is a single colour slate grey and doesn't follow the airframe camouflage. These are a very simply relacement for the kit's plastic tyres, which have a join line down the centreline and detail is a bit soft.