1/32 Tamiya F4U-1A Corsair VF-17 "Jolly Rogers" (Finished)

I love the interior detail, painting and weathering.  

Nice to see you working your magic on another big corsair Joe. Looking forward to this!

Man thats looking great! Whats the round hole in front of the office for?

Youi had me at Corsair!!

BK

This is one of the best corsair kits on the market.  Definately a nice start!  I'll be following.

Toshi

Glad you're doing this as a WIP, Joe.

You're WIP threads are always a treat, and your new addiction scares me as I'm on the fence about building something larger than 1:48 next. Oh oh.

iampiper13

Man thats looking great! Whats the round hole in front of the office for?

 

Thanks guys.

That hole is where the fuel the cover will go.  I'll add that after seam work as it will be easier. 

Greg

You're WIP threads are always a treat, and your new addiction scares me as I'm on the fence about building something larger than 1:48 next. Oh oh.

 

Indeed...be careful...lol. Well, I was going to forego the WIP and just post finished pics, but I figured some may want to tag along. I'm having a hard time going back to 1/48 now.  My P-40 and Hellcat were a struggle.....lol. I have to start a 1/48 Fw 190 A-8 shortly, so it will be weird going back and forth. 

I'm with Greg on being worried .

F4U's are my favorite aircraft and what you've done so far is, as per your usual, just delicious! I can't see building 1/32 kits though - too many 1/48's and not enough room in my place for more than 1/2 dozen each of aircraft and ships. So.... when I see a thread such as this one ... I'm very, very tempted/conflicted.

Here's an image to clearly show the answer you gave to Iampiper13 regarding the hole in front of the office:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b9/2a/21/b92a21e47da7dcb5d23554d48d654961.jpg

Thanks for doing the WIP Joe.  I have a couple of these, but, so far I'm just at the drooling stage.

lawdog114

Well, I was going to forego the WIP and just post finished pics, but I figured some may want to tag along.

Joe, I've opined on this before. You are not allowed to forego your WIP's. I still have far too much to learn from you and your projects are inspirational.

BTW, your cockpits are always awesome in 1:48, this is really something in 1:32.

Mike, I have the same issue regarding where to put bigger finished models. But I'm close to saying 'Oh, screw it....'   and just go for it. Maybe even one of the 1:24 Airfixes.

As again, Joe, an excellent start on your newest project.  I had a question on the time period of Blackburn's "Big Hog".  What time frame are you doing it as:  the first tour of VF-17 at Ondonga in 1943, or their second tour at Piva Yoke in 1944?  The second photo is just a day or two after the big November 11, 1943 mission where they provided CAP over the carriers, and landed back aboard the Bunker Hill.  Notice that the arresting hook has been installed which was removed while on land flight ops to save weight and to prevent the hook from accidentally  dropping and ripping up the PSP strip.  And notice the dark blue circles below the cockpit which were repairs done after one of Blackburn's pilots accidentally shot him coming out of a cloud on the big mission.  Blackburn got his fourth victory also on that mission.

Is it just me or does the second photo appear to show the plane with a tail that is painted the same as the underside of the stabilizers? Perhaps sun fade? The decals show it the same as the upper color, but he photo appears quite different.

BK

richs26

I had a question on the time period of Blackburn's "Big Hog".  What time frame are you doing it as:  the first tour of VF-17 at Ondonga in 1943, or their second tour at Piva Yoke in 1944?  The second photo is just a day or two after the big November 11, 1943 mission where they provided CAP over the carriers, and landed back aboard the Bunker Hill.  Notice that the arresting hook has been installed which was removed while on land flight ops to save weight and to prevent the hook from accidentally  dropping and ripping up the PSP strip.  And notice the dark blue circles below the cockpit which were repairs done after one of Blackburn's pilots accidentally shot him coming out of a cloud on the big mission.  Blackburn got his fourth victory also on that mission.

 

Thanks Rich.  I'm going with early 1944 where the red borders had been done away with, like the decal sheet shows.  I plan to simulate the bullet hole repairs too.  Thanks for the info about the hook.  I can see how that could have been an issue.    

BrandonK

Is it just me or does the second photo appear to show the plane with a tail that is painted the same as the underside of the stabilizers? Perhaps sun fade? The decals show it the same as the upper color, but he photo appears quite different.

BK

 

I think it's just the pic.  The underside should be non-spec white.  Thanks for following Brandon.  

Alrighty then, life has been hectic lately and bench time scarce. I have been working on this sparingly so I figured I'd share my progress over the last few weeks.  I believe I left off after assembling the fuselage and landing gear bay/intake area.  I remembered the pain in the a@@ it was to get a solid joint at the wing fold on the last one.  I decided to reinforce this area this time.  I first glued the lower wings on and used Evergreen stock for strength.  I used more stock on the underside of the upper wing....strategically placed.  Tenax sealed them in place.  It was a pain but it worked.

Wasn't long before we got here.  

I switched to the engine.  As usual, I added stereo wire for ignition harness.    

Weathered...Wash, drybrush, then a dusting with Tamiya Smoke X-19

As you can see, plenty will be seen so it's worth it

Cowl was attached and all seams were checked with primer. Oh yeah, side note....since my last Corsair, I learned that the flaps on land based Corsairs were always pulled up after landing to prevent damage.  I followed suit on this build.

I painted in the walk stripes and taped them off.  I also shaded the panel lines then sprayed the Intermediate Blue.  I mixed it custom with all of those...lol.  Blue Tac worms then separated the demarcation lines. 

I then added the Non Specular Blue.  This was also custom with Tamiya paints. I started with XF-27 Sea Blue and lightened it with XF-2 Flat White and added a touch of XF-8 Flat Blue.  I then added XF-55 Deck Tan and faded the upper surface.  

I wanted it more pronounced that the previous Corsair.  I believe I achieved it.

Soon I'll weather it more with a postshade.  Please stay tuned for more.  

That looks fantastic, Joe. The engine is beautiful and the paint work is awesome. I aspire to paint like that some day.

BK

BrandonK

That looks fantastic, Joe. The engine is beautiful and the paint work is awesome. I aspire to paint like that some day.

BK

 

Ditto!  I'm still afraid to try a camo paint job without all the post and pre shading, lol.  Awesome job so far, looks great!

Absolutely gorgeous paint work Mate . and you're still not done yet.

The paint work looks awesome. Nice job!

Thanks Stephen..

Well I finally got this one off the bench.  It's in the markings of Tommy Blackburn's "Big Hog", which happened to be one of the kit options too. Blackburn, the CO of VF-17, was an 11 kill ace.  I depicted Hog after returning from the November 11th, 1943 mission where he bagged a Ki-61.  It apparently still had the brief 1943 red outline on the stars and bars.

To recap, my-o-my......next to the 1/48 Tamiya P-47, this has to be the greatest kit ever made.  Just stunning all around with fit and detail......pure modeling bliss whih had me giggling like a school girl.  My only complaint was wing attachment in down position, which needs reinforcement.  I was worried about the huge decals which tend to give me fits (particularly Eagle Cal which I think are thick and mediocre at best anyways).  I ultimately decided to paint these with Montex masks.  Truthfully, I may never use decals for insignias again.  If you're patient this is the way to go.  I will admit this is easier to do BEFORE the paint scheme.  Fortunately you can do it either way.  

A few personal touches to Hog were taped gun ports that had been shot through.  I'm aware the tape was normally removed before a mission (hence the "remove tape before firing" decals) but I've seen pics on some planes that have showed otherwise.  Perhaps they forgot or ran out of time.  Besides, I like the look of it and it adds interest.  I always do this on my Spitfires. The other deviation is the polished prop hub which is a personal preference.  Let's just say this turkey was depicted before they painted it red........lol.   I did depict the bullet hole patches on the port fuselage.  Finally, I substituted a set of Eduard Brassin wheels in lieu of the rubber ones.  

Thanks for following...

Oh My Gosh !  The paint work is stunning !  This kit will be my next purchase and I will aspire to build mine near as i can to yours...PFFFT as if that will happen. But I will "endeavor to perservere"

That is one of the best Corsair builds I've ever seen!  Just an excellent job.

Toshi

Beautiful!

Joe, that bird looks like it just landed. The realism on this one is top notch. Well done!!

BK

Brilliant!

I can't use any other term to describe your build(s).

I will be adding this to my list of "kits to build". I just hope that I can do it justice, as you have demonstrated here.