1/72 F4U-1D1 VF-84, of the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) Feb 1945

Well I was able to get it all together, puttied, sanded and a fresh coat of Dark Sea Blue paint applied. It looks dark almost black in the photos but I think it looks great. I love the color

Looking good so far Dirk. Thanks for the history at the begining. I'll keep an eye on the progress.

Lenny

Hi everyone,

Well its time to return to the 'El-Cheep-O" F4F Corsair. Last we left her she was freshly painted, decal-ed and looking kinda like an airplane. After the decals were applied I applied another coat of Future to seal them in and let it dry for 24 hours.

The next step s to start the weathering process and this will be done in stages. That glossy Deep Sea Blue finish was tough and resisted fading and chipping, but a carrier at sea durring war time was no showroom. In other words they got DIRTY.

To simulate dust, grime, and salt I mixed some white and yellow oil paints and thinned them down to the thinnest of thin mixtures.

I then applied the mixture to the panel lines. As you can see the first batch was still too thick. I had to thin it down even more. Once it was at the right consistency (almost transparent) it virtually wound wick down the panel lines with little effort.

I would suggest working in quadrants at a time. Wait for the paint to set and then wipe off the excess using a cotton swab and rubbing in the direction of airflow. Be careful though if the paint isn't dry enough you'll end up removing it all. Because some spots got messier then others I then went over the panels using a paper towel with a touch of thinner to clean up the mess and even things out.

Due to the oil paints needing more time to dry this took a lot longer to dry then I expected. I will do the underside tonight. This is the first time I've tried this technique and so far I like the look.

We went from plain...

to pretty kewl...

I'll be adding more affects once the paint is fully cured.

Ok, guys I did the underside of my "'El-Cheap-O" F4 Corsair. I applied the wash and let it sit for almost 2 hours before wiping it down. I got most of it but I'm going to let it dry some more before I go and polish the smears up. If I do it now it will wipe the panel lines clean too and that kind of defeats the purpose of the wash.

Again I'll let this cure real well and then we'll bring her back for the next round of wash and weathering.

Thanks for looking

Coming along nicely there Dirkpitt. Kits like these are GREAT for trying out new things and techniques like you are doing now. If it ruins the model: just $7....if it looks great: hey look what ive done to this cheap*ss kit. You just cant loose.

Would suggest you could go over that wash with a dark wash (dark umber/black that you thin down to tea consistency)or powder to tone down the contrast a bit. Imho i think, just my fifty cents, dont shoot me

Richard

kermit wrote:

Coming along nicely there Dirkpitt. Kits like these are GREAT for trying out new things and techniques like you are doing now. If it ruins the model: just $7....if it looks great: hey look what ive done to this cheap*ss kit. You just cant loose. Would suggest you could go over that wash with a dark wash (dark umber/black that you thin down to tea consistency)or powder to tone down the contrast a bit. Imho i think, just my fifty cents, dont shoot me Richard

Thanks Rich

This is my first attempt at a wash and weathering. I have more to do once this cures. It should look better once its all blended together.  No need for violence.

I know it's been awhile but like with most of us time is tight these days. Well we are heading into the final stretch for this build.

As I was looking over this "El-Cheap-O" Testors POS, I found that one thing (One of many) I couldn't stand was the lack of detail in the wheel wells. After seeing another 1/72 F4 Build I I knew I could dress it up just a bit to make it not so... *Caca*

Using some 0.8mm styrene square stock I cut out some ribs and bent them to the approximate angle of the wheel well.

After I put the ribs into place using tweesers (My years of playing operation paid off) I re-applied the zinc Chromate paint

Next the wash

The next step was to finish the weathering of our bird. For this I broke out the oil paints and used an old CD case as my palette.

After a few minutes my Corsair looked like a flock of Skittle eating birds few over and used it for target practice.

Next I took a clean flat brush, and dipped it in some thinner, and started to blend the paint.

Next using more thinners and a clean cloth I removed the excess paint till the desired affect was achieved. The good thing about oil paints is it drys slow so if you don't like what you see you can wash it all off and start over.

If you look at this next picture you will notice that the inside of the wings are more worn then the outside.

On this one you will see that the inside of the wings are less worn then the out side. This would be common for aircraft parked in the elements with the wings folded.

Next I applied all the odds and ends like the landing gear, wheels, rockets and so forth. The last thing that needs to be added is the radio wire. That will have to wait till the glue on the areal dries sufficiently.

I will try to retake pictures in some natural light in the morning.

Thanks for looking

Sharp looking Corsair there Dirk!

One little thing- the dark blue Corsairs had the gear bays painted the same color as the exterior.  Otherwise, very nice!  Like the weathering effects.

Great looking bird, Dirk.  I did a Bunker Hill Corsair, myself, a few months ago.

-Fred

Nicely done Dirk .  Your extra effort made the old kit look great built up.

Regards,  Rick

always was told the P38 was the first U.S. fighter to go faster than 400mph, and it was followed by the P51

gary

Thanks everyone for the kind words

Daywalker wrote:

Sharp looking Corsair there Dirk! One little thing- the dark blue Corsairs had the gear bays painted the same color as the exterior.  Otherwise, very nice!  Like the weathering effects.

Thanks for the info. I'm kinda glad I didn't know that because if I had I would have done it the correct way. I happen to like the way the Zinc Chromate offsets the Dark Sea Blue color. Not that anyone would ever know looking at it sitting on the shelf.

Dirk,

Nice job on the basic kit.  Nice weathering.  I had a similar initial disappointment with the Testors 1/72 Dauntless kit when I was getting back into the hobby a few years back - I think that kit has even less detail than the Corsair - but - they are what they are and you just gotta make the best of 'em.  

I can recommend the Academy 1/72 Corsair - that one is nicely detailed - and not too much more expensive.

Chris

Good Job there Dirk...you really brought out the best in "El Cheap-o"...oh and OOB...I knew it was too tough to resist...even the if its just the wheel well spars..a couple of pieces of plastic...mark of a true modeler....

Great lookng bird!!

Carlos

Bossman wrote:

Dirk, Nice job on the basic kit.  Nice weathering.  I had a similar initial disappointment with the Testors 1/72 Dauntless kit when I was getting back into the hobby a few years back - I think that kit has even less detail than the Corsair - but - they are what they are and you just gotta make the best of 'em.   I can recommend the Academy 1/72 Corsair - that one is nicely detailed - and not too much more expensive. Chris

The Corsair was fantastic compared to the Testors SBD Dauntless. I will keep the Academy kit in mind for the future. I like the corsair a lot but there are other projects to be done first.

Great job Dirk. Really love the wethering effects you got. Well done.

...Guy

Great job, Dirk! I got that same kit, and ended up using the Pappy Boyington decals on a Tamiya Corsair instead. I didn't have the nerve to build it. Yours looks great!

Glenn