cruiz

Hello again and thank you all for your kind comments, really appreciate them. Slow progress those past weeks. The reasons for separating the flaps was to detail the notch that exposes the actuator linkage and to better represent them as a separate part without depending on washes. While looking for reference pics of the linkage, I also found that the actuators for the aileron’s trim and balance tabs have interesting details. Here is my attempt at it. Let’s say the details are inspired on the real thing rather than being an accurate representation. Source of frustration and time lost were the resin wells, every time I manipulate the wing's center section to dry fit other pieces, they just pop out, glued them back just to came loose time after; this happened several times until I tried something I saw in the forums, mixing acrylic nail powder and super glue. So far the joint is still firmly in place, this mix also worked great to attach photoetched parts and as a filler. The first time I knew of this technique with was in Paul Budzik's youtube channel, the idea of using acrylic nail powder came from the forums. To me is similar to using epoxy resin but without the exothermic reaction that can harm the plastic. Carlos

During childhood there where only two "national" brands for scale models readily available in supermarkets and drugstores; one that repackaged a mix of Revell, Airfix and Heller mostly in 1/72 and some interesting subjects in 1/32, and the other one that was devoted to Monogram mainly in 1/48; the difference in the level of detail (Oh the innocence!) got me hooked to 1/48. Even to this day, I have a soft spot for Monogram models in 1/48. Carlos

Moving forward to the fuselage, the central section along with the wing root is going to receive a lot of attention; the original plan was to add detail to the main wheel wells from scratch, ultimately decided to use the ones from Aires, here is the preparation to fit them in the kit. Testing the fit of the parts, the left well match nicely but the one of the right not, I tried to fix it by bending it using hot water until I break it without even getting close to make it fit. A new set was ordered, and while it arrived the build moved to the exhaust area mainly the one where the exhaust pipes go through the fuselage; after thinking for a while finally decided that the best way to replicate it was gluing a bit chunk of plastic and carve the passage of the pipes. Once the new Aires set arrived, I discovered that the fit was a little better but not as good as the left side. The problem is that if the rear section of the well is aligned, then the front area is misaligned, not by much, but the base for the gear is way off center, and this could be a potential problem later on. In the end, I think that the best solution was to remove the front area to align it independently, in the picture you can see the part together with the one from the set I broke early, will see which one fits better. Another feature worth of improving is the cooling vent under the fuselage (or whatever it is), in the real thing there is a folding mechanism that Tamiya omitted so, I took care of it with some plastic card; the ribbing detail inside the vent was carved directly over the kit’s part. Evergreen's 2 mm plastic rod was used to replicate the exhaust tubes, I didn´t procure a firm attaching point for them, so I predict a headache in the future.

Maybe you can fill in with Testor's clear cement or similar PVA glue to make a thin film and once is dry add some more to adjust the thickness, this way you also get curved corners if it doesn't work you can wash it off and try what WDW suggest. Carlos

Hello Captain Like a lot the work you are doing, I'd been following this build from the beginning; regarding the seat, I like the clay handles more than the vinyl ones. Carlos

Here are pictures of the current state of things; ten years later most of the pieces are ok with only a few delicate parts broken due to plastic becoming brittle. In the process of cutting off the elevator, the detail that represents the fabric covered ribbing was damaged, my attempt at repair end up with an irregular surface. As an alternative, the CMK control surfaces are prepared, but they also required modifications to fit in the kit’s tailplane that is already attached, is worth noting that the CMK parts are a little short in length compared to kit’s ones. For this build, the elevators will be placed in the dropped position. Reference pictures show how the longer actuators move the balance tabs, so they stay parallel to the tailplane. Here are both, CMK and kit’s elevators, it will be decided which ones to use once they are painted. The actuator rods are made from stretched sprue, the arms of the tabs from photo-etch fret leftovers, a drop of Gator glue simulate the joint. The rudder and trim tab got a similar treatment.

At this time the free version of Sketchup (https://www.sketchup.com/) also Autodesk 123d not long ago but it's discontinued now; Autodesk now offers Thinker CAD and Fusion 360 as alternatives for 123d (https://www.autodesk.com/solutions/123d-apps).

Thank you, Captain, I'm glad you liked it. I'm always learning and get inspiration from the work of others on the forum, so this is my way to give something back; maybe not with an example of modeling skills but at least sharing the information I got along the way. Carlos

Hello Elmo It seems that you are posting them on your Google account, so you have to be logged in to see them, maybe some setting to make them public would work. Thank you for sharing, your work amazes me. Carlos

Thank you DIO, photos are right it's just the size of them, it must be something with the hosting service that reduces them maybe during loading. I'm following your build with interest. Carlos

Hello all This build started in 2005, back then I thought it was a good idea to include pictures of the sprues as a way to publish an in-progress report in a “formal” manner as I saw done with other modelers, so here they are along with an Aires’ cockpit set. While searching for references, I noted that some characteristics of the Corsair were, to my taste, oversimplified in the kit, like the exhaust tubes, tail landing gear and it's bay, radiator intakes, brewster bomb rack and to some extent the main landing gear. I guess Tamiya choose easy of build over accuracy, especially on the underside that is not seen most of the time. What is surprising to me is that, after 13 years, except for the Aires Main gear bays I don’t know of any aftermarket options for this items; Ultracast’s exhausts only replace the kit’s parts but won’t tackle the whole area. The decision was made to butcher the model to enhance the accuracy. Here are the pictures I took back then. Don’t remember why I stopped at this point but must have been a combination of missing references, hope for new aftermarket options and lost interest in the subject. Anyway, I decided it was time to continue. Carlos

Final part Pictures of the real plane show the sliding section of the canopy with a soft curve at the top that follows the one of the aft section, neither the kit’s or the CMK one has that feature, they are straight instead. I used the CMK one because is thin enough to place it in the open position, here is the part covered in metallic paint to better the opacity of the frame’s painting. External fuel tank painted and weathered. Main landing gears got similar weathering treatment. The model received a wash using Tamiya’s panel line accent, weathering on the underside was completed using pastel chalk powder to simulate the exhaust stains and dirt splashes from the main wheels. Here is the completed model. Aber’s set for this model included the gun barrels and the pitot but, the 13.2 mm barrels don´t have the perforated cooling jacket, so those were replaced with cal .50 barrels from Master. Landing gear indicators over the wing were made from plastic strips, the boarding steps were also made from scratch; The most challenging part of this build was attaching the engine cover, aside from not having a dedicated support point you have to align it to the exhaust tubes, gun barrel and also keep the carburetor intake horizontal. My solution was to glue strips of packing foam around the engine, so the cover fits snugly, after several rounds of trials trimming the foam here and there finally got the cover aligned and centered, gator glue was used to keep it in place. More pictures of the finished model here . Comments and critiques are welcomed. Carlos

Amazing detail DIO, Could you please post larger pictures? Your work deserves it.!

The more prolonged drying time of water diluted paint helps level it smooth. As RichardL says, you don't want it to spread out but to stay in place.

Yes indeed, wasn´t sure to use the term but surface tension is what did the trick.