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Eduard 1/72 Grumman F6F-5 Profipack

By Matt Bittner

Introduction

Hot on the heels of their F6F-3 Profipack release, Eduard puts out this kit of the F6F-5. I have a feeling that Eduard's Hellcats are going to be their most important release in 1/72 for the time being. I've seen a number being built on other sites and in other forums, which is a good thing in that I hope it shows Eduard there still is a market for 1/72 kits, assuming the release is something that's wanted, and the final released product is to the high level of standards Eduard shows in their F6F range of kits.

The Kit

The Eduard 1/72 F6F-5 kit is almost the same as their -3 kit. The biggest difference being the wings, since they were different, and a different set of photoetch (although most of the pieces are the same). The wings already have holes for the rockets so it would be good thing to use those on this release, unless you want the pain of filling in all the holes.

Decals – nicely printed with rich colors and in register – are for the following four machines:

'Minsi III', BuNo 70143, Cdr. David McCampbell, USS Essex, October 25th, 1944
White 7 'Paper Doll', Lt. Carl A. Brown Jr., VF-27, USS Princeton, October 24th, 1944
White 115, 'Death and Destruction', BuNo 72534, Ensigns Donald McPherson,
Bill Kingston, Jr., and Lyttleton Ward, VF-83, USS Essex, May 5th, 1945
White 71, Lt. Leo Bob McCuddin, VF-20, USS Enterprise, October, 1944

Conclusion

The Grumman F6F series in 1/72 from Eduard shows just what is capable by a mainstream, model provider. All other companies should take a look at what Eduard has accomplished with their Hellcats and see just how high Eduard has set the bar. The kit is a joy to build and with these Profipack kits, nothing else needs to be added to the kit to create an outstanding model.

We definitely want to thank Eduard, not only for sending us the review model, but more importantly creating the best 1/72 Grumman F6F kit on the market today, and into the future.