Love the way these are turning out Torsten
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Thanks, Peter!
Yes, these Hellcats are really a pleasure to build and I’m also happy how they have turned out now. Have 2 more Eduard “Dash 5” Profipacks in my stash which I want to build as USN machines one day in the future. I guess, Russell will also have fun with his 1/72 F6F.
Have done the last decals on the propellers this afternoon and they are so well printed that I can even read “Hamilton Standard” on the logo with my magnifying glasses. Amazing! Hobbyboss should think about this quality of decals as their are just crap … 
Will start adding the rockets on JZ796 now and the extra fuel tank on JV132 tomorrow.
Have a nice Sunday everybody!
Torsten 
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I sure hope so, Torsten 
Love the way these two are turning out and looking forward to you unboxing the next two!
PS, I make it a point not too vacuum around the hobby desk unless I’m certain I haven’t dropped anything 
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So, Part One is done (I hope …)
Grumman Hellcat Mk. II JZ796, No. 808 Sqn FAA, aboard HMS Khedive, Ceylon, June 1945
Pilot: Sub Lt. Oscar Lorenzo
Kit: Eduard 1/48
More and better photos soon in my Assembly Line Thread … 
I finally found a photo of the original …
… and her carrier HMS Khedive …
JV132 follows soon. She’s already in the final assembly.
Have a nice Easter!
Torsten
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Lovely to behold Torsten. A very different marking scheme. Love it…
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Wow! Thanks for your kind comment, Peter! I’m glad that you like the result of my efforts. 
While I was searching for some informations about the Khedive in the internet on Friday evening, I found also some “on deck” photos, like this nice flight line …
… and some pushing and pulling action while others look on … 
I noticed some differences between the photos and my build, epecially regarding the white stripes. But I’ll leave it as it is now.
Torsten 
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Yesterday evening it was roll-out time for JV132. I hope Blythe Ritchie smiles at this down from his cloud …
Grumman Hellcat Mk. I JV132, No. 800 Sqn FAA, aboard HMS Emperor, May 1944
Pilot: Lt. Blythe Ritchie
Kit: Eduard 1/48
This aircraft took part in the attacks on the german battleship “Tirpitz” in the summer of 1944.
… and the carrier HMS Emperor …
… and her busy flight deck. Just imagine how narrow these escort carriers were! 
Finally the bunch together …
On both builds attaching the small clear parts for the formation lights on and under the fuselage (see yellow arrows) was really fiddly. I had to drill the top holes bigger because they were too small. But no clear part got lost, all are in their places and they fit without glue.
So, after roughly 80 photos this dual build comes to an end again. Another 2 dust catchers on my shelf of pride. The Eduard Hellcat is really a pleasure to build, no real problem showed up. Highly recommended!
Finally I want to thank everybody who supported me along the way with comments and/or likes. Thanks a lot, guys!
Stay healthy!
Torsten
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Doubly sensational Torsten. A pair to be proud of.
I am not an aircraft builder (though I have a couple in the stash) but I appreciate the workmanship you have exhibited and have really enjoyed watching these progress and the info that you gave along the way.
I look forward to watching your next build.
Cheers
Peter
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Thanks again for your kind words, Peter! I would be happy if my work would be of some help for someone. As I don’t like weathering my aircraft I try to work as neat as possible. Time and dust do a good weathering, just look at the models after 6 months on the shelf … 
I know some of your excellent builds, Peter. While I build just oob, you always put some extra effort in your work.
After 3 aircraft in a row my next build will be something different. The original can fly, swim and drive …
…okay, the first 2 things only with the help of others. It was my original plan to build the MCV Type 16 before the Hellcats, so I just switched the plan because of the Steffen Arndt Memorial Campaign. No build blog this time but you can see the result in a few weeks in my Leopard and other animals thread on Armorama. But the next aircraft build will come after that. Don’t know what it will be though. I have a large stash …
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Torsten,
Once again I’ve been lurking watching both build presentations of the F6F-3 Grumman Hellcats. You know me that I was all things Grumman’s back in my aircraft days.
Both big Cats look the part, are expertly built, painted, and decaled for your Model Museum. As a matter of fact, i do believe that I actually built this very kit as one of my last aircraft builds. Just a great kit. As for the belly formation lights, by then I was tinting the clear parts with Tamiya translucent paints. Worked out just fine.
Joel
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A pair of lovely Hellcats, Torsten, in great colour schemes too
You’ve done a fantastic job on both and even better shared your progress along the way!
A very interesting subject you’ve got lined up next 
♂
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Torsten,
I can only hope that then when I get around to building my Hellcats, they look 1/2 as good. 
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Thanks for your feedback, guys! Much appreciated!
Joel, it’s always a pleasure to see you here! You’re right, the Hellcat is a great kit. I also thought about painting the formation lights like you did, but then I decided not to paint the clear part but the holes in the fuselage and just pressed the clear parts in. Worked also fine for me.
Russell, yes, in the FAA camo they look sure different, though I also like the early USN 2-grey-tone camo. Meanwhile I’ve already started the MCV and it builds like a dream. Typical Tamiya quality. The wheel suspension seems to be workable on the model. I’ll see.
Ryan, as I mentioned before, this kit is a fun to build. You won’t have real problems to get your Hellcat together. And if you are satisfied with your result, everything is fine. If my builds are a motivation kick for you, it would be great.
I think I slowly become an “Eduardoholic”. All my aircraft builds in 2020 are Eduard kits and now another 2. Just placed an order at their webshop for some Mustangs and Messerschmitts, the old rivals. Hope to get the parcel by the end of this week …
Happy modelling!
Torsten
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Another top notch duo there Torsten, great work! Excellent build log as well, I’ve been following along and taking notes. I keep hearing that the Eduard Hellcat kits are very nice to build, and it’s one type that I have never built, so I will keep an eye out in my wanderings for one of these to add to the list.
Looking forward to your next project.
Cheers, D
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Thanks, D! I know you were following.
Yes, you should get one of these kits, though Eduard has none in their program right now and due to the fire at their store, most kits are still “temporarily unavailable” … 
Btw, my parcel with the Mustangs and Messerschmitts arrived today after 4 days on the road!
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I’d like Eduard to apply their talents more in 1/72 scale, but I’d be just as happy if they were to continue to collaborate with Special Hobby for 1/72, eg BF109, whilst Eduard do 1/48… recent unboxing of Eduard’s 1/72 F6 and fw190 kits have been really impressive…
That’s too bad about the fire-hopefully it won’t impact their business long term 
Thanks Russell!
The fire at the Eduard webshop was in late December 2020 and news was here on Aeroscale.
https://aeroscale.net/news/eduard-e-shop-closed
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Yes, it was pretty disturbing when I read the news of the fire, but luckily, in terms of Eduard’s business and for the model making community, it was nothing to do with the manufacturing side of things, eg tooling etc. And was just a warehouse facility 
Hopefully, Eduard can get back to speed as soon as possible with a bit of help from us 
Those two would make any shelf happy!!!
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Thanks a lot for all your feedback about my Hellcats, guys! It’s much appreciated!
Now that my japanese MCV Type 16 is coming to the end of the assembly line soon, it’s time to think about new sins. While I was strolling through my stash last week this kit caught my eyes. It’s the Sukhoi Su-2 Light Bomber from Zvezda in 1/48, which I bought a few years ago at the expo of my Leipzig friends. Here’s a small introduction to the kit …
First the box art …
… the back side of the box shows an assembled but unpainted model. Can’t remember seen that before somewhere …
… the instruction plan is nothing more than a flyer in A4 …
… Sprue A contains the fuselage parts …
… Sprue B has the wing parts. A bit of a problem might be the pitot tube, which is already moulded to the upper wing. I think, I’ll cut it off before assembly …
… Sprue C contains various parts for the engine and landing gear plus the bomb load …
… all clear parts are on Sprue D …
… there’s only a small decal sheet for 2 options with many red stars and a few cockpit decals but no stencils at all. The Eduard mask EX420 is essential for this green house canopy and the gun turret. I have not decided whether I build the turret in an open or closed position. Both options are possible …
… Zvezda offers 2 painting options for this kit. One is in white winter camo of an unknown unit but I have decided to paint my Su-2 in summer camo green/black and blue of the 210. BAP. I have Vallejo’s Air War Series 71197, so that will be my choice of paints, plus some Revell for the interior probably …
… when I had a closer look at the cowling parts I was a bit worried about the shape of the cowling ring because I know a different look of it. A russian company doesn’t get the shape of a russian plane correct? Have a look at the box art above and the assembled kit above. So I did some research in the internet and I think there were different series or manufacturers of the plane. So both versions should be okay. Here’s the more known cowling, which I remember seeing on photos …
… and this is how the kit cowling looks like …
I enjoyed a lot building Zvezda’s Pe-2 Peshka during the Soviet Phoenix Campaign on Aeroscale in February 2017, so I hope this build will bring again a lot of fun. I’ll start with it the next days and I hope some of you will join me again during this ride.
Happy modelling!
Torsten
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