1/48 Hasegawa F6F-5P conversion
I wanted to do a Hellcat in these markings ever since I saw the photo in a Hellcat reference, the Model Graphics book on the Hellcat. When I found out that Superscale put decals out for one of these VF-84 aircraft, I went ahead with it.
I used a resin cast of the Otaki Hellcat cowl ring to improve the Hasegawa kit's cowl.
The Photo Hellcat conversion was pretty simple, find where the holes need to be drilled on either side of the fuselage, fill the holes with some clear sprue, and polish them.
Hope you enjoy looking.
That is a great looking Hellcat Dan. Clean and shiny! What paint did you use?
I airbrush regular Testors enamel thinned with mineral spirits for the colour coat, then I brush on 4-5 coats of future. I decal, then if its a gloss finish in the end I seal with future, if it is a flat or satin finish, I use a water based Testors clear finish.
Thanks for asking,
That's a very nice looking gloss finish on such a big model. I like it!
A possible further improvement could be painting (over) the markings - these white decals do not seem to be covering very well.
actually, what you are seeing is the effect of low light- I only seem to have had time lately to photograph after work, which makes it 5-6PM- its already getting dark over here, couple that with overcast sky, and colours are being reflected in the white as a blueish tint- even adjusting the white balance will not bleach out the blueing of low light like that.
In a well lit condition, you would be able to see the markings are very opaque and "white". Superscale did an excellent job on the opacity of these decals. In reality, it wouldn't really have looked as "white" as the white decals, but then that all depends...we could go on and on! 🙂
Thanks for clarifying this. I'm taking back my remark!
Dude, no problem at all- you offered advice on how to build a better model- much appreciated that you cared to say something.
Dan .. the FIRST thing I noticed is the real looking tires ... you do a good job with the details .. it IS, actually, ALL of your models have a CLEAN paint job on 'em .. a patience that shows ! nice presentation !
i think it's beautiful