The Lindberg 1/72 F6F-5

When 1/72 scale began gaining in popularity here in the United States, every major plastic manufacturer jumped on board, producing an increasingly diverse variety of aircraft. Duplications were frequent, however; both Hawk and Revell made Wildcats and Corsairs, for instance. Revell's line, though, grew fast and fairly large and soon grew to cover many subjects, especially aircraft of the Second World War.

Not surprisingly, Revell could not cover every subject in that series, so they concentrated on popular subjects. For some reason, though, it fell to Lindberg to produce the most common fighter of the US Navy during World War II; the Hellcat.

Released in the mid-1960's, The 1/72 Lindberg F6F-5 Hellcat was superior to their older 1/48 kit but still rather typical of their earlier releases. While the basic shape is fairly close, it does have a good many rivets, as well as some dubious panel lines (raised) and sparse cockpit. The landing gear bays are slightly misshapen, though this can be corrected easily with knife and file. The canopy, though thick, is clear. The engine, though, is only a "bas relief" representation at best. The six .50 caliber guns are also noticeably missing. A total of twenty two pieces makes up the model, including the stand. Markings are for a generic ship, "24". Make no mistake, however; the canopy and cowling clearly mark this as a -5.

Can a decent model be made from this kit?

I had seen the kit since at least 1970, at the Pic-n-Save near our Brookview house. My first chance to find out as a teenager was botched when a younger family friend proceeded to build the model in front of my stunned eyes (he literally just picked the model up along with my one tube of Testor’s Non-Toxic Cement, which he applied liberally, as if with a trowel, whilst rambling on about girls, stock cars and other topics). When I was fourteen, my best friend Craig picked one up and followed the painting instructions to the letter (Testor's Pla Enamel, colors which, by the way, are still being made), landing gear up. I envied that blue bird.

Having just acquired the kit again, my first since 1975, I plan on seeing just what can be had with this blue bird. It has potential, which I plan to squeeze out.