Airfix 1/24 scale Hellcat.

[BarryW]

Airfix plastic is a bit weird, reminds me of "plastic resin" a lot of wargames company are doing things with for the last few years, but with a lot of the downsides of thermoplastic injection moulding present.
(I've just heard some hints that there may be changes coming at Airfix, but as to what I'm not certain.....)

Of would take so little for them to up their game. Even a decent plastic alone would make a world of difference.

[BarryW]

Can I suggest that anyone who buys this kit first checks, carefully, the fuselage sides for warping. If warped complain to Airfix, get new parts and don’t proceed with the model. I am now finding all sorts of problems with engine panel fit. I cannot imagine Airfix cocked up this badly when engineering the kit and it is a result of that warping. It is pretty clear that my ‘fix’ didn’t really work and I have doubts as to whether I can even finish this kit. While it looked OK when I got the fuselage sides together it clearly was out in some way I really cannot work out. I will take another look tomorrow and will post some pictures.

[BarryW]

I have concluded that when joining the fuselage halves there was a very slight twist that was entirely unnoticeable at the time and is now only apparent when trying to fit the engine panels.

If you build this kit then, as I said above, check for warping and if warped get new fuselage halves and don’t try a ‘fix’ or there is a strong chance you will get to this stage and will be unable to achieve a decent result. That is now where I am at.
No problem with the bottom inner panel. That fits snugly to the wing roots and around the bottom of the engine, or appears to. There is a small gap at the fuselage end that needed a spot of filler but that is easy to sort.
[ATTACH]394499[/ATTACH]

First hint of a problem were these small inserts. Well not quite, a dry fit of the top panel suggested a problem and that I would be best to attach panels
from the bottom up and then trim and sand the top panel to fit with, no doubt a fair bit of filler involved. So, back to the small inserts and these have a tab and no-where for the tab to go. [ATTACH]394500[/ATTACH]

So I cut the tab away and it fits neatly into position but with a gap between it and the bottom panel. I tried adjusting the position but clearly it would not close so I cemented it in place along with the opposite side.
[ATTACH]394501[/ATTACH]

There are some inserts that sit between this part and the wing and they clicked perfectly into place. You can see below and the rather wide gap.

[ATTACH]394502[/ATTACH]


From here it just gets worse and worse.

See this, nice clear locations for the bottom panel.
[ATTACH]394503[/ATTACH]

But look at the gaps, front and rear.
[ATTACH]394504[/ATTACH]

Here now are pictures of various panels, some cemented, some dry fitted. These are what convinces me that the issue is a twist in the fuselage

[ATTACH]394504[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]394505[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]394506[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]394507[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]394508[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]394509[/ATTACH]

I really do not see a way to resolve this. Not, at least, one that gives be a decent result or be worth the time and aggravation.

Land fill awaits.

This is my fourth failed build out of about 40. The other three failed kits I would describe as badly engineered but this is the odd one out.

If Airfix had done just one thing it would be a really good kit. That would be to use a good quality plastic suited for large scale kits. All the problems really did stem from this crappy soft plastic.

[BarryW]

The End....
[ATTACH]394510[/ATTACH]

I will be emailing Airfix about this kit and I will post it and any reply when I do.

[KarlW]

To check for a twisted fuselage, and how I check for twisted bike frames after they've crashed, pick a point one side of the front end and measure to the tip of the stab, then repeat from the same point on the other side, if not equal definitely twisted.

[BarryW]

Understood Karl. But it was totally unexpected. I thought bending the warped sides in to attach to the bulkhead, in the right position would do the job and there was no visible issue. In fact I thought it looked pretty much spot on and only realised that there must be some twisting from the way the panels fitted, or didn’t fit. Much too late.

It is very disappointing but there is a lesson there. Airfix have very good customer services and I should have taken advantage of that and obtained a new fuselage when I spotted the warping.

[KarlW]

You can be suprised how much twisting can be missed by the eye.
Is it definitely too late? (OK the time put in has gone.)

[BarryW]

It is now in the bin in pieces. I simply could not work out a solution that would be worth the time and effort.

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
A real shame but understandable. Life is too short to continue with a build which you can't enjoy and will be a disappointment when complete. This is clearly a kit with unsolveable issues.
Onto the next build :thumb2:
Jim

[BarryW]

Hi Barry
A real shame but understandable. Life is too short to continue with a build which you can't enjoy and will be a disappointment when complete. This is clearly a kit with unsolveable issues.
Onto the next build :thumb2:
Jim

But it could have been such a good kit if only they used a plastic fit for purpose. That is what I find sad about this. The three other kits I did not complete were at least crap and with multiple issues.

[minitnkr]

Did you save those beautiful gun barrels? PaulE

[BarryW]

Did you save those beautiful gun barrels? PaulE

Fraud not...

[Gern]

Guess I can cross that off my wanted list! It's a pity you wasted so much time and effort fixing the problems as you came across them only to be defeated in the end. I suspect you'll be having better luck with the kits in your stash!