The Official F4U Corsair Group Build 4/01/08 - rolling end date

Okay, I'm done.  First up is the image that gave me my inspiration.  It a print by artist John Stanley.  don't know him but found this image with good ole google.

Info on this aircraft.

Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Corsair used to fly top cover during the raids against the German Battleship Tirpitz, as this dreaded vessel lay at anchor in a Norwegian fjord in April of 1944. Knowing that the D-Day Invasion was scheduled for later that summer, the Allies did not want to have to worry about the Tirpitz suddenly appearing within range of Allied invasion vessels. The RN FAA made the first operational use of the Corsair from carrier decks, though they'd had to clip the tips of their Corsairs' wings in order for them to be able to fit (when folded upward for storage) under the low overhead spaces on the British Carriers' hangar decks, but, aside from creating a more squared-off look to the plane, these clipped wingtips also increased the roll rate, and also allowed pilots to quickly "drop" the plane onto the carrier deck, for a swift and sure, if jarring, landing.

I did clip the wings but my markings are only as accurate as I could find.  The serial number is not the correct number for this plane as this is only my representation of the planes detailed above.  Thanks for looking.

View to see clipped wings.

Hi padakr -- interesting build! Are these Hasegawa's molds released by Revell? Do I see recessed or raised panel lines??? Retractable gear is a most unusual feature in a kit, especially post-the 1970s.

It looks like you've painted the gear bay doors interior green on their inner sides, and the gear struts white. This is an interesting point, trying to match the aircraft type to the date of usage to determine what the regulations were for detail colors.

My (color) -1D data for the 100 Hours War does not show any of the aircraft with gear down, so I'm going to have to wing it. I've still not decided if the doors are going to be the underside color or green.

Cheers,

Mike/TB379

I'm throwing my hat into the ring.  Already sent PM to Gigatron.

Revell 1/48 Corsair F4U-4:

Already have the fuselage together:

And just finished up the wings:

I loved the idea of being able to fold the wings up, which is why I picked the kit. 

The gear being retractable was unexpected.  I'm used to having the option of gear up or down, and I usually pick down (my wife isn't to keen on the idea of suspending them from the ceiling in the bedroom).  However, you can't actual retract the gear on this one.  Sure, the gear doors open and close, and the landing strut folds and pivots.  But if the wheel is attached, it won't fit in the gear bay .  I can see myself now, showing it to people "See how cool this is, the gear fold up, only I have to pry off the wheels and put them in my pocket before hand."

Has anybody else done this kit and scratched their head about it?

No sean I haven't finished my corsair yet. It's slowly getting stuff done to it, not bad things don't fret, a lil sanding here a fitment there etc.

Great work guys all around!!!!!!!!!

  Yes, I`m multi tasking...Harv

dirtball wrote:

Sean,thanks for the encouragement!! I need a swift kick in the pants. Wow, those planes are tiny!!.........Harv

Harv there is life out there other then 1/32 ! The only scale I dont care for in Aircraft is 1/144 . And I have been thinning out the 1/32 due to they are real~estate and paint hogs. I believe the Corsair in the box is an old Airfix or Matchbox "Bagged" kit. I plan on displaying all three scales (1/72, 1/48,/1/32)  next to each other someday. 

dirtball wrote:

! The F86 is taking all my time at the bench, but hope to get SOMETHING done on mine real soon. I got a ton of work to do. Its great to see so many posts in one day!!...........Harv

Harv - you need to get into the (bad) habbit I have - Multiple Builds at once ! I can stay at the bench all day - one project can have cement curing, another has putty curing, something is almost always in the paint booth drying. Also hepls prevent boredom or dislike on a certain model ()  It also helps when  I get stalled - like out of a certain color of paint. Hobby shop is 180 miles roundtrip form my little shack up here on the Northern Border. 

Stuff that is Not on the Bench at this time

Frank - I'm impressed That is truly awsome work in the cowel flaps. Won't catch me doing that - yet

Sean, Mike - great work also. Luv the progress you're making. Keep on it.

Sheesh, Frank! 1:48! Well... okay, I'm looking at the same part, and wondering... I have .015" wire, plenty of .020" platiscard and a .020" drill... :-)

Yep, she's rolling, I'm really enjoying Tamiya planes. I'll have to take a breather, though, as it'll take a while for the masks to arrive. I'll switch to the Mustang I'm production-lining at the same time and get that one along to paint-ready too. And I have two models on a publication deadline only three weeks away. Yikes, I'm almost a professional at this!

Cheers,

Mike

Sean- I don't know about me either! LOL...

Still trying to fabricate the mini pulleys I need to run the cable to the office.  I'm doing my best!   No chopper here, just an optivisor, tiny tweezers, and a .2mm dental round bur. 

Frank - I just dont know about you,  That is some really fine detail woirk you are once again showing off. I truly expect for you to connect the end of that thread to the correct PE Knob in the Pit   Did you use "The Chopper " to cut all those pieces or did you do it all by hand ?

Anyway Outstanding Work,

Thunderbolt379 wrote:

Dang, Frank, that's ambitious! Only in 1:32, eh?

LOL, actually- I'm building the same kit you are: Tamiya 1/48.   Looks like you are really cruising with yours!

Dang, Frank, that's ambitious! Only in 1:32, eh?

Okay, here's the last one for now, I'm gonna be out for a couple of days. I've got some filler in a few joints, wing centre is mounted and the tailplane interlock is just too kewl!

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Gotta order Express Masks, maybe some resin bombs, borrow rockets from a Mustang kit... Why Tamiya would produce the attack version but not include a fret of ordnance is beyond me...

Cheers,

Mike

Another Corsair update!

I was looking at the inside of the cowl flaps, and trying to decide whether to add some detail to them as they are plain on the inside or just use the closed flaps.  First, I marked in pencil where the inside grooves between each flap was located, using the outer grooves as a guide.  Scribed those in, then sanded them and cleaned them out.  I took some .010" strip styrene, cut them into tiny triangles, then drilled a .2mm hole in each one.  Threaded a length of thread through them to replicate the actuator cable.  Overall, I am quite happy with them.  Now, just have to decide if I wanna do it all over again for the other one!

Daywalker wrote:

I like that blue, what manufacturer/color is that?

Frank - I used Model Master Enamel Insigna Blue FS 35044

Harv -Looking forward to seeing your work grace the pages again (hint hint ) I am still stressed on this build about mating the wings up though. As I have heard the "Droop" towards the ground really bad .....

Richie - Thank you, how is your Corsair coming along ? You should be just about finished right

Mike - Terrific work, your Pit looks the Business. Nice to see some new Corsair's still being added to the group. You are making it look way too easy with your progress.......

Thanks, Frank! The Tamiya Corsair builds nicely, she's a little bit more complex then the Bf 109 but is going together readily enough. I'm thinking of painting the flaps off the model, certainly the undersides, then maybe do the topside camo with the masked flaps attached...

PM on its way,

Mike

A little more progress: I've snugged the cockpit into the fuselage, closed her up and added the segment behind the cockpit. Also done a quick round of adzing on the jointlines.

Mike/TB379

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Hi guys,

Fab work going on here, sorry I've been quiet lately but it's been busy for a number of reasons here in South Aus. No matter, I managed to get a start on my FG-1D, using the Tamiya -1D rather than the Hobbycraft. I've got as far as the cockpit and all internal prepainting, plus weathered the pit with Promodeler panel wash and MiG pigments, bare metal courtesy of MM enamel silver. The Interior Green is mixed from Tamiya acrylics, it's a tad light. Their instructions suggest two parts yellow to one part green, I skewed it a bit in favor of green but it should really be 1:1.

This is the first time I've managed to get an instrument panel decal to lie down over raised detail. It took six applications of Microscale Micro-Set, but it worked! I used Gunze clear flat over the decals, then created instrument glasses with clear gloss. The only item missing is the seat belt decal -- I messed it up so decided to forget the harness.

The last two images will be very familiar to KG! It should be a quicker process now, I'll be able to close up the fuselage before long. I had a bit of trouble with focus, these are very small assemblies!

Cheers,

Mike/TB379

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Ah, yes...two at once...

Guess I'll settle for Corsairs.

Thanks guys!  Having a lot of fun with the twins (Corsairs I mean)

Sean- Glad to see you were able to end the standoff!  I like that blue, what manufacturer/color is that?

Aaron - Thanks for stopping in and liking what you see, That Frank is a Corsair Extremist doing two at once. But hey what guy hasnt ever thought of doing two   I stop in and check on the Navy Gb every now and then to see what is being built. 

On another note , this kit has been a trial of patience and errors on my part. No matter how long I study the directions I can still manage to mess up..To me it seems like each sprue section was created by a different person. Sprue C & D are almost twins except for the ejector pin locations... Anyway I am starting to see the light at the end of the Hanger !

Stop back in again