Elite Forces 1/18 F6F Hellcat Part 16 - Wings - Again

By Rodney Williams

Several months ago I finished both outer wing sections including the center wing section. Recently, on close examination I see a couple of raised panels on the top of the center wing section that are not on the real aircraft. What should I do...grind them off is the answer.

I take a good look at my recessed area on the two lower exhaust ports and realize that I have to add a small "stop" plate to the front sides. If there are no "stop" plates, then when the short copper exhausts are put in, they could be pushed in too far and drop inside the cowling. Adios!!!

I am in the process of attaching the outer wing panels to the center wing section. The enclosed photos show you that there are some large wide "gaps" to be filled in.

With the wing together it´s a bit over 28" long and somewhat cumbersome to work with on my modeling table.

WOW; here comes the surprise: There are no "DIVIDER PLATES" as I call them that separate the short inboard flap from the longer outboard flap. I look at Mr "C´s" plans, including all of the F6F photos. All Hellcats have this so named divider plates. The aft section of the wheel well opening has to be revised as well. I cut out the curved parts of the wheel well then remove all 4 flaps on the wings. I start my revision using my old system of "cut and fit until it fits". When it´s all said and done I have never seen a model that has so many factory mistakes.

Once again, the company´s slogan is: "AS REAL AS IT GETS". And they add another comment: "ACCURATE 1:18 SCALE".

With all of this work completed my next story will consist of attaching the wing to the fuselage with a few more challenging items to fix.

Remember the basics!