Grumman F6F-5 'Hellcat' Trumpeter 1/32 Scale

[stona]

The engine conundrum is solved.
There is a significant gap between the front of the cowling and the propeller on the real aircraft.



And the only way of getting close to this is to fit the engine in the model as far forward as it will go.



Cheers

Steve

No idea why the photos are not showing, clicking on them seems to open the images, for me anyway.

 

[spanner570]

Looking good, Steve.

I think someone on the forum ought to start a 'Who has the cleanest and the dirtiest cutting mat'. You and John would have to share the prize for the former hands down!

The server's playing up.

 

[colin m]

Nice work Steve. Have you and Vaughan got room for a little one - I've got a 1:72 F6F.....

 

[stona]

Nice work Steve. Have you and Vaughan got room for a little one - I've got a 1:72 F6F.....

Always room for a little'un!

Today I've been mostly...struggling with exhausts.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

I spent a lot of time yesterday fitting all the exhausts. I was toying with the idea of keeping the propeller and entire cowling removeable (which is quite doable) in order to show the engine. Then I decided not to, which means that none of the exhausts can be properly seen, just the ends tucked under the cowling. If you know you are not going to display the engine you might consider not bothering with the exhausts, but though challenging, they were fun to do.

The fuselage now looks like this:



I've sprayed the bit which will be visible under the windscreen in the overall surface colour. I couldn't find a good reference for this, but the interior colour seemed unlikely and I've seen no evidence for black. If someone knows better they need to let me know before its too late

The wings are nearly ready to be constructed. I have only started to paint the guns on one side as I will leave the panels removeable on that side. The other will be closed up, hence only the gun barrels painted. The guns look a lot bluer in the photograph than they do to the eye!



I am hoping tomorrow to join some of the bits together to make something that looks like an aeroplane. I already have a box of flaps, ailerons and elevators ready to go!

Cheers

Steve

 

[scottie3158]

Steve,
Looking good.

 

[Steven000]

Nice progress Steve!

 

[topgazza]

I’m about to start a Skyraider from the late 40s/50s and the Grumman will be on my list. Not sure about the Trumpeter but I will have a good recce of a 1/48.
Terrific build so far. Very entertaining

 

[stona]

I do like a Skyraider. A very robust aircraft.

I remember the Skyraider landing successfully at Duxford after a mid-air collision with a P-51, looking like this



It didn't end so well for Big Beautiful Doll !



Cheers

Steve

 

[Neil Merryweather]

I was there,it was a shock!

 

[topgazza]

Wow.

The Americans did some nice "chunky" aircraft in WWII

 

[stona]

The video of that collision never get boring.

big beautiful doll duxford crash - Search Videos

www.bing.com

The pilot of BBD, Rob Davies, made a lot of quick and correct decisions, otherwise he wouldn't be here today.

He walked away from this in 2015 (four years after his unplanned and brief excursion in a parachute).



That's at least two lives gone

 

[stona]

Back to the job in hand.

Everyone knows that these carrier aircraft had wings that folded in some way or another, and a lot of the kits are designed in a way sympathetic to folded wings and not necessarily to deployed wings. This one is no exception.
When I built a 'Corsair' a while ago I posed it with folded wings because I couldn't get a satisfactory result (even to my low standards!) with the wings deployed. For this one I am determined to have the wings deployed and after a considerable amount of huffing, puffing, effing and blinding, I have got one attached.



You can see the join at the leading edge, then a sort of zig-zag towards the back of the wing where there is a slight gap. Better there than at the front! I think I'll be able to make this look acceptable, just one more to do.

Cheers

Steve

BTW, that sliver of white at the back of the wing is a piece of plasticard, repairing a little nick that yours truly made when cleaning up sprue attachment points.

 

[john i am]

Looking good, Steve.

I think someone on the forum ought to start a 'Who has the cleanest and the dirtiest cutting mat'. You and John would have to share the prize for the former hands down!

The server's playing up.

Im looking after my mat Ron cause it's new and BIG! But I may lapse back into my old ways if I neglect to wipe up those little spills that occur or start using it as wet palette again.
Watching your build Steve and its coming along very nicely.

 

[stona]

A lot more effin' and jeffin' and we have something that looks like an aeroplane.



I just noticed the stickers on the ailerons. They (and the rudder) will be coming off as part of the painting process and are just 'dry' fitted.

I'm going to mask up the canopy and spray the interior colour on the framework, that will then be it for the day.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Vaughan]

Looking good Steve not sure what that swastika doing under the Hellcat. I think I'm lagging behind you I still haven't got the fuselage together yet!

 

[stona]

I've got some new white primer which has to be left 24hrs before it hardens and can be rubbed down, so that will put a temporary stop to proceedings!

White because I intend to mask some of the markings over the white primer rather than using decals. How hard can it be to cut out a star? I'll let you know

Cheers

Steve

 

[tr1ckey66]

Great progress on the Hellcat Steve. I’m sure the reverse masking you’re planning will work out fine and will make a real differencec to the look of the scheme.

Keep up the great work
Paul

 

[stona]

I've been fiddling about with the undercarriage today.

Something for Vaughan to look forward to!

Magnification and needle nose tweezers to the fore



Only one more to do

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

It turns out that cutting out stars is pretty straight forward.
In fact all the masking is straight edges or straight lines of various widths, using the original decal sheet as a guide.



Where's the rudder? That stays white.

I also added one of these on the other side. It's completely absent from the kit. It is the insulator gubbins where the radio antenna enters the suselage.




I made mine from a bit of sprue, inserted into a hole drilled in the appropriate place on the fuselage, but such detail photography is beyond me.

Cheers

Steve