Trumpeter 1/32 F-4U-4 Corsair

[Rockin' Rob]

Decided against starting the motorcycle. I needed something a little bigger. The plastic has something to be desired and there is a lot of Flash and seam lines all over the place. Instructions are okay but they're a bit vague on where exactly to put it. Like for instance the exhaust. Six separate parts and I cut them off the sprue to paint them and get all the flash off. Trying to figure out which one was number 11 and which one was number 12 was a nightmare. The artist was close but. It's certainly not like ZM instructions. Trying to decide whether I'm going to go three color Pacific or one color Korean.

 

[Steve Ski]

I agree, the bigger the better and a Corsair is never a bad choice! Ruck On, Rob!

 

[blakeh1]

Mice job getting the different tones for the metals!

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Mice job getting the different tones for the metals!

Thanx!

 

[blakeh1]

gah, stupid typo

Nice job...

not Mice

 

[Rockin' Rob]

gah, stupid typo

Nice job...

not Mice

You know what's funnier? I didn't even notice when I read it. Kind of funny the way your eyes and brain think through things

 

[Edbert]

I did the large Tamiya F4U-1A about a year ago, what a great bird! This -4 is a Korean War unit right? While you build it you can imagine planes like that using Napalm on the Chicomms who made that kit or at least their grandfathers

 

[BarleyBop]

the way your eyes and brain think through things

Not to dampen a funny moment, but there is a good lesson in there for model making: taking the time to really look at what is there is at least as important as our modeling skills.
I had a Teutonic drawing teacher who put it quite succinctly: "Drawing is not about pushing a pencil around; it is about seeing!"
There are chapters that can be quoted as to why we (at our peril) often don't notice a change in physical appearance of our significant others, or 'remember' things so differently.
The old adage has a basis in truth and science: "we see what we want to see" (and sometimes, what we expect to see)

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I did the large Tamiya F4U-1A about a year ago, what a great bird! This -4 is a Korean War unit right? While you build it you can imagine planes like that using Napalm on the Chicomms who made that kit or at least their grandfathers

Well the box art depicts a Korean Corsair all blue. I really didn't think it matter if I painted it like a Pacific Corsair. I guess if I wanted to be historically accurate I could look at the decals that came with it but I don't know aren't corsairs kind of all alike?

 

[Edbert]

The dash 4s definitely saw action in the final few months of WWII. I do agree the paint jobs were more interesting in that era with one exception, the later insignias had a red stripe in them that I've always liked.

This is an even later version in the picture, just using it as an example of what I'm talking about.

Build whichever you want, or whichever your kit has the stickers for, she's a bad bird either way.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Good picture. I'm thinking of going three tone on it for the simple fact that it looks cool and I think it'll be fun to airbrush. Finished up the cockpit and the engine is mostly done. Probably won't see much of it anyways they're just fun to build. Working on the tail hook and tail wheel assembly. Lots of ejection pin marks and Flash. And no effort whatsoever to try to hide the connection points to the main sprue. Or make it a little easier to get your Snips in there. Every single little piece you have to sand the middle line out where the two molds come together. I attribute most of that to cheap plastic. I test fitted the two body halves together and was very surprised. Perfect. Detail is okay, so I'm pretty sure you can make a good looking plane out of this kit. If I was to compare this Trumpeter kit with a border models kit I would say border models does a way better kit. The detail is a lot better for Border models. Especially the engine. Just saying.
Another thing. There's no seat belts. No seat cushion and no PE for any of it. I have PE for the hinges on the flaps and that's about it. So I'm going to make up a seat and seat belts might be a painted strip of duct tape.

 

[kevin]

Good picture. I'm thinking of going three tone on it for the simple fact that it looks cool and I think it'll be fun to airbrush.

I took these at an airshow in 2014.

No idea if these colors are period correct or just restoration colors.
I posted these in before in Edbert's build thread, not sure if you saw them or not.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I took these at an airshow in 2014.View attachment 145756View attachment 145757
No idea if these colors are period correct or just restoration colors.
I posted these in before in Edbert's build thread, not sure if you saw them or not.

See what I mean? Look at that Isn't that cool? That just looks like fun to airbrush. Especially to a relative newbie like me. That was at an air show? Cool. Back in the late 90s I went to a World War II air race. I think it was called the Phoenix 500? It was down south of Phoenix a little ways and that was cool. All except the Corsair which caught on fire and the pilot took it out over the desert and angled up a little bit and bailed out. He hit the tail and kind of got stuck on it for a Split Second. I think it busted up his legs cuz he landed in the hospital. And that plane buried itself in the ground and became a fireball.

 

[kevin]

"Wings over wine country " in Santa Rosa, California. I went to the show every year for 11 years when I lived out there. They always had alot of P 51s, but that was the only year they had the F4 U, and P38.

 

[blakeh1]

I took these at an airshow in 2014.View attachment 145756View attachment 145757
No idea if these colors are period correct or just restoration colors.
I posted these in before in Edbert's build thread, not sure if you saw them or not.

That looks like the standard tri-color scheme used on a number of carriers I think in mid to late war before they switched to the all Glossy Dark Sea Blue scheme

The three color scheme was dark sea blue on top with intermediate blue in the middle and white on the bottom

 

[Edbert]

That looks like the standard tri-color scheme used on a number of carriers I think in mid to late war before they switched to the all Glossy Dark Sea Blue scheme

The three color scheme was dark sea blue on top with intermediate blue in the middle and white on the bottom

I agree with all of you that is a better looking paint scheme, it is one reason I chose the -1A variant. One thing to remember about this scheme, the underside is white as you said, but the outer half of the wings (underside) was medium blue not white. I think the demarcation was the folding point.

IMO this little detail makes it an even cooler paint scheme.

 

[blakeh1]

I agree with all of you that is a better looking paint scheme, it is one reason I chose the -1A variant. One thing to remember about this scheme, the underside is white as you said, but the outer half of the wings (underside) was medium blue not white. I think the demarcation was the folding point.

IMO this little detail makes it an even cooler paint scheme.

Good point
IIRC I think it depends on the plane and how the wings fold.

As you mentioned, the Corsair and the Helldiver for instance, the wings fold up with the undersides exposed, so those were painted the Intermediate blue

However planes like the Hellcat of TBF where the wings folded with the top edge facing outwards did not have the undersides painted a different color besides the white

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I agree. Where the wings fold would be the lighter blue. The way the wings fold on that Hellcat that looks complex and a bitch to work on.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Got a little more done. Working on the wings. The alarons and the flaps with their PE hinges weren't fun. The PE was real thick. Exacto number 14 no way. Exacto chisel? No. They were thick so I finally had to snip them off and then trap each one in the vise and file that little bump off. Also flaps are not ailerons. The metal wire they gave me to hook up the PE hinges didn't even fit inside. I had the drill a hole in each little PE piece that needed it. Even then, the wire didn't work right so I ended up using lead wire. Cut it just a little longer and then squish each side with a pair of pliers and it makes a washer on each side holds it together

 

[Edbert]

Dang! They are really making you work for it eh?

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Taking my time. I build a little bit and then I get the sprue goo out and putty and get it ready for paint. Just a couple spots here and there needed it. It's that soft plastic Trumpeter uses I guess. It's amazing the lack of quality control. On one sprue you can see ejection marks just a little bit and you get the other sprue and the injection pins are halfway through the plastic. Look at these two landing gear Bays. Each was on its own sprue. One Bay is perfect the other Bay has absolutely tons of ejector marks. But even with all that I still think it's going to make a pretty decent model.

 

[BarleyBop]

Looking pretty decent so far!
BTW, love that oilstone box... for knife, chisel or plane blades?

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Looking pretty decent so far!
BTW, love that oilstone box... for knife, chisel or plane blades?

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Neither. This particular box is all original. I got it from my dad after he passed years ago. Lately I've been using them to fine tune pe. They work great to grind off the little nub you sometimes get on the edges from trying to snip it off

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Neither. This particular box is all original. I got it from my dad after he passed years ago. Lately I've been using them to fine tune pe. They work great to grind off the little nub you sometimes get on the edges from trying to snip it off

View attachment 146701

Closer look

 

[BarleyBop]

I got it from my dad

What a wonderful keepsake.
I could tell from the wear and the typography that there must be a story there. Priceless.
I've never seen silversmith stones before. Thanks for the closer look.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

After decals and gloss.

 

[kevin]

That's coming along great. Are those Tamiya colors on the model?

 

[Edbert]

Dang Rob, that looks great!

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Thanks guys! Yes those are Tamia paints. At first I was listening to everyone else instead of myself and my eyes. Guy at the hobby store said no flat blue because they were heavily weathered. So the first one was flat blue and I didn't like it at all. When I looked at it it wasn't that Corsair blue that I wanted to see with the white on the bottom that I think looks so cool. So I went through my paints and I found a bottle of x3 royal blue that I bought and somehow it got pushed to the back and underneath some stuff where I didn't see it. So I opened it up and my eyes immediately said that's the Corsair blue. And the medium blue is just X3 thinned a little bit more than halfway with white. I could have went with a more weathered look but it wouldn't have looked like the one I remembered when I was a kid and visiting the Smithsonian Institute and looking at just plain hanging from the ceiling