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Hellcat

10-Year Hellcat

In 1999 I finished my secondary school in Novosibirsk (the biggest city of Siberia, Russia) and passed the exams to Novosibirsk State University to be a historian. But I remember this year not because my childhood was ended, nor because I entered the University with all of its girl-students from higher classes. And not even because of Putin becoming the prime-minister of Russia. This was the year that I received a letter from Japan, congratulating me as the Junior Gold Prize Winner of the "Tamiya Pachi-57 contest". It was my first modeling success in 5 years since I had entered the hobby. My local Tamiya distributor gave me the new model of the M18 Hellcat US Tank Destroyer (Academy, 1:35) as a gift. It seemed to be a very fast kit to assemble with its interior and open turret. So, in the end of February 1999 I cut the first details of the Hellcat from the sprues and began. I had hoped to finish this model in the Twentieth Century, but I failed. All stopped in 2000 when University took all of my time when I had to live on campus.

For many years the Hellcat was the only model for me: The Alfa and Omega of my hobby, but I had no time to deal with it. I collected a bunch of information about US Tank destroyers, new books and even new models of US AFVs. But the Hellcat was waiting. In 2004 I graduated with honours and continued to build models… But those were 1:72 AFV models – the new passion of mine. My Hellcat became my shelf queen and it was only in 2008 that I decided to fight with my plastic shadow of the past.

During the building of M18 I used only one photo-etched kit – grilles for the Tiger tank. I turned them with a knife to the Allied side. Most of the additional details are stratchbuilt – from a new rear armor plate to Culin’s Hedgerow cutter. Accessories are:

• jerry cans (Academy, Dragon, Tamiya)
• paper ration box (Tamiya)
• wine bottles (Tamiya from Churchill tank kit)
• ammo box (Eduard)
• M1 Helmet (Tamiya)
• driver’s windscreen (AFV Hellcat)
• boots (cut off from Tamiya’s figure)
• resin bags, oil can and shovels (Academy)
• canteens (Dragon)
• tea cup (Trumpeter)
• metal barrel (Model Point)
• Friulmodel metal tracks.

The US Tank Destroyer M18 Hellcat was not a very well treated vehicle. Their crews named the Hellcats “bitch” and I think it was extremely dangerous to meet face-to-face with the Tigers and Panthers being covered with such thin armor. I had to face the model I hadn't finished for a long time. But I did it for 10 years. So, where is my Hellcat from AFV?