72modeler

Late to the party- as usual! Here are some facts regarding the queries above: The stall strip, which was attached to the RH wing only, outboard of the guns, was six inches long, and was fitted to all Corsairs from the F4U-1 to the AU-1. The Corsair had a nasty habit of dropping the RH wing on approach, so the strip prevented this, and both wings stalled at the same time, It was NOT fitted to F4U-2's and F4U-5N's, as the radome on the RH wing of those two night fighter variants served the same purpose. As @Corsairfoxfouruncle stated, they were initially of wood, and installed in the field, but then became metal on the production line. According to the Dana Bell Corsair F4U-1 Vol 1, the wood stall strip was fitted beginning with F4U-1 BuNo 17640, FG-1 BuNo 13137, and F3A-1 Bu No 04534. Here's what it looked like: https://www.heraldnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_M1-FlightPathsSpoiler-edh-170703-1200x675.jpg The fixed plate that replaced the upper three center cowl flaps was sheet metal. Initially the upper three cowl flaps had their linkages disconnected so that they remained closed, but were soon eliminated on the production line and replaced with a purpose made sheet metal panel. There would be gap on each side of the plate where the side of the sheet metal panel butted up against the cowl flaps when they were closed. The interior and structural parts of the tailwheel bay were untinted zinc chromate, with the strut and tailhook in light grey, as were the main gear struts until the switch to glossy sea blue in 1945. The inner surfaces of the engine cowling could be untinted zinc chromate, light grey, or flat black, according to written sources. Hope this helps! @Tailspin Turtle or @Dana Bell would be the ones to ask; I hope I have gotten the above correct! Mike

I would agree that the Platz kit is the best overall in 1/72 scale, but I would rate the Heller kit as being better than the Sword kit, as both are accurate, but the Heller kit comes with the option to build the RT-33 and fits much better. I have all three kits, BTW. While the Heller kit has raised panel lines, they are fairly petite and can be used as a guide for rescribing. Needs more detailing in the cockpit and wheel bays,, and if you want the canopy open, a vacform replacement is available from the aftermarket, as are etched cockpit sets and resin bang seats. Heller T-33'A kits, as well as their also excellent F-94B can be had very reasonably at vendor tables and auction sites. Mike

It was a Vought-built Corsair- the F4U-1WM. BuNo 02460. See the links below for description and some photos. Pretty easy conversion, but you will need two cowlings to get the correct length needed for the R-4360. The carburetor intake and recessed areas for the exhausts would be the hardest part. Hope this helps! Mike https://www.jdsf4u.be/f4u-1wm-vought-corsair https://www.jdsf4u.be/photos-f4u-1wm-vought-corsair

Very nice build! With that narrow track and that fat prop, can you just imagine the torque on take-off? Wasn't nicknamed the mule for no good reason! Mike

Museum quality, all the way! None of the issues you outlined seemed to stop you from building one of the best efforts I have seen of the new-tool Airfix kit. Unusual but very distinctive colors and markings. It's RAAF, it's an Anson, and it's in God's Own Scale- what's not to like! Good on ya, Alistair! Mike

Bellisimo! That is one very nice G.50! I also have this kit, but mine will be a Finnish G.50bis. You should be proud of this build, and your weathering and staining are very restrained and realistic. Mike

Just for the record, I couldn't figure out how to edit my quote above, but before @RidgeRunner nails me, Shaw AB was home to the 363rd TRW, NOT the 63rd as I posted. My fingers are a lot faster than my brain these days! Mike

Very nice early Jug! That tank is not very aerodynamic, but it got the job done. Mike

4.0 job on that F6F! Not my scale, obviously, but I know great modeling when I see it. Very realistic paintwork, and all of the aftermarket parts and improvements you have made really stand out! Those old Otaki 1/48 kits were soooo far ahead of their time, weren't they? Great work, and it might be a color scheme that some might consider overdone, but it is THE scheme for an F6F-3!! Mike

I am so sorry to hear what a poor kit this is, but you have managed to make a very nice model, nonetheless. I have the Sword kit and Caracal decals, so at least I can dodge the poor Sword decal bullet. Disappointing to hear that one of their more recent releases isn't up to the standards set by some of their other kits. You get bonus points for persevering. I wish kit makers would engineer their releases to allow deflected control surfaces, gear doors, or speedbrakes, etc. that are normally deployed/drooped after shutdown. I know a good modeler is expected to be able to modify a kit, to reflect this, but it's not that much more difficult to engineer...if Special Hobby can engineer deployed slats on a tiny 1/72 Bf-109E... Mike

Too cool! We were stationed at Dyess AB from 1980-65! B-52's and C-130E's. My Dad was head of personnel for the 516th TCW. Came to Dyess from three years at Shaw AB, SC- home of the 63rd TRW with RB-66's and RF-101C's! Those were the days! Mike

Mark- thank you so much for venturing across the pond to our side, and giving us such great photos- some pretty neat colors and markings, and I believe the photo of the F-35 with a travel pod is a first! Mike I sure miss our annual Randolph AB airshow/open house!

Wow! I am speechless! That b&w photo looks like a period image! Mike

That's a beautiful Mig, Dragan! The subdued washes and weathering made this a very realistic replica! Please work your magic on a UM for us to admire! How was the KP kit to build Any big issues? it sure looks good. Mike

OK, that's it! I'm selling all my kits and taking up knitting! Dayam, Fuad- that's an incredible model! Mike

I believe that is correct, and also many of the operational F7F's had the props clipped slightly so they had square tips, to prevent damage when taxying, as Tigercat props had very little ground clearance, especially when running over rough PSP matting, and when the nose oleo was compressed under braking. You can see the squared off prop tips in many period photos. Mike,

Yep- definitely! FS 12197 Mike

I dunno, my friend! I don't place a lot of confidence in most drawings, but I do see in a couple of the photos you posted as well as a few in the Tailhook blog the pylons are vertical, but in several others, they are clearly perpendicular to the wing. If the late great Mr. Corsair, Jim Sullivan, were still alive, he could answer this question. He was to Corsair knowledge what Edga Brooks was to Spitfires. Mike

I might have posted this link before, but I was looking for A-20 detail photos foe a fellow modeler, and I found these! Some excellent factory and period photos of various A-20 models that have excellent details for modelers. I apologize in advance for the possible duplication! Mike http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52066

According to Tommy Thomason's Tailhook Topics on the late Corsairs, the F4U-4 and F4U-5 used small stub pylons for HVAR's which were mounted perpendicular to the wing surface'; the AU-1 and F4U-7, which was built from the AU-1 airframe, dispensed with the small stub pylons for rockets and used five longer pylons for bombs and rockets, and they also appeared to be perpendicular to the wing surface, and not vertical when viewed from the front. In the head-on photo Antti posted above, the five long pylons appear to be vertical, but if you look only at the leading edge of the pylons and not the bottom edge, they are actually perpendicular to the wing, as he pointed out. See the pylons in the linked Tailhook Topics article below. I would think, if the pylons were vertical and bombs were mounted on them, the box tailfins would touch the wing undersurface. Mike http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-last-propeller-pulled-corsairs-f4u.html

I'm not a ship modeler,. but I know outstanding modeling when I see it! A very nicely built and weathered model of a class of ships that were not pretty, were not fast, but were indispensable in the allies winning the war. Well done! Mike

Ian, What an incredible collection of photos! I had to take a break between each page, as my blood pressure was redlined and I had to keep wiping the drool from my computer screen. Fantastic photography and so many views that you don't normally see. MH434 and SR661 are my sentimental favorites, so I appreciate your taking so many wonderful photos of them. Thank you so much for taking the time to post all of these photos as well as the captions. You da man! Mike

Can't wait to see that one built! Going to be Gabby's HV-A? Sure looks like a very good kit. Mike

Tfan- I checked, and Mike Wagnon is credited with the scale drawings in the F-84F Aerofax. Now, I'm getting nervous! Mike

Kit Carson's last mount! Very nice finish, too. Nothing wrong with your brush painting, either! BTW, I think NB IV was actually a P-51K, so it should have had the uncuffed Aeroproducts prop, not the Hamilton Standard cuffed prop you fitted. That being said, the Aeroproducts props had balance issues, and were frequently swapped out by crew chiefs for the better HS prop. I don't recall seeing any photos of Carson's Nooky Booky IV that showed a HS prop, but there might be some out there. I don't intend this to be a criticism of a very good build, but just wanted to make you aware of the possibilities regarding the prop. Not my scale, but IRC the Eduard and Airfix 1/48 P-51D kits did come with both props. Mike Here's a photo of Carson's Mustang- you can see the Aeroproducts prop and the Aeroproducts logo on the blades: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205372421