Here we have another Hellcat from Hobby Master -- a beautiful tri-tone 'cat (the lighter blue may be a bit too bright) in the markings of renowned
ace Alexander Vraciu, who shot down 6 Japanese planes in one battle. Vraciu downed six Judy dive bombers in 8 minutes during the first battle of
the Philippine Sea on June 19, 1944. The inset photo is a famous shot of him after landing aboard the U.S.S. Lexington immediately afterwards.
In an interesting move, HM has included a figure with the model of Vraciu striking this famous pose. It's an interesting idea, but it doesn't quite
work for me. The figure's hands are MUCH too large -- it looks like he has baseball mitts on his hands -- and the figure just looks a bit too goofy for
me to display.
The model is very solidly built, and the paint and markings are very cleanly applied -- a HM trademark. The bird has a wash applied that
accentuates the panel lines and gives the bird a "dirty" used look that I like, personally.
Other than the ugly join line where the tail and fuselage come together and complete lack of instrument detail in the cockpit (HM standards for
this mold)I have no other complaints about this model. It's good enough that I'm parting with my Franklin Mint 1:48 version, which I really like, to
save a bit of space in the hangar.
Recommended.
ace Alexander Vraciu, who shot down 6 Japanese planes in one battle. Vraciu downed six Judy dive bombers in 8 minutes during the first battle of
the Philippine Sea on June 19, 1944. The inset photo is a famous shot of him after landing aboard the U.S.S. Lexington immediately afterwards.
In an interesting move, HM has included a figure with the model of Vraciu striking this famous pose. It's an interesting idea, but it doesn't quite
work for me. The figure's hands are MUCH too large -- it looks like he has baseball mitts on his hands -- and the figure just looks a bit too goofy for
me to display.
The model is very solidly built, and the paint and markings are very cleanly applied -- a HM trademark. The bird has a wash applied that
accentuates the panel lines and gives the bird a "dirty" used look that I like, personally.
Other than the ugly join line where the tail and fuselage come together and complete lack of instrument detail in the cockpit (HM standards for
this mold)I have no other complaints about this model. It's good enough that I'm parting with my Franklin Mint 1:48 version, which I really like, to
save a bit of space in the hangar.
Recommended.
Hobby Master 1:72 Air Power Series
Grumman Hellcat F6F-3 Alexander Vraciu #HA1104 Debuted June, 2007
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| Score: 3.25 (out of 5) Collectibility: Low Price (MSRP): $30 Production Run: Unlimited Catalog Number: Ha1104 |
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