Airfix A19004 Grumman F6-F5 Hellcat

Product Information

This next selection of images feature Paramjit’s latest Hellcat build, only finished a couple of days ago. The engine is in and plumbed, I'm getting a new camera in the next couple of days so holding off on new photos till I can have a go with that. Welcome to this latest edition of Workbench and all the news, updates and exclusive announcements from the fascinating world of Airfix modelling. Unfortunately, his aircraft sustained significant damage during these actions and he himself had been wounded by shrapnel, a situation made all the worse when he noticed four Zeros on his tail, all lining up for an easy victory. The separate control surfaces fit well but be aware that the cockpit controls are fixed and can’t be posed to match control surface deflections.

The rather aggressive scheme carried by F6F-5 Hellcat ‘White 7’, which was selected by Paramjit for his second Hellcat build, is a VF-27 aircraft, which made a significant contribution during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24th October 1944. Further detail is added in the second picture, but we are certain that your eyes will be drawn to the third image and the unbelievable amount of work Chris has put in to what actually looks like a real de-skinned Grumman Hellcat.

The distinction of being the first US Navy Hellcat pilot to shoot down a Zero fighter was attributed to Ensign Robert Duncan and over the course of the next few days, Hellcat pilots posted their intention to gain a hard fought air superiority over the Pacific and begin the long road to eventual victory. As the new 1/24th scale Grumman F6F-5 Hellcatproject was at a relatively mature stage by the time of its triumphant Telford 2018 announcement, designer Chris had already negotiated the potentially stressful stage of receiving the first test frame components produced by the new model tooling. A crucial time in the development of any new model tooling and one of great excitement (and no doubt also some trepidation) for the Airfix team, the arrival of the first test frames from the tooling in the Airfix office is the first opportunity they will have to see how the new kit will look and if all the incredible detail they have been working on is accurately reflected by the tooling. It just gives a hint of something lighter over the ribs and you can then play around with mist coats to get it right. The Airfix 1/24 scale F6F-5 Hellcat has been a welcome surprise to many large scale model builders, especially those interested in US carrier based aircraft.

The competition will close on Thursday 6th June (the 75th Anniversary of D-Day), so you all have plenty of time in which to place your entry – our lucky winner will be selected at random from the list of correct entries and we will announce their good fortune in the next edition of Workbench, due to be published on Friday 7th June. On the other hand a lot of the panels can be left open and there are folks who have sausage fingers and have a need for a opti-visor . This build will be in a two part “mini-series” due to the large size and length of time it may take to build. Maintaining their proven design philosophy and building on the many impressive qualities of the Wildcat, the new F6F Hellcat design made use of the very best existing aviation technologies, intentionally not waiting to incorporate all the latest innovations which would delay its service introduction, but combining the best existing technology with world leading mass production quality control.But it goes on very well and then we can go with getting the open gun bay flap doors sorted and weathered. 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.

Yes a 1/24 Corsair would be great - naturally a "clipped-wing" FAA version (for fitting in smaller RN carriers) for me, but I'm biased! The image showing the full internal of the fuselage highlights all the areas which are going to require Chris’ attention in the weeks to come, but crucially, also their correct placement in the construction of a Hellcat fighter. Posting some quite astonishing combat statistics, it has been reported that almost 75% of all aerial victories claimed by US Navy pilots were attributed to the Grumman Hellcat, which earned an impressive combat kill ratio of 19 to 1 in the Pacific Theatre.As this is a 1/24th scale kit, Chris knew that he would be able to incorporate much greater levels of detail into this project than is possible with smaller scales, following the actual construction details of the Hellcat much more faithfully. I've wondered about this kit and it was very nice to be able to watch a well-done job and learn a little about what the big kit is all about.

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.Hellcat ‘White 7’ had 167 holes in its fuselage, damage so significant that the aircraft was almost immediately pushed over the side of the carrier to a watery grave, a sad end for an aircraft which had served its pilot so well.