First of all... a salute to everyone who has ever done military service... happy Veteran's Day!
Thanks for those pics Andy! I think I'm going to keep my cowling flaps closed and yes, my kit does come with wider resin wheels with the diamond tread. I'm sure there are other additions you performed on your Hellcats that have slipped your mind but the pics help... esp the flaps.
Moving on with the engine. I painted the delicate wiring harness while still on the PE fret. Several coats of brush painting help beef up the wiring and make it seem less flat.
The harness is sandwiched between the crankcase and front row of cylinders. Since the harness base isn't keyed, make sure you secure it to either the crankcase, cylinder block or both or it will rotate freely. Just to note, the crankcase and cylinder rows have been given a weathering wash of blackish pastel. And I've added a piece of piping coming out of the bottom of the crankcase.
In my experience, the Eduard wiring harnesses are perfectly designed to fit the engine. Use patience and carefully bend back one wire at a time. You'll see that each pair connects to a single cylinder head, one in the front and one in the back. The shorter pairs attach to the front row and the longer pairs to the back row. Sometimes, just bending the wire around the cylinder head is enough to secure the back wires but use a dot of CA glue if necessary. The front wires are almost pulled into place by the back wire and I hardly used any glue. When finished, you'll have an impressive scale replica of a radial engine... almost a shame to hide it behind the cowling.
I can set the engine aside for now and move on to other areas. Dry-fitting the fuselage halves and tail wheel gives me pause. Does this look right? Where does the retracting tail wheel go??? Odd to see such an obvious flaw in an otherwise superbly detailed kit!
I did some plastic surgery and cut out the tail wheel opening.
The cockpit has been painted and I can start putting the components together. The lap belts have been put onto the seat. The shoulder harnesses have been bent randomly to get rid of the that rigid PE look.
The shoulder harnesses are attached. Not completely realistic but better than ramroad straight yes?
The control stick is stuck into place.
And finally... the instrument panel is glued in. I've just got my hands on a couple of Hellcat sources and both of them show the instrument panel of the F6F-3N with a tube-like radar display and not the flat dial that I've put on. I think the Quickboost conversion has this tube so I may swap out radar displays.