French Hellcat- 1/48 Hasegawa F6F-5
I have always wanted to build a French Hellcat, and years ago when i was able to get hold of some Model Art decals I set aside a Hasegawa 1/48 F6F-5 for this build. After some research, I noticed that the drop tank on French Hellcats and late service USN Hellcats did not have the typical "post" type mount as seen in WW2 photographs. I modified a drop tank from a Hasegawa 1/48 F4U-5 kit with the straps, braces and pipe as seen in the photos I found.
I wired the kit engine, which i find looks convincing once sealed in the cowl. I used a True Details cockpit in this build. I swapped the kit cowl for a resin cast of an Otaki Hellcat cowl that I made quite a while ago, back when you could order casting resin through the mail from the US to Bermuda. It is considered "hazardous" to ship in the mail nowadays!
I used bombs from an Eduard Profipack Hellcat kit which comes with an etch fret that supplies fins for the plastic bombs in the kit- the "weekend edition" supplies the bombs but no etch fins.
I used Testors enamel for the USN GSB and then coated with Future for decal application. After the decals were applied I brushed clear flat to seal them in and dull the finish. After this, I sprayed some exhaust staining on the fuselage. One day, i will go a bit further with chips and other staining and fading- but for this time i was a bit leery to try that as I have been happy to get quite a few kits done this summer, and didn't want to prolong completing the kit.
13 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Craig Abrahamson said on August 19, 2017
Looks pretty good from here, Dan...nice work. BTW, since when is it considered "hazardous" to ship resin parts by mail? It's done on a regular basis all the time, isn't it?
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Hi Craig, thanks for the kind words. Casting resin- in its raw form- the two parts- resin and catalyst can no longer be shipped airmail- just like tins or bottles of enamel or "flammable" model paints or products. Never heard of any airliner in the history of aviation brought down by model paints or casting resin...
Craig Abrahamson said on August 19, 2017
Oh...I misread it - I thought you meant "resin parts" - not the mix itself. My bad. đ
George Henderson said on August 19, 2017
Very nice and oddbally Dan. I love out of the norm schemes
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Thanks George, I have a French AU-1, and F4U-7 next in line.
George Henderson said on August 19, 2017
Awaiting the builds. I did the Hobbyboss -7 which needs some corrections
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Hasegawa -all the way for me.
Drew Tarter said on August 19, 2017
Terrific work, Dan! I've built two 1/48 Hasegawa Hellcats, and I think it's the best kit in that scale.
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Thanks Drew, Now having built two Eduard Hellcats (and a few more in the stash- but not as many as Hasegawa kits) there is something about the finesse of the Hasegawa kit compared to the Eduard, but there are some detail aspects on the Eduard that make them "kinda" equal,although my scales tip more to Hasegawa...(in spite of the kit cowl)... for me.
Drew Tarter said on August 19, 2017
Yes, I agree - the last Hellcat I built was an Eduard kit, and it does have a few advantages over the Hasegawa kit, such as open and closed canopies, and more accurate rockets and cowl, but overall, I think Hasegawa's kit is better fitting and detailed.
kloster zero said on August 19, 2017
Great precision work Dan !
The Aeronavale is grateful and sends its congratulations to you
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Thanks Kloster! There was talk about a trip to Paris for a medal...:-)
kloster zero said on August 20, 2017
The plane tickets are on their way to your adress
Morne Meyer said on August 19, 2017
Again an amazing model on show! Thanks for sharing this one!
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Much appreciated support from you Morne!
Louis Gardner said on August 19, 2017
You just have to like this ... it has everything going for it. It's a Hellcat, it has markings that you normally don't see. I really like it !
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Thanks Louis- your kind words are appreciated.
Robert Royes said on August 19, 2017
Great build!, love the tank detail.
Dan DeSilva said on August 19, 2017
Tanks Robert! đ
I will be doing the same for my F6F drone controller build!
Jeff Bailey said on August 19, 2017
Beautiful, Dan! I agree with Louis & Robert - & the others ... and I love the tank detail myself. The whole thing is well made & wonderfully painted & detailed. As Lou said - what's not to like!
And the photography is excellent, too. Bravo!
Dan DeSilva said on August 20, 2017
Thanks Jeffry- I greatly appreciate your support.
Tom Cleaver said on August 19, 2017
There's an easy way to get rid of the decal silvering even at this stage. Take a nice sharp #11 blade and criss-cross the areas of silvering to slice the decal in smaller bits, then slather on decal solvent. It can get under there and get rid of the trapped air and your very nice Hellcat will be perfect.
Robert Royes said on August 19, 2017
Ah ha! nice tip.
Dan DeSilva said on August 20, 2017
Thanks very much Tom. Decal solvent - doesn't that wrinkle the decal up? I have testors decal set- would that do the same? I was considering using a brand new #11 and carefully trimming out the large clear bits. I would have done that before application, but I was concerned they would all break apart if I stressed them on the paper with a knife before soaking. I usually use a drop of future under the decal, but it didn't have any "bedding" (elimination of silvering and helping to get decal to stick to future overcoat on model before decalling) effect on the Model Art decals!
Jim Sullivan said on August 19, 2017
Nice job Dan, I love those Hasegawa Hellcats too.
Dan DeSilva said on August 20, 2017
Thanks Jim- yep Hasegawa is definitely less fiddly in my estimation, but God bless Eduard for doing a quality kit of a USN subject amidst all the (very popular and lucrative) Luftwaffe types!
John Healy said on August 20, 2017
Nice work, Dan. I'm a fan of that Eduard Hellcat because of the open canopy option and the wing fit. I just got some Berna decals from Hannants to do a French -5 just like yours!
Dan DeSilva said on August 20, 2017
Thanks John, don't get me wrong- I think there are a lot of good aspects of the Eduard kit- I wish more manufacturers would provide a wide sit canopy part for sliding hood type canopies for an open option.
Dirk Derks said on August 21, 2017
Hello Dan,
Always good to see the French Naval Air Arm represented in models.
Fine job on this model and its accessorizes.
Regards. Dirk / The Netherlands.
Dan DeSilva said on August 21, 2017
Thanks Dirk. I appreciate your kind comments. I have some more french navy in the pipeline...
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said on August 21, 2017
Dan, that is a fine looking Hellcat, early Viet Nam markings. Both Eduard and Hasagawa have their respective merits. I don't see Aeronavale markings on Hellcats often, makes a nice change.
Dan DeSilva said on August 21, 2017
Thanks very much Bernard, I was originally interested in building the kit as a French F6F-5N, but the images I found (one photo and two profiles) were not clear enough and convincing enough for me to go ahead with it. Plus, I already had the markings I eventually used sitting on a sheet in the stash!
Greg Kittinger said on August 22, 2017
Very nice. Great work on the drop tank.
Dan DeSilva said on August 23, 2017
Thanks Greg. I appreciate it.