On the other hand a lot of the panels can be left open and there are folks who have sausage fingers and have a need for a opti-visor . In a feature positively bristling with exclusive imagery, we go back to the very start of this project to bring you early development details, comments from the project designer responsible for producing the Hellcat and an impressive series of beautiful Hellcat build images, which are being published for the very first time and will only serve to raise our excitement levels about the impending release of this stunning kit. I hoped Airfix might do something as they had already got the engine tooled, but if Trumpy do one, just hope they get the basic shape right, not something they always do. I wasn't going to fit the external drop tank but then, yesterday, I had a thought of "what about if it's been dropped- literally?

As we have expressed many times here on the Workbench blog, to us, modelling is another form of art and looking at these two fantastic models produced by Paramjit, he is clearly an extremely talented modelling artist. Final matt coat using Tamiya TS-80 flat clear decanted from the can and thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinners. Maintaining their proven design philosophy and building on the many impressive qualities of the Wildcat, the new F6F Hellcat design made use of the very best existing aviation technologies, intentionally not waiting to incorporate all the latest innovations which would delay its service introduction, but combining the best existing technology with world leading mass production quality control. I so thoroughly enjoyed this build that I took my 24th Mossie down from the shelf of doom (after resting there for close on 8 years) and have cleaned it using the garden hose to remove various spider nests. We end this bumper Centenary edition of Workbench with yet another Airfix exclusive and confirmation of a coordinated worldwide release for our new 1/24th scale Grumman F6F-5 Hellcatkit.Here it is (along with the edges of the booth in the background), next to my 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire, which appears tiny in comparison.

I omitted all of the parts aft of the rear cockpit bulkhead as they can’t be seen I was worried they might affect the fit of the fuselage halves. The final treat is the image showing an almost complete Hellcat with engine installed and wing/cockpit detail exposed – this one really does have us all eagerly anticipating the arrival of this magnificent new model kit. I was a bit mean to spend a small fortune on scale nuts for the ends of the sparkplugs so I used 1mm evergreen hexagonal rod, drilled and painted silver then sliced into thin slivers and slipped over the end of the sparkplug before the ignition wire was attached. your execution of a weathered non-specular blue paint job is very very good, one of the best I've seen yet. Whichever medium is your preference, please do get in touch, as it is always interesting to hear from fellow modelling enthusiasts and the projects you have on the go at the moment.Now for the oil, fuel and water lines and some of the electrical and control wires (not all) and we're not far off done I reckon. Desperate to ensure their new aircraft was a significant improvement on their rugged little fighter and an aircraft squadron pilots could operate effectively without too much additional conversion training, they enlisted the help of some of the US Navy’s most accomplished combat pilots, asking them what they wanted from the new fighter. As soon as the Grumman Hellcat arrived in the Pacific Theatre, US Navy pilots knew that they had a fighter which could take on and beat the Mitsubishi Zero, which until that point, had reigned supreme.

I found the fit of the front bulkhead to be a bit vague, worrisome given the wealth of detail that will rely on good alignment and placement.The first time US Navy Hellcats engaged in combat with the Mitsubishi Zero was at Wake Island in October 1943 and even though the new fighter was coming up against experienced opponents, the Japanese fighters quickly began to fall to the guns of the Hellcat. Mini models in their own right, the wings feature fully detailed fold mechanisms, gear wells, and gun bays. The image showing the full internal of the fuselage highlights all the areas which are going to require Chris’ attention in the weeks to come, but crucially, also their correct placement in the construction of a Hellcat fighter. Chris knew that the R-2800 Double Wasp engine would be a significant feature of the new Airfix Hellcat kit and much of his time was spent producing an exact scale replica of this famous powerplant, as well as ensuring it located correctly in the very busy front section of the model.