Newsletter. September s theme winner was an animal, You re an Animal! October 3. Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat by Charlie Lockard. The Winners Circle

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1 Delaware Valley Scale Modelers / chapter ipms usa Newsletter October 2014 Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat by Charlie Lockard The Winners Circle You re an Animal! by Tommy Kortman September s theme winner was an animal, indeed. Charlie Lockard won last month s theme contest with a fantastic replica of the top fighter plane of WWII. Now, before all you Mustang and Corsair fans start jumping up and down, know that I am basing this statement on its kill ratio of 19:1. (claimed, not confirmed). Anyway, Charlie used an Eduard 1:48 scale F6F- 5 Hellcat. The Eduard kit provided all the masks and P/E details. The only thing Charlie added was Eduard s Brassin, wheels and tires. The plane is finished in a late war scheme with the red surround on the National insignia. Charlie used Vallejo paints. Charlie says it took him approximately 2 month s to build the model. He did not say whether that included the time it took to get a replacement windscreen after he broke the first one. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Wildcat s Big Brother, here is a bit of history gleaned from a few web sources. The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft conceived to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy (USN) service. The Hellcat was an erstwhile rival of the faster Vought F4U Corsair for use as a carrier based fighter. However, the Corsair had significant issues with Photo by John Goschke next meeting October 3 Theme Contest: Roll Em! (Movie & TV Subjects) carrier landing that the Hellcat did not, allowing the Hellcat to steal a march as the Navy s dominant fighter in the second part of World War II, a position the Hellcat did not relinquish. The Corsair instead was primarily deployed to great effect in land-based use by the U.S. Marine Corps. Although the F6F resembled the Wildcat in some continued on page 6 Visit the DVSM website:

2 Presidents Corner by Bob Doebley & Tommy Kortman Hello Fellow Styrene Junkies! Fall is officially here. The weather is getting cooler and the days, shorter. I am starting to build again which is a good thing for me. Fall is my favorite time of the year. I am planning on do the fall foliage thing this year. There are a few upcoming shows but I do not know if I will be attending any of them. I will be just chillin out and enjoying fall Officer Nominations At the September meeting we accept nominations for club Officer: Name that were given are as follows: 1- President - Paul Tomczak 2- Contest Chairman Mike Turco 3- Treasure - Joe Vattilana We will be accepting nominations again at the October meeting and, if needed, at the November meeting. We will also hold the elections at the November meeting. On the subject of club shirts, I tried to contact John Barrineau but have not had any success. I will be taking orders from everyone at this month s meeting. Here s Tommy! Well thanks, Uncle Bobby. and it s October. My favorite month of the year. All of the gothic and macabre themes running around. Ghosts, goblins, witches, etc.and in the end CANDY!! WooHoo!!!! It seems though that these days, my candy is made of styrene and resin instead of chocolate and sugar. Anyway, I d like to start off this month by congratulating last month s theme contest winner, Charlie Lockard. Congratulations Charlie! Charlie brought a wonderfully finished Grumman Hellcat out last month for the You re an Animal theme. There are only twomonth s left in the 2014 theme series. This month s theme is Roll em. This theme is all about TV and Movie subjects. I m sure there is a plethora of adequate subject matter for this theme, so I expect to see a full table of models once again. The final theme in November is You re my Wingman. This team is all about teammates. You will need 2 models to compete in this theme, and they will need to be related in a team mate type fashion. Examples would be 2 planes from the same squadron, 2 tanks from the same group, 2 ships from the same task force, etc. For the car guys, you could have 2 models from the same manufacturer, from the same year. (ie 70 Camaro and 70 Chevelle), you could also use 2 race cars from the same team. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me an , or give me a call and I will be glad to answer whatever it is you need to know. I guess that s it for now. See you all at the meeting. n 2014 Theme Contest Point Standings to Date Jan. Feb. Mar. April May July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Totals Kopczynski, Paul Gill, Tom Goschke, John Leonetti, Joe Turco, Mike Hogg, Greg Volz, Joe Tomczak, Paul Rakos, Rod Anderson, Dave Sandone, Nick Kortman, Tommy Lockard, Charlie Tiewski, Frank Pritchett, Matt 4 4 Haas, Butch Vattilana, Joe Rifkin, Howard Senner, Don Jones, Keith Scheidemantle, Dennis 1 1 Cicconi, Bob 1 1 Monthly points are awarded as such: Each person who enters a model into the theme receives 1 pt. 1st place = 4+1, 2nd = 3+1, 3rd = 2+1

3 September Display Highlights Photos by Tommy Kortman 64 Corvair Monza Spyder, 1/25, by Rod Rakos 67 Corvair Monza, 1/25, in-prog., by Keith Jones Upcoming Events: October 11th Cleveland Automotive Modelers Society (CAMS) 35th NNL Nationals Sylvania Exhibition Center at Tam-o-Shanter 7060 Sylvania Ave. Sylvania OH, Nationals/ Bell XP-77, 1/72, by Howard Rifkin October 18th Saturday Fall Model Contest Hobby Town Seacane,Pa. October 19th AAA Hobbies Model Car Contest & Show Magnolia N.J. October 25th Diversified Scalerz M.C.C. 3rd Annual Model Car Meet & Contest D. Am. Vets 612 Mill St. Belleville NJ, General Motors P-75A Eagle, 1/72, by Howard Rifkin

4 September Display Highlights Photos by Tommy Kortman A-10 Warthog, 1/48, by Paul Kopczynski F-51D Mustang, 1/48, by Mike Turco Mustang Mk-IV, 1/48, by Joe Volz Fairey Fulmar, 1/72, by Paul Tomczak Sopwith Camel, 1/48, by John Goschke Grumman F8F Bearcat, 1/72, by Paul Tomczak

5 September Display Highlights Photos by Tommy Kortman Consolidated-Vultee XP-81, 1/72, by Howard Rifkin Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly, 1/72, by Howard Rifkin 62 Ford Falcon two-door Station Wagon, 1/25, by Greg Hogg 64 Ford Falcon Sprint hardtop, 1/25, by Nick Sandone Tiger I, 1/72, Paul Tomczak Pzkw VI Ausf B King Tiger, 1/76, Paul Tomczak

6 Winner s Circle: F6F-3 Hellcat Continued from page 1 ways, it was a completely new design, powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800, the same powerplant used for both the Corsair and the United States Army Air Force s (USAAF) Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters. Some military observers tagged the Hellcat as the Wildcat s big brother. The F6F was best known for its role as a rugged, well-designed carrier fighter which was able, after its combat debut in early 1943, to counter the Mitsubishi A6M Zero and help secure air superiority over the Pacific Theater. Such was the quality of the basic simple, straightforward design, that the Hellcat was the least modified fighter of the war, with a total of 12,200 being built in just over two years. Hellcats were credited with destroying 5,223 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Navy s Fleet Air Arm.] This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft. Postwar, the Hellcat was phased out of frontline service, but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night fighter. The F6F-5 featured several improvements including a more powerful R W engine, embodying a water-injection system and housed in a slightly more streamlined engine cowling, spring-loaded control tabs on the ailerons, and an improved, clear view windscreen, with a flat armored-glass front panel replacing the F6F-3 s curved plexiglass panel and internal armor glass screen. In addition, the rear fuselage and tail units were strengthened, and, apart from some early production aircraft, the majority of the F6F-5 s built were painted in an overall gloss sea blue finish. After the first few F6F-5s were built, the small windows behind the main canopy were deleted. The F6F-5N night fighter variant was fitted with an AN/APS-6 radar in a fairing on the outer-starboard wing. A small number of standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P. While all F6F-5s were capable of carrying an armament mix of one 20 mm (.79 in) M2 cannon in each of the inboard gun bays (220 rounds per gun), along with two pairs of.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (each with 400 rounds per gun), this configuration was only used on later F6F-5N night fighters. The F6F-5 was the most common F6F variant, with 7,870 being built The U.S. Navy much preferred the more docile flight qualities of the F6F compared with the Vought F4U Corsair, despite the superior speed of the Corsair. This preference was especially noted during carrier landings, a critical success requirement for the Navy, in which the Corsair was fundamentally flawed in comparison. The Corsair was thus released by the Navy to the Marine Corps who without the need to worry about carrier landings, used the Corsair to immense effect in land-based sorties. The Hellcat remained the standard USN carrier-borne fighter until the F4U series was finally cleared for U.S. carrier operations in late-1944 (the carrier landing issues had by now been tackled largely thanks to use of Corsair by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm). In addition to its good flight qualities, the Hellcat was easy to maintain and had an airframe tough enough to withstand the rigors of routine carrier operations. Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage. The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943 when fighters off the USS Independence shot down a Kawanishi H8K Emily flying boat. Soon after, on 23 and 24 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F. Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943, Hellcats and F4U Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeros, claiming nearly 50 aircraft. When trials were flown against a captured Zero Type 52, they showed that the Hellcat was faster at all altitudes. The F6F out climbed the Zero marginally above 14,000 ft and rolled faster at speeds above 235 mph. The Japanese fighter could out-turn its American opponent with ease at low speed and enjoyed a slightly better rate of climb below 14,000 ft. The trials report concluded: Do not dogfight with a Zero 52. Do not try to follow a loop or half-roll with a pull-through. When attacking, use your superior power and high speed performance to engage

7 Winner s Circle: F6F-3 Hellcat Continued from page 6 at the most favorable moment. To evade a Zero 52 on your tail, roll and dive away into a high speed turn. Hellcats were the major U.S. Navy fighter type involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, where so many Japanese aircraft were shot down that Navy aircrews nicknamed the battle the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The F6F accounted for 75% of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. Monthly Theme Contests 2014 Every month we will have an open contest for the monthly themes. Members will vote for the best Theme model of the month. A personalized award plaque will be made by Mike Napoleon and presented at the following meeting. January cancelled February: Winner - Tom Gill Stone Cold (subjects with a winter or snow theme) March: Winner - John Goschke Going Green (green in color) U.S. Navy and Marine F6F pilots flew 66,530 combat sorties and claimed 5,163 kills (56% of all U.S. Navy/Marine air victories of the war) at a recorded cost of 270 Hellcats in aerial combat (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1 based on claimed but not confirmed kills). The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a claimed 13:1 kill ratio against the A6M Zero, 9.5:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against the Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. The U.S. successes were not only attributed to superior aircraft, but also from 1942 onwards, they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators as well as having the advantage of increasing numerical superiority. In the ground attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 tonnes) of bombs. The U.S. Navy s all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell USN (Ret), scored all his 34 victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as... an outstanding fighter plane. It performed well, was easy to fly and was a stable gun platform. But what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain. During the course of World War II, 2,462 F6F Hellcats were lost to all causes; 270 in aerial combat, 553 lost to anti-aircraft ground and shipboard fire, and 341 were lost to operational causes. Of the total figure 1,298 were destroyed in training and ferry operations, normally outside of the combat zones. There you go. I certainly hoped you all learned something today. Once again, Congratulations to Charlie Lockard, and just a reminder that this month s theme (October) is Roll em!, TV and movie subjects. NOW GO BUILD SOMETHING!!! n April - Joe Volz Big Hair & Parachute Pants: Back to the 80 s May - John Goschke Nostalgic (the kit must be over 25 years old straight re-issues ok too) June Gold, Silver & Bronze Contest July (Cancelled) Japan (cencelled) August Winner - Paul Kopczynski Endless Summer September Winner - Charlie Lockard You re an Animal (animal names) October Roll Em! (TV and Movie subjects) November Team Mates (yup, another 2 model event) December Favorite Five contest

8 Join IPMS/USA Why? The International Plastic Modelers Society/USA, of which Delaware Valley Scale Modelers is a chapter, finances the insurance required for our monthly meetings and for model contests around the country, and offers a make and take program for young modelers. Encourage the enjoyment of modeling in all its forms: aircraft, armor, cars, ships, fantasy, figures, military or civilian, beginner or advanced, join IPMS/USA! By Modelers, For Modelers What do I give? Adult, 1 year: $25. Adult, 2 years: $49. Adult, 3 years: $73. Junior (under 18 years), $12. Family, 1 year: $30 (adult + $5). What do I get? A membership card with your IPMS number that entitles you to enter the IPMS/USA National Contest, plus the magazine, IPMS/USA Journal, six issues per year, featuring great models and building techniques, kit and book reviews, and activities, plus access to members-only content on ipmusa.org. How? Clip and mail the coupon in the DVSM Newsletter or the IPMS/USA brochure, see our IPMS contact, Joe Vattilana, at the next DVSM meeting, or join online at ipmsusa.org. n Support the Local Hobby Shops THAT SUPPORT OUR CLUB Main Line Hobbies Plymouth Meeting Mall, Plymouth Meeting, PA Tel % discount to DVSM members les@mainline hobbies.com Mon., Wed.-Sat.: 10 am - 9 pm Sun.: 11am - 6pm Closed Tuesday Sat.: 10 am - 5 pm Sun.: 12 pm - 4 pm BNB Hobby & Train Depot 10 West Camden Ave., Moorestown, NJ Ph: Fax: Offers 15% discount to DVSM members bnbhobby@msn.com Tue. -Wed.: 6-9 pm Thu.-Fri.: 12-9 pm Sat.: 11 am-7 pm Sun. 11 am-3 pm Trains, Models, Crafts, R ockets R.C., Puzzles, Paints New Concept III Offers 10% discount to DVSM members 676 Stokes Road, Medford, NJ Open 7 days a Week, M-F 11-8, Sat 10-6, Sun noon-4 Have thousands of kits dating back to the 1970 s D & K Hobbies Offers 10% discount to DVSM members 116 Barclay Shopping Center, (Route 70 West), Cherry Hill, NJ (856) RC, Model Kits, Trains, Crafts, Collectibles and more Mon.-Fri 11 am - 8:pm Sat., 10 am - 5 pm Sun, Noon - 4 pm. Closed Wednesday Hobbymasters, Inc. New Jersey s Most Complete Hobby Center 62 White Street, Red Bank, New Jersey Phone: Fax: Mon. - Thurs: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Friday, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Sunday, 12:00 Noon to 5:00 pm Offers 10% discount to club members. (Show your club card) Web: Z & Z Hobbies, Inc. 101 Sloan Avenue, Mercerville, New Jersey Phone: (609) Web: www. hobbiesnow.com Mon., Tues., Thurs.; 10 am to 6 pm Wed. & Fri.; 10:00 am to 7:00 pm Sat.; 10 am to 5 pm Sun.; Noon to 4 pm. 10% discount to club members. (show your club card).