Introduction

The Grumman F6F Hellcat series was one of the most important U.S. Navy carrier fighters of World War II, with the first F6F-3 production models appearing in late 1942. Powered by a P.W. R-2800-10 radial engine of 2000 hp., the fighter was powerful, heavily armed with six .50 cal. machine guns, well protected with armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and fast, 335 mph. at sea level and 376 mph. at 17,300 ft. Although it could be out-turned by the Zero, its main adversary, it held virtually every other advantage, especially since by the time the Hellcat came into service in 1943, many of the highly experienced Japanese pilots had been lost in combat, and their replacements were poorly trained compared to the American pilots, who entered combat with roughly four times the flying time of their Japanese counterparts.

While meandering through the vendors rooms at the Omaha Nationals, I bumped into Ernie Gee while visiting with Gordon Kwan of Sprue Brothers. For those of you who don’t know, I consider Ernie to be the living GrandMaster of lost brass castings such as landing gear, boat propellers, and a multitude of other stuff. He handed these to me and asked if I might review them. Well…here is the review. EXQUISITE! There really isn’t much more to say about the absolutely beautiful work this guy does. (The last Fisher kit I reviewed, the RB-51 Red Baron Racer, had Ernie’s landing gear included, as does the F7U Cutlass I’m currently knee deep into). There can’t be enough good said about the quality of these products. If you haven’t tried any G Factor products, it’s past time. These can be ordered in the U.S. at https://spruebrothers.com and in the United Kingdom at https://www.hannants.co.uk.

First, let me thank Squadron Products for these review samples an IPMS/USA for allowing me to review them.

The recommended model for these two sets of decals is the Revell 1/48 A-6E Intruder. Revell first released their A-6E 23 years ago in 1988 (kit # 4578). They have re-released it in 2011 (kit # 85-5626). The new kit includes decals for VA-85, the Black Falcons on the U.S.S. Forrestal and VA-35, the Panthers on the U.S.S. Nimitz. The old kit contained decals for VA-196, CAG, on the USS Coral Sea and VA-85 on the USS Saratoga.

Squadron Products has issued two new decal sheets for this old, but popular war bird. Decal set MS481254 contains markings and tail art for Marine squadrons VMA-121 and VMA-224. Decal set MS481253 contains markings and tail art for VA-196 and VMAT-202. You may have noticed a repeat, VA-196, with the old Revell kit. The decals for VA-196 were added after the release of the movie, Flight of the Intruder in 1991.

This is the second volume that deals with the Polish Air Force after the German invasion in 1939. Pictures of Polish aircraft are very rare, especially before the pre-war period. This was a security protocol implemented by the Polish government. Because of the success of this protocol, there are very few photos of the aircraft used by the Polish Air Force. The conquering Germans are therefore the best reference for the airplanes. Needless to say, most of these pictures are previously unpublished.

The latest release from Airscale is a sheet of decals to replicate 1/48^thscale Luftwaffe cockpit placards. The cockpit placards are on a single sheet of film. These are typical of the rest of Airscale’s releases. High quality decals printed by Fantasy Workshop.

Included on this set are General Warnings, Notices, Manufacturers Data Plates, Primary Instructions and Radio Labeling. You get plenty of placards to do numerous aircraft. If there was a downside, it is that there aren’t any instructions as to where these placards go. A little bit of research will take care of that though.

These decals are the same as any other water slide decals. This will be a nice addition to your model. I know I can’t paint this detail.

Highly recommended

You can obtain yours by contacting them at www.airscale.co.uk. Let them know IPMS/USA sent you.

Thanks to Airscale and IPMS/USA for the review copy.