85sqn Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hi folks, another corsair from me. This time a MkI, JT132 '7J' of 1835 and 732 Sqn's out in Maine, New England, 1943/44. This particular corsair was low flying and clipped another-JT160 and both ended up going into Lake Sebago with both S/L VR Gill and S/L RL Knott. Both corsairs are still down there and there is some footage out there of JT160 which appears to show it well preserved in the lake. The kit was oob apart from some Eduard paint masks and ignition wire from fuse wire. It has an early style cowl which wraps around the top so I did some re-scribing there. The colours are similar to my previous Corsair with the exception of light gull gray (light gray) undersides, 'Indian red' inner rear fuselage and deep dull green cockpit interior. The decals were a mix of allsorts. The 7&J are made from Xtradecal white decals with red decal cut out to fit inside. This aircraft is unique in having a Canadian maple leaf on the cowl and also some artwork on the side in the form of a horse or a flying pig? I couldn't make it out well enough so left it out. 35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Nice effort! The bird cage canopy gives the Corsair a completely different character. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr styrene Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Really nice Corsair. I especially like the weathering! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Lovely. For some reason I have never been able to put my finger on, I have always thought that the birdcage is the better looking version. And of course FAA schemes are automatically the best! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient mariner Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 great looking build, very nice job on the scheme and finish.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) Thats a real beauty,....I know the photo which you were working from and you`ve really done it credit. I had not put two and two together to realise that `your' Corsair was the JT132 which clipped JT160 above Lake Sebago! I`m aware of the story and it makes the photo and your model even more poignant. The film on U-Tube depicting JT160 at the bottom of the lake shows the Corsair to be almost perfectly preserved with all of the paintwork intact however it also shows the body of pilot still in situ in the cockpit and I found it immensely disrespectful that it was not edited at least. I know that the warbird world are trying to get their hands on the two birdcage Corsairs in the lake and have been going through the courts to do so for years but they must remember that they are also the coffins of two young pilots. If they are raised then it should not be for monetary gain and they should be preserved in a suitable place as memorials and the pilots buried properly. As far as I`m aware they have not found JT132 yet but it should be pretty nearby? Great model and superb subject, Cheers Tony PS- I know what you mean about the other artwork and I would probably have left it too! I resembles an Indian headress or a bee to me! Do you think that the Maple leaf should have two colours and that there is something running diagonally across it? It is just too hard to make out the artwork isn`t it and the Maple leaf even reminds me of the ANZAC badge! I`ve posted a pic of the real thing here in case anybody is interested, but I`ll remove it if you like; Edited July 28, 2015 by tonyot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Nice build and moving story behind. I've learnt today (confirmed by the photo given by Tony) that some British Corsair had not tappered wingtips... Cheers Jerzy-Wojtek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Very very nice. There's a lot to like about a FAA camo'd Corsair & even more to like about this one, really liking what you've done to it, great modelling. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kampartiger Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) Love those close up photos of the Birdcage Corsair and especially that served with the Royal navy, somehow they look 'Different' from the American examples.Maybe because of the familiar roundal! Edited July 29, 2015 by Kampartiger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85sqn Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks very much for the comments! Indeed from research into the 95 MkI corsairs it seems around a third (maybe more) had their wingtips retrospectively clipped and there are some good photos out there showing it to good effect, however not JT132. This particualar aircraft had a series of photos taken, which are in the Fleet Air Arm museum but I have only a few photocopies which aren't very good quality. However one of the photos shows that this aircraft was previously coded 7K. Perhaps whilst on 1835 Sqn. Tony, thanks for the comments and the photo. I wasn't aware the pilot was in the footage I watched but that is horrendous and indeed incredibly disrespectful. There is an article on this forum here apparently by the person who discovered the aircraft: http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33324&start=30&mobile=off Looks like there are alot of hungry people trying to get rights to salvage what is a war grave and MOD property. Apparently the 2 aircraft are 1.3 miles apart. I know what you mean about the maple leaf, the other photo I have also slightly shows a diagonal line, perhaps indicating a different colour, hard to tell! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Tony, thanks for the comments and the photo. I wasn't aware the pilot was in the footage I watched but that is horrendous and indeed incredibly disrespectful. There is an article on this forum here apparently by the person who discovered the aircraft: http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33324&start=30&mobile=off Looks like there are alot of hungry people trying to get rights to salvage what is a war grave and MOD property. Apparently the 2 aircraft are 1.3 miles apart. The remains of the pilot have been pushed down into the footwell under the instrument panel. I have e mailed the person who posted the footage asking them to edit it, maybe they didn`t notice him either? For those who have not seen the Corsair it is standing straight up on its nose and it is a very eerie sight. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 The remains of the pilot have been pushed down into the footwell under the instrument panel. I have e mailed the person who posted the footage asking them to edit it, maybe they didn`t notice him either? For those who have not seen the Corsair it is standing straight up on its nose and it is a very eerie sight. Tony After your post Tony I looked up the footage it is as you say fascinating to see the condition of the aircraft but disturbing to know that the pilot remain's there to be honest had I not known I would not have realised ,that being said surely this must now become the responsibility of the MOD or CWGC to declare the wreck;s war graves or recover these young men;s remains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) Excuse my ignorance for not first commenting on what is a superb model this post has showcased,many apologies. Edited July 29, 2015 by stevej60 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 While the F4U is my favourite WW2 fighter. The F4U1 never appealed. But seeing in FAA colours changed my mind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Great model, perfectly weathered! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Corsair; Pusser's, singular, for the use of. BZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Very nice model, good seeing the birdcage and in FAA colours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janremco Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Very nice Corsair, I like the FAA color scheme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboydim Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 It's nice to see a Birdcage Corsair in Royal Navy markings. Well painted and weathered. Thanks for posting, Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Knowing the U.S. Navy's propensity for being very aggressive and protective of their former active aircraft, Lend-Lease or not, if, and I say if, a warbird salvage expedition is granted permission to retrieve the aircraft the salvage team will not be able to own the aircraft. But, with the current budget cuts I doubt the Navy will salvage the aircraft itself, they prefer to have someone else pay the money then they confiscate the aircraft. This was the case with the Devestator found a few years back, not to mention various naval aircraft salvaged in the lakes surrounding NAS Mirimar. More than likely an official request from the MoD to leave the aircraft as an official war gravesite (which is the proper thing to do, unless the British government chooses to retrieve the body) will put paid to all the controversy. In the end, what this really shows us is that military, and especially naval aviation, is an inherently dangerous occupation with fatalities on a consistent basis. From all the reports I have read the Corsair was a beast of an airplane to train on with certain proclivities that made it a tricky plane at low speeds, and especially to land for "nuggets" or newbies, but in this case it sounds like pilot error, very common with new pilots, and it would not have mattered much which aircraft was being flown. There are many aircraft/gravesites scattered all over the U.S., and they are being found from time to time by hikers and divers. It would be nice to give all these lost pilots the proper burial with honors that they deserve. Cheers 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Great workmanship. Thanks for posting it. Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Forgot to mention, nice job on you kit. I have a few Corsairs earmarked for FAA livery. I especially like the use of the MAP equivalent/ substitute colors, you obviously did some research (which isn't hard to do on this site!) so good on ya! Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Looks great in that scheme, very nice indeed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildeSau75 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I always liked the Corsair in this livery and your rendition is great. Cheers, Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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