There are ejector-pin marks on a few visible surfaces, understandable in such a large, detailed kit. If the oil is cool enough already as it enters the cooler the valve stays open and it bypasses the cooler ant heads straight back to the oil tank. From references, I understand the interior fuselage of late model F6F-5’s behind the cockpit were painted yellow zinc chromate instead of the suggested interior green.

A committed modeller himself, when Paramjit is not helping to design future Airfix kits, he likes to spend his free time modelling and has impressed everyone at the company with the incredible standard of his modelling talent. Desperate to ensure their new aircraft was a significant improvement on their rugged little fighter and an aircraft squadron pilots could operate effectively without too much additional conversion training, they enlisted the help of some of the US Navy’s most accomplished combat pilots, asking them what they wanted from the new fighter.Operated by both Naval and Army Air Force units, the Zero ruled the skies over the Pacific for almost three years of fighting and when America was dragged into the conflict following the attack on Pearl Harbor, they quickly learned that their current naval fighters were no match for this agile Japanese fighter. In the case of our new Grumman F6F-5 Hellcatannouncement, we deviated from this time honoured format somewhat, primarily because this was a relatively mature project and at the time of its Scale ModelWorld 2018 unveiling, we actually had a fully built and painted sample model to show people, along with several test build section constructions on display.

More progress today, got the engine and other related parts fitted, outer panels to follow after dirtying the engine up a bit more. The fuselage goes together the same way no matter what build option you choose, but an early decision is required about folded or spread wings. Mini models in their own right, the wings feature fully detailed fold mechanisms, gear wells, and gun bays.He was fortunate enough to be granted access to original manufacturing drawings, as well as arranging to scan a suitable aircraft, which is part of the Flying Heritage Collection in Seattle. Modest to a tee, Chris failed to tell us that at this stage, he had already spent months perfecting the shape of the Hellcat, then breaking it down into kit component parts, ensuring that all the manufacturing formers, ribs and stringers were in their correct positions. Weathering tends to be not only an eye of the beholder thing in my book, but also dependent on real pictures that you might be using.