1/72 F6F-3 Hellcat – HobbyBoss 80256
I ended up taking a step back from modeling with the nice summer weather setting in and having multiple tasks around the house and garden. What I did not plan was the course of action required after a few medical tests due to a few symptoms I was experiencing. Turned out I had a 90% blocked LAD artery – but no heart attack. Then I had to do a ‘short stint' in the hospital during which they placed a ‘short stent' in my LAD artery. Now I am on the mend, resting in the sun by the pool for a while. Glad they caught it in time. According to my doctor, there are typically 11 different factors which can cause heart disease - my contributing factors were 'Age', 'Heredity' and self imposed 'Stress'; the other 8 factors were being kept in check with a decent diet and exercise and an active lifestyle.
Moral of the cautionary tale – listen to your body and don't put anything off, get yourself checked out.
A quick completion getting back to some builds was another 1/72nd scale Hobby Boss ‘Easy-Build' Kit. This is HBoss #80256 F6F-3 Hellcat comprising of 26 parts – not a big investment in time and a great subject to try out my new set of 'New Formula' AK Air Series Paints (AK2230) USN & USMC Aircraft Colours.
I did a direct comparison of this HBoss kit to the Eduard F6F-3 Hellcat (#7457) and the HBoss surface detail and dimensions are good, better than I expected – reminds me of the quality of the HBoss P-47 kit. I will be saving my Eduard kit a little longer- that Eduard kit looks AMAZING with a great parts count and a very nice decal sheet.
The HBoss decals were not so great, so I used the prints and some decals from the Eduard sheet to present Vraciu's Hellcat after his famous day of June 19, 1944 when he downed 6 D4Y's in 8 minutes. Other decals came from a Hasegawa kit and an extra Micrcoscale sheet. I managed obliterated a side fuselage insignia decal when I mistakenly use a brush from my ‘MS-Liquid Decal Film' pile to apply the decals. The alternate brush must have had some Decal Film residue on it for when I went to pat down the decal it basically melted away! Ugh! So the port side insignia is just a bit off colour when compared to the other decals.
The AK Air Series paints sprayed great and colours look very good and the colours did match up during later brush touchups. One observation was the AK paints seemed to need an extra day or two to cure when compared to my typical Tamiya experiences.
I did go a little overboard when adding the exhausts on either side but it does made the Hellcat look a little meaner in my opinion.
Well, thanks for reading and remember to take care of yourselves.
Cheers
Great article reminding me how cool the F6F can look. Sometimes I think of this plane as klunky, but you made it look beautiful.
Glad you are on the mend, and continue improving. Enjoy the remainder of your summer 'up there', George.
George @georgeswork, I am happy you caught this in time and on the road to recovery.
And nice work on your build, you made a nice looking Hellcat.
Nice work on Alex Vraciu's Marianas Turkey Shoot Hellcat.
Unfortunately, it appears that the sins of the 1/32 Trumpeter Hellcat, which were passed down to the 1/48 Hobby Boss kit, were passed on down to this one. That, however, is Not Your Problem. 🙂
And congratulations on dodging the medical bullet.
Very nice George! And so glad you caught the issue early enough to get it resolved!
Nice and clean work George. Great that this site features a lot of 1/72 kits lately !
So glad you are starting to look after your self better. Once one removes what injures us , then healing starts. Stress is the number one killer.
Looking forward to lots more model builds coming from you.
A super result, George!
Looks like a very enjoyable build!
Everything seems good now, regarding your health, I will take your advice for sure!
A scary moment but in the end all turned out well, George @georgeswork
Good to hear you are on the mend.
Your Hellcat looks amazing.
This simply kit looks very good after Your work!
Glad to hear you’re on the mend, George, relaxing and making models are great healers.
Hellcat looks awesome, George (@georgeswork). I have built a couple of the Easy-Build kits and I am amazed at how well they come out with just a little TLC. Glad you are on the mend. Stuff like that can be really scary. My wife had something similar a couple of years ago, but she didn't need a stent yet. Things have gotten a lot better with exercise and a sensible diet. I am ready to see a bunch of cool, new models from you.
Nice work, George! Glad you’re well.
Great looking F6F! I did a couple of Eduard 1/72 Hellcats, it is a great kit. Stay well!
Nice build. Good thing that you listened to your body.
Sweet looking Hellcat George. Always a good idea to heed the “check engine” light when it comes on. Looking forward to your next build.
Bob (@bobd56az), 2nd Bob (@v1pro), Tom (@tcinla), , Greg (@gkittinger), Bernard (@bernardbedeur), Spiros (@fiveten), John (@johnb), Lis (@lis), George (@chinesegeorge), 2nd George (@gblair), 2nd John (@j-healy), Robert (@roofrat), Dan (@dbdlee), Eric (@eb801)
Thanks for the great comments and the well wishes gentlemen.
It's been two weeks since I got my stent and I'm feeling great! Definitely counting my blessing!
I haven't been posting many comments but I have checking in all the great items in the HEADLINES.
I can see what Tom touched upon about this kit, front end seems a bit 'round' when compared to the Hasegawa and Eduard kits.
It was a quick & easy fun build and I won't be shy to try those AK Acrylics again.
Cheers
@georgeswork - It's actually that the fuselage is too wide around the cockpit. One of those things that couldn't be fixed with a jackhammer.
Nice clean build George, keep well.