I'd kill to get my cockpits to look like that . Absolutely outstanding work so far.

Looks great Joe! The cockpit is beautiful. Looking forward to seeing more of this. Using the masks ought to make for some very nice looking markings

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to see you take on this. This is #1 on my wishlist.  It will be one of the rare 1/32 kits for me also when I get my hands on it. But, I simply cannot resist this beauty.

Your cockpit and interior are your usual stunning work Joe. It really is inspiring to see someone with your skills get there hands on such an incredible kit. I'm in like flint on this one with you. 

Ooooh, yess. I've been waiting to see you start this one. ANd Boyington, at that. I remember loving the TV show reruns when I was growing up, and I read his book years ago and really enjoyed it.

Great job on that pit, and in general so far.

-BD-

Thanks everyone. 

So far this thing is a dream.  I had no trouble inserting the cockpit and then closing the fuselage.   

The top fuselage inserts behind the cockpit fit perfectly.  

I turned my attention to the engine.  Tamiya did a nice job with it, providing separate parts, such as push rods and magnetos, so everything can be painted spearately.  I did just that then glued it together (leaving the gear box off till the end).  There were two options for magnetos and gearbox ring, perhaps and early or late engine.  I picked the later one I think.  I'm no Pratt and Whitney expert.  I then ran copper stereo wire to simulate the ignition wires.  This was sooooo much easier in this scale.

Put it together.....

Now it was weathered with a detailer wash and dull coat.  At this stage, I drybrushed some silver on the gear box to bring out the highlights.  I've been doing this lately and have liked the results, as the wash had been concealing the drybrushing before.  It was then finished off with a quick blast of Tamiya Smoke X-19 to give it that smokey appearance.

I would imagine most of this will be hidden by the cowl.  But it's still worth it.

Time to get going on the wings...

Outstanding progress Joe. That sweet kit responds well to your very skilled touch. Especially the engine. You dressed that up real nice. So, doesn't this kit come with removable panels on the cowling or clear cowling in order to display that sweet engine? Thanks for sharing Joe.

As usual you're work is exemplary. Your works in progress really serve as tutorials for master classes in model building.

I'll not be building any 1/32 scale aircraft since I A) don't have the room and, B) don't have the $$ and, C) don't have the talent to make the kit turn out like the works of art from your hands but I am enamored of F4U's in any scale so I'll be following along.

That looks like it will be a great tribute to "Pappy" . He was one of those greatest generation folks who were "larger than life". Pappy said that if "they" had known that he was still alive he would never have received the  Medal of Honor. The night before he received the MOH he went on a "bender" and the day he received the MOH two Marines had to go find him and hold him up so Presedenrt Truman could put the Medal on him. The photos you "see" were taken later for publicity purposes. Pappy had a drinking problem and it took a long time and four wives to resolve, but he was none the less a true American hero and icon. I'm looking forward to the finished product.

Beautiful work, Joe. A stunner in the making. And I agree that the larger scale would be easier to work on and also call for more details, a trap indeed. Very nice.

BK

First off, I got my wish....hoped you'd do a WIP on this and here it is.

Second off.......

lawdog114

Ruh roh...I'm suddenly addicted to 1/32.

Oh how that leading sentence scares me. I have two 1/32 birds in my stash (one is a Tamiya Corsair but that's not important), and have been pondering moving back up in size. I built a lot of 1/32 as a kid as I recall. Hearing your opening comments sensing your enthusisam has me scared without having even having read on yet, Joe.

Thanks for the WIP and now I'm off to read on....

Lawdog114;

 Okay , now we have another artist among us who has been hiding some of his talents .That office is well ; Stupendous ! ! Then the Engine . Oh My Gosh .You sure are doing a bang up job .Keep it up !  T.B.

Looks great. That scale and subject suits you.

-J

Great to see this one progress.  Loved the show Black Sheep Squadron when I was al little kid; really sparked my WWII interest.  I have his memoir on the shelf that I need to dig into as well.

This thing is looking great! There is something to be said for the 1/32 format. With my large and aging hands and having to buy larger diopters for my viewing devices, this scale is looking better everyday! I guess the only disadvantage I can think of is I'm running out of room.

Anyway, the machine is looking awesome and has been a fun one to follow. Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to the rest of the build.

Max

Looking Great Lawdog!

The perfect parts fit of the kit combined with your skills is going to make this an example to follow, Joe.

You make me feel like the small nerdy kid trying to hang out with the cool guy. LoL!

I can't wait to see how this one turns out. Is there a pilot included??

Yeah, 1/32nd is even better here since it gives you a bigger canvas to work your art Joe! 

The cockpit and engine are looking great! 

This is fantastic looking Joe. I get more and more jealous the large scale guys all the time.  I'm holding out though at 1:48...for my wife's sake! =]

7474

Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention? Please give your attention, the master is about to show us how it's done.....once again.

 

Hardly.........but thank you.  You're very kind.  Just an average modeler with a few tricks bro.  

Thanks to all of you for your kind words.  

M. Brindos

 

You make me feel like the small nerdy kid trying to hang out with the cool guy. LoL!

I can't wait to see how this one turns out. Is there a pilot included??

 

No way Mike, you're better than you think you are.  I would never try that with that old Monogram P-40.......no way........  

......and yes, two pilots, one seated and the other standing.  I'll probably build up the standing pilot.  If I can build the seated one without facegear, I may sit him on the edge of the wing as well.     

Believe it or not, I have still been plugging away at this turkey but I haven't had a chance to update the thread.  This thing has so many sub assemblies it seems like it has been taking forever.  I switched gears to the underside and main landing gear area.  The instuctions say paint everything Insignia White (AS-20?).  Well, my research said the gears bays and doors were normally Zinc Chromate, so I sprayed everything XF-4 Yellow Green.  I didn't weather or wash it at this point, as I will do it later with what can be seen.

I assembled the exhausts, engine cowl and chose the open cowl flaps option.  I think radial fighters look better with these open on the ground.  I then glued it in place and mated the fuselage to the lower wing.  Fit was great.  

I then skipped a few pages in the instructions and assembled the outer wings so I could see how these were gonna fit.  Although more sturdy than the 1/48 kit due to wing spars, I still didn't like the gaps at the wing leading edges, particularly the starboard side.   I ended up holding the joints tight and Tenaxing the joint line. Here we are all assembled. 

I'm fat dumb and happy.....all proud of my work when I discovered that grabbing this thing the wrong way would snap the Tenax bond.  I would think with a kit this pricey they could have provided a full wing for the folks who want them down.  I ended up using much more Tenax then rescribing in the panel line.  On the next one I will leave out the guts and glue styrene on the inside like I did on the little one.   Also in hindsight, I should have just blue-tacked the cowl/engine in place for ease of painting.  I shoved a rope of blue tack in there to avoid overspray, but I'll still need to be careful there.      

Fortunately the "in flight"option offers some nice premade masks...

Aside from the wing issues, It went together like a dream...almost time for paint.  

Fantastic build :-)

Theuns

She's looking great! 

I love that companies that do give you the folded wing option but yeah I've put pins in stuff etc just to make sure the unfolded wing won't pop at the hinge joint. 

Now how'd I miss this one? Fantastic WIP. Pappy is one of my favorite WW2 pilots. 

Despite the contrary whether it was Lulubelle or Lucybelle, no single pilot was assigned to a particular personal aircraft during WW2 in the Pacific.

My fave bird of all time. I love seeing them go together. This one is super cool and you got me thinking I should pick up a large scale one for myself.

BK

lawdog114

Believe it or not, I have still been plugging away at this turkey but I haven't had a chance to update the thread.  This thing has so many sub assemblies it seems like it has been taking forever.  I switched gears to the underside and main landing gear area.  The instuctions say paint everything Insignia White (AS-20?).  Well, my research said the gears bays and doors were normally Zinc Chromate, so I sprayed everything XF-4 Yellow Green.  I didn't weather or wash it at this point, as I will do it later with what can be seen.

I assembled the exhausts, engine cowl and chose the open cowl flaps option.  I think radial fighters look better with these open on the ground.  I then glued it in place and mated the fuselage to the lower wing.  Fit was great.  

I then skipped a few pages in the instructions and assembled the outer wings so I could see how these were gonna fit.  Although more sturdy than the 1/48 kit due to wing spars, I still didn't like the gaps at the wing leading edges, particularly the starboard side.   I ended up holding the joints tight and Tenaxing the joint line. Here we are all assembled. 

 

I'm fat dumb and happy.....all proud of my work when I discovered that grabbing this thing the wrong way would snap the Tenax bond.  I would think with a kit this pricey they could have provided a full wing for the folks who want them down.  I ended up using much more Tenax then rescribing in the panel line.  On the next one I will leave out the guts and glue styrene on the inside like I did on the little one.   Also in hindsight, I should have just blue-tacked the cowl/engine in place for ease of painting.  I shoved a rope of blue tack in there to avoid overspray, but I'll still need to be careful there.      

Fortunately the "in flight"option offers some nice premade masks...

Aside from the wing issues, It went together like a dream...almost time for paint.  

  

 

Lawdog,

1st. Nice build you got going there!

But I could not help notice the issue you are having with "bonding", Myself and my club gave up on Tenex a long time ago and went to Methel Ethel Ketone (MEK for short) as our solvent because of its superior welding capabilities over Tenex.  It is the main ingredient in most liquid and gel polystyrene glues. and is readilly available at your local hardware store for an inexpensive price.  If you look at Testors Liquid Cement you will see that it is mostly MEK.

Just my but I think you might find this helpfull...

Very cool Joe. Makes me want to get one just to go through the motions. 

Very cool. =]