Hell-o-finish

Mark Broughton
Lovely job, especially like rhe fading on the panels

Slavo Hazucha
Thanks Mark! I was making plans & decissions about that on the fly, basically an experiment to depict a worn surface without extensive (or any, truth be said... 🙂 ) chipping to distract the eye 🙂

Robert Podkoński
Fantastic paintjob and weathering - you're the master here, Slavo!

Nathan Dempsey
A real beauty. All the subtle tones make that upper surface really outstanding. Although I am jealous of the underside. I always tend to get extra dirty in this area and I really like how yours appears.

James C
Stunning looking Hellcat Slavo. Youve done an outstanding job of distressing the overall paintwork... but not over done it 👍

I have had the "weekend" edition of this kit stashed away for a few years now that I have been putting off building, but will be chuffed if it turns out even half as good as this. Well done mate. Any ideas for what's next?

Patrick Hagelstein
Yep! He's back! 👍

Marius
That's a great example of how much a well done weathering makes a big difference!

Richie Williams
Stunning paint job, that is real artistry!

bughunter
With a different background, you might think it is real!

Ludwig Micallef
Beautiful Hellcat Slavo! Always top notch! 👏

Mr James
Splendid paint and weathering skills on display. Pic 12 shows off the detail wonderfully. Great camera work to boot..

Rui
Great paint ! 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Truly impressive, I love it, that is a real piece of artwork.

Slavo Hazucha
Thanks Robert, Nathan, James, Roland, Patrick, Marius, Richie, bug, Ludwig, James, Rui & Jennifer!

Really happy & kinda speechless to receive such a positive response & praise for this one - I basically mixed components & "atmosphere" of photos I liked with some of my imagination of a "warhorse" Hellcat & went along with that - not really a particular machine/replica but more of a (early) "Hellcat spirit" kind of representation 🙂

@Nathan - I got generally inspired by a particular "belly-up" mishap landing Cat on the deck photo for the underside & frankly, the white "asked for it"... 😉 I am not happy though with the panels - I actually put a grey mix in it - roughly in the "dark ghost gray" tone, but it still came out way too dark in the end in terms of contrast... must go way lighter next time!

@James - the profipack has PE (rather basic) & wheels (useful) - I guess weekend can get you pretty much as far & still make a great show. The "next big thing" would certainly be proper riveting - but "nah" - really 😉 what´s next - not completely sure, but not a prop for at least one build...

@Roland - certainly a lot of Oil was absorbed into the finish - due to the modern "odorless" thinners no smell really, but at least 1 headache I had en-route proves that "Oil was in the air" 😄

@bug - yeah - in clouds at night may work... 😄

@James, thanks for the photo-mention - I am still experimenting there, light intensity, background colors & all - basically a hobby within a hobby...

Jos Jansen
Nice Slavo... you're a true artist, from 5th gen fighters to these kinda beauties... excellent 👍🏻!

Slavo Hazucha
Thanks Jos - haha building props feels strange enough... Next one a jet for sure... + a couple of projects with my boy, that's fun too 🙂

Jan Peters
Superb job all'round 👍🏻

Pietro De Angelis
Stunning job, beautiful, congrats!

Andy Ball
"The Year of the Cat"…indeed. So you do WWII as beautifully as modern, great finals!

Neuling
Top paintwork, shading and weathering. Venturing in the world of props was a great success ............

Erik Leijdens
Excellent work overall.!

Jennifer Franklin
Love the chipping on the propellers

Slavo Hazucha
Thanks Jan, Pietro, Andy, Neuling, Erik & Jeniffer - I am really happy you like my "propsworks" !! It felt alien enough, also kind of interesting, but I am definitely going for a Jet again, not sure which, but there are enough... 🙂

@Jeniffer - it´s not even "propper chipping" (silver on top of black, two tones, darker & lighter, base with a sponge + some brush-work on top to break the patterns up a bit more...) - really easy to do & would look good on a B-17 too I guess... 🙂 I did the "salt method" on the Wildcat, IMO that looks kinda better and is real "chipping" - never tried (don´t posess actually) chipping fluid or any other "chemical" methods

Jennifer Franklin
@Slavo - ok, thanks for the tip

Sergej I
Beautiful model! You are definitely talented also outside of east-bloc jets 👍 Is it just the photos that turned out darker?

Jim J
Beautiful finish! The finish of the top of the fuselage in particular really pops. I love how you varied the fading, shading and texture to get it just right. Faded dark blue paint with the perfect sheen. Very convincing. Congrats.