M18 Hellcat US Army Tank

My Hellcat looks good, but it was a lot of work. You have a lot of options and these are the ones I went with. First I chose not to add the fenders. Second I went with the canvas dust cover over the gun mantlet. Third you can add either a strait gun barrel or add the muzzle brake to the gun. Forth I left the drivers hatch open to show this area. Pros: A good amount of detail of the transmission, driver seat and front gunner seats. If you remove the turret a lot of detail inside. The turret is full of detail including a radio (two types). Either rubber or individual tracks. Extra accessories are included.( ammo, ammo boxes, ammo tubes, jerry cans, string for the metal cable, back packs and tarps) Cons: Instructions are poor for part locations. Used reference material a lot. Did a lot of filling of holes in parts and cleaning them. Back of the hull did not match up with the upper deck and left a 1/8 gap that had to be filled. Decals where terrible. They wanted to roll up on me. If I had not put a dull clear coat on I think they would have fallen off in a week. The rubber tracks fit to tight. One even broke apart so I had to glue them and it held. No figures included. If you take your time, clean your parts good and double check all your fits before you glue them you will be ok. Recommend experience builders only. I might get it again and change up the options so I have a different looking version.

This kit yells out detail me!! And away I went with all out effort and detailing sets that I could find as well as mixed and matched figures that were placed close enough to make a realistic tight fit, I'd say you had to be a short guy to crew this cat! The machine guns, tripods, and ammo were all from the Academy U.S. Army Machine Set, another great set that I have many of and detailing every US Army model. I used the decals from various sets, finishing off the famous Kilroy as this was a favorite trick painting of the GIs. An outstanding kit that deserves detailing and lots of weathering as with all of my models.

My absolute favorite tank in the best build kit ever! A lot of fun to build, very detailed and the parts fit great. Be patient, this is a very detailed build, but soooo worth it. I tried my hand at staining the finished tank for the first time and I think it looks great. A lot of extra accessories to add on and make it look authentic. Highly recommended!