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On 11/2/2020 at 10:11 AM, Falconxlvi said:

Fantastic work Carlos!  Your research is top notch!   The vector cowl ring and flaps add so much detail- it’s definitely worth it.  I never realized the holes were in the wrong spot for the actuating wires though!   Keep it up 👍🏻 

 

Thank you Steve; indeed, I revisited your Corsair's build to be sure I didn't mess up something.

 

 

Small update, here is one last picture of the cockpit, with the instrument panel in place, before closing the fuselage halves.

 

WkiWo2x.jpg

 

At last, the fuselage is closed; I need to sand the join and smooth everything before the riveting job.

 

hGMbbbe.jpg

 

The gunsight should have to be closer to the pilot, according to my references, but this is how the Aires' kit is. I'd chosen not to take the risk of modifying it.

 

Back to the engine, here is my try at ignition cables before painting; they are made from stretched sprue with random bendings to give them a realistic look.

 

mLdrzSz.jpg

 

The ring that will go between the cylinders rows is made from a plastic sheet; hopefully will help with the support and alignment of the engine cover.

 

Thank you for watching

 

Carlos

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello all

 

Slow progress these days, here is where the model is now.

 

The ignition wires were primed and painted separately from the engine; from reference pictures, they seem a kind of hose with a copper braided cover, so I painted them in copper color with a flat coat to kill the shine, black and brown pigments were applied in a random form to simulate dirt.

 

jViqkx8.jpg

 

The wires were glued first at the base with black cyano; once dried, I started bending and glued them in place with regular cyano (for a quick setting) and later reinforced the unions with black cyano.

 

HLoQwhM.jpg

 

After the glue dried, I cut the excess lengths and painted details in silver to simulate some fixtures and hide the glue; one advantage of using black cyano is that it looks like a wash over the details.

 

bUQpRJx.jpg

 

At this time, I'm working on the fuselage, filling the gaps, and restoring the details on the unions that were already too soft because of the molding process.

 

2PUA6RZ.jpg

 

One unexpected job is related to what I think is an armored glass; the one provided in the kit doesn't look right compared to references and maybe is more adequate for the early birdcage canopy type. Anyway, I can't use it because Aires' gunsight is too close and pushes the piece up; I haven't decided yet how to solve this.

 

Guess who forgot to open the attachment point for the mast antenna before closing the fuselage?; fortunately, it was easy to find it and clean afterward.

 

H3frS0a.jpg

 

Here is the antenna dry fitted, can't find clear pictures of the era to know if the real plane had that plate resting over the fuselage as depicted on the Tamiya kit; on restored birds, it isn't present. I'll appreciate any guidance on this subject.

 

This is all for now; thank you for looking.

 

Carlos

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  • 2 weeks later...

Small update and a setback.

 

While making a new armored glass, I found it difficult to place between the windshield and the gunsight, I knew the latter is misplaced to the front, but I believe there would be enough room.

 

After many tests, I found the problem was the windshield's thickness; the Tamiya part is thicker at the center mid-height, and that leaves little room for the armored glass.

 

The solution was to scrape the plastic on the inside; doing this with a straight blade made evident the uneven thickness at the center; here is a picture of the part after scraping and two versions of the armored glass I made from  scrap packaging.

 

https://i.imgur.com/3fyh7yD.jpg

 

The next step was to polish the windshield using different sandpaper grades (400 to 2500) and finish it with Tamiya compound; after this step, I found small scratches at the top along with little undulations, so I took care of them with a new cycle of scraping, sandpaper, and compound ........ only to discover small fractures in different parts of the windshield, at first they appear not too evident but, when the windshield is in place, the dark color of the gunsight (and later the coaming) make them pop out. I fear if I use the part, the subsequent masking and handling will only make things worse.

 

https://i.imgur.com/NSEJ2yZ.jpg

 

My alternatives for now are; getting a vacuformed replacement or make a new windshield from scratch; let's see how things end up.
 

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I am sorry to hear about the canopy Carlos, but I know you can find a good solution- even if it means obtaining a replacement part!   The build looks great and I hope you can figure out  the picture posting problems too!  Keep it coming!

 

Steve

Edited by Falconxlvi
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The images need to be pasted in without any HTML tags. In the message composition box, look at the lower right corner and click "Other Media", choose "Insert image from url" paste the address and click "indert into your post."  Hope this helps! Great work, post after post- cheers, Carlos!

Edited by chukw
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On 12/11/2020 at 10:53 AM, Falconxlvi said:

I am sorry to hear about the canopy Carlos, but I know you can find a good solution- even if it means obtaining a replacement part!   The build looks great and I hope you can figure out  the picture posting problems too!  Keep it coming!

 

Steve

 

Thank you, Steve; I was able to order a vacuform replacement, let's hope it arrives soon and fit on the model.

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5 hours ago, chukw said:

The images need to be pasted in without any HTML tags. In the message composition box, look at the lower right corner and click "Other Media", choose "Insert image from url" paste the address and click "indert into your post."  Hope this helps! Great work, post after post- cheers, Carlos!

 

Hello Chukw, while in editing mode, I can insert the images as you said (without HTML tags), and the images do show correctly; the problem is when I submit the post, it generates an internal server error. I also tried with the option "Insert image from URL" with the same result.

 

I've tried with different browsers, clearing the cache, and restarting the router to no effect; maybe is a problem with my computer's firewall or antivirus because the browser shows a problem with the certificate (NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID).

 

Thank you for your help and your kind words.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, quick update.

 

While waiting for the new canopy, I move on to other parts of the build; here is the tail section's work. To fill the voids in it, I decided to try Tamiya's epoxy putty; this is the first time I'm using it, and it seems to me that contrary to regular putty, the epoxy one tends to expand a little instead of shrink. If so, this is a good thing. 

 

D03HP5i.jpg

 

At the tip and the base, you can see a pair of plastic plugs; while working on the model, it is common for me to damage the edges, and the best way to repair them is to replace them, along with the surrounding area, with plastic plugs and leave them until the very last.

 

Another thing is the area behind the motor, in particular, the exhaust tubes; these are evident on the real bird but are not included in the Vector's kit; the ones on the kit's engine are represented as straight ones, but in my references, you can see that they are slightly curved.

 

TJGHN1O.jpg

 

Here ready for painting are the ones I made from 1.0 mm (0.04") plastic rod; they should be 1.5 mm (0.06") to represent them better, but I can't get them from my usual sources; instead, I'll try to make them thicker with heavy coats of primer.

 

This is all for now, thanks for watching.

 

P.S.

 

The Tik Tak in front of the tubes is a blob of Tamiya's epoxy putty I'm using as a control sample, it's has been three days, and still, it hasn't cured yet, lets see how long it takes to dry.

Edited by cruiz
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, quick update.

 

In preparation to attach the engine, the interior of the cowling will be painted; I read somewhere that versions F4U-1 and F4U-1A have the interior painted the same color that the underside of the camo; in this case is white and will be using the same color for the interior of the cooling flaps.

 

5HFn3yM.jpg

 

Before the white, the parts are painted with "Dark Aluminum" from Vallejo, in case I have some accidental chipping, but I don't plan to do it on purpose.

 

On this other picture are the exhaust tubes painted in "Exhaust Manifold" from Vallejo and covered with Tamiya's "Brown Panel Line" before further weathering with pigments and flat varnish.

 

hHNoL6R.jpg

 

As with the cowling, the landing gear wells are painted in white also; in this case, I'll be doing some chipping to reveal the yellow zinc underneath, here are them painted and with little patches of masking fluid.

 

NQ85i4L.jpg

 

On another forum, someone mentioned that on earlier Corsairs,  the forward section of the wells was left unpainted, showing the Salmon primer; maybe it isn't accurate for this version, but I think it will be an interesting detail, so I'll take some artistic license and will leave it in yellow zinc.

 

Thank you for watching.
 

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Hello all

 

For the white color of the interior, instead of a pure insignia white, I went for a 1:1 mix of insignia white and white (an ivory white kind of) from Vallejo.

 

Here is the interior of cowling flaps painted; the springs at the base of the actuators are not defined on the Vector's kit, so they were simulated with steel color paint. The pulleys are also detailed with this color; the cable is painted dark aluminum. Here it is after a coat of Future, ready for washes and weathering.

 

48thFIT.jpg


The wheel wells are painted on the same white mix; after removing the masking fluid to reveal the yellow primer, the rest of the details were painted. I applied splotches of insignia white with a sponge to add tonal variation and little black dots to simulate grime.

 

oJ0Or2Q.jpg

 

While searching for inspiration, I found a thread on LSP that explains that the squares at the back of the wells are wood wedges to stop the wheels' rotation, so I painted them brown. Also mentioned is the canvas cover at the mid of the inner walls; the Aires wells represent them as a flat, featureless detail; I paint them with a mix of white and olive drab and tried to simulate the zipper.

 

VnDdzZf.jpg

 

Here is the result after a coat of Future; I'm not 100% happy with them so far, but I hope to improve the result with further weathering.

 

Moving to the engine, the exhaust tubes are being attached in place; this time, I added more red to the pigments to represent oxidation; you can see the ring between the cylinders that will support the cowling and also the styrene discs attached to the back of the engine that will serve as a fixation and a centering point; the back portion of the Vector's kit will not be used.

 

PoFWd2f.jpg

 

One concern is how the exhaust tubes will meet the fuselage; I cannot sand them perfectly flat to sit over the fuselage front (the way  Tamiya's parts are) because they are not strong enough, and any gap left will be evident when viewed through the cowling flaps.

 

 

My solution is to leave the tubes a tad longer and make a corresponding hole in the front of the fuselage. This creates a new concern because the holes will weaken the front that will support the engine and the cowling; to solve this, a disc of plastic card was glued to the back to make this section thicker; here is the progress so far.

 

ZrAHSDk.jpg

 

Since the tubes' final position is not predictable, I glue them and make the corresponding hole one by one. Having a Dremel for this work is a big help and time saver. Here is a dry fit test.

 

LTG3TZ2.jpg


That's all for now, thanks for watching.

 

Carlos

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Thank you, Bounce, AFM, for your encouraging words; I'm glad you find this build worth of interest.

 

The cowling and its flaps got a wash to accentuate the details using a dark blue panel line wash. The flaps received some weathering using Oilbrushers from AMMO, a mix of browns and reds to simulate rust and grease in the actuators, and also brown and gray to simulate oil and dirt on the flaps itself, making an emphasis on the flaps at the bottom, where I think gravity would accumulate most of the grime; the effect is more subtle in the picture.

 

Q2hLynw.jpg

 

The wells got a wash to accentuate shadows; medium grey for the white section and dark blue for the yellow. After this, I noted that the white section had a yellowish hue, so I applied a white oil paint filter to correct it and highlight details in the actuators' mechanisms and the canvas. I'll later retouch the areas where the filter hid the wash.

 

bWdKV20.jpg

 

ZvDb8e0.jpg

 

The next step for all these parts is a flat varnish coat.

 

Here is the situation; I want to test fit the montage of the engine, cowling, and fuselage at the same time. At this point, I can only test either the fuselage to the engine or the cowling to the engine. This is necessary to get a good alignment between the parts before committing to glue.

 

My solution for this was to glue a screw section to the engine's back and temporarily attach the engine to the fuselage using a nut.

 

Ojwm2yT.jpg

 

w4Q1n6A.jpg

 

The first test shows that the engine's depth inside the cowling is ok, but there is a misalignment between the cowling and the fuselage; it could be that the engine is higher or the cowling isn't centered to the engine, I'll see.

 

jVYQDPE.jpg

 

That's all for now. Thank you for watching.

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Thank you, Crackerjazz, for your kind words.

 

This weekend had little time to work, but here's a quick update.

 

Cowling's interior and the flaps got a matt varnish coat along with the wells.

 

The planned sequence is to glue the engine inside the cowling, attach the flaps to the cowling and then glue the engine's back to the front of the fuselage.

 

On a previous quick test seemed that only minor adjustment would be needed, but on a close examination, I found that the engine was a little off-center and will need to be placed forward inside the cowling to make room for the flaps at the back.

 

Moving the engine forward has the bonus of making less evident the misalaigment I created between the cylinders and the ribs at the front (the ribs should be evenly spaced in between cylinders). On the other hand, I need to add support between the engine's base and the fuselage's front; for this, I made a pair of plastic spacers of different thicknesses; here in the picture is one of 0.5mm. (0.02").

 

318OWWA.jpg

 

The clear disc at the front will help with the engine's centering; in the picture below is a side view of the alignment using a spacer 0.8 mm. (0.031") thick. As you can see, the narrower spacer should be used, and more work is needed in this area before gluing anything.

 

COCErkn.jpg

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

On 1/26/2021 at 5:09 PM, phantom said:

Absolutely outstanding work!

 

Just started this model but I am going out of the box. Not expecting anything close to how good this is!

 

Thank you for your kind words, Phantom; surely your model will turn out very well, and going OOB, you will have a more zen experience than me; please share your progress.

 

On 1/27/2021 at 11:13 AM, AlienFrogModeller said:

I love the troubleshooting and the lengths and ingenuity to solve this issue.

Thank you AFM, it's just my convoluted way of dealing with problems of my own making. I wish I had the skills and ingenuity you are showing in your Hornet builds.

 

My job has been more demanding lately, and I didn't make much progress these past days, but this is what I got.

 

The Rob-Taurus replacement canopy arrived; here it is side by side with the kit's one where you can see some of the fracture markings I commented on previously. But before working back on the cockpit, I'll finish the engine and cowling section.

 

m47F8iV.jpg

 

Here is another test fit; there is an evident gap, but this time the cowling is better aligned with the fuselage; I went back to the thicker spacer because I'll need to make room for the actuators of the cowling flaps. So, instead of moving back the cowling, I'll fill the gap to blend it with the fuselage.

 

M7ZxcWU.jpg

 

It's not evident in the picture, but the cowling got rivet details; I also sanded the metallic paint at the front because it has a pebbled texture and orange peel in some parts.

 

I plan to glue the cowling to the fuselage and then cut the tab; this way, it would be easier to paint separately.

 

One more issue bugging me is a detail missing from Vector's engine, a sort of canister under the bottom cylinder that connects to the crankcase via a tube; I added this detail using stretched sprue and a leftover. I'm sorry for showing too many pictures of the engine.

 

5qrlKz2.jpg

 

Thank you for watching.

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Kind words...Thank you, but do not sell yourself short "I see real genius in your flying But I was afraid..." Oops wrong quote. You doing a great job, keep it up, I still need to learn from cunning modellers like you, it's how we all become good modellers!!

 

Cheers

 

AFM

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36 minutes ago, cruiz said:

 

Thank you for your kind words, Phantom; surely your model will turn out very well, and going OOB, you will have a more zen experience than me; please share your progress.

 

O.K......

36 minutes ago, cruiz said:

 

SMWeHj2.jpg

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thank you, Mr.Happy.

 

Hello All, a long time since the last post, I've managed to make a little progress but couldn't publish until today.

 

Much meditation went to solving how to attach the armored glass; in the end, a piece of clear stretched sprue was glued at the base and drilled the corresponding hole over the fuselage.

Since there is little space between the gunsight and the windshield, I drilled a bigger hole to allow for adjustments and testing until I got the glass and windshield to fit together. Here is the part not glued yet and with a piece of plastic filling the void and keep the glass in place.

 

j0xMtP5.jpg

 

Given that the glass's position is solved, I'll need to make the supports that (I think) hold it in place in the real plane.

 

This is the third time I'm using a vacuformed canopy but only the first time using the windshield portion, so making the piece fit over the fuselage has been challenging.

 

At first glance, the edge of the part is too thin, so glued a plastic strip to improve the looks and provide rigidity; I must confess in shame not knowing the canopy's plastic doesn't react to solvent glue and used cyano instead. Here is the part, dry-fitted over the fuselage; the windshield is masked inside and outside in preparation for painting.

 

Z9Tf54i.jpg

 

Coming back to the fuselage, glued the cowling on the attachment point on top, and then I cut it leaving only this tab; I added a small strip along the edge to facilitate the alignment when the cowling is attached back in place at the end of the build after painting the model.

 

GL5J2pO.jpg

 

While sanding the section where the exhausts go through, I noted that the Vallejo putty I used previously was still soft after all this time; even if the surface is smooth, I decided not to risk a future problem with the paint and removed it. Small pieces of plastic were glued to fill most of the void and will be using Tamiya's epoxy putty over it.

 

mo0jn96.jpg

 

That's all for now, thanks for watching.

 

Carlos

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