Randy Asplund F6-F Hellcat 1/72 scale
F6F-5 Hellcat
© Randy Asplund

This is my build of the Heller brand model of a U.S. Navy F6F-5 Hellcat from VF-12 flying from the U.S.S. Randolph CV-15 in 1945. It took a lot of modification to build with the gear up because the doors don't cover the whole opening, the wings gaped so much at the wing root that I had to fill with structural plastic in addition to a ton of putty. The guns were molded in one with one half of the wing, but hung by almost nothing when assembled. No pilot. The nose didn't fit the fuselage either, and the white decals were not opaque! Well, its a Heller, so it was cheap. That just equates to "A challenge." So I made the clear lights with colored "bulbs" inside them, and did some interior work including building a gunsight. Had to add the tailhook, too.