Hasegawa 1/48 Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat

HASEGAWA 1:48 GRUMMAN F6F-3 HELLCAT

Reviewer: James Garnett (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 18 March 2008

Aircraft History:

The XF6F-1 Grumman Hellcat prototype flew for the first time on 26 June 1942, being the company's response to a US Navy request to replace Grumman F4F Wildcats. The first Hellcat production version was the F6F-3 and entered service in 1943, providing an immediate superior performance and fighting ability over its predecessor which it replaced.

The F6F Hellcat was a highly successful fighter aircraft that gained an excellent combat reputation and record in the last couple of years of WW2, mainly in the Pacific Theatre although the British Fleet Air Arm also flew the type.

The Kit:

This kit has been on the shelves now for about the 20 year mark and although lacks a little in detail for nowaday kits, it still stands up to the test of time very well. There are 72 medium grey injection molded parts plus 11 clear parts, including the armour screen behind the windshield that was fitted to the Hellcat. Surface detail is finely engraved and the parts are crisp without very much flash at all, although a couple of parts, most notably over the rear cockpit window areas and undercarriage, have a little bit to remove.

Instructions:

These follow Hasegawa's usual format with easy to follow assembly steps, sprue map, brief history, four view diagrams for the two US Navy aircraft and painting information from the Gunze Sangyo / Mr. Color range.

Construction:

The cockpit is very nicely rendered for the scale, with panels, tubs, sidewalls, consoles, sticks, seats, armoured screen and bulkhead all provided. Options include decals but you can also pick out the details on the parts by employing dry brushing. I used Testors Zinc Chromote Green to paint the cockpit (and later the wheel wells). It's worth spending time here as your rewarding work can be seen later with the canopy open... or closed.

Flash was removed from the rear windows on the fuselage halves with a few scrapes of the hobby knife being careful of course not to ruin the window frame itself nor gouge out too big a gap that the window will simply fall through. Before the halves are closed the tail wheel was added as was the arrestor hook into its housing and these need to be painted first, lest you have problems accessing these tight areas later. The cockpit tub was inserted and this fits snugly and the fuselage halves go together without any major dramas.

The major wing assembly is made up of two upper halves and a single lower wing piece which unfortunately means no separate flaps. The fit again is excellent and I encountered no problems attaching this to the fuselage, other than the most minor gap at the roots needing a dob of glue to seal. However, remember to open up the holes in the lower wing centre section before attaching it to the fuselage, if you want to have the drop tank on the aircraft. The exhaust stubs were all then added at this point, which I think is more appropriate than the instructions saying to do it just before the wing assembly. No major dramas encountered with the tailplanes, these fitted very well also.

The engine is made up of five major parts including crankcase, cylinder block and other interior detail, which looks very impressive when it is painted up. Again its well worth the effort because you will see some of it through the front of the cowling later. I used a combination of Humbrols sea grey for the crankcase and gunmetal for the engine block with oil stains replicated by some very thinly applied black paint to have that "wash" effect. The completed engine was mounted to the front of the fuselage and the propeller was left off til later. The cowling is assembled over the top of the engine and directly onto the fuselage.

With the major assemblies out the way there was not much left to do. The undercarriage was fitted next although you could attach the canopy. I left the canopy off til last as I wanted to display it in the open position. The landing gear is nicely rendered but a few parts are likely to snap with only a small amount of provocation. I used a dob of super glue to strengthen the bond before adding the completed sub assemblies into the nicely detailed wheel wells. Then the two piece canopy was fitted, with it displayed in the open position. The fit of the main canopy in the open position required some patience as it was difficult for it to sit in the correct position.

In the final stages of assembly, although some of these particularly the clear parts were left off until after painting, navigation lights, gun barrels, propeller, drop tank, antenna mast and pitot tube were all added, which required a reasonable amount of patience and motivation, but on the other hand represented some fine smaller detailing components of the Hasegawa kit.

Colour Schemes:

Two 1943 US Navy aircraft are subjects that the kit will produce, one from VF-9 USS Essex and the other from VF-16 USS Lexington, both finished in the typical tri-colour scheme of the period being upper wings and upper fuselage area of Dark Sea Blue, mid fuselage sides Intermediate Blue and white undersurfaces. I painted these colours using Humbrol paints 15, 144 and 34 respectively and with the same named labels. Weathering detail was added using shades of greys and paintbrushed white as well as exhaust and gun staining using a smudge a grey.

Decals:

The decal sheet follows Hasegawa's usual offerings with medium thick decals that contain a nice register and a bit of carrier film. The red on the USAAF roundels looks striking and there is enough stencilling and other minor details, including the propellers, to keep most modellers happy. Not surprisingly the decals bedded down nicely without the need of any decal setting solution and were sealed in with a matt varnish afterwards.

Overall Recommendation:

Highly recommended, the kit goes together very well and the level of detail is very good considering the mold is getting on in age now. Hasegawa have produced a great replica of this excellent WW2 aircraft and it would suit all modelling skills. Looks very impressive in the modelling cabinet!

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