War In The Pacific Group Build 2009 - 2010

Thanks guys, really appreciate the comments!!!

Carlos in leiu of not being invited, we expect lots of pics asap mister!!! Hope you get a ride!!!!

sf looking forward to your build!!!!

Dave, thats the same kit i have. We both have addons but different addons. Should be a great head to head LOL.

...Guy

Boy thats alot of goodies, for an already great kit

Jason

Luftwoller wrote:

Dave, thats the same kit i have. We both have addons but different addons. Should be a great head to head LOL. ...Guy

Daywalker wrote:

I'll be looking forward to your progress reports Dave!  Nothing quite like a nice Corsair.  If you are interested, I have found a couple of tricks that really make that kit pop, as well as easier to put together.

Daywalker wrote:

I'll be looking forward to your progress reports Dave!  Nothing quite like a nice Corsair.  If you are interested, I have found a couple of tricks that really make that kit pop, as well as easier to put together.

Frank I too have one in the stash and would appericate the tips

Jason

Guys, those engines look superb in any scale.

Looks like we're going to get some major bent winged action with two Corsairs!

Just to prove I'm still in the game, some progress pics of the Ki-44.

I can't believe the amount of masking I've had to do on this build, and I'm still not finished.

Tomorrow should see the end of the painting and masking, and then on to decals on Sunday....

....finally!

Karl

Sheesh Karl.. Tamiya must love you for all of their tape you use!   Excellent work my friend.

OK, Tamiya Corsair tips! 

First, in the cockpit (I built mine OOB) I took a piece of Tamiya tape and fashioned a map case out of it.  A little time spent detail painting the office yields a very nice finished product.

On the tailwheel, the triangular blob on it's backside is actually a wire loop to tie down the AC on the deck.  I ground it off on mine, and replaced it with some wire.

On the main gear, I added brake lines, tie downs at the bottom of the gear leg, springs, and anti-rotation cables from stretched sprue.

The back of the cowl flaps are devoid af any detail, so I cut some tiny triangular pieces of sheet stock, drilled a little hole in them, and added a cable to open/close the flaps.  Also scribed in the details between the flaps.

Another big thing when modelling the kit with the wings extended, is NOT to follow the directions on assembly.  I learned this trick from Drew H.  Instead, assemble the inner wing stubs first.  Then, assemble the wing rib/gear bay side with the spar and firmly glue it to the wing stub.  Next, take little squares of sheet stock and glue them to the inner surface of the wing halves- with some sticking out approx. 1mm.  This will support the outer wing halves when attched and keep them aligned with the inner halves.  Next, glue the top outer wing half to the inner and to the spar, making sure to keep the top wing halves even.  Then install the bottom wing half.  This aligns the wing halves top and bottominner to outer, and any errors are on the leading edge where it is much easier to fix.  Sounds a bit complicated, but unfortunately I do not have any photos of how to do it.  Hope my description makes sense!

This thing has really depleted my strategic reserves of Tamiya tape!

I've got a 1/32 Stuka to do at some point, and I'm sure that'll use less tape than this thing.

Anyway tape came off this morning...

Having seen a profile in one of the Revi books on the Ki-44 I decided to go with Aotake for the interior and wheel bays, just like my 1/48 Ki-43. it just looks better to my eye.

Still a few areas to touch in and paint, such as the exhaust, but I'll do these alongside the decals tomorrow.

Karl

Karl-oooh...that's nice.  Very nice paint work.  A NMF like that shows the effort that you put into the finish under the NMF.  Nice job.

Frank-thanks for posting your build history on the Corsair.  I have one in the stash and I need to print off your notes so I don't have to go searching when I build it.

Karl, the NMF looks fantastic. What did you use?

Frank, great tips. Remember, i need as many as you want to dispense. Im like a sponge me, sucking up as much info as i can. Especially from the the elite. I love the cowl flap addons.

...Guy

Guy, it's just Tamiya Chrome Silver.

A bit grainy for 1/72, but at least it stays attached!

Karl

The Tojo is a sweety. I have a question for you though. Why are the control surfaces such a different color? When I looked at your post, it struck a note, and I then looked at a bunch of photos and can't quite see that.

Fabric surfaces would be doped, which contrary to popular opinion stays bright longer than metal. 

Guys, thanks for the comments, much appreciated.

Bondo, the control surfaces on IJA aircraft were left in IJN underside grey on both sides, and not silver doped.

Think this was done on the expectation that the aircraft would be painted in the field, but as we know, this often did not happen.

That's another reason the masking was a bit more complex.

Karl

Mucker, I think the Tamiya looks better in the photos than it does in real up close.

Still here are some pics of the progress on decals....

I had a slight problem with the painr reacting with the MrMark Softener, you can just see a black spot under the final victory marking. 

Nothing that can't be sorted though.

Not a lot of decals on the underside, and Hase placement drawings are next too useless, as all the decals are smaller in real life than the drawings would suggest.

Karl

Karl thats really great in those markings!

Frank Great tips on that corsair. One question though what color did you use for the cockpit

Jason

Karl that looks GREAT!!! Really looks the part now!!! WELL DONE!!

Hey ho, Ive broken sprue on the Corsair and its definately a great kit. Im after a few pics if possible. I seem to be spending more time researching than i do actually building. I was all set to have a crack at the engine. Im confused about the circular ignition wire holder. On your pic Frank, they looked very flat, yet on a piccy i found online, it looks round?????

Im on about the Chromey looking ring. If this is just a restored item that unoriginal, fantastic, but does someone have a pic of what the real deal looks like. Another question/request is, does anyone have a good picture of the back of the cowl flaps? Im going to try to copy Franks (Again) great actuating mechanism, but i need to see how much of the exhaust shows.

Sorry for the Gab, ill post up pics soon.

...Guy

Guy, Frank might can correct me on this but I believe whether the R-2800 had a round or squarish ignition harness depended heavily on the model of engine. Whether or not the squarish harness' were retrofitted later or even swapped I don't now. There was a low tension and high tension ignition so don't know if that has anything to do with it. Have a mate at work that I will have to ask. He worked on the C-123 in the Loation Air Force. Here are some pics for you anyways of different R-2800s

Karl- Excellent work my friend, you never disappoint!

Jason- Since this was an early F4U-1 Corsair converted to an F4U-2N, I went with Bronze Green for the cockpit and Salmon primer inside the fuselage, cowl flaps, and back of the wheelwells.  Trying to get the colors right for Corsairs (especially the early ones) is very tricky, but for a reference I used this.  For the office, I used Tamiya XF-70 "Dark Green II" as it looked close to the right color, and added a few drops of dark blue to get that shade.   For the salmon, I used a custom mix of Gunze paints, though sadly I cannot remember what I used.

Guy-Hmmm... I don't really know!  Sounds like Richie is on to something though.

Richie- Great photos!  Thanks for sharing those, especially the last one.

just to let everyone know....I havent been taken down by rebellious elves for overworking them.....

Finally got the grey green tone for the rufe just right..i didnt like what tamiya or MM offered...made my own..the others looked too green....got the dark green down too and am ready to do some weathering. Im trying something new.....I put down the grey then hit it with a coat of Dull coat..then over that the Dk grn....I figured I will wear down the Dk grn exposing the grey and dullcoat should protect the grey. The drk grn is acrylic so I was thinking of using a water and windex solution on a qtip to wear along panel lines and natural wear lines....then add some washes over that....

Any comments, tips , suggestions....i would expect the dullcoat to hold up against the home made acrylic "paint remover"

...and Charles....my little "extras" look great..should be a success..!

Carlos

Carlos, people usually tile or shingle their roofs!!! Seriously, looking forward to seeing some pics of da Rufe!!

Johnny, take your time and get good place!!! Where you will be able to have a man cave and make plastic things!!! Seriously mate, good luck with finding what's right for you guys!!!

Thanks guys.

Finished applying the decals last night, so tonight will be a wash down and a coat of Future, as for the Ki-44.......

Guy, looking at those pics the ignition ring profile looks more ovoid than round.

Karl