1:48 Grumman Hellcat I

Hellcats in Fleet Air Arm colors

The Fleet Air Arm took over the American Hellcat fighters in 1943 and designated them by its own system, so the first machines delivered became Hellcat Is. They flew from carrier decks off the Norwegian coast and in the Indian Ocean, and their pilots covered attacks on German shipping and on Japanese refineries.

There are three options on the sheet. The first belongs to the machine with the number JV131 and the code E-L of No. 800 Squadron from the deck of the Emperor in September 1944. The second choice is the aircraft FN430 with the code 6-R of No. 1844 Squadron from the Indomitable in August of the same year. The third is the machine JV144 with the white number 120 of No. 1839 Squadron, also from the deck of the Indomitable, in its April 1945 appearance.

British peculiarities of the finish

Naval machines in Fleet Air Arm service wore dark blue-gray upper surfaces and a light underside, together with roundels that were modified in the Pacific theater so that nobody would confuse them with Japanese markings. The sheet holds these markings, so there is no need for the laborious business of painting them through masks.

Two of the three options come from one ship but from different squadrons and more than half a year apart, so they can be built side by side as an illustration of how the markings developed. Before applying the decals it is a good idea to polish the surface, and once dry to flatten the joins so that the edges of the carrier film blend into the paint.

The British machines also differed from the American ones in small points of equipment, for example in the fittings and the furnishing of the pilot's station. This does not show in the markings, but when building it is worth considering whether the kit you have chosen matches the machines delivered into British naval service.