Grumman F6F-5 'Hellcat' Trumpeter 1/32 Scale

[stona]

Next up in the lockdown series is this kit.

I'm not going to over egg the pudding at this stage, Vaughan has a similar build on going, so just a quick peek.

The kit comes in a nice big box with the usual pretty picture on the front.


Inside is a number of what look like nicely molded parts on a shed load of sprues, and a box with a bit of photo-etch and some 'rubber' tyres. I don't mind this type of tyre, though some seem to dislike them intensely for some reason. The parts have even got locating pins etc., which will be something I either didn't have, or were useless, on the Special Hobby kits I've recently built.



You also get a decal sheet (though the markings are mostly very simple and I might mask them) a paint guide (mostly blue) and an instruction booklet. I always treat instructions as being someone else's opinion on the best way to put a kit together, but these are well drawn and look like they will be helpful, unlike some more recent efforts.



I've already cut a few bits off and had a look at them, I might even stick some together this evening.

Cheers

Steve

[papa 695]

Nice one Steve.

[BarryW]

Go for it Steve.

[Vaughan]

Steve It's a good kit although I'm going to have to file down the the bulkheads around the instrument panel as the fuselage is a tight fit and it will not close directly in front of the cockpit. Interesting see How yours fits?

[stona]

Steve It's a good kit although I'm going to have to file down the the bulkheads around the instrument panel as the fuselage is a tight fit and it will not close directly in front of the cockpit. Interesting see How yours fits?

It'll be a while. I seem to have done quite a bit of work with little to show for it! I'm surprised at the amount of clean up some parts have required and also the number of sink marks on some parts. I've felt the need to sort a few which I feel will be visible later on, and it's one of my pet hates. Nonetheless the little sub-assemblies I've built so far have fitted together nicely.

Progress, such as it is, can be measured in cocktail sticks:



As a traditional old dog I use enamel paints, which allows plenty of time for reflection before, for example, starting any shading or detail painting in the cockpit parts above.

I'll keep an eye on that IP to fuselage fit, thanks for the heads up.

Cheers

Steve

[stona]

So, I'm a bit behind Vaughan who is encountering a few issues with the kit. I haven't got to that point yet, though I did find that even at this early stage a bit of adjustment had to be made to the fit of the side consoles between the two bulkheads in order to ensure that everything would line up in the fuselage. Unlike Vaughan I have only dryfitted in one side of the fuselage, so I may have some more fun to come!

I tried to get a photo to show the console bulkhead fit, but failed miserably. This just shows where I am at the moment.



Cheers

Steve

[stona]

I've stuck the other two bulkheads on, the one at the back also needed some fettling to make it sit down flush on the floor.

This is what I mean by the bulkheads all lining up in a fuselage half, it's standard practice for we builders of wingy things, but the proof of the pudding won't come until I join the two fuselage halves.



Cheers

Steve

[Steven000]

Nice progress Steve :thumb2:

[stona]

I've just fitted the pilots seat.



Is it just me or is that seat absolutely huge!

I build quite a lot of WW2 aircraft in 1/32 scale and this is definitely the biggest seat I've ever fitted...by a wide margin.

I know our friends across the pond tend to be a little bit...errrr...larger than us, but I reckon I could almost fit two of my 1/32 Luftwaffe pilots in that seat, side by side!

Cheers

Steve

[Vaughan]

Steve I found these online. Not a definitive but it does look like a wide seat. Maybe the Trumpeter is a little larger than it should be. I'm happy with mine but I know what you mean.

[stona]

Obviously made for fuller figured pilots

It's far too late to do anything about mine, even if I wanted to. I'm not unhappy with it, it just seems ample.

Cheers

Steve

[stona]

Today I finished the cockpit assembly and built the engine, which was, frankly, a bit tedious. There's only so much fun you can have with 36 rocker covers etc.!

I also built the centre wing section, which went okay. The fit is good, but the way the kit is engineered looks like a compromise to me. You will have a seam in the wheel bay between the upper and lower wing halves no matter what you do.

I also dry fitted the engine and cockpit into the fuselage halves with some trepidation, as I know Vaughan has had some issues with this. It very, very nearly fits. In fact it probably does, but is so close I took it all apart without making a decision. I'll try again tomorrow when I've built the tailwheel assembly which also goes in at this stage (and is currently stuck on eight cocktail sticks) and decide what to do then.

This was it at stumps today.



Cheers

Steve

[yak face]

Great progress steve , the pit looks lovely . The seat definitely looks business class width ! It’s probably about right , the Americans liked a roomy office, the p47 thunderbolt pit is absolutely huge , I once read somewhere that an ex p47 pilot when asked about evasive manoeuvres said the best way was to undo the seat belts and run around the cockpit! :smiling5:

[BarryW]

Coming along nicely Steve.

[stona]

So, moving rapidly onwards!

Another dry fit of cockpit/engine/tailwheel assemblies in a fuselage half. The sharp eyed (Vaughan) will have noticed I've left out the radio and other electronic bits. They will never be seen and will just make joining the two halves a lot harder. If I hadn't just told you all, you'd never have known that they weren't there.



The exact position of the engine, fore and aft, is a bit vague, there is about 5mm of play. This was confirmed when I added the other fuselage half.



The good news is that the two halves do fit together (apart from that step at the back of the cockpit which is a fault in the kit, not my fitting!) I will leave the engine unfixed when I join the fuselage halves. The only way I can establish its correct position is when I fit the exhausts and I can glue it in place it then.

That seat still looks far too big to me

I have planned ahead a bit, so I was able to do a quick fit of the wing centre section. All aircraft modellers know how problematic that wing to fuselage join can be, and I wanted to be sure I wouldn't need to do anything to the fuselage to ensure a good fit. On this dry fit it looks pretty good.



I'll glue this up and then amuse myself with some other bits like guns...or something.

Cheers

Steve