Trumpteter F4U-1D 'Corsair' 1/32

[stona]

Which scheme is in the box Steve? Ventura Publications do a nice NZ set in 1/32.

The box has markings for the Confederate/Commemorative Air Force '530' and another one marked FF59, supposedly from WW2 but not identified in the instructions. I did mention that I know b*gger all about these aircraft didn't I ?

I have pictures of a bunch of F4U-1Ds of VF-84 lined up on the deck of the USS Bunker Hill and am planning to do one of them. Apparently in February 1945 they had a temporary marking of a yellow nose, just a ring around the front 2'-3' (described as orange/yellow, whatever that is) which will break up all that Sea Blue a bit. I might even do Roger Hedrick's '167' which would hold its own with some of the other aircraft of famous pilots on the shelves

I notice that these aircraft are only carrying one drop tank in what looks to be the port side position. Also the drop tank looks to be a light colour. Are they aluminium, grey, even white? Anyone have any idea?



Cheers

Steve

 

[monica]

looking great Steve , that cockpit is outstanding, well done :rolleyes:

 

[0ne48thtel]

Steve I think but don't qoute me on this that the tanks are grey. will look out the instructions for it and give you the colour number if you want.

 

[stona]

Steve I think but don't qoute me on this that the tanks are grey. will look out the instructions for it and give you the colour number if you want.

Thanks Terry. The Trumpy instructions would have them the same colour as the rest of the aeroplane, which they obviously are not in the photographs. Any info or opinions gratefully received

Cheers

Steve

 

[0ne48thtel]

Steve on the Academy kit it has it down as gull grey FS36440 Valejo 986, Humbrol 129 or 1666, Tamiya XF55. On he kit I have done it does look good.

 

[flyjoe180]

I'm going with natural metal from this photo:

And on this one it appears to be the same colour as the machine:

It is also possible that they used older drop tanks which had not been painted from the change in camouflage scheme. That would mean the tank would have been painted in US Navy White. What I have in my reference notes for a US Navy fighter of this period is that it would have been painted overall ANA623 Gloss Blue (FS15042). If the drop tanks were the older white colour they would have been ANA601 Insignia White (FS37880).

Have a look at this link Steve, it has many photos of this unit at this time and you will see that there are a variety of tank colours in use: http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52558

 

[flyjoe180]

Also Steve, I'm not convinced the photo you have is from the period of your model, I can't quite see the yellow or lighter nose band. Which would mean those tanks were probably Insignia white.

 

[stona]

Thanks for the link and photos, most of which are new to me. Only downside is that I can't see anyway of realistically posing a pilotless model with the wings deployed. It will be folded wings methinks. I also now know that the aircraft could be armed with rockets with the wings folded which might come in handy

My info is that the nose band was only applied for a period around February/March 1945, but it is a bit sketchy to put it mildly. My photos may well be earlier or later, but they are definitely on the Bunker Hill

It looks as if they could carry a single tank on either side too. I might just go with aluminium for a bit of variety.

Cheers

Steve

 

[flyjoe180]

The F4U-1A had one under-fuselage hard point, the F4U-1D had two located under the inboard gull sections of the wings. Ship-borne F4Us would indeed have been stored with their wings folded.

 

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Steve

The option of folded wings sounds like a winner to me. Looking forward to seeing this progress.

Cheers

Paul

 

[stona]

Quick update. Progress has been non existent whilst I wasted 10 days of my life working on an immense system for a well known Canadian artist who was supposed to perform at various European festivals this week end, only to have him cancel yesterday. Looking on the brightside, I've been paid, I don't need to go to London or Denmark and I can now do a little bit of work on the Corsair

I thought I'd tackle those pesky hinges which seem to cast fear into the hearts of our intrepid modelling brethren as they peruse the rather bad Trumpeter instructions!

I'll just show one of the hinges, the others are different but similar and can be made in exactly the same way.

Here's the parts of the hinge which will pass through those little slots in the flap.



They may seem small but compared to other PE like instrument handles or harness buckles they are quite chunky and manageable.

First I pushed the two outer parts through the relevant slots in the wing and secured them on the inside with a drop of CA.



Next I assembled the hinge. The kit gives you a brass like rod to pass through the parts but for me this is a nightmare. I use a length of stretched sprue. It takes a few goes to get it the right diameter but practice makes perfect. I have already flattened one end by carefully pushing a hot spatula against it.



Now I have cut off the excess sprue (saved for the next assembly) leaving enough to flatten with the hot spatula to make the hinge complete and applied said spatula. There you have it, one completed hinge. It takes about five minutes and is easily robust enough to deal with any normal handling, despite being made of plastic.



Here's the result in an outer wing section.



Cheers

Steve

 

[Polux]

Mmmm :rolleyes:

Very clean work Steve. Interesting system O_o

 

[flyjoe180]

Nice work Steve. Those hinges look very effective.

 

[Centurion3RTR]

Steve's at it again, with all these small parts lol. Nice work matey.

Have fun, John

 

[Lee W]

:eek:

Lee

 

[mobear]

awesome steve.......................nuff said lol

 

[dubster72]

Don't you just hate people who make it look so easy? :P

That would have had me in tears!

 

[stona]

Don't you just hate people who make it look so easy? :P That would have had me in tears!

If you try to do it with the brass like rod that the kit comes with you will be in tears. It's nigh on impossible impossible to 'crimp' or flatten the ends without disrupting the hinge. At least by using plastic you can flatten the ends applying minimal force, just a bit of heat.Honestly it's isn't that difficult though I appreciate the kind comments.

I feel Trumpeter were more keen to get control surfaces that were moveable at any cost and I'm not sure the result is terribly realistic. The silly thing is that once I've decided how the various surfaces will look on my model (and I've already fixed the control column centred and slightly forward) there is no need for them to move again

Cheers

Steve

 

[monica]

great work Steve looking good so clean on such small bits :D

 

[Ziper_it]

Hi Steve,

It looks like this is going to be another great build.

Francedc