Colin W

Excellent job there. Very good work on the rigging. Colin

Many thanks for the feed back. I believe they did have a Corsair but swapped it for a P-40E. Odd thing to do as the P-40 they got was a wreck and had to be rebuilt. Others may know more... I know what you mean. Thats part of the appeal really. Colin

Here is my anonymous Tamiya F4U-1D, RNZAF at Ruhakia 1946, abandoned and awaiting final scrapping. The harsh climate of strong sun and regular rain has removed most of the paint from the upper fuselage and rotted the fabric away from the tail surfaces. Guns and cockpit instuments have been removed for recycling and reclamation as have the engine and wheels. Sheep now graze around the aircraft keeping the grass short. I'm pleased with the result having wished to do something like this for a while and finally this GB has given me the opportunity to do something different. Many thnks to the Mods, esp @Corsairfoxfouruncle for the original idea and to all those making supporting comments along the way. More pictures and the build thread here Colins' Corsair Build thread. Cheers Colin

Here is my Tamiya F4U-1D RNZAF at Ruhakia 1946, abandoned and awaiting final scrapping. In reply to @Dana Bell, I omitted the engine and folded the wings based on other pictures so have ommitted the windscreen to emphasise the dereliction. Since the last post I weathered the fabric areas of the national insignia more as the lighted colour I used didnt show up too well on the pictures. I wanted the plane to be an anonymous representaion of the many aircaft at the end of the war but felt it looked odd with no serials. I used markings from the Sky sheet which were applied and once dry sanded with a 400 grit stick. This removed enough to fade the numbers but still leave the anonymity. Sheep added to be sure its in New Zealand! Unusual angle! Cockpit missing canopy and panel with instruments 'recovered for spares'. Wing gun bays are open and empty as the guns would have been recovered. My usual back drop of the Waipa planes is in a container en-route to the UK! Colin

Despite only building half the kit I'm being a bit slow with this but we are in the process of moving from Thailand back to the UK. Not much modelling time now or for the next 3 months. As noted above I have had to hand paint the national insignia to get the correct worn and toned down effect. This is a very time consuming process. Here she is with the insignias completed and a pile of used masking tape. I'm thinking this is not a cost save option for avoiding buying decals! Debating whether to add any part of the canopy, maybe just the windscreen? Cleaned up and a last look at the gun bay detail before fitting the wings. I found the parts supplied by Tamiya to support the folded wings were too short so replaced them with some brass rod. Gives a bit more strength as well. Nearly there Colin

Some cracking work on this Si. Looking forward to see the finished model. Colin

I was looking at the airbrake thinking it looked a bit odd. Then Harry beat me to it... Apart from that its looked great. Colin

Thanks for the comments. The derelict idea came from Bruce Salmon many years ago. I planned to use a Revell Ventura but haven't seen one. This fits better into the Corsair STGB! I had a bit of time yesterday so managed to start painting. A base coat of silver was masked with hand cream before the other colours were added free hand. I pressed on with weathering because I wasn't sure how to apply the decals. I've decided to hand paint the national insignia rather than mess up a set of the rare Aeromaster ones. This will give me more control over the fading. Here's where I am now. Colin

Quick update on the thread. Fuselage halves together, with wings and inner flaps added. New front fuselage made and fitted. Fabric broken on elevators and outside flaps to match the fin. Ready to start painting. Colin

True that the later NA39 were close to the final S1 standard. This Group build really emphasised the differences between the NA39 series. Colin

Looks like a good option for you Enzo. Don't forget that the NA39 also had longer exhaust pipes. The heat shields appear to be where the longer pipes were attached to the fuselage. You don't seem to have these in your pile of parts. Take a look at my build for reference. I used some plastic tube faired in with Milliput. Colin

Fantastic result there, well worth the effort you put in hope! Certainly enjoyed watching th build process. Colin

Thanks for the comments above. I'm learning a lot about the Corsair in this Group build. Based on Danas' comments above I have given the cockpit a wash of dark green, leaving some of the primer and natural metal exposed. I've also thinned out the rudder and removed some of the fabric. I'll do te same for the elevators but it's too late to do much to the wings. Colin

Changing the subject slightly, does anyone know how much of the airframe was covered in fabric? My original thought was that the Corsair was all metal but Tamiya have represented fabric on the outer wings, outer flap, rudder and elevators. Is this correct? Thanks Colin

Accurate paint colour is a pigment of the imagination. Two months on an aircraft carrier across the North Atlantic in Sun and rain would start to change the colour long before reaching a squadron. Colin