1/32 Trumpeter F6F-5 Hellcat

[Bomber_County]

That’s a real PITA Ryan, good catch .......haven’t heard or read about this before......very strange......

[Ryan]

Just google a review of the kit or "1/32 trumpeter hellcat bulge".

Whats odd is that most of the reviewers or builders get hung up on the bulge and not the depression which is more unsightly in my opinion.

The kit is general seems to be fat around the cockpit area, but if you look at the Maru pic, it does look a bit plump to me anyway.

Thanks for checking in.

[Ryan]

Got the other half massaged into shape and sharpened up the cockpit sills.

 

[Ryan]

Here is a great photo set of the spine.

http://www.mikeashey.com/SCALE MODELING REFERENCE-AIRCRAFT/F6F-3-HELLCAT-LAPP-AND-BUTT-JOINT-SURFACE-DETAILS.pdf

[Ryan]

Got some work done on the tail gear, it’s very fragile.

its sitting in the fuse while the joints set up. Later I’ll add some detailing and some strengthening additions.

[Ryan]

The main gear is very robust, but missing the collars for the oleo shaft. I got a little glue happy before I realized this, so will have to fix with oleo scissor links in place.

[BlrwestSiR]

A bit of an odd omission. Good thing you saw it though. 

[1to1scale]

Maybe you can cut, drill, then insert metal Ron, with some aluminum tubing slipped over it. 

[Ryan]

That a good idea, but was going with something easier.

1st option wrap oleo with tape and build up edge with primer.

2nd option make oleo collar out of thick white Tamiya contour tape and secure with thin super glue.

2nd option would give a thicker collar.

[crazypoet]

This is great work!

not to mention learning all the quirks of the kit and seeing your approaches to dealing with them as well

[Ryan]

Thanks Mr. Poet.

 

[Ryan]

Hey guys more hellcat adventures.

As mentioned above, to solve the missing oleo collars, I was going to use one of two techniques to replicate.

The vinyl Tamiya tape was the winner! Once the tape was cut to wrap the strut a small notch was made to allow the tape to clear the scissor link.

After the tape was set and tamped down a  candy shell of thin super glue was brushed on to seal the tape. The join line at the rear of the tape is easily sanded and blended when the glue is dry.

A final, but not photogenic step, is to slather some liquid putty to seal anything that the glue missed. I’ll sand it out after it sits over nite.

Thanks for looking.

Ryan

 

[Ryan]

After a blast of primer it doesn’t look bad for what it is...a couple of pieces of tape wrapped around a strut!

I’ll add some bolt detail and polish it up before final paint.

 

[Ryan]

Took some time aside for more painting. After a unsuccessful wash attempt I went back to my old standard of pre shading and post color.

Happy with the result.

[Ryan]

Thanks to Carl for helping me with wash application, I started on the rear bulkhead.

I did cheat a little and lightly sprayed a green filter to soften the wash.

 

[crazypoet]

Nicely done on that shading - and a nice solution to a tricky problem with the gear...

[BlrwestSiR]

The bulkhead looks great Ryan! I'm glad I could help out 

Carl

[Ryan]

Completed a task I have been dreading today. The detail in the pit is a bit soft and shallow as far as corner definition on the consoles, the only option would be to mask them off and spray. 

I had to assemble the unit to eliminate some joints and assembled it makes the job harder. I decided to do a few boxes at a time. In the end, there was just a little touch up needed. The rest will be brush painted.

 

[Ryan]

More work continued today, took a break from painting and started assembling some of the pit.