Academy M-18 Hellcat - Finished - FineScale Modeler - Essential magazine for scale model builders, model kit reviews, how-to scale modeling, and scale modeling products

CarnivourousDonut

Member since
May 2006
From: East Coast

Posted by CarnivourousDonut on Friday, February 20, 2015 3:23 PM

The whole "Saints and Soldiers" trilogy are ok. The 1st one is the best, but the others are still acceptable. At least 1 of the Panzer IIIs in the film is a replica, but a pretty good one.

Let's rattle the cage, crack the machine. Let 'em know who you are, shine to be seen.

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silentbob33

Member since
February 2014
From: Michigan

Posted by silentbob33 on Friday, February 20, 2015 2:14 PM

That's why I chose the Academy kit over the AFV one. From the reviews I read AFV didn't include a whole lot of stowage, and I don't have a whole lot in the way of spares for armor so it was a pretty easy choice for me.

On my bench: Academy 1/35 UH-60L Black Hawk

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Aldershot II

Member since
January 2015

Posted by Aldershot II on Friday, February 20, 2015 2:09 PM

Always loved the American TD's, tons of stowage gear on the them.

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silentbob33

Member since
February 2014
From: Michigan

Posted by silentbob33 on Friday, February 20, 2015 8:10 AM

Thanks Josiah, I think I found it.

On my bench: Academy 1/35 UH-60L Black Hawk

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ygmodeler4

Member since
October 2004
From: Northern Virginia

Posted by ygmodeler4 on Friday, February 20, 2015 7:57 AM

Looks good so far. Karl did a tutorial on Indy tracks awhile back, I'm not on my computer so I don't have a link...but if you do a forum search you find it alright. It should work for these link and length tracks.

-Josiah

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silentbob33

Member since
February 2014
From: Michigan

Posted by silentbob33 on Friday, February 20, 2015 6:49 AM

Thanks for the tip on the hatches guys! That should be easy enough to fix once I start spraying the OD. I'd much rather make little mistakes than big ones Wink . So far I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm about halfway done with the suspension and then I'll tackle the road wheels. The only thing I'm not too sure about is how to get the individual track links assembled.

Thanks for the tip about the movie disastermaster, I just added it to my queue. Sounds like a good way to spend a snow day

On my bench: Academy 1/35 UH-60L Black Hawk

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stikpusher

Member since
July 2004
From: Sonora Desert

Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, February 19, 2015 11:41 PM

SB, the hatch interior faces and periscopes should be OD, not white.

This is a really fun kit to build and I think that you'll enjoy the project! I sure did several years back!

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

- Plankton

LSM

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udel09

Member since
November 2012

Posted by udel09 on Thursday, February 19, 2015 11:33 PM

I have this same kit and am looking forward to seeing your build. The interior of your hatches and periscopes look great but the reference photos I have show them OD like the exterior. Either way they will look good when she is done

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disastermaster

Member since
July 2003
From: On my kitchen counter top somewhere in central North Carolina.

Posted by disastermaster on Thursday, February 19, 2015 10:38 PM

Check out "Saints and Soldiers-The Void" now available on Netflix.

It's just fictional entertainment (but featuring 2 real Hellcats) about a Hellcat crew, May 1944.

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silentbob33

Member since
February 2014
From: Michigan

Academy M-18 Hellcat - Finished

Posted by silentbob33 on Thursday, February 19, 2015 1:47 PM

I'm building this kit for the D-Day to Berlin GB, and thought I would post pics here as well. I usually build aircraft and sci-fi, so I'm in unfamiliar water. This is my second armor kit, so I still have a lot to learn. So far I've finished the interior. There were a couple of sink marks on the floor plate, I tried to fix them the best I could, but it isn't perfect. I gave it a wash and dusting with pastels. I found a picture of the Hellcat I'm modeling in France in September 1944. It was a part of the 705 TD BN in Brittany and helped take the town of Brest. I'm going for a dusty dirty look, as the battalion had been in combat since July. Here's the pic I found: