This is an Eduard Models 1/72 Scale assembly and painting required plastic model kit of the F6F-5, an improved variant of the legendary Grumman F6F Hellcat single-seat, carrier based fighter aircraft operated by the United States Navy and Marine Corps during World War II. Model kit features: Kit features fine engraved panel lines, highly detailed cockpit and landing gear, choice of 2 types of main tires, full twin-row radial engine, 2-piece optional position canopy and external stores (centerline drop tank, underwing rockets). NO canopy masks or photo-etch parts included. Decals and color painting guide for a single US Navy aircraft: BuNo 72534 "Death and Destruction" flown by Ensigns Donald McPherson, Bill Kingston Jr, and Lyttleton Ward of VF-83, USS Essex, May 1945. *Historical Synopsis: Introduced in 1943, the F6F Hellcat was the answer to the nimble and deadly Mitsubishi A6M Zero that American pilots in the Pacific had been waiting for. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 horsepower engine, fully equipped with cockpit armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and armed with six .50 caliber M2 Browning air-cooled machine guns, the F6F Hellcat outclassed the Zero in nearly every aspect. Hellcat pilots can climb and turn with the Zero with confidence, and they aggressively engaged Japanese Zeros knowing that they Hellcat can withstand more damage than the lightly armored Zero. By the end of World War II, the Hellcats of both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps had downed over five thousand enemy aircrafts, making it the one of the most successful combat aircraft in history.