1/48 Eduard F6F-3 "Richard E. Stambook, White 17, Bu.No. Unknown"

I have had this Eduard kit since I was in high school. I remember working extra hours as a lifeguard to be able to buy this kit. Like I said earlier, I spoke with Alex Vraciu, and was committed to build his kit.

The kit started out well enough. The detail is superb. No doubt, it is THE best Hellcat in 1/48. Airfix probably takes the cake for best Hellcat. Anyway, the interior fell together. Next time, I will paint my own panel. I didn't car for the prepainted photoetch:

Some disappointments with this kit:

The fit of the ailerons is horrible. It will take a lot of sanding and filler. Also, you cannot build it with the canopy closed. The canopy won't fit. I don't have the skill to make it fit. The windscreen and sliding section are completely different sizes. I verified this on my other kits too. Builders are forced to build it in the open position. In the open position, it doesn't even fit well either. It still works though, but if you want to build it closed, my guess is vacuform is your best bet.

Overall, it really was a joy. There are some areas to consider for improving the accuracy of the kit:

- Fill big gaps on upper sides of both ailerons
- Fill either the leading edge landing light, or landing light under the wing. Hellcats didn't have both. The first 272 had the wing light. They then switched to leading edge lights.
- Fill rivet lines on fabric covered areas at the tips of the elevators
- Kits tires are too thin. I used Eduard's nice Brassin set.

This isn't everything. No model will ever be. These are just some things one can do to tidy it up a little.

Overall, I am very happy with this build. It took me so long because of self-inflicted disasters. I learned so much though! I know things will go faster for future builds. I used a combination of Model Master, Mission Models, Tamiya, and Mr. Color paints. Weathering was done with my airbrush, Abteilung pigments, and Abteilung oil paints. I spent over four months on this kit, but learned more than I could have ever bargained for. I'm taking it to an IPMS contest in Grand Junction, CO on Saturday, so we will see how it goes.