Hey guys,

Here is my Jerry Bates Hellcat. I have been working on this for some time. Just got the wings and fues glass and primed the fues. You know how you sand and sand all day and think you have it perfect till you apply the primer and find out you not even close. I used a different method to glass, sanded a little and shot the primer. I can't believe how well it turned out. Anyway, I'll post pictures online when I start the paint, panel detail, etc. I do have a few questionsl

1. the wheel covers on this plane... are there any fiberglass ones out there or do I have to make that from scratch?

2. I am going to cover the control surfaces in fabric, but was there stitching on the real one, if so does anyone have an documentation or know where I can find at least some close up shots of the stitching?

3. I know that there where some rivets on the front around the pilot and cowel. I can't seem to get a clear picture of the back. Anyone know how the alum. was applied to this plane?

Any other things anyone would like to post would be great. I would love to see pictures and hear stories of others who have built this plane.

Happy Flyen,
PJ

Picture 1

The gear is pushed forward a little. I'm not going to leave it that way, just havent gotten the blocks positioned right. (yeah...I know you scale buffs were looking..)

You get a clear shot of the trim tabs. I'm going to cut them out and fiberglass them as well. If you have any detail shots of those, that would be great.

I started building the Bates Hellcat at the end of last year. I am doing a construction post in the User Product Reviews section: www.rcuniverse.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=363671&forumid=142. I have not worked on it in a while because I am building other planes for customers. I hope to get back to it in about a month. Anyway, to try and answer some of your questions:
I haven't found any after market gear doors. If you get a lead on some, let me know.
There was stitching. When I get home I will look through the pictures I have to see if I can find one that shows a close up.
From the cockpit forward there were dzus fasteners and the panel were butt joined. From the cockpit back the panels were overlapped and raised rivets were used. I will see if have any decent photos.

Hope this helps..

Lovetoflyguy, outstanding job on the bird so far. As they say now your 1/2 done. So take your time and do it right on the panel lines, rivets and paint job.

Looks like F6F-5. Do you have a paint scheme chosen yet?
How were your flaps hinged on the plans?

The reason I ask is Scale R/C Modeler did a feature on Diego Lopez's Master's qualifying scale Hellcat and it has 2 great articles

1 article on finishing: Panel lines done by building up edge w/ primer, raised rivets were glue drops and then outlined with sharpened tube. etc.

2nd on "Those Hellcat Flaps." He used a rather interesting 3 arm mechanism inside wings to get flaps to move aft and down for the "Gap" to show.

Check out Scale R/C Modeler: Volume 15, Number 6, June 1989.

Again, great looking airplane.

Looking great so far and you can't go wrong with the flying characteristics of the Hellcat. For my money you can't beat the Aero Detail series of books and one is available for the Hellcat. A great source of detail, both inside and out, and I highly recommend it.

I had the pleasure of seeing the Hellcat that was pictured in the article "Those Hellcat Flaps" mentioned above. I saw it perform at the '89 Top Gun event and I have yet to see a better model of the Hellcat, it was awesome. I don't remember the builder's name right at the moment but it was not Diego Lopez, although Diego did have a very nice Hellcat also. Sorry to pick on you Mike but the small windows aft of the canopy on lovetoflyguy's Hellcat probably indicate it will be a -3 model.

There were two articles in the June 1989 issue of Scale R/C Modeler. The first one was about the Hellcat that Diego Lopez built from the Don Lien kit. The second article was about building a scale operating flap mechanism. The article was written by Jim MacDonald. He also used the Don Lien Hellcat kit.

One thing I love here is the help people give. I really enjoy that. As for the flaps, I'm going to do the same type of hinging. I am going to do several different types of "Art" for the panel lines. I will use the "Tape and prime" method, Scetching, and then I bought some metal tape that I will use for some of the raised panels. As for the rivets, I will use the "elmers glue" method for the raised rivets and then a dremal tool for the sunk rivets. I guess now I'll have to keep everyone posted huh????

PJ

I'm going to go with something like the last two on the picture. I'm not sure exactly the airplane. I like to do some research so I know what I'm talking about at airshows. Keeping the memory alive is just as fun and importaint (I think) as building and flying.

Some other projects I'm working on are:

Jerry Bates Helldiver Fues framed/wing half fraimed
Byron P-40 still NIB
Byron Corsair still NIB
Pica P-51D Giant almost ready
T.F. Giant P-51B flew maiden/Detail stage
Heinkel 100 flown twice /Detail stage
T.F. Giant P-47 framed out
IMP Giant Hurricane Still NIB
Ziroli C-47 Still NIB

Soooo. there is what is on my table. And yes, my wife just laughs and think I'm nuts!

As I remember, The Hellcat at the first TopGun was built and flown by Shailish Patel. I think he crashed the plane at the meet due to interference. He is now a jet guy.
Brian

K Sonn, thats the two articles I mentioned. I have the magazine on my desk as I'm researching corsair flaps and recalled the articles on the hellcat.


Yes -3 since little window, deleated on -5 as memory failed when i needed it.

lovetoflyguy:

Last night I looked through the pictures I have on my home computer of the Hellcat and did not have any that showed the stitching close up. The Hellcat Walk Around book by Squadron does have a couple close ups of the rudder and elevators. The stitching runs perpendicular to the rib. How far are you from Pensacola? There is a Hellcat at the Naval Air Museum. Also, if you contact the library at the Naval Air Museum asking for information about a specific aircraft, for a minimum charge they will provide you with as much documentation as they have on that particular aircraft. I do have a couple of pictures showing the panel line and rivet details. Email me email address and I will send you what I have.

Okay great!

I'll email you my address when I get home. I'm at work now. I'm a pilot, so getting up north is no problem. I might have to make a "trek" up there to see the Hellcat. I want this plane to be a show stopper as we all do with our projects. I bought the "stitching" tap from Balsa USA, but I think it might be out of scale. It looks a little large. It might be in my best interest to just go and look at the plane myself and take pictures.

Happy Flyen,
PJ

Brian, the Hellcat I saw at TG '89 was indeed the one built by Jim MacDonald with the scale, slotted flap mechanism. I believe Shaliesh's airplane was done in the tri-color scheme while Jim's airplane was in the overall dark blue. I don't recall seeing Shaliesh's airplane in '89 but that was the second year for Top Gun.

L-T-F-G.......The hellcat looks good.......A friend of mine is just finishing up a Ziroli with the paint scheme very similar to those in your pics....it looks very good.......what powerplant are you going with?........I noticed you also have a "squadron" to go with your Hellcat......I also have the TF giant P-51 with a G-62......what does yours weigh.......mines close to 30 lbs but it flys very well......Have Fun & Good Luck.....Bill......

I have a brand new Zenoah G45 in the box. I'm going to start there. As for my P-51 I started out with a U.S. 41CC (I know I know). I almost lost the thing on that stupid engine. I have no clue why in the world T.F. goes with that engine. Anyway, had a quadra 52 and it does great. Below is a picture of the plane.

PJ

P.S. The sad part is that I told myself that I would "detail" the plane after the first flight (smoke, gun trails, etc). That was 4 months ago......haven't done a darn thing.

Hey PJ,
Awesome job on the Hellcat. Can't wait to see it all painted . Keep me posted and check your email for our possible deal.
Thanks,
Fred Menna Check6

Hello Mike, Would like to get a copy of those articles. Will certainly pay you for your time, copying, and postage. Many thanks if possible. Chic White

Here are a few pictures of the fues. I have sanded the thing till I can't sand no more. I decided to start the rivets and oh man are there many. My good friend Mike from the Lucky *******s said the plane was "dipped" in rivets and he was right. Many books/pictures/and online stuff later, I have the rivet plan down. I have only done one side and will be doing the other side soon. After that, I'm going to start on the panel lines on the wing. All my panel lines are raised in accordance with the books I have. I simply used the tape/spray/peel off method.

I will also confirm that the airplane featured in the SRCM article "Those Hellcat flaps" was a Don Lien Hellcat by Jim MacDonald. Jim flew this plane at TG that one year and it was a very nice example. Jim went on to do a Ziroli Bearcat that is equally impressive and was featured in another SRCM article covering his efforts to design/build a truly scale Bearcat landing gear. He is busy as a University administrator now but is still a member of my club and hopefully he will be competing again soon. He will be the Craftsmanship judge at this year's 49'er Scale Qualifier in Woodland California this spring.

Jeff

Good to hear Mr. MacDonald is still at it. I recall the article on his Bearcat gear and looked forward to seeing pics of the finished airplane but never did. After reading his article on Hellcat flaps I decided I would not build a model of that bird without incorporating the scale flap mechanism he designed.

I might have a photo of that Bearcat around. I'll take a look and get a scan if possible. There was one photo of it published in a SRCM in the coverage of an early Evergreen Rally contest-- around '93-'94 I think.

Jeff

All I got to this weekend were the control surfaces for the Fues. They are fabric covered with Balsa USA's "Pink Tape". I will be primering the tape this week and do the stitching. I had to cut the jaged edges because the Hellcat had straight edges. That took a while! I will be glassing the trim tabs this week as well.

I have a paint question. I was going to use Testors Model Master paints for this project. Can you paint the silver under where you want it to show through, spray over it with the color of the plane, and then scuff the area? What I mean is, will the blue paint have a different shade around the areas that where painted silver? Has anyone used Model Master Paints on their planes? Is it fuel proof? It just seems the colors where right on with what scheme I want to do.

Happy Flyen,
PJ

I just put on the paint. I used an airbrush to apply it. I will let it dry and start on the markings, weathering, stuff like that.