1/32 F4U-1D Corsair

[Bill Bunting]

Just started this one last Thursday. It will be totally Out Of the Box and will be built wheels up and on the included stand.   I built the F4U-1A Birdcage 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234958333-132-tamiya-f4u-1-corsair  with the cockpit open, wings folded and flaps down etc. so I've done that once.

 

The cockpit is painted as recommended in the instructions using Tamiya paints mostly and a bit of Vallejo here and there for coloured knobs etc.  The gun sight is still to be added and there is a PE harness to go over the pilot's shoulders.

 

This is my first pilot in a while and certainly first in this scale.  I hope he looks good to you to because I think I'm done with him (I fixed the yellow boo boo on his arm).   BUT I would appreciate any hints / techniques on how to improve his looks for the next time.

 

I will post updates going forward and I hope to have this finished within the next 10 days or so (SWMBO willing).

 

Cheers for now

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by Bill Bunting

[James G]

Lovely detail on the cockpit there!

[phildagreek]

Looks good!

[Thom216]

Looking great! There's a lot of detail in that Tamiya kit.

[Bill Bunting]

Update Oct 14.  Well I've not got as much done as I wished.  I had minor knee surgery last Friday and lost a couple of days there.  Add in sunny days requiring me to be outside to recuperate and a family wedding and things slipped.  Still here we are on day 14 with most parts assembled and ready for paint.  This moved pretty rapidly mostly because I am building it with the wheels up and wings out so a good number of parts (landing gear) were omitted and this also mean at lot less details to paint. Of course the fit of the parts has been perfect and no assembly issues were encountered.  After some more work with the airbrush the engine will be installed, the cowl closed up and general painting can begin.  More pics soon.

[Paramedic]

Wow, what a crisp-looking office, very well done!

You are not gonna get many tips on the pilot from me since I would never have done it anywhere near as good, sorry..! I think it looks great! As does the rest.

[Pete in Lincs]

I'll add my congratulations on the work so far too.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Sorry to hear about the Knee. Hope its getting better ? Everything else looks pretty good to me 👍. 

[Mr B]

Looks very good

 

hope all is well too

 

rgds

 

[Bungalow_Bill]

That cockpit looks laser sharp!

 

Very nice.

 

Gaz

[spitfire]

Looking good, that is one impressive kit.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Bill Bunting]

It's done!   I forgot to take photos between then and now but it went OK.  I painted everything in the sub assemblies seen above.  They were then clear coated in Future, decalled, clear coated and then assembled together.  Once together the model was given a wash of black oil paint.  Excess wash was removed and a semi flat coat was applied.  Then I dropped it... one outer wing came off at the joint.  It was easily reassembled but a tiny panel cover went missing for an hour.  Once found, it was being installed when, of course, it fired out of the tweezers to end up across the room somewhere.  No problem, by using the similar part for the folded wing option a new panel was inserted, painted, clear coated and because I'm so clever I dropped it again... the other wing came off and its respective pane went missing too.  Another replacement was made and  I repeated the repair.  Oh then I found the panel.  Next the canopy masks were removed and although the windscreen was looking good, the canopy had dust and white glue smears inside.  Removing the canopy was not too hard but cleaning and polishing the interior of the bubble shaped part required a lot of work.  Some touch paint was required as a result of the handling and it was reinstalled.  Of course the pitot and antenna were broken and reinstalled.   I guess I was  just being a little careless because I was rushed to have it ready for delivery to the customer tomorrow.  Anyway here she is.  I will post a few more pics in Ready for Inspection.  Cheers!

Edited October 25, 2017 by Bill Bunting

[Alyward]

Hey, I am working on the Tamiya 1/72 corsair and I am trying to figure out how to build it with the wheels up. The instructions don't give this option in the kit. I have found by dry fitting the wheel bay doors that there is a large gap on the leading wing edge side. Also I believe there should be some sort of support added so the doors don't 'cave in.' I was thinking of adding spurs in the wheel bays but not sure. Does any one have any suggestions. 

Thanks

Shayne

[Alan P]

Beautifully done, the detail painting and figure is top quality. 

On 10/24/2017 at 7:29 PM, Bill Bunting said:

Then I dropped it... one outer wing came off at the joint.  It was easily reassembled but a tiny panel cover went missing for an hour.  Once found, it was being installed when, of course, it fired out of the tweezers to end up across the room somewhere.  No problem, by using the similar part for the folded wing option a new panel was inserted, painted, clear coated and because I'm so clever I dropped it again... the other wing came off and its respective pane went missing too.  Another replacement was made and  I repeated the repair.  Oh then I found the panel.  Next the canopy masks were removed and although the windscreen was looking good, the canopy had dust and white glue smears inside. Of course the pitot and antenna were broken and reinstalled.

To quote an (in)famous modelling celebrity... 'Man, I LOVE this hobby' 😂

[Bill Bunting]

On 5/25/2020 at 2:41 AM, Alyward said:

Hey, I am working on the Tamiya 1/72 corsair and I am trying to figure out how to build it with the wheels up. The instructions don't give this option in the kit. I have found by dry fitting the wheel bay doors that there is a large gap on the leading wing edge side. Also I believe there should be some sort of support added so the doors don't 'cave in.' I was thinking of adding spurs in the wheel bays but not sure. Does any one have any suggestions. 

Thanks

Shayne

Hi Shayne, I have never built the 1/72 kit, however,  I may have a suggestion.  I don't clearly understand where the gap you describe is, perhaps a photo would help, but to stop the doors from collapsing into the wheel well I would;

- Glue the 3 door pieces together with a thin piece piece of plastic on the inside surface as a backplate and let this set properly so it is one solid piece.

- once satisfied with the dry fit, place a small amount of "blue tack" or modeling clay into the wheel well, then add the doors and cement into place.  I would use a fast setting cement or CA with accelerator here.

Hope this helps.