Here's my Academy 1/72 F6F Hellcat
Finished almost OOB, only replaced machine guns and pe belts added.
- Mikhail Ageenko -
Bringing you the wealth of Japanese aviation history
Bringing you the wealth of Japanese aviation history
A nice build! I have seen this plane in photos and lately have given thought about the color. Gloss sea blue would be the first reaction, but photos show no evidence of the US markings being painted out in a different color. The color is too uniform. My thinking was that it was painted in overall dark green and given oversized hinomaru, on the fuselage especially.
ReplyDeleteEven though the color is up for debate, I'll give it a 4.7
An interesting combination, this Hellcat owned by the enemy! 4.6 for the model.
ReplyDelete@ Devlin: I'm not sure if they would have gone thru the effort of repainting the complete plane. The USN glossy sea blue was not very prone to weathering and could be wiped clean easily. The stars & bars may have been removed instead of overpainted.
But as you say, it's up for debate.
I could see this as night fighter paint scheme. I'm surprised it was not painted in the high visibility yellow orange of trainer aircraft so that it would not be shot at by mistake. My vote is 4.7
ReplyDeleteWind Swords
I could not find any information regarding this plane which was found in a derelict condition at the end of the war by US forces in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. My take is that the particular a/c crash landed, was captured by the Japanese, was roughly painted with hinomaru and such and was placed on the airfield as decoy. If that's the case then the overall US Navy blue is correct. In any case a very interesting modelling subject. The hinomaru and the rest of the marking were very roughly brush painted and not as clear as depicted in the model. But I like what Mikhail has done in this small scale. 4.8
ReplyDeleteI would like so much one day to see a diorama with this plane in derelict codnition in 1/48...
Nice finish. 4.5
ReplyDeleteThis particular Hellcat was downed over Taiwan; the detailed story was published in REVI magazine some years ago.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Which REVI issue?
ReplyDeleteYes, I would like to know more about this particular plane. A bit of a mystery....
ReplyDeleteREVI magazine No. 63.
ReplyDeleteF6F-5 BuNo. 71441, flown by LTJG Charles V. August, VF-44. Operated from USS Langley CVL-27, crashlanded on Formosa on Jan 4, 1945, moved to Japan later on and finally found by US occupation forces in Yokosuka.
Thanks a lot for the additional information.
ReplyDelete