1/48 Eduard F6F-3 Hellcat

by Terry Price

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This Hellcat has been finished as an aircraft on the USS Lexington in September 1943.  The red surrounding the national insignia was only on for a month or so before being removed.  They say because it can be confused with the Japanese insignia, but I think its because it looks like a target!  But it stands out beautifully on the two-tone blue colour-scheme and even on the off-white underside so I had to go for it. 

This kit has been made totally OOB.  I airbrushed the model using Tamiya and Xtracrylix paints and it is finished with a semi-gloss varnish made from Finish and Tamiya Flat Base at a 15-1 ratio.  For the decals I used Micro-Set and Micro-Sol for the big ones to blend in with the superbly crafted 'fish-scale' moulding of the main fuselage skin and with the wings recessed panel lines.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

This kit was such a joy to work on.  Every part is well tooled and the etched parts are what you would expect from Eduard.  This is the first model that I have taken seriously and although I have experimented on some aspects, I didn't try weathering too much (except for the underside that has a khaki pre-shade applied) as I wanted the final result to be the very best I could manage.

Huge thanks to my Dad, Graham, for all his advice and support.

Terry 

Photos and text © by Terry Price