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  • 2 weeks later...

After some hesitancy, I finally painted the walkways over the wings; since the ones on the flaps were already painted, I took several measurements to mask the correct width and position but will only know after final assembly.

 

4iJ5hHY.jpg

 

I used two mixes of Black and Dark Gull Gray from Vallejo to simulate a worn effect. While removing the masks, some masking fluid for the chipping fell off, but most of it remained in place.

 

The next step is to paint the markings, but I can't decide which color to use; on B/W pictures of the time, it seems that they have a very dark color, while in some colored images, they appear to be a clear tone of blue compared to camo (also true for some models).

 

Here are some of the samples I made mixing different black and medium blue ratios; I'm still undecided; what do you think?
 

MSOViJj.jpg

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Because there are so few good colour photographs of Corsairs in the combat theatre, its not easy. Unless you're going for a very heavily weathered plane, i'd say that as long as the insignia blue is darker than the surrounding non spec sea blue, you're in a good starting position. Tamiya used a blue that was so dark, it was almost black... certainly a shade of ultramarine.

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On 3/19/2022 at 8:47 PM, cruiz said:

After some hesitancy, I finally painted the walkways over the wings; since the ones on the flaps were already painted, I took several measurements to mask the correct width and position but will only know after final assembly.

 

4iJ5hHY.jpg

 

I used two mixes of Black and Dark Gull Gray from Vallejo to simulate a worn effect. While removing the masks, some masking fluid for the chipping fell off, but most of it remained in place.

 

The next step is to paint the markings, but I can't decide which color to use; on B/W pictures of the time, it seems that they have a very dark color, while in some colored images, they appear to be a clear tone of blue compared to camo (also true for some models).

 

Here are some of the samples I made mixing different black and medium blue ratios; I'm still undecided; what do you think?
 

MSOViJj.jpg

It does boil down to opinion, I think, but for whatever it's worth, I like the 1:1 mix 🙂

Edited by Curt B
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You are right, @Falcon50EX; Tamiya's decals are very dark; on the other hand, a darker tone than the marine blue should look fine.

 

I agree, @Curt B; the 1:1 mix looks appropriate for this, and that's the one I used in the end.

 

Thank you both for your hindsight; it helped a lot.

 

Here is the result: I was concerned that the paint would bleed under the masks because I applied a heavy coat of paint, but the masks worked perfectly.

 

dnbwz24.jpg

 

One of the goals to use masks instead of decals was to depict a more weathered look, but since I was more concerned with saturating the color, I couldn't get a tonal variation as intended.

 

I achieved a different tone on the fabric portion of the wing by adding a little of Intermediate Blue to the mix.

 

zOn74n7.jpg

 

Because of the heavy coat of paint, a ridge is evident on the boundary between the blues; I expect to minimize it with light sanding once the paint is fully cured.

 

Both pictures are taken with higher exposure to appreciate the insignias' contrast better.

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I think the colour you went with looks great. Not sure if you would want to do this but, the fuel filller caps had a red circular ring around the periphery., Also while not visible in the above photos, the red outboard flap disconnect "Plunger" was red. You could make that with a very small diameter plastic rod with the tip painted red.

 

Would make for some nice contrast against the blue. You could also go crazy by mixing up the ammo can installation on the left wing, but its probably too late in the game for that.

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Hola, Carlos

 

I haven't checked out your build in a very long while, looks like I missed out on a LOT. As expected, your paintwork is as meticulous as your scratch building, what a tour de force of awesomeness, in every regard. Enhorabuena!

 

Let me know if you need more refs or help with anything F4U-related, this is easily one of the best Corsair builds of all time and I can't wait to see what comes next. 

 

Here's a period color photo from Vella Lavella, VMF-214 "Black Sheep", December 1943. Note the star-and-bars have two-toned blue surrounds, this is because the original red was overpainted with whatever blue paint the Marines had lying around once the T.O. came thru to get rid of all red in the markings to avoid any possible confusion with Japanese meatballs. Also note the dark color of the wheels, both Birdcages and dash 1A's usually had these painted in a dark gray as opposed to light gray or white. As you can see, the paint has a generally chalky, faded finish and numerous touch-ups with fresh, darker paint and the resulting overspray, causing the entire scheme to blend into a very soft, non-distinct pattern. As always, there's lots to interpret and take in.

ODQ176g.jpg

Plenty more where that came from, so just let me know if you need extra refs, and keep up the outstanding work.

 

Saludos!

 

 - Thomaz

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Thanks, Curt B, John, and Chuck, for your kind words.

 

On 3/23/2022 at 10:09 AM, Falcon50EX said:

I think the colour you went with looks great. Not sure if you would want to do this but, the fuel filller caps had a red circular ring around the periphery., Also while not visible in the above photos, the red outboard flap disconnect "Plunger" was red. You could make that with a very small diameter plastic rod with the tip painted red.

 

Would make for some nice contrast against the blue. You could also go crazy by mixing up the ammo can installation on the left wing, but its probably too late in the game for that.

Thank you, Falcon; where are the fuel caps, and what is the "plunger" you mention?; the decals don't have anything that resembles something like what you said, so if I include them, they'll have to be painted.

 

I looked through my references and couldn't find anything of help; Do you have any pics that I can refer to?

 

The ammo cans are a good idea; at some point, I considered cutting the decal of the insignia to represent a misplaced one but when I opted for masking forgot it. Now that you mentioned it, I could add some interest by varying the color on a couple of them or even make a pair with the upper color of the two-tone camo to represent ones borrowed from another plane; what do you think?

 

11 hours ago, TAG said:

Hola, Carlos

 

I haven't checked out your build in a very long while, looks like I missed out on a LOT. As expected, your paintwork is as meticulous as your scratch building, what a tour de force of awesomeness, in every regard. Enhorabuena!

 

Let me know if you need more refs or help with anything F4U-related, this is easily one of the best Corsair builds of all time and I can't wait to see what comes next. 

 

Here's a period color photo from Vella Lavella, VMF-214 "Black Sheep", December 1943. Note the star-and-bars have two-toned blue surrounds, this is because the original red was overpainted with whatever blue paint the Marines had lying around once the T.O. came thru to get rid of all red in the markings to avoid any possible confusion with Japanese meatballs. Also note the dark color of the wheels, both Birdcages and dash 1A's usually had these painted in a dark gray as opposed to light gray or white. As you can see, the paint has a generally chalky, faded finish and numerous touch-ups with fresh, darker paint and the resulting overspray, causing the entire scheme to blend into a very soft, non-distinct pattern. As always, there's lots to interpret and take in.

ODQ176g.jpg

Plenty more where that came from, so just let me know if you need extra refs, and keep up the outstanding work.

 

Saludos!

 

 - Thomaz

Thank you, Thomaz, for your kind words and interest. The markings I'm going for are of a bird from VMF-111; from the few references I could get, the outline isn't present, neither in red nor overpainted blue; also, the wheels seem to have a light color. Then again, I have very few references, so if you have more info on this subject, it would be more than welcome.

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First off, there are three fuel filler caps; the first one is located in front of the windscreen on the centerline, within the larger round access panel with fasteners around the periphery; that is the main gas tank. Each fuel cap was a "twist off" and had a narrow tab across it that was aligned with the airflow direction when it was scewed down.

 

The F4U-1 and -1As had 63-gallon fuel tanks in the leading edges of the outboard wing segments. They are represented by the recessed circles near the location of the upper wing insignias. On the underside of the wing, there are short, stubby but slender fuel drain masts. However, Tamiya mis-located those circles one section too far outboard, span wise on the wing. They should be filled and new filler caps located in a similar position on the adjacent inboard wing section.

 

Attached below is a 72 scale F4U-1A i did many years ago. I was aware of the fuel filler caps, but before i learned the cap itself is not red, but surrounded by a red circle. That info came available to me only a few years ago. But it clearly shows the cap locations correctly. The caps themselves are very easy to make; simply bore out the hole and fashion a replacement with a long piece of plastic of plastic rod that bottoms out without falling into the wing.

 

The locking plunger is depicted on the kit, by a deep recessed circle (imagine a deep rivet) located in the outer wing panels in front of a small oval access plate almost in line with where the aileron and the outboard flap meet each other. it popped up about 3 inches when it was used. It was some sort of interconnect or hook that disconnected the outboard flaps so they could be dropped 90 degrees to horizontal so that armorers could access the .50 Caliber machine gun from the rear. i did mine with pieces of .010 or .015, and the red colour does stand out.

 

i mean we're getting into the realm of OCD here, but when you study pictures of Corsairs, especially the wings you start to notice things. There's actually a lot you can add to the wings in terms of markings and stenciling, but these details were largely overlooked by kit and decal manufacturers for many years. The release of the 32nd scale Tamiya Corsairs changed all that.

DH F4U-1A 009A.JPG

F4U2120A.jpg

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On 3/26/2022 at 8:18 AM, kurnass77 said:

Love all the attention ( and craftmanship) on this build!

 

 

Gianni

Thank you, Giani, I'm glad you liked it.

 

On 3/25/2022 at 9:53 AM, Falcon50EX said:

First off, there are three fuel filler caps; the first one is located in front of the windscreen on the centerline, within the larger round access panel with fasteners around the periphery; that is the main gas tank. Each fuel cap was a "twist off" and had a narrow tab across it that was aligned with the airflow direction when it was scewed down.

 

The F4U-1 and -1As had 63-gallon fuel tanks in the leading edges of the outboard wing segments. They are represented by the recessed circles near the location of the upper wing insignias. On the underside of the wing, there are short, stubby but slender fuel drain masts. However, Tamiya mis-located those circles one section too far outboard, span wise on the wing. They should be filled and new filler caps located in a similar position on the adjacent inboard wing section.

 

Attached below is a 72 scale F4U-1A i did many years ago. I was aware of the fuel filler caps, but before i learned the cap itself is not red, but surrounded by a red circle. That info came available to me only a few years ago. But it clearly shows the cap locations correctly. The caps themselves are very easy to make; simply bore out the hole and fashion a replacement with a long piece of plastic of plastic rod that bottoms out without falling into the wing.

 

The locking plunger is depicted on the kit, by a deep recessed circle (imagine a deep rivet) located in the outer wing panels in front of a small oval access plate almost in line with where the aileron and the outboard flap meet each other. it popped up about 3 inches when it was used. It was some sort of interconnect or hook that disconnected the outboard flaps so they could be dropped 90 degrees to horizontal so that armorers could access the .50 Caliber machine gun from the rear. i did mine with pieces of .010 or .015, and the red colour does stand out.

 

i mean we're getting into the realm of OCD here, but when you study pictures of Corsairs, especially the wings you start to notice things. There's actually a lot you can add to the wings in terms of markings and stenciling, but these details were largely overlooked by kit and decal manufacturers for many years. The release of the 32nd scale Tamiya Corsairs changed all that.

DH F4U-1A 009A.JPG

F4U2120A.jpg

Those are two good-looking Corsairs, Falcon50EX; I particularly liked the worn paint and chipping on the wings.

 

Thanks for giving a detailed explanation; it will undoubtedly help me and others. OCD or not, it is better for me to know all of these details; most of the changes I've made in this build were so because, when looking for references, they noted something that can't be unseen; also, these details add more interest to the model. So I revisited my references with your info as a base and found what you explained.

 

0xWsctq.jpg

 

Tamiya's depiction of the plunger is in the correct placement but represents the hollow when the plunger is released; I'll make it flush with the wing using stretched sprue.

 

T0lhunk.jpg

 

As you mentioned, the wings' fuel caps are in the wrong panel; I'm still undecided if to correct this because of two potential risks: peeling the wing's paint on the process and cracking open the join on the leading edge when applying pressure on the wing center. I'll do some tests on a mule before deciding on the fuel caps.

 

Regarding the stencils, the HGW decals include many of them and surely will improve the model's look.
 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quick update.

 

The left four are my attempt at replicating the fuel caps, and the one at the right was just a quick proof of concept; under them are the tests for the holes; I found it challenging to get a proper round shape using drill bits.

 

Also isn't easy to get the proper depth because of the conical bottom; I'm waiting for a set of flat bottom cutter bits that, in theory, would help with this and with the round shape.

 

The white spots are testings with putty if I decide to fill the erroneous fuel caps on the wings.

 

I moved to the canopy, adding some details; there is still more to do in this part, like mirrors, cables, and the emergency release button on the right.

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Um, you eliminate the problem with depth issues by drilling completely thru the upper wing skin. You let the rod "bottom out" where it hits the inside of the lower wing skin, and then you just start filing down the bottom end until you're happy with the height. I use lengths of plastic rod (which i make WAY over length to make the easier to manipulate and paint) the same diameter as the fuel cap, so setting the actual diameter wasn't an issue. It's shown in the photo i posted above.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/9/2022 at 10:19 AM, Falcon50EX said:

Um, you eliminate the problem with depth issues by drilling completely thru the upper wing skin. You let the rod "bottom out" where it hits the inside of the lower wing skin, and then you just start filing down the bottom end until you're happy with the height. I use lengths of plastic rod (which i make WAY over length to make the easier to manipulate and paint) the same diameter as the fuel cap, so setting the actual diameter wasn't an issue. It's shown in the photo i posted above.

Great idea, Falcon50EX; thank you, if a new tool doesn't work, I'll be doing that. Thank you also for your kind comments.

 

While waiting for the tool to arrive, the canopy got more details, and a base coat of Tamiya's X-18 black, the mirrors in the Aires cockpit got painted too.

 

8JyXDr0.jpg

 

ojWDnxn.jpg

 

The paint revealed an ugly mark at the base, which needs to be taken care of; this is a remnant of the vacuformed base, which I failed to notice before.

 

vzYQqcc.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quick update 

 

Details in the canopy's interior are painted and dry-brushed; mirrors and more details will be added later.

 

m18LAO6.jpg

 

At last, the flat bottom cutters arrived yesterday; in a quick test, they worked well and made a squared clean round-cut; the fun thing is they work counterclockwise.

 

fm7wUDB.jpg

 

The fuel caps didn't fit in the 2.0 mm hole, so I used the next cutter size (2.5 mm), which leaves a more significant gap, but I think it will look ok.

 

9Pq7RDS.jpg

 

That's all for now, thanks for watching.

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Cruiz,

 

You have set the bar on excellence with this build.  It’s truly amazing to see your updates on the U-bird. I’m amazed buy your canopy handles and other attention to detail.

 

We are eagerly awaiting the final revel. 

Take care,

 

Mr. Happy

 

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