Airfix swears they aren’t planning more big F6Fs and they didn’t include rear windows in their F6F-5. So how on earth are we supposed to model the most famous Hellcat of all?

This is our first set of designs to include files for cutting both your own paint masks and styrene sheet parts. The mask includes the names, victory markings, tail stripes, and gear door markings for both McCampbell’s Minsi II and Minsi III. Combine this set with our Essential Mask set for Insignia, canopy, and all sorts of other masks.

Also included are files to add rear windows cut from clear styrene or PTEG; Both Minsis were early -5s that retained the rear windows of the -3. The -3 also had scallops in the head armor and a rear bulkhead with more windows so the pilot had a better chance to see who was chasing him. We’ve included files to cut these from clear and white styrene sheet, with masks for all the scratchbuilt clear parts. The part designs are drawn with two colored lines: black for cuts and red for scribing rivets and (as an option) locations of the clear panels.

The download includes a 7x 9.5 inch (177.8 x 241.3 mm) file of masks, two 4 x 6 inch (101.6 x 152.4 mm) files of styrene/PETG designs, and PDFs for instructions, paper templates, and copies of the styrene designs in case you prefer to cut those by hand.

The masks include McCampbell’s impressive scoreboard, but be warned; it is a small, insanely intricate design that might be beyond the abilities of some machines. And even if you get it to cut well enough, all those little sun rays are a weeding nightmare. We include the design only because victory flag decals in 1/24 might be really hard to source. If you find some, a second mask is included with the victory flags represented as blank squares to help you position the decals.