Fantastic Detail
This is one of Eduard's Profipak series, which means it comes with photo-etch (PE) brass parts. This isn't a beginner's kit. It is also possible to build the Hellcat without the PE, and still have an excellent result, or those who don't have the patience for those tiny brass parts can opt for the Weekend Edition Hellcat.
The level of detail on Eduard kits is always superb, and this one is no exception. For those with the patience, there are tiny parts provided for the retaining straps for the drop tank, ignition wires for the engine, individual cockpit levers, and 3-D seatbelt buckles. The cockpit is a tiny work of art, and so is the engine. Since this is a nightfighter version, extra parts are included for the radar pod, which hangs off of the right wing, and for the heavier armament of 20mm cannon, instead of the .50 caliber machine guns normally found on Hellcats.
The decals are opaque, and in excellent register. You get four marking options-three American and one Royal Navy; All are in Gloss Sea Blue. The American aircraft have white radomes, the RN example does not. VF(N)-41, USS Independence, September 1944; Butch of VMF-511, USS Block Island, April 1945; Black Death of VMF(N)-542, Yontan Okinawa, May 1945; No. 892 Naval Air Sqdn, Drem Airbase, May-August 1945.
