Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat by ccoyle - FINISHED - GPM - 1/33 - CARD

[ccoyle]

Started work on the forward fuselage. Here are the skin sections with their joiner strips attached.

 

 

Each of these must first be pre-formed as close as possible to the desired finished shape. The largest piece (top) was then closed, gently conformed to the shape of the previous fuselage section, and then allowed to remain dry-fitted for 24 hours to permanently 'fix' its shape. Then the next section was closed, shaped, and glued to the first section. After the glue had set, an internal bulkhead was placed inside the resulting cylinder and glued in place. Here's the work so far -- the two fuselage sections are not yet glued together.

 

 

In the previous photo,you can see the next two rings joined together in the background. The two forward-fuselage assemblies won't be joined together just yet -- both the engine and air intake need to be built first. But, I couldn't resist getting a feel for what the finished nose will eventually look like.

 

 

Yep, it's going to look cool! In the photo, you can also see where I have added the optional recessed exhaust port. On photos of real Hellcats, there is usually a massive, dirty streak that arcs back from the exhaust port along the fuselage and over the wing root, as you can see in the photo below (from Wikimedia Commons):

 

The kit printing doesn't have any weathering, but I am half-tempted to try adding this rather conspicuous detail.

 

Cheers!

 

[ccoyle]

Well, another update. I got the forward fuselage and cowl finished, but it WAS NOT FUN. It took me quite a while to figure out how the various parts were supposed to go together, based on the somewhat nebulous diagrams. Then it took me another long while to screw up the nerve to actually start gluing stuff, and the stuff didn't just fall together but instead required substantial fiddling and shaping just to get at something acceptable. Then it took me yet another long while to do all the touch up work after the gluing was done. Blech!!

 

First, a shot of various structures strewn about on my cutting mat. I had to do surgery on the forward-most frame to make room for the air scoop to fit in. The scoop itself is a complex shape made from eight parts. The front three cowl rings did not line up properly, which required some follow-up surgery later.

 

 

You'll note that I opted to use the flat, printed engine cylinder piece rather than make the individual cylinders. Based on how difficult it was to make everything come together, this was probably a smart decision.

 

So, here's the finished nose section. I had to do some additional nips, tucks, fills , and touch-ups to get this to look half-way decent.

 

 

And here it is after gluing it to the fuselage. I noticed just now that the front of the cowl got a little deformed during the mating of the fuselage sections, so now I'll be off to fix that.

 

 

Cheers!

[AJohnson]

I’m sure under the big props, the optional cylinder fins etc will be hard to see.  I’ve built the plastic Airfix 1/24 H-Cat and there isn’t much room behind the prop blades to see detail inside the engine cowl.  Looking good Chris 👍

Edited June 18, 2022 by AJohnson

[ccoyle]

I probably shouldn't have looked at pictures of actual Hellcats just now, because now I'm seeing that the scoop on the model is all wrong, but I swear that's the best I could come up with based on the diagrams, and I can't see how it could have been done differently with the parts on hand. 😕  I swear my next airplane will be either a Halinski or a Kartonowa Kolekcja kit,

[Danstream]

21 hours ago, ccoyle said:

I had to do some additional nips, tucks, fills , and touch-ups to get this to look half-way decent.

Once mated with the fuselage, from here it looks full-way decent.

Dan

[ccoyle]

Takin' a break for a Fathers Day paddle on Lake Cunningham.

 

 

[CDW]

That's a beautiful place to be. Happy Father's Day

[AJohnson]

That looks very relaxing Chris! 👍

[ccoyle]

Brief update: I started work on the propeller hub. The diagrams appear to include different options for this, so I have to kind of guess at which parts to use.

 

 

On the far right we have an engine cover, which is the only three-dimensional part of the engine that will be included in this build. It is a large petal structure. Normally I dread petal structures, because they are difficult to get right, but my new dapping tool set was immensely helpful for this chore. I'm pleased with the result.

 

In the middle is the "hub," which is a long strip rolled into a tight cylinder around a plastic rod. On the left is the template for sanding the hub down to the proper shape. I chucked the rod into my Dremel tool and hit the 'on' switch -- and the rod promptly snapped off at the base of the hub. That happened last night and resulted in the immediate closing up of the shop for the night. Today I drilled out the broken rod and replaced it with a steel rod. I have shaped the hub (liberally stiffened with thin CA) and am now in the process of painting it. I will post another update when I get the blades added.

 

Cheers!

[ccoyle]

Okay, so no finished propeller yet, but I am slowly making progress on it. What I have learned so far is that this NOT a kit I would recommend for non-Polish speakers. Like I said earlier, there appears to be two different ways to build the propeller hub, and no hint is given in the diagrams about why or whether to use one over the other. The ring that holds the three blades is designed like nothing I have ever seen in a kit before, and this one part alone has been somewhat of a nightmare to build. I also discovered that some of the rolled paper parts are included in the 1 mm laser-cut frames set (?!?),which means that no one bothered to separate the printed structural elements into those that would normally require lamination (e.g. actual frames) versus those that don't (e.g. parts to be rolled). This partially explains why I seem to have more than the usual number of parts left over.

 

One more ambiguity that must be dealt with (and the one that explains why I am even at my computer at this moment) is how the propeller blades should be attached to the hub. Of all the diagrams and illustrations in the kit, not a single one provides a clear indication of whether the propeller should rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, and whether the Hamilton Standard logo goes on the front of the blade or rear. So, I'm off to search photos.

 

Thanks, GPM. 🙄

[ccoyle]

Found my answers already: logo in front (which I expected, but needed to confirm), and propeller rotates counterclockwise when viewed from front.

 

Also discovered that the hub assembly is not a good likeness of the real thing. 😑

[ccoyle]

So, I promised a shot of the finished propeller, so here it is. Yay.

 

 

My joy upon completing this task was cut short once I started work on the canopy. The vacu-formed canopy has proved to be roughly 20% too large for the frames. 🙄  Are the frames too small, or the canopy too large? Yet more puzzles to solve for this kit. 😑

[Dave_E]

Hard to believe that prop assembly is “paper”?! 😳

[mtaylor]

At this rate, I suspect you'll be bald by the time the kit is finished.  Sounds like a real hair-puller.

[Canute]

Props look great, but the hub? Looks like it's for an inline engine.

[AJohnson]

7 hours ago, Canute said:

Props look great, but the hub? Looks like it's for an inline engine.

Chris mentions above the likeness has been simplified, from just behind the hub where the propeller root clamps are. That’s maybe why it looks “in line” to you. Added a picture of my 1/24 Cat prop for comparison- I had the luxury of a plastic moulding for mine and only had to paint it! 🤣

[Canute]

My prop knowledge is limited. I'm a jet guy. 😄

[DocRob]

A very interesting project Chris. I never build a cardboard model and your Hellcat looks absolutely great and appetizing. With the hub, I have to go with Andrew, the conical part doesn't look right.
I built an Eduard 1/48 plastic Hellcat in the same livery last year and the hub looks like this.

 

 

 

 

Cheers Rob

 

[DocRob]

I nearly forgot, that I made some photos of the real thing some years ago in Chino.

 

 

 

Cheers Rob

[ccoyle]

Thanks for the photos, gentlemen, but I already knew that the blade clamp portion of the hub was not a good likeness of the real thing. It's just one of several features of the kit that do not match up well with the original. It's kind of annoying, actually -- if I wasn'tbuilding this kit for a friend, it might have already wound up in the pile of Misfit Models. But I will muddle along. BTW, more faithful card renditions of these blade assemblies w/o spinners do exist in other kits, but they are also substantially more complex, as you might imagine.

 

BTW #2: Doc, your photos make me sad -- because they reinforce how bad the air intake portion of the cowl on this kit is. 😜

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, DocRob said:

I built an Eduard 1/48 plastic Hellcat in the same livery last year and the hub looks like this.

Yep, that's a Hamilton standard geared hub not designed for a spinner.... totally different look....

[Egilman]

34 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

Thanks for the photos, gentlemen, but I already knew that the blade clamp portion of the hub was not a good likeness of the real thing. It's just one of several features of the kit that do not match up well with the original. It's kind of annoying, actually -- if I wasn't building this kit for a friend, it might have already wound up in the pile of Misfit Models. But I will muddle along. BTW, more faithful card renditions of these blade assemblies w/o spinners do exist in other kits, but they are also substantially more complex, as you might imagine.

 

BTW #2: Doc, your photos make me sad -- because they reinforce how bad the air intake portion of the cowl on this kit is. 😜

Well you knew the reputation of GPM going in brother... They don't always adhere to scale fidelity, definitely a step below Halinsky and several others... Sad...

 

But your part is excellent, a shame theirs isn't...

[DocRob]

40 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

BTW #2: Doc, your photos make me sad -- because they reinforce how bad the air intake portion of the cowl on this kit is. 😜

 

Yes, I didn't want to mention the shape of the air intake. But in all you will have a nice model in the end, with your super clean way to build. Like my better half use to say: 'leave it, love it or change it' .
About the hub, to my knowledge all the Pratt & Whitney driven planes which are air cooled, do not sport a spinner, which would reduce the cooling effect.

 

Cheers Rob

[ccoyle]

I may have hit upon a possible solution to the issues I'm having with this kit. Stay tuned . . .

[Dave_E]

1 hour ago, ccoyle said:

I may have hit upon a possible solution to the issues I'm having with this kit. Stay tuned . . .

That’s not fair. 😆

[mtaylor]

1 hour ago, ccoyle said:

I may have hit upon a possible solution to the issues I'm having with this kit. Stay tuned . . .

I hope it doesn't involve a fireplace.  In spite of the shortcomings you pointed out, it looks really good.

[ccoyle]

Actually, I postponed making a decision until after taking another crack at the canopy, and so far It's coming together.

[amateur]

Reminds me….

 

Hope you have a more elegant solution.

 

Jan

Edited June 27, 2022 by amateur

[ccoyle]

Quick update -- wings and stabilizers attached to fuselage. I'm still impressed by the aircraft's sheer size. The model is a bit over 11 in. in length and has an almost 16 in. wingspan. I couldn't clear away enough clutter off my workbench to make room for this shot, so I had to move the 'Cat to a different table.

 

 

 

[AJohnson]

That is one BIG Cat! 😸