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As there is enough on the history of this aircraft either in print or on the internet I will not go into it here. Suffice to say that the Hellcat is the most successful carrier based aircraft in history as 12,275 were built, 270 were lost and Hellcat pilots claimed 5156 kills in less than two years of ops.
June 6, 1944 “D” Day was the day when the allied armies crossed the English Channel en mass and landed on the beaches of Normandy to begin the slow march across Western Europe This battle was the start of the allies invasion which ended in Berlin with Hitler’s surrender. 2014 marked the 70th anniversary of this monumental event. Each day, we lose more of those who participated or lived through this battle. Kits, like this one, help us (and especially the younger builders out there) remember what happened on that day and why it was so important to the course of WWII. The P-51 has been covered by many other sources, as has the “Bluenose” 352nd Fighter Group based in Bodney Norfolk, UK.
The newest offering of the 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator was well worth the effort for the folks at Round 2 to re-release this wonderful kit again. It was a kit that's parts went together very smoothly and without much flash on them.
The real car, when I did my research to build this model came in only four colors. And they were orange, yellow, white, and blue which their actual factory code to get the exact color is listed for you on the instuctions sheet ! The artwork on the box depicts the orange one on the front and sides as well as a yellow one on another flap of the box. Because of that I decided to embark on building it blue.
The first generation Challenger bowed its head in 1969 and was a stable mate to the Plymouth Barracuda, the original Chrysler “pony car” to play in that segment as started by Ford’s Mustang. The second generation “Challenger” from 1978 to 1983 was a badge engineered Mitsubishi Galant Lambda. The current generation of Challengers was introduced in early 2008 again to do battle with the fifth generation Mustang and Camaro segments that were exploding in popularity.
Eduard’s Brassin line has some of the finest resin cast parts that I have ever run across, from any manufacturer. These exhaust nozzles are a direct one-for-one replacement for the kit nozzles. Those that come in the kit are the best I’ve ever taken out of a kit box, but Eduard’s are still another step above.
Eduard gives you two burner cans, two exhausts, two exhaust cones and a photo etch sheet with the flame holders. Each of the resin components has a very ease to remove pour block which takes no time in removing. You have to be careful with the exhaust cones however, because they have some very, very fine vanes that are pretty much guaranteed to break during removal of the pour block. You won’t be able to see them once the cans are inside the model, but you will know they are missing! Install the cans at the same time in the construction process as the it parts, and you’ll be on your way.
My thanks to Eduard and to IPMS/USA for the review samples.
