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Fleet Air Arm Corsair MkIII, 718 Sqn, Ballyhalbert 1945


85sqn

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Hi folks,

 

here’s my latest. I think its my fifth Tamiya corsair now and I still think they’re great. Many of you will have seen this particular aircraft before it’s certainly one of the more popular corsair MkIII’s. JS479 was with 718 Sqn at Ballyhalbert in Northern Ireland. I used Maketar Masks for all the roundels and codes.  Sky decals provided the serial. Sprayed with Hatakas late US Navy colours.

 

_MG_7239_MG_7240_MG_7241_MG_7243

 

_MG_7244_MG_7245_MG_7246

 

_MG_7248_MG_7252_MG_7253

 

_MG_7256

 

Mods to the kit include:

Flaps up

Tie-down added to tailwheel

Release lever on to canopy

Ignition harness

Clear plasticard used for three camera ports

Ventral and side CO vents

Clipped wings

Wingtip Lights from clear sprue

Fuel caps filled and placed inboard to correct position

Underwing fuel vents

Brake lines to main undercarriage

Fairings on tailwheel doors deleted.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Nick

 

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Thanks guys! I really like Maketar Masks. I've used them a fair bit now and I prefer the vinyl to the kabuki. Biggest problem I found was allowing the paint enough time before applying a mask. I have used Stynlrez black primer with Vallejo model air for the roundel colours and I let each colour have 24hours before the next mask went on- else I've had peeling when the masks come off.

 

Nick

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7 hours ago, 85sqn said:

Thanks guys! I really like Maketar Masks. I've used them a fair bit now and I prefer the vinyl to the kabuki. Biggest problem I found was allowing the paint enough time before applying a mask. I have used Stynlrez black primer with Vallejo model air for the roundel colours and I let each colour have 24hours before the next mask went on- else I've had peeling when the masks come off.

 

Nick

Very nice build. I have at least a half dozen Tamiya Corsairs built too, several in FAA colors.

 

One question in regards to the masks. Do you ever have trouble with the vinyl staying down? I normally prefer kabuki but I am considering ordering a vinyl set for a MENG F-35 (for the ram panels).

 

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2 hours ago, Scooby said:

Very nice build. I have at least a half dozen Tamiya Corsairs built too, several in FAA colors.

 

One question in regards to the masks. Do you ever have trouble with the vinyl staying down? I normally prefer kabuki but I am considering ordering a vinyl set for a MENG F-35 (for the ram panels).

 

No I haven't had any problems like that yet. They grip well and were probably on for about a week.

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Nicely done:yes:

 

Would you mind telling how you made the side and ventral scoops? I have a FAA Corsair that has stalled in the stash for a number of years because I cant work out how to scratch my own scoops.:blush:

 

Cheers,

Devo

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4 hours ago, Devo said:

Nicely done:yes:

 

Would you mind telling how you made the side and ventral scoops? I have a FAA Corsair that has stalled in the stash for a number of years because I cant work out how to scratch my own scoops.:blush:

 

Cheers,

Devo

Yea sure thing. For the side ones I got a piece of sprue and used my flat metal file just to sand it down to roughly the right shape and size, then drilled a hole in the front. They normally sit where roundels are so they go on last for me. Interestingly this aircraft has had its roundels repainted and moved forward slightly due to the camera modification on both sides of the fuselage. Hence why there is evidence of overpainting and why the vents are in a slightly different spot. the MkIII's seem to have a few variations on where the vents are depending if they've had cameras fitted or not.

 

The ventral one was created with some thin plasticard, again cut to shape and glued to together.

 

2 hours ago, gingerbob said:

Very very nice- I especially like the worn paint over the root intakes.  I think the canopy slightly lets down the rest, since it just seems to be put there, a frequent failing of subjects with sliding hoods.

Vacuform is probably the answer to that or at least canopies that are designed to be displayed open like Airfix have done with their recent spitfires etc.

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37 minutes ago, David H said:

Nice Job, Nick. Going from memory a Corsair III is a Brewster-Manufactured Corsair, right??

 

Nice to see some NI Squadrons getting some love too.

 

-d-

Exactly David. Though I didn't included one, on the tail should be an F3A-1 stencil. Btw some of those mods were from your handy advice back when I did a MkII a couple of years ago, certainly the fuel caps from plastic rod is one!

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19 hours ago, 85sqn said:

Exactly David. Though I didn't included one, on the tail should be an F3A-1 stencil. Btw some of those mods were from your handy advice back when I did a MkII a couple of years ago, certainly the fuel caps from plastic rod is one!

Very cool. Nice to hear that my suggestions went to some good use.

ICYMBI, Ezell Aviation in Texas is restoring the last surviving Brewster F3A to flying status. She will be painted in the original three tone scheme (to what degree of authenticity remains to be seen) with its Cherry Point "L-19" training code painted on the side.

There is just soooo much about the F3A that we don't know, and probably will never know.

-d-

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On 2/26/2018 at 5:42 AM, 85sqn said:

 

Vacuform is probably the answer to that or at least canopies that are designed to be displayed open like Airfix have done with their recent spitfires etc.

My Friend Terry has sanded down the insides of a couple of 72nd scale Tamiya Corsair canopies, but he is braver than i am in that regard and he has better canopy polishing tools at his disposal. He has also joined the ranks of the "Tamiya Cracked Wildcat Canopy Club", but that's another story.

-d-

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Those Hataka colours look very nice on that model. I had to re-read the part about how you used Maketar masks. I originally assumed you went with the Xtradecal sheet. Silly me. Once you learn how to paint insignias on a model, there's no going back.

 

BTW- How much difficulty did you have, modifying the flaps to fit in the "up" position? i know the cove doors have to be rebuilt to close off the slot on the underside.

 

-d-

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3 hours ago, David H said:

Those Hataka colours look very nice on that model. I had to re-read the part about how you used Maketar masks. I originally assumed you went with the Xtradecal sheet. Silly me. Once you learn how to paint insignias on a model, there's no going back.

 

BTW- How much difficulty did you have, modifying the flaps to fit in the "up" position? i know the cove doors have to be rebuilt to close off the slot on the underside.

 

-d-

Thanks Dave- I think the flap mod was your tip as well! The leading edges need a fair bit off to fit into the trailing edge of the main wing section and then once ‘in’ I used plasticard to fair it all in and neaten.

One thing I wished I had done regarding painting is to shade the area around the ‘BH2’ with a blue mix. What doesn’t show up very well is the fact I used dark slate grey. It’s much more prominent on photos of the real thing.

 

Recently I came across this recovery of some Corsair MkIII parts: http://spitfirespares.co.uk/Corsair recovery.5.html

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