Cutting Edge 1/48
F6F-3 Corrected Cowl

For a look at the differences between the original Hasegawa F6F cowling and the current aftermarket offerings, check out the earlier review done for the F6F-5 cowl (CEC48475) that we examined previously. In that review, we not only looked at the Hasegawa kit cowl from several angles, we did so with the new F6F-5 cowl from Cutting Edge and with another aftermarket cowling.

While a beautiful kit straight from the box, the Hasegawa 1/48 F6F-3 Hellcat kit suffers from an incorrect cowling around the lower intake scoops see the review mentioned above) and the absence of two ventral cowl flaps. In the picture below, the F6F-3 cowling is still attached to its molding block and is posed chin-to-chin with the Cutting Edge F6F-5 cowling. The chin scoop is not yet installed on the F6F-3 cowling, but you can see clearly where it attaches. Only the Cutting Edge cowls are molded with the cowl flaps open, and you can clearly see the ventral flaps open on this new offering.

This is a nicely done correction for the Hasegawa kit and is even worth installing on your Hellcat, even if it is already built! My sincere thanks to Meteor Productions for this review sample!