Tamiya F4U-1 Corsair

[Gekko_1]

Hi guys and girls. Today I’m beginning a build of the Tamiya 48th scale F4U-1 Corsair. This will be the second Corsair I’ve built, my first attempt, built ten years ago , can be seen here:

http://hyperscale.com/features/2002/f4u1rc_1.htm

My mission this time around is to try and show anybody who is interested all of the techniques I have picked-up over the years and how to apply them to a model to achieve a result that both you and I will be proud of.

I am going to try and document every step in an easy to understand way and not miss out any of the ‘little things’ that mostly don’t get mentioned in the model mags, like paint mix ratios that the modeller can’t remember! I’ll also show the mistakes, and how to recover from them!

Anyway the subject of this build is going to be this guy…………

This profile can be found on page 31 of the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces no.8 - Corsair Aces of World War 2. A small black & white photo of the subject can be seen on page 52.

OK, so lets get under way. First off, one thing I wanted to try and achieve this time around was a way to make the wing construction a little easier. Here’s a Tamiya Corsair wing I constructed a few years ago, as per instructions.

As you can see there are some fit problems that needed to be dealt with.

These fit problems are nothing too serious, BUT, they can be just the thing to stop the flow of the build and make the modeller stall and either put the model on “the shelf of doom” or begin another kit, or more than likely stop modelling altogether and see what everybody else is doing on Britmodeller! (who’s guilty of that hey!)

So, this time I thought I’d try and construct the wing in a way to try and alleviate the problematic join areas as much as possible in order to limit the amount of filling and sanding being done. (you know, the boring bit!)

I figured one of the best ways to do this is to join the upper wing halves and bottom wing halves first, aligning everything as best as possible, then joining the top and bottom wings together and seeing what the result will be. Will it be more tedious work or a pleasant surprise? Only one way to find out!

The first thing I did was attach parts B3 and B5 to their upper wing sections making sure that they sat nice and level with the upper wing surface.

Any problems developed later on the underside would at least be hidden from view if filling and sanding are not your thing.

Next thing I did was add a small strip of plastic card to the lower wing section (part B4).

Next I will try and eliminate the ejector pin marks in the undercarriage bays and add parts B24 and B10.

Richard.

[Jazzy Jase]

Nice, I'm building the 1/72 version so I'll be interested to know how you paint it, what colours you use etc.

[gcn]

I shall look forward to this thread with interest.

Thanks for taking the time to go through the process it should be very useful

[Gekko_1]

OK people, on with the build!

First thing I discovered was that the strip of plastic card I had glued onto the wing was interfering with the undercarriage bay insert (parts B8 and B27)! So I had to remove some of it!

Removing about 1mm of the strip solved the problem.

For the opposite side, which I had not glued on yet, I left an approximate 1.5mm gap.

The undercarriage bays were dealt with by scraping away the offending ejector pin marks then applying liquid cement over the area to help smooth things out.

Here we have parts B32 and B33 with the undercarriage bay parts B24 and B10 added as well as the undercarriage bay wall/wing strengthening parts B27, B11 and B8 and B25 as well as the already glued parts B5 and B3.

The join between parts B4 and B6 was quite good after a bit of scraping along the strip and the inside edge of part B4. However not perfect! The leading edge area still needed a bit of work, though nothing too serious.

To fix this problem I first masked out the area……………

……….then applied some ‘goop’ (see here:- http://www.britmodeler.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9003 )

After about ten minutes I removed the masking tape.

With the filling done, I left the lower wing to fully cure for about 24 hours.

Then it was sanding time!

Due to the fact that the ‘goop’ is made-up of styrene glue and plastic sprue, sanding is very easy and straightforward. It only took me about 3 minutes to get to this point.

Next step is to re-engrave the lost panel line……tomorrow!

Cheers

Richard.

[Mike S.]

I've got one question for you Richard, what camera are you using? It is time for me to replace my digital camera (actually well over due), and you have posted some fine close up photos in your thread.

Cheers.

[Gekko_1]

I've got one question for you Richard, what camera are you using? It is time for me to replace my digital camera (actually well over due), and you have posted some fine close up photos in your thread.

Cheers.

Hi Mike,

I use a Nikon Coolpix 990. Which is pretty old now and I hope to replace it with something like a Canon PowerShot S5 IS in the near future.

Cheers

Richard.

[Muller]

I LOVE your 1st Corsair!

I've got one in the stash, will be watching this thread.

[Gekko_1]

OK, on with the scribing!

Now, the top of the wing.

Support strips added in two separate locations………

………………and trimmed to shape.

The upper wing sections of the port wing are glued together.

Some of the liquid cement leaked through! I’ll have to lightly sand the area once dry. The other arrow points to the gap crated by me scraping away too much plastic! Doh!

An item that I’ve found extremely useful in this build has been this lino cutter, used for cutting out patterns for lino tile prints.

There is a mixture of shapes used for creating troughs, lines and gouges and can be extremely useful for removing plastic too.

For the starboard upper wing I’m trying something slightly different.

I have decided to glue only the wing fold support arm and not the entire upper wing join area. The reason is that I’m going to add support strips once this support arm is dry, hoping to get an even better join.

Here’s the top. As you can see none of it has been glued yet.

Now we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if it worked!.........................

Cheers

Richard.

[AnonymousDFB1]

Not got this one in the Stash Richard, but one I would love to build at some point. Watching your build with interest

[Gekko_1]

Well, the question thousands of people around the world are asking , did it work?!

The answer is yes! Because the join was very good to start with, the bonding of the wing fold support arm gave the join the support it needed, then I slid in a strip of plastic card and glued up to the support arm. (I added the three “x” marks on the plastic strip to give the camera something to focus on)

Now looking at the join from the top of the wing, I’ve only glued from the blue arrow to the position of the pink arrow leaving the rest unglued and free to twist until the rest is dry. As you can see (blue arrow) I will need to sand back the edge a little, no big deal though.

This may seem like a heck of a lot of stuffing about to get the result I’m after. However keep in mind I’m trying to lessen the chances of time consuming filling and re-engraving and so far all the hassle is paying off very well!

Now, on to the port wing. I have glued the outer section of the top and bottom port wing. (pink arrows), leaving the rest (blue arrows) free to flex, twist and bend. The rest will be glued once the outer section is dry. This way I get maximum play with the flexible wing sections to ensure the best possible join.

With this wing build I have tried something a little different. First I taped the wing shut first, then added the glue. Usually I hold the wing closed with my hand, then add glue, then tape it, and usually end up with a mess!

So far it looks like this method has worked well, though I won’t know for sure until I take the Tamiya tape off. The pink arrow points to a bead of glue squeezed out of the end of the wing tip. This is a good sign that the bond at the wing tip will be a good one.

Here again, (blue arrow) we see a bead of glue coming out from the aileron join. The pink arrows point to the un-glued section.

Now we wait for things to dry…………………………

[Gekko_1]

Now, the other end of the wing join.

A bit of a gap was encountered here. “Goop” time!

“Goop” added whilst join still ‘wet’.

Oh, and the adding the glue after the wing was taped shut worked very well!

Now, the other wing.

With the trailing edge side all glued and firm I was able to better manipulate the front end into the position I needed.

I ‘pushed’ the glue around the join with a little bit of force using the little brush that comes with the Tamiya extra thin glue. This had the effect of ever so slightly melting the plastic in the join area and naturally filling the slight gap at the point of contact. It worked a treat!

As can be seen, I hope, in this shot, the join line area is nice and flat and won’t need re-filling or scribing, just what I was after!

I added some “goop” to the area to strengthen the bond.

This method is essentially the same as adding the strip of plastic card, only a little easier to do. Once the “goop” dries the bond with be quite strong.

Now, back again to the other wing.

I wasn’t happy with some of the panel lines, so it was “goop” time once again!

Once dry it was a simple case of a bit of sanding, a few strokes with the Tamiya engraving tool and we’re back on track.

For the top join I applied a little Mr Surfacer 500 with a scriber and levelled it out in the direction of the arrows with my finger.

Keep in mind how magnified these images are. In “real life” the lines now look spot-on and after an application of paint and panel line wash with look the business.

Now, the last section of the wing that needs gluing is the Oil cooler/Intercooler intake. Part B5 in this case.

What I needed to do is tape the part firmly in place and apply the glue. Slopping it about a bit to help melt the joining area a little. You have to be careful doing that as too much glue could cause problems.

Now, as ever we wait……………………

[Mentalguru]

Any chance people could lift half the repeated photo's out of this thread- it is a real pain to load- thanks

[Gekko_1]

Any chance people could lift half the repeated photo's out of this thread- it is a real pain to load- thanks

What repeated photos?

[dahut]

Nice filling technique - may have to rethink the sprue goop filler

I got me a set of those little chisels myself for $3 recently. Nice job.

[Gekko_1]

Now then, apparently I’m building a Corsair? Ah yes, that’s right, I’m doing the cockpit now……….(hey working 6 days a week and having a wife and three kids doesn’t leave one with much spare time! ).

Many of the late F4U-1 Corsairs had the windows behind the cockpit filled and a thicker armour plate added behind the seat. Here you can see the beginnings of the modified part.

Here’s the basic colours of the resin seat completed. Next will come the sealing, washes, dry-brushing etc to make it even better.

Here the basic colours of the instrument panel part are done.

The instrument decals are ones I created myself and printed on an Alps printer. One of the decals has torn and gone missing! Can you spot it? All the painting in the cockpit will be done with Vallejo paint. The mix for the cockpit colour is a 2:1 mix of Green Grey and Olive Green.

More soon……………I hope!

Cheers

Richard.

Edited June 1, 2008 by Gekko_1

[bexwh773]

Thanks for sharing this Richard, its a great looking project to start with but also taking the time show your tips & tricks

Bexy

[Gekko_1]

Thanks for sharing this Richard, its a great looking project to start with but also taking the time show your tips & tricks

Bexy

No worries Bexy, I guess it looks a bit boring at the moment, but it'll get more interesting as things progress along, oh and I'll be making the initial photos a little smaller so the article loads-up a bit quicker.

Cheers

Richard.

[Gekko_1]

OK all of the images have been re-sized so the post will load-up a bit faster now.

Here’s a bit more progress in the cockpit.

I cut off the trim wheel, shaped into an actual wheel shape (rather than the “U” shape in the kit), put a spacer disc behind it and glued it back in place. I also added the leather pouch, made from a shaped rectangle of plastic card with the top flap made from Tamiya tape.

I scratch built the throttle quadrant from plastic card, brass and super glue for the knobs.

Here’s the instrument panel with all washes, dry-brushing and paint chipping completed.

All washes were achieved with Vallejo black-grey (168) thinned with demineralised water. The part first being sealed with Future. Several layers of the thinned wash being applied after allowing each layer to dry first.

Here’s the finished Ultracast resin seat.

Cheers

Richard.