Dark Blue Killer - Tamiya 1/32 F4U-1D Corsair

[11bee]

Nothing to do with my build but a kind gent on Britmodeler just posted a link to an awesome Corsair website.

 

https://www.jdsf4u.be/

 

Has a full Corsair operating manual for viewing, multiple technical drawings, pictures, etc.   A truly valuable resources, especially for someone who wants to superdetail an F4U cockpit.  These manuals show what a WW2 spec cockpit really looks like.   Most current warbirds and museum aircraft aren't really accurate examples. 

 

 

[janman]

I really feel insecure when I try to mix a right colour for exhaust manifolds on car models cause I never seem to get it right. Perhaps I should get a ready mixed bottle from AK or similar. But you are right, that colour probably needs some adjustment.

[11bee]

Yah, I'm probably going to coat the exhausts with some ground up pastels.  I think that will mute the colors a bit.   We'll see how it turns out. 

 

Working on the wheel wells.  Nice detail out of the box but I want to add some of the prominent hydraulic lines that were present on the real thing.  Used .2mm copper wire.  It's soft enough to bend easily and holds it's shape.   I added most of the lines, still have to add some additional ones but they will be after the LG door actuating pistons are in place.   Aside from that, I added a small bit of YZC primer to replicate some light scratches.  Again - keep in mind that carrier based Corsairs in late '45 were pretty much brand new and weren't wracking up the high number of flying hours that their island based predecessors did.  I'll probably add a few oil stains here and there.   

 

 

 

 

[Sabre Freak]

Looks good!

 

Enjoying the build and taking notes

[11bee]

Thanks Sabre!

 

Mini update:  I completed the other wheel well and repaired the missing linkage pulleys on the cowl flaps.  Seems these flaps were pretty basic.  They were spring loaded and in their natural state, forced open by the springs.   A single wire looped around the flaps and fed into a small slot at the top of the fuselage on each side.  Move cockpit control lever to tighten wire, cowl flaps close.  Move lever to loosen wire, cowl flaps spring open.   Simple and most importantly, easy to build so it didn't impact production.  

 

Since Tamiya faithfully replicated the slot, I added a short bit of sprue from the edge of the cowl flap into the slot.  

In looking a the pic, I'm not altogether happy with the way this came out and will replace them.  But anyway, you get the idea of how they look,  

 

The full fuselage.  Starting to finally make some tangible progress!

 

The wheel wells.  They will look much "busier" when I mount the door retraction cylinders and add some additional hydraulic lines. 

 

 

That's it for this week.  Thanks for looking!

[Thommo]

Fantastic work.  I love the engine details.

[11bee]

So, as mentioned above, I'm going to be using Fundekals F4U Corsair sheet.   They've got some really interesting options, many of which I've never seen before.   For anyone remotely interested in the Corsair, you should head over to the Fundekals website and check out the 40+ page PDF.  It's so much more than just a boring set of instructions.   Lots of really good info on the aircraft and the units.  Here are the options you get on this sheet (note - there are actually a few other versions which aren't shown here):

 

 

 

Also as mentioned above, I've got a hard time deciding which option to go with.   It's a race between VMF-511 and VF-85, with the nod currently going to "My Nel III", of VMF-511 flying off the USS Block Island.   I like this one because it's some nose-art (most late war USMC/Navy aircraft were extremely generic), it's a pretty rare scheme (I like obscure subjects) and it's got the rocket launchers installed (some of the subjects above had the rocket launchers removed as a weight-saving measure).   The Tamiya HVAR's are truly exquisite and I really want to be able to add them to my Corsair, especially since she'll have her wing's folded and the rockets will be very prominent.  One other interesting fact - from the color pics of this aircraft on the Block Island, they were using HVAR's with a white / creamish-colored warhead, as opposed to the normal OD ones seen everywhere else.  Very unusual, I like oddball stuff like this.  Good attention to details Fundekals, I probably wouldn't have caught that myself.   For armament, I'm thinking of going with one external tank, a 1000-lb bomb on the other pylon and the 8 HVAR's.   So anyway, that's my plan.  We'll see if I stick to it or not. 

[Sabre Freak]

I second the Fundekals sheet.  The dig up some of the most obscure references.  Partial to the -211 bird.  Love the green trim

[CorsairMan]

On 10/21/2018 at 7:27 PM, 11bee said:

 

 

 

When I got to this point I found out that I made some sort of mistake - the cowl panels wouldn't fit properly.  When they were on they left big gaps.  I went over and over the instructions to figure out what I did wrong but ultimately I couldn't figure it out and I shimmed with some plastic strip.  Well done!

[11bee]

1 hour ago, CorsairMan said:

When I got to this point I found out that I made some sort of mistake - the cowl panels wouldn't fit properly.  When they were on they left big gaps.  I went over and over the instructions to figure out what I did wrong but ultimately I couldn't figure it out and I shimmed with some plastic strip.  Well done!

I'm not certain that the two cowling covers are going to fit perfectly.   I'm writing it off to the Vector resin being just a tad off from the Tamiya bits they replaced.   Got my fingers crossed.....  Given how many parts are involved and the close tolerances of everything, I'm pretty surprised that things turned out as well as they did.

 

I'm always looking for more inspiration, got any pics of your Corsair build?  

[CorsairMan]

49 minutes ago, 11bee said:

I'm always looking for more inspiration, got any pics of your Corsair build?  

Sure - here is a build review I did about a year ago:  

 

Model Airplane Maker

[CorsairMan]

49 minutes ago, 11bee said:

I'm always looking for more inspiration, got any pics of your Corsair build?  

Sure - here is a build review I did about a year ago:  

 

Model Airplane Maker

[11bee]

I've got a small update - I wrapped up the center wing section.  I was a bit nervous about how well it would mate with the fuselage but it just clicked into place with no fuss.  Typical Tamiya engineering, they made most of the joints in strategic locations to minimize the visibility of the joints. 

 

She's staring to look like a Corsair!  

 

In order to (hopefully) replicate the wear and tear on the wing root (this area was heavily traveled by the maintenance crews), I put down a coating of matt aluminum, followed by some hairspray, followed by YZC and topped it with more hairspray.   Once I do the final coating of Gloss Sea Blue, I'll try to replicate the chipping.  This is my first time using this method, wish me luck!  

 

 

I repainted the exhausts but they are still a work in progress (both outside and internally). 

 

The wing interior is a mini-kit in itself and this is another reason why I opted to go for the wings folded.   All the fittings and flap actuating rods are present.   I'll be adding hydraulic and electrical lines once I get the upper wings in place, along with a bit of discrete weathering.  Tamiya also provides servicing placards for the interior of these sections.   Just another indication of how focused these guys are on the small details!

 

Lastly, I started work on the landing gear.    Got the left main landing gear glued together and then noted that one half of the right one was snapped in half.  No idea if I did it or it was damaged during production.  Regardless, I was dead in the water until a kind gent on LSP offered to send me his unused parts (he built his Corsair wheels-up).   It's most gratefully appreciated.   Here is where I was at.   I hollowed out the area where the retraction strut mates to the MLG.   This was molded solid in the kit (see the one on the right).  Only downside to all this is that Tamiya made the landing gear in two pieces so there will be some sanding required to remove the joint line.   Don't mind the seam on the right landing gear, it's getting tossed.  All LG work is on hold until the replacement parts arrive.  Thank you again 1to1 Scale!!  Your help is gratefully appreciated.

 

Anyway, that's it for now.  Thanks for looking.

Edited October 30, 2018 by 11bee

[11bee]

Just doing some small stuff while I get my landing gear issue sorted out.   Including starting work on the flaps.   Somewhat enjoyable, in typical Tamiya fashion, they are highly detailed.  Each inner flap assembly consists ~ 13 parts including a few PE bits.  Only thing I did was to open out the lightening holes on the end pieces.   I also shot the interior YZC since a small bit will now be visible through the openings.   That's it for now.

 

 Still need to do some sanding and apply a bit of putty

 

[janman]

With only a quick glance, that ventral part and the gear wells look rather monotonous, but when you zoom in, there's a lot of stuff going on! Nicely done!

 

I have to add that I'm just mesmerized by the surface detail Tamiya has produced. I can see several sizes of rivets and fasteners with different patterns. Don't mean to bash that one brand again, but since I've been waiting for Trumpy's new 1/72 Fiddler for some time now and after seeing some sprue shots with rivet details this weekend... Yeah, they only seem to  have one size with one single pattern.

 

I already said that but I really need to have one of these big Tamiyas one day and since I've just watched Dunkirk for the second time I think I want to have a Spitfire! 🙂

[11bee]

5 hours ago, janman said:

With only a quick glance, that ventral part and the gear wells look rather monotonous, but when you zoom in, there's a lot of stuff going on! Nicely done!

 

I have to add that I'm just mesmerized by the surface detail Tamiya has produced. I can see several sizes of rivets and fasteners with different patterns. Don't mean to bash that one brand again, but since I've been waiting for Trumpy's new 1/72 Fiddler for some time now and after seeing some sprue shots with rivet details this weekend... Yeah, they only seem to  have one size with one single pattern.

 

I already said that but I really need to have one of these big Tamiyas one day and since I've just watched Dunkirk for the second time I think I want to have a Spitfire! 🙂

Hi Janman,

 

Yeah, a model that is pretty much one color, inside and out is tough to work with.   Best I can do is add a few colorful bits like hydraulic lines and some scratches to break up the monotony.   At least the markings I'm going to go with will add a bit a color (white) to break up the blue.

 

I'm in love with Tamiya's surface detail.   Half of it doesn't even show up in my pics.  I can't imagine anyone surpassing what they have done, it truly looks "real".   

 

Only problem with these kits is that once you have built one, you don't want to go back to lesser manufactures stuff.  I was thinking about doing one of their Spitfires (and probably still will) but for the time being, I think my next kit will be the Tamiya 32nd Mustang, all weathered up as a Korean War F-51. 

[11bee]

Very small update, been a busy week.   I completed (mostly) the outer wings.   No fit problems, just need to carefully read the instructions and make sure you open up a few holes.   The flaps went together fine, this time no extra work was required opening up the interior frames.  I've opted to install the flaps in the down position, so I went ahead and glued them into the place.   They really look nice.  Tamiya did a great job of having them pretty much click into place, you can also see through them, as per the real thing.  They also provided full interiors for the flap bays within the wings.    I still need to add some small bits such as the rocket launcher stubs (a couple of these will need to go on once the national insignia is applied to the lower wing), pitot tube, etc.  One thing I did do was to lightly sand down the fabric detail.  The F4U had the rear sections of the wings mostly covered in fabric and in most people's opinion, the Tamiya surface detail is a bit heavy.   Nothing 5 minutes with some sanding film can't fix.  

 

The wings...

 

Flap details.  Also note that Tamiya included the aileron control linkage as a separate part.   Fun Corsair fact -  when they introduced the -1D, they switched from fabric covered flaps to sheet metal ones, the originals would have disintegrated under the rocket exhaust.  Good factoid to throw out at your next cocktail party!  

 

Upper wing surface.  Please ignore the hideous opening for the formation light.   I haven't gotten around to fairing it into the wing.   I show this picture just to illustrate how obsessed with detail Tamiya is.  They included the access cutout for the aileron hinge linkage.   When I first started building the Corsair, I assumed it was a rather boring aircraft, from a structural standpoint.  In reality, it's got some really interesting, smaller features that I never noticed until I started building this kit.   Kudo's to Tamiya.   Keep in mind, I haven't done any final cleanup of the wing surface.  Still need to hit it with some ultra fine sanding film and give it a wash to get all the dust out of the panel lines and rivet depressions.   

 

Anyways, that's it for now.   Thanks for looking. 

[11bee]

Got a little paint down.  Slowly I am making some progress.  

 

I'm trying to replicate the worn area on the wingroot by using the hairspray technique.   Not quite there yet, this is still a work in progress. 

 

 

 

 

Really like the way the Colourcoat paint airbrushes.   That's it for now, thanks for looking. 

[AlienFrogModeller]

Excellent build/tutorial!

[11bee]

Thank you AFM.  Amazing work on your Hornet BTW!

 

Getting some additional stuff done.    Mounted the inboard flaps.   Like the outboards, they pretty much just click into place.   Barely need any glue.   I really like the way the Corsair looks with the flaps dropped.   

 

After that, I moved onto the cockpit.  I installed the Mk. 8 gunsight and the pilot's armored glass.   Unlike the AF in 1945, the Navy/Marines were still using fixed reticle gunsights.  The AF by this time had pretty much reequipped most of their fighters with the "acemaker" K-14 gunsight.  This gunsight was gyro-stabilized and as a result, you could engage a target from a side angle and the sight would tell you how much lead to use.  Only thing I can figure was that they thought the gyro sight might be too fragile to withstand the pounding of repeated carrier landings.  Another bit of meaningless trivia - unlike most sights that had a small bit of glass that reflected the aiming "pipper", the Corsair's sight reflected the pipper directly onto the armored glass. 

 

Flaps are down, armored glass and gunsight are installed.   

 

Once the upper wings are installed, I'll add the missing hydraulic and electrical lines. 

 

Next up is the windscreen.   Tamiya suggests that you add the masks and then spray the outside black first, then adding the final Gloss Sea Blue over it.   I never liked this approach, the canopy interior still looks like clear plastic.  I ended up somewhat roughly handpainting the interior frames (minus the front frames that won't be very visible when the windscreen is installed) with Testor's Interior Black.   This is an acrylic so if I screw things up, I can quickly remove it without damaging the clear part.  Doesn't have to be perfect, once the exterior paint is applied, any small gaps won't be noticeable.  

 

Couple of comments - if you recall, back when I was doing the cockpit, I noted that Tamiya neglected to have you install the rocket control box that was a fixture on the -1D.   I didn't mention it but I was also disappointed that Tamiya didn't include the flap position indicator on the left side of the cockpit.  This was a prominent feature on all Corsairs.   I spoke too soon.  Tamiya has you installing both parts onto the windscreen interior.  Amazing attention to detail.  

 

One thing they did miss - when the USN developed the rocket equipped -1D, apparently they decided it would impact production if they had to install the rocket firing button on the pilot's control stick (like every other aircraft had).   Instead, to keep things simple (and add to the ergonomic nightmare of this cockpit), the simply installed a crude handgrip on the left side of the cockpit with the rocket firing button included.   Typical Navy solution, never mind that it mostly blocked the view of the flap position indicator.   Here's a shot from Dana Bell's wonderful book that illustrates what I'm talking about.

 

 

I made the firing grip out of a carved section of large diameter styrene rod. Added the firing button and attempted to replicate the instruction placard on it's front (pretty crappy but my excuse is that the details were worn away by the pilot's hand due to heavy use).   I also added the Barracuda decals to the flap position indicator and the aforementioned rocket control box on the right hand side.   

 

Here are some pics of everything.  Note -all the glass is just test fitted in place.  All the gaps, drooping armor glass,, etc will go away when I'm done.  I'll also add some wiring to the rocket control box and firing grip once they are permanently in place. 

 

 

 

 

In looking at these pics, I've come to the conclusion that the red firing button is too large.   I'll have this resolved by the next update.   One other horrible miss - the kit's flap indicator shows the flaps in the RAISED position, while on my model, they are actually in the FULL DOWN position!  I hang my head in shame over this major miss.   

 

That's it for now.  Thanks for looking. 

Edited November 12, 2018 by 11bee

[Slartibartfast]

On 10/20/2018 at 10:36 AM, janman said:

I really feel insecure when I try to mix a right colour for exhaust manifolds on car models cause I never seem to get it right.

 

You have to determine from what material the exhaust manifolds and pipes are made.  Cast iron weathers quite differently from 304 stainless steel or titanium.  Same for aircraft exhausts.  Are they stamped mild steel or cast/drawn 304 SS.  Don't think any prop exhausts used titanium until the Seventies.

[Slartibartfast]

4 hours ago, 11bee said:

One other horrible miss - the kit's flap indicator shows the flaps in the RAISED position, while on my model, they are actually in the FULL DOWN position!  I hang my head in shame over this major miss.   

 

You have no choice but to bin it and start over.

[Dutch]

11bee, Simply amazing work here!  I think I will get my favorite single malt beverage , sit down and tab through from the beginning!  Love it!  R/ Dutch

[11bee]

Thanks for the compliments Dutch and SBF!

 

Got the canopy and windshield prep'd, masked and installed.  The windshield took a bit of time to get to fit properly.   I suggest putting some pressure on it, glue one side (I used Tamiya liquid cement) and once that sets up, do the other side.  All the while keeping pressure on it.   Tamiya provides masks for the these parts.   Not the precut type, I used a new x-acto blade and it took approx 15 minutes to cut them out and install them.  They seemed to be a bit on the small side, I cut a few extra strips to fill the voids.  No biggie.

 

After that, I completed my painting.  A few comments on the paintwork.  Originally, Vought had a really nice (and probably very effective three-color camo scheme for the earlier A model Corsair.    

 

Pretty nice, right?   Only issue was at some point, they determined that this took a good number of man-hours to apply at the factory.  Instead of just eliminating all paint like the Army Air Corp did (not really an option on aircraft exposed to salt water), they simply opted to spray the entire aircraft overall Gloss Sea Blue.    I prefer the earlier three color scheme but have to admit that the GSB scheme has grown on me.  Just makes the Corsair look more like the industrial strength killer it was meant to be.

 

As mentioned, I used Colorcoat paints.  I read up on this color quite a bit and the consensus seems to be that most manufacturer's GSB replicates the post-WW2 shade, which was a bit different.    Colorcoats GSB is supposed to be a very good match to the WW2 spec GSB (the post-war shade had a darker tint to it).   I like the stuff quite a bit. It sprays extremely well. Only issue is it comes in those damned tinlets which I can't stand.   Given the size of this model, I strongly suggest that you go with 3 tins of this stuff.   You might make it with two but it will be close.    The only other issue is that this paint isn't very glossy.   More of a satin sheen which is probably realistic for the real thing after a few months in services but this means I'll have to clearcoat the model.  Again, not a big deal, just an observation.

 

Here are a few pics.  Note that my camera sucks.   The actual color is a nice deep blue, it appears lighter in these pics.  Oh well. 

 

 

 

 

That's it.  Thanks for all the feedback and for looking!

Edited November 18, 2018 by 11bee

[11bee]

I just received a replacement landing gear part to replace the one that I broke.  Thanks again 1To1Scale over on LSP,  your generosity is greatly appreciated.   Completed the landing gear.   The main landing gear in this kit are pretty much models themselves.   Each one is approx 12 pieces and for such a complex assembly, they all just click into place.  All parts are wonderfully detailed. 

 

The Tamiya instructions specify painting the LG overall silver.  In reality, per Dana Bell's book, the LG on the -1D was actually an unknown spec light grey lacquer.   Later in life, the landing gear was painted GSB when these planes went through overhauls.   Some pics below.  Just note that I still need to do some detail painting and touchup work. 

 

Note the maintenance placard on the upper LG strut.  Nice attention to detail Tamiya!

 

Only modifications I did was to hollow out the mounting bracket for the retraction cylinder (you can kinda see this, it's right above the maintenance placard) and open up the lightening holes on the oleo scissor fittings (can't really see it in these pics but trust me on it). 

 

 The inner wheel hubs are typically pretty grimy.  I used a dilute brownish black wash and then topped with ground up dark grey pastels to replicate brake dust.   

 

 

Tail gear

 

Again, note that I've got some touch-up to do and will probably hit these parts with a dilute wash to bring out some of the details.    

 

Next up are the wheels.   One failing of the kit is that Tamiya provides vinyl tires.  No idea why manufacturers do this. It's next to impossible to remove the seam down the middle of the tire and you really can't paint vinyl very well.   I opted for Barracuda's wonderful resin wheels.  Even if Tamiya offered the tires in plastic, I would still do this.  Barracuda's wheels are amazing.  Even the minuscule casting numbers on the wheel hubs are fully replicated. In addition, they provide full interior details of the wheel hub.  All this and a very reasonable price. Check 'em out here:  http://barracudacals.com/proddetail.php?prod=BR32119   They also offer early and late version wheels as well.

 

From the Barracuda website:

 

My wheels are still a work in progress.  Need to finish painting / weathering.  I left off the outer hub cover in this pic just so you can see the interior detail.  It will (barely) be visible when the wheels are fully assembled and in place. 

 

That's it folks, thanks for looking. 

Edited November 22, 2018 by 11bee