Tamiya 1:48 Corsair FU-1DA Completed

First and foremost... 2nd or 20th, nice job on the Corsair.   As many builds as I've completed canopies are still one of the areas that I approach wih trepidation.  I always have the feeling that's the 1st thing someone looks at when they approach a model is the cockpit so I wanna make sure it looks good.  

Good masking techniques will come, don't worry about that.  I use bare Meatl Foil a lot.  Goes down into the detail really well making it easier to trim with a sharp blade and the adhesive residue is easy to clean off if it stick.

Glad I stopped in here to see the opinions of Future.  Been thinking that myself lately for all the reasons mentioned. 

Nathan T

Your canopy troubles will be greatly lessened if you stop dipping the darn thing in Future or any other equivalent, and use only Tamiya tape or pre cut masks. Then airbrush it with light, thin coats. Polish out any imperfections that you don't live with.

Indeed.....Future (or its equivalent) is garbage, at least for scale modeling purposes.   I'm sure it's fine for your floors.  Besides, WW2 canopies were generally plexiglass and did not sparkle anyways.  A tad of Novus plastic clean and shine on a Q-tip goes a long way.  I found it at Amazon for 6 bones...

http://www.amazon.com/NOVUS-PC-10-Plastic-Clean-Shine/dp/B002UD0GFE/ref=sr_1_1/182-9922771-6499103?ie=UTF8&qid=1426045865&sr=8-1&keywords=novus+plastic+clean+%26+shine

Joe

Keep an eye out for Pledge-One Go in Australia.  Same stuff as future.

I agree with Nathan T. I've been using Tamiya tape, it's easy for me to work with. I've haven't used pre-cut masks yet.

Canopies have been my achilles heel. It still takes me a while but I'm getting better.

I think you did a nice job on your build.

Your canopy troubles will be greatly lessened if you stop dipping the darn thing in Future or any other equivalent, and use only Tamiya tape or pre cut masks. Then airbrush it with light, thin coats. Polish out any imperfections that you don't live with.

I'm newly-returned myself and have been craving this kit. Are there vacu-formed canopies available?

Good work - welcome back to the fold. I can echo the comments above regarding the canopy masks. When ever I get a new kit, the first thing I do is place an order with Eduard for their masks.

If the masks aren't available, I also do the little strip method that is also mentioned above.

Having a magnifying visor helps tremendously if you don't already have a pair.

Regarding Future, I order mine via Amazon, because stores here don't carry it. Perhaps that is option for you?

Hey Scott, Looks great! Especially for your 2nd time at bat after 25 years on vacation. Looks better than my 2nd attempt after that long!  You couldn't have Picked a much better kit. Love those Tamiya Corsairs!!!  Keep up the good work!  Raymond

Scottabe

Your build looks just fine, nice job.

Canopy masking can be a real chore when getting started, for the longest time I just brush painted them, results were not terrible, but the weakest part of the entire build. Then I read about a procedure that really does work for me.

I use a variety of tapes, two of them are "blue tapes," commonly used in household painting I think. One of them by 3M, the other by a company called Duck. The Duck tape, (not to be confused with Duct tape,) has a fine edge, thin and easy to cut, the 3M is thicker and more effort is needed to cut it, but still has a fine edge. The Duck tape  will definitely allow a tighter curve, when masking curved frames  Other tapes are Tamiya and Frog, Frog is available in paint stores. (I'm in the U.S.)

I place whatever tape and length I'll use on an 8X10 glass plate, using a metal straight edge I cut it with a curved X-acto blade into strips as thin as I need to get, The thinner the strip, the tighter the curve you can make. Once the frame edges are masked, I fill in the adjacent area with either more tape, or liquid mask. All of these tapes mentioned are of the less aggressive  adhesive, very little tendency to lift paint from the surface.

A little experimenting will demonstrate whether you like the method or not, it does work well for me, it's my only way to do it now. I hope you find this useful.

Patrick

That's a nice looking build. canopy masks are defiantly the way to go.

Nice job on the kit and the figure!  I did notice the national insignia on the wing is upside down.  Very nice work only being your second kit after coming back.

Mike

Unless the canopy is really simple (like the single straight bat of an F/A-18, I have had zero luck masking canopies with tape (it's me, I know it is!) and have resorted to using bare metal foil for anything remotely complex (more than a straight line).  I have some goo gone on hand for when I remove the masking with a toothpick carved into a chisel shape, and then I gently polish the clear areas.  I like that approach though as it allows me to airbrush the canopies and I can avoid paint bleeding under but still get crisp lines.

Great job on your corsair!

Groot

Nice looking Corsair.And a good job for just your second build.I have just started my 3rd plane kit.Last 2 were built probably 10 yrs ago so I too am learning as I go.A trick I have used in auto building is a product called parafilm. It's cheap and a nice masking material.I plan on using it on my canopy.

Other than the canopy, it looks great! Can you tell us what approach you took with masking and painting the canopy? We can help you get your next attempt looking better if we know how you proceeded with this one. Hope I'm not coming off the wrong way here. Just wanna help you improve! Again, that Corsair (my all-time favorite plane) looks great!

Fine job for your second build! I still have trouble with canopies from time to time, and I've been building for over 30 years.

Nice kit, love the Corsair. You can also dip the canopy in Alclad Aqua gloss as well. Works great.

BTW- for me, and being inexperienced, I found that this kit fit together pretty well. I had a few minor seam issues that I was easily able to puddy and sand out but all in all was pretty decent fitting kit.

I'm not able to use Future here in Australia, for some reason we don't get that particular product down under. I did a Humbrol Gloss coat (dipped), it was great up until then. I sprayed the canopy and all hell broke loose. I've been watching You Tube vids on better techniques. I'll get it, I know I will.

Thanks for the positive remarks too.

I have that same kit, how was the fit and detail? Did you use "future" (Pledge) on the canopy?

2nd kit since a come back? nice job.

Looks nice!   Awesome box art too.  If you are having trouble masking the canopy you can always buy a set of pre-cut masks!