OliverW
Legendary member
I live off those chips lol. They are sooo good! Not that spicy tho
Foamboard F6F Hellcat V1
- Thread starter Niez13
- Start date
Niez13
Elite member
Looking good so far! Yes the bottom of the wing does get covered up by the fuselage. The part that covers it up also doubles as the hatch for battery access and all that.
Niez13
Elite member
I personally like to use any battery from the 3s 1800mah to 4s 2500mah range.
Apple Pie
Elite member
Wow, what a fun build so far. I’m enjoying the process of building without instructions. Kind of like working on a puzzle without looking at the box 🙂
I’ve made a couple of minor mistakes but all in all it’s coming together fine. I’ve found a 2816 1100kv that I’ll throw on it with a 10x5 prop with a 3S 2200 and see how that works out. Probably won’t be flying for a while yet so It’s all theory at the moment.
I’ve made a couple of minor mistakes but all in all it’s coming together fine. I’ve found a 2816 1100kv that I’ll throw on it with a 10x5 prop with a 3S 2200 and see how that works out. Probably won’t be flying for a while yet so It’s all theory at the moment.
Niez13
Elite member
Wow! That’s coming out great so far! I never thought about putting the servos there but thats a smarter spot than where I had them. I think I put inside the box that all the formers go on. Can’t wait to see your hellcat when it’s all done! How do you plan on keeping the cockpit hatch on during flights?
Apple Pie
Elite member
I plan on gluing the hatch in place next. I’ve tested all the servos and programmed my spectrum transmitter for six channel with dual ailerons so I can have flaperons. I also spray all my servos with corrosion X to waterproof them so I really don’t think I’ll have to get back in here for any reason. A little drop of isopropyl alcohol releases hot glue so that’s a last resort to remove the hatch in the future if needed.
Apple Pie
Elite member
I also have to say I really like the way the horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer mount to the inner structure. I’ve just finished up the Corsair and spitfire master series planes and your system is much easier to align perfectly and appears to be very robust. 👍👍👍👍👍
Niez13
Elite member
I forgot about the isopropyl alcohol trick. That should be perfect for repairs if need be.
Thanks! Yeah Overstreet’s technique is universal for all designs from twin boom aircraft to single fuselage planes and can work with any design. I just figured I had the space on mine to try the box tab structure for alignment. I really like where your build is headed. 😁
Apple Pie
Elite member
Finished up ready for paint and a power pod. I’m really happy how this turned out 😀
As a side note, I beveled the leading edge of the upper wing skin before attaching to the lower wing skin (like the spitfire build vs the Corsair build) so the leading edge would have a thinner profile. When attaching to the fuselage I noticed that the wing profile was a little different than the fuselage cut out profile. Not sure if there will be any change to the flight characteristics but thought I would mention how I assembled mine.
As a side note, I beveled the leading edge of the upper wing skin before attaching to the lower wing skin (like the spitfire build vs the Corsair build) so the leading edge would have a thinner profile. When attaching to the fuselage I noticed that the wing profile was a little different than the fuselage cut out profile. Not sure if there will be any change to the flight characteristics but thought I would mention how I assembled mine.
Niez13
Elite member
That turned out so clean! I’m really happy everything turned out well with your build. The beveled leading edge should have no problem with flight characteristics. Can’t wait to see it fly and all painted up!
Quinnyperks
Legendary member
Please make instructions or pictures please, how many sheets of foam does this take?
Apple Pie
Elite member
It takes four sheets of foam. The only thing not included in the plan is the master series power pod which you can find on the corsair plans (my corsair power pod fits perfectly in the hellcat). I would highly recommend that you complete at least one of John Overstreet's master series planes before this one as the techniques transfer over almost identically. You can reference any of the Corsair, Spitfire, or P-47 build videos on YouTube for the various air frame components.
The build process that I used was as follows:
1) Build the wings exactly the same as your would with the Corsair build. Assemble the spars, attach the lower wing skins using the tab on the underside of the spars as a guide. Install the aileron servos and servo extensions. I installed my servos in a vertical configuration so I had to remove some foam from the upper wing skin above the servos so the wing would come down fully onto the spars. You can press the upper wings skin down hard on the top of the servo to dent to servo outline and show where the foam needs to be removed. Attach the upper wing skin outer section first followed by the inner section. The wings come together quite quickly and easily. I beveled the underside of the upper wing skin leading edge which gives a nice profile to the finished leading edge.
2) Assemble the central box channel. Double up each of the formers and tack them in place on the central box channel where indicated with a little hot glue. You can reinforce these later but you may need to shift some of them slightly depending on how your skins line up.
3) Assemble the engine cowling skin and then install it on the fuselage flush to former A in the front.
4) Fit the horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer onto the central box channel and determine where the push rods for the elevator and rudder exit the fuselage. The rudder should exit the right side of the fuselage above the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator should exit the fuselage on the left side below the horizontal stabilizer. I used coffee stirrers to make a sleeve for the push rods and punched holes through the fuselage formers between the cockpit and the tail section for each of the push rods. The elevator and rudder servos i installed directly under the cockpit canopy area. After you have prepared your rudder and elevator hinges, install the control horns and cut your push rods to length. When you have the push rods fully installed and attached to the servos you can glue the horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer in place.
5) With the push rods installed through the fuselage formers, I installed the main tail section skin followed by the skin under the horizontal stabilizer.
6) Test fit the cockpit body skin, and use the upper wing profile to identify where the main box section needs to be trimmed to. After trimming the central box channel, test fit the cockpit body skin with the wing installed to make sure the horizontal stabilizer is parallel to the wings. Glue the cockpit body skin in place and then glue the wings to the cockpit body skin. Center the rudder and elevator then glue the rudder and elevator servos to the inside of the cockpit body skin.
7) Install the front engine cowling pieces
8) Install the underside access hatch. I used magnets at the back to hold it in place.
Full disclaimer. This is how I built mine and may be different than how others have built theirs. I'm super happy with how mine turned out and would highly recommend this build to anyone who has enjoyed other master series style builds.
Quinnyperks
Legendary member
Thank you so much. I only wanted to build this to go with my Corsair.
Apple Pie
Elite member
It fits perfectly beside the Corsair. Exactly the same scale 😁
Quinnyperks
Legendary member
My Corsair is the au-1 ground attack variant. Do you know any good hellcat paint schemes?
Quinnyperks
Legendary member
This is my Corsair.
