Eduard 1/48 F6F-3 Hellcat

THE KIT

The kit was released in 2007 and has been re-issued multiple times most recently in 2023.

The kit is well engineered and the fit and finish is excellent, especially the replication of the way Grumman overlapped the rear fuselage panels. There are 15 pages of clear instructions including a stencil placement page and 5 pages of color 4-views.

The kit really is one of Eduard’s best and it goes together with no problems. Starting with the cockpit, the PE parts make it look very realistic. The individual control surfaces fit perfectly and look much better than molded in place controls.

The engine is well done and was painted with aluminum cylinders that were given a black wash and the crankcase was painted engine gray. There are two separate sliding canopies for an open or closed option, a nice touch.

The landing gear detail is a bit fiddly but eventually went together nicely. The face of the spoked wheels had a slight ridge that did not appear correct and was sanded flush with a sanding stick, the only alteration made.

The wings and stabilizers fit perfectly and were carefully aligned.

There are very small formation lights that along with the wing nav lights that were drilled and painted red and green that look realistic.

The gun barrels were drilled with a #80 bit, painted gunmetal and installed when the model was finished.

The finishing touch after painting was a nylon thread antenna wire attached to a pre-drilled #80 hole in the tail and the mast. Insulators were made with white glue.

It really was a shake and bake construction, one of the easiest ever!

The model was built just as BuNo 66016 would have appeared when delivered by the USS Lexington to Hawaii in August 1943. After intense training VF-16 saw action in the Tarawa Atoll and the Gilbert Islands. By mid-September the red surrounds were painted blue. BuNo 66016 was flown by Alex Vraciu when he joined VF-16 in June 1944.

The model was painted in my favorite tri-color scheme with the kit red surround decals that look great on the tri-color scheme. All paint was Model Master enamel. The cockpit and cowling interior were painted interior green. A gloss coat was applied prior to decaling and a final semi-gloss finished the job. The kit decals performed well with Microsol snuggling into recesses very well. The lower fuselage ID lights were cut from red, green and yellow decal material using a punch and die. The pitot was painted red and chrome and installed finishing the Hellcat in 30 hours.

As it was brand new, I only lightly applied the iconic Hellcat exhaust staining with brown and black pastels applied with a soft brush over the final semi-gloss finish.

This is a well-designed, engineered and detailed kit that would be a good model for modelers new to the hobby.

Squadron Signal F6F Hellcat in Action.