Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat without uniform

Just cockpit for start 🙂  

Sanded and fanned out the flaps on the engine cover 

Drilled the exhaust pipes 

I still haven't decided whether to make the model with atomizers or in a more interesting livery...  

Cockpit assembled... 

... and glued into fuselage 

Halves glued and sanded - we'll see after the undercoat what needs to be corrected 

Holes drilled (they were visible even after removing the atomizers) and places for armament filled and sanded 

Today a little about counting... Maybe not rivets, but... ?

The tanks from RF-80F turned out to be completely wrong ? They are definitely too short ? So before I start buying more sets I decided to do a little counting ? I used a photo where the tanks are visible in full, as transverse to the camera as possible. I rotated the image to catch the level. Then, using the perspective tools, I tried to make the bottom and top edges of the tank as parallel as possible. Based on the image of the rim, I stretched the image horizontally so that it was circular.

Now it's time for measurements! I determined several lengths:
- the length of the tank pylon (blue);
- the length of the tank (orange);
- the height of the tank (yellow);
- height of the pylon at the leading edge (green).

(see next photo) 

I measured the dimension of the length of the tank pylon on the model (gray). Based on the ratio formula, I calculated the remaining dimensions in 1:72 scale. These, in turn, I converted (for verification ) to "real" dimensions. The results are contained in the table

As you can see, neither of the proposed tanks fits exactly - in particular, both are too large in cross-section. I took similar measurements for yet another photo and there the maximum diameter of the tank is about 750 mm so.... still quite a bit too small (the length came out similar - about 5 m).

I'm stuck... I guess it will come to me to use the tank from the T-33A , lengthen it a bit and maybe grind it a bit in thickness.... 

Custom masks designed and cut with a plotter 

Primed (now you can see all places for next layers of putty 🙁 ) 

Current status 😄 

Draft on fuselage 

Draft transferred to temporary mask 

After scanning and redrawing the temporary mask, the target mask was cut out with a plotter 

Preshading 

Yellow - 4 layers. Still have a strong feeling than it needs 2-3 more... 🙁 

Fuselage with a black painting - some improvements are needed, but I'm satisfied enough to do not wash a paint from model. 

Time for wings and rudders - shades 

Yellow. My "favourite" colour 😄  

There's nothing like touch-ups on a painted part! 😉 Unfortunately I decided that I couldn't paint the imitation coloured lamp shades because there were none 😉 I cut out the space for the lamps, glued in the imitation bulbs, poured in clear resin, sanded and painted the frame. 

Modification of rear wheel suspension 

Thinned underbody cover (left). On the right, original 

Thinned underbody cover (right). On the left, original 

Engine ready for assembly 

I spent a whole day trying to master a new toy - the vacuum chamber. So far the results are worse than without it, but I hope it's a matter of time before I master it. 

Current status of the project (BlueTac is helping me 😉 ) 

I used 2 resin copies of tank from T-33A and created on, longer (as I calculated based on photos)... 

Before copying it I prepared a "pylon" and tested new tank with photo. DISASTER! Tank looks as to big! 

Suddenly, I decided to do a test with a tank from a T-33A and.... 

... looks like I've hit the jackpot. It's just a pity that I've made myself unnecessary before 😄 

A new tank (above) in comparison to an old one. 

Pylon is a mix: core is from PCV and a rest from Miliput (still wailing for some sanding). 

Under the wing - better 🙂 Maybe the tank is a bit too forward in relation to the pylon, but... probably will stay in that position 

Some changes / improvements made - time for silicone... 

... as always - we have a mystery here - succeed or not ? Let's wait 24h 🙂 

Resin copy of a new tank - for me quite OK 🙂 

In a mean time I painted a black field on top... 

... and glued undercarriage. 

Now I'm still working on tank (e.g. on pipes on the back of it). 

Both external tanks are in place - Hellcat looks for me rather like a racer than a fire tanker 🙂 

The pressure installation (?) also installed 🙂 

Decals applied 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Gallery 🙂 

Hellcat with the younger but smaller brother - Wildcat 

My collection of Grumman's Navy planes - all post-war working machines 🙂