Hellcats, Hellcats nothing but Hellcats
Hi there,
a few days ago it seemed as if all Hell had broken loose, nothing but Hellcats were seen right here. So I thought let's wait a little while until hey all think there are safe again and then... BANG!
here they are back again, Hellcats straight outa Hell!
As you can imagine I have quite a soft spot for this kitty. So far I have build over 40! of them all in the same scale of 1:72 and I'm going to show them all to you, so let's start with this batch here.
First is a very early F6F-3 Hellcats which can be recogized by its paint job and the 6 stars placement. For this conversion I used the fantastic Eduard kit, and modiified among other things the fairings around the guns.
Next in line is another F6F-3 with the red surounded insignia. Otherwise nothing specail about this Hellcat which received a little modification in its port wing.
Next is what I call the heavinly Hell Cat, a F6F-5 in Blue Angel livery. This is no mistake or a WIf, the Hellcat was indeed the very first Blue Angels aircraft.
Next in line is a brand new looking F6F-5 of VF-24 aboard the USS Santee. Once again based on an Eduard kit with only a handful alterations.
Next is a F6-5K Hellcat Drone or what I call "a go to hell-Cat"
add to this another quite colorful bird, a F6F-5 in the role as a Target Tow aircraft.
And snce cats always love to prowl in the night, a Night fighting Hellcat is an absolutely "must have", so here we go, a F6F-5N in the markings of VMF (N)-542
Finally my famous "Super Hellcat" the infamous F6F-7 "one hell of a Cat"
Ups, I almost forgot the most important of them all! The prototype which started all this mayhem, so here she is the XF6F-1 Hellcat or should we say Mommy Hellcat?
Cheers
René
p.s.just to make sure I have at least another 2 dozens of them so beware of the Cat!
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Great looking group
Yes...as George said, a fantastic-looking collection of Hellcats. Outstanding work on each and every one.
Hello Rene'...A fine batch of Hellcats for sure and the last three photos surely show Grumman's progression toward the F8F.
Fantastic collection René - I'm especially fond of it as I'm a 1/72 builder. There are so many different subjects I want to build that I can't imagine having build 40 of anything! They are all so nicely done - just great work.
OK...You win Rene
I really like the number 32 with the red surrounds on the insignia. All of them are nice. Thanks for sharing. 40 Hellcats ! WOW. Very cool.
Great collection, all superb.
Wow?
You say you like Hellcats? Well, maybe you do! Wow! That is an impressive lineup for sure. Lot's of great work going on there; how much time did it take to build that collection? 🙂
Rene' this is outstanding! I LOVE your collection of Hellcats. Especially the F6F-7. Was that an actual test plane? It looks much like what was done to make the Super Corsair. I notice that your collection (with a few exceptions) are heavily weathered, as many WWII Navy planes were. When did the factory start using gloss blue?
My Dad flew F6Fs during WWII but I don't know if they were early or late models. Or both. He served from Jan. of 1942 through 1946, so he could have flown several different versions. He never flew it in combat but he did say it was a HotRod compared to the F4Fs he also flew.
Well, good job, Rene'
Jeff
Hello Jeff,
first of all, thanks for your kind words. That F6F-7 is a complete Hoa, it was neverr built nor tested, I just did that for fun and because I liked it. To be honest I posted these photos somewhere else and I was surprised by the fact that some people even came up with a "full story" behind this "Super Hellcat" which never was.
Concerning your dads experience, can you let me know where and when he flew Hellcats, which squadron or where was he stationed? I'm asking because I have sme pretty good sources where I could ask for a bit more information, maybe they come up with something more.
You can also contact me offbaord at: rene.hieronymus(at)usns.biz if you like.
Cheers
René