The kit and its assembly:
This mild what-if Hellcat is more or less a remake of a similar build, a fictional F6F-6 in late-WWII Netherlands markings. Some time ago I read about RN Hellcats in the SEAC theatre and that photo-recce F6F had been re-painted in an overall medium blue scheme, and it took a while to find out more – esp. about the blue tone that had been applied. I initially thought it had been FS 35164 (USN Intermediate Blue), but trustworthy sources claimed that it had been an improvised/mixed color, what made a build even more attractive. Another odd "variant" for photo recce Hellcats provided by the same source claims an apparently all-over glossy black scheme, intended to reduce drag through the shiny finish.

Since I had a leftover F6F-5 kit in store as a basis I eventually took action and procured a set of brass gun barrels for an A-1 Skyraider (the same that I has used on my first F6F-6 build, too), and started the build. The kit is/was, however, a Mistercraft reboxing of the Heller Hellcat (a mold from the Seventies...), which I had originally procured only because of its vast and exotic decal set.


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


This kit turned out to be a HUGE disappointment. The bright blue plastic is poor and takes ages to cure after glueing. Details are all raised and limited, but that would be acceptable for the kit's age and low price point. But the fit is ...horrible, esp. the separate cowling and the fuselage/hull intersection, which left me with 1mm (!) gaps and other misalignments that required massive PSR to bridge and compensate.
Another special horror: the cowling and the engine. Sane designers would have mounted the engine block to the bulkhead/front wall of the hull and then place the completed cowling over it, held by locator pins or other mounting aids. But not in France! The engine block has to be glued onto pins that are molded into the front(!) ring of the cowling, and esp. the lower ones remain well visible. I tried to mill them away and just use the upper pair, but that turned out to be so shaky that I had to add struts to the rear cylinder bank to stabilize the motor block which hangs, more or less, in free air(!?). But even then, the problems do not cease: the cowling turned out to be too wide, leaving gaps outside of the cooler flaps, and that hull and wing section (which consists of the lower fuselage half, see above) do not match was not helpful either. The lack of any orientation aids worsens the fight with the hardware. I eventually added a blob of putty to the engine block's rear and to create more adhesive area and tried to glue the cowling to the hull as flush as possible, but it required several PSR turns to blend everything together. In hindsight I also regretted that I opened the cooling flaps a little to make the model look a bit more life-like – since the cowling does not align well with the rest of the hull this discrepancy became even more obvious, but I left it that way.


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


My conversion measures were limited and circled around the propulsion system: a new 4-blade propeller, left over from an Academy P-47D, mounted on a metal axis and inserted into the engine block. Since I wanted some more external difference to the F6F-3/5, I decided to extend the fin at the tip. It's just a subtle change, maybe 3mm net, done with 1mm plastic sheet and some PSR.


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The gun barrels are aftermarket brass pieces (see above), outfitted with flame dampers – I think these were more expensive than the whole Heller kit itself!
I also sanded away the dubious underwing hardpoints, since they appear very primitive and toy-like, just like the six missiles which neither look like American HVARs nor like British 60 lb. RP-3 missiles.
Instead, for long-range reconnaissance missions in the PTO, I gave the Hellcat a pair of drop tanks on the inner wing stations, both procured from Academy P-47 kits.


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Camera port fairings behind the wings' trailing edge, scratched from styrene sheet and PSRed in/onto the hull, with openings that were later filled with ClearFix, would set the -P variant apart from its standard brethren (and somewhat hide the loss of many surface details due to the massive PSR work all around the hull...). An IDF loop antenna was added under the fuselage as another detail for a long-range recce aircraft.


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

That may be a disaster of a kit but it's looking very promising with all your updates. 

I try my best to make something from this Hellcat kit abomination. Strangely, the canopy is crystal clear and fits perfectly!? 

This has me very interested Dizzy mate ...can't wait to see what you do with this terrible kitset .

Oh, the Heller Hellcat (Hellercat?) is a Heller effort not a repopulated of the Airfix Hellcat, then?

Didn't know Heller had done their own - have seen it in model shops but thought it was the Airfix kit.

That fin tip extension is genius! The std Hellcat fin has always looked somewhat underdimensioned. 

Looks good in that blue.
 

Quote from: Pellson on February 21, 2025, 02:17:48 AMThat fintip extension is genius! The std Hellcat fin has always looked somewhat underdimensioned. 

Indeed it is, a bit like the extended fins on the -2 Bearcats, it makes ALL the difference to the overall look of the aeroplane.

Quote from: kitbasher on February 21, 2025, 01:44:01 AMOh, the Heller Hellcat (Hellercat?) is a Heller effort not a repopulated of the Airfix Hellcat, then?

Didn't know Heller had done their own - have seen it in model shops but thought it was the Airfix kit.

While Heller and Airfix share(d) some molds, like the A-1 Skyraider, there are different 1:72 Hellcat kits around. The Heller F6F is from 1977 or so, while the Airfix kit is even from 1968 (and offers the option to fold the wings!). Hard to tell which is worse, though. 

Quote from: PR19_Kit on February 21, 2025, 02:27:20 AM

Quote from: Pellson on February 21, 2025, 02:17:48 AMThat fintip extension is genius! The std Hellcat fin has always looked somewhat underdimensioned. 

Indeed it is, a bit like the extended fins on the -2 Bearcats, it makes ALL the difference to the overall look of the aeroplane.

Yes, the late F8F-2 Bearcat was an inspiration for this little "upgrade". 

Painting and markings:
As mentioned above, the odd paint scheme (or better: the color) was what tempted me into building this British Hellcat. Since the uniform medium blue livery would be very simple, I decided to implement the idea of an overpainted original Dark Sea Blue (FS 35042) standard USN livery, with the lighter tone flaking off here and there. With this concept the landing gear and the wells became Dark Sea Blue, too, while cockpit and cowling interior were painted with American Interior Green.


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; 'B9-H/JX 995' of No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The medium blue was not mixed, though, and I rather used Humbrol 157 (RAF Azure Blue) over an XtraColor FS 35042 basis on leading edges and some areas that are normally exposed to wear and tear. The medium blue was furthermore unevenly applied, to emphasize the camouflage's improvised nature.


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; 'B9-H/JX 995' of No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; 'B9-H/JX 995' of No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The markings remained RN standard, even though I puzzled the decals together form various sources. The roundels came from a Revell Hellcat, as well as the serail number, while the small white tactical code came from the Mistercraft sheet; the white ID striped were created with generic white decal material. As an exotic twist I gave the machine a Type C fin flash but painted the leading red field out with a different shade of medium blue-grey.

The kit received a light black ink wash, some light post-panel-shading and weathering (leading edges, exhaust and gun smoke stains), and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

Another very nice build from you Dizzy, you are making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 

Gondor

At least I'm trying to.    With paint the whole thing does not look too bad.

1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; 'B9-H/JX 995' of No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Grumman ,Hellcat FR.III (F6F-6P)'; 'B9-H/JX 995' of No. 898 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy; Ratmalana (Ceylon/Sri Lanka), September 1945 (Whif/Modified Heller kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Tape for the in-theatre markings, a nice idea.

Gondor