Jackson Duvalier

I look forward to following this double build, Erwin. You're throwing an impressive amount of aftermarket at the project. How early are you going on your "early" build? I've been meaning to get around to doing a blue grey/light grey Hellcat with bronze green cockpit, forward-canted antenna mast, and six-position cocardes. One doesn't see those very often. Be advised that Academy are not fully trustworthy when it comes to multiple variants in the same kit; the F6F kit doesn't include the proper windscreen for the -3 version.

Proud to give the first "Like." Tidy modelling there. My favourite little detail is the slightly glossier off-white fibreglass nose on the Phoenix missiles.

Enjoying this build of yours as always, Ed. I can't recall seeing the head-on photo before.-- am I seeing prop cuffs at the base of the blades? It sure looks that way to me, but I've never seen cuffed props on a P-38, nor have I noticed cuffs being painted aluminium on any aircraft. Come to think of it, the only cuffed three-blade prop I can remember was attached to a P-43 Lancer.

Oh dear. I know what happened to those poor airplanes at that nasty place. Reduced to ingots they were! 😟 😬 😪 I've seen the photos, they aren't for the faint of heart.

I stand corrected! Thanks for the additional information, Bob and Geoffrey.

Ah yes, the infamous "Hellfire Bomb" from the film Iron Eagle. 🙂

The checks look a bit rough to me, and would probably be easy enough to mask off with kabuki tape. The giant "L54" on the fuselage makes me suspect this is a stateside training aircraft. It was fairly common for Corsairs to be rotated back to CONUS after a combat tour, where they would be refurbished and used to familiarise new pilots. I have seen at least one wartime photo from a US training base depicting a glossy sea blue Birdcage F4U-1 with large white alpha-numeric codes on the fuselage sides. Interesting photos you've found, Troy. Thanks for sharing them.

The cover art on the most recent Squadron-Signal F4U Corsair In Action volume, dated 2010, depicts an F4U-1C (White 53) of Air Group 85 with the Shangri-La lightning bolt. The serial is given as "82305" but I suspect this is a typo, as the initial numeral would indicate fiscal year 1948, which in 1945 was still some time into the future. A serial of "52305" would fit better, perhaps someone misread a 5 as an 8 somewhere? On page 28 there is a photograph of White 53 much the worse for wear after a crash landing on Maui, the caption repeats the improbable "82305" serial. There's also a photo on page 29 of the first F4U-1C at the Vought factory wearing the "three colour" scheme. The book states the remainder of F4U-1C production were overall GSB. I've toyed with the idea of an F4U-1C conversion. The work required would be fairly straightforward: fill the MG ports, add the cannon barrels and fairings, reshape the ammunition bay doors and ejection chutes, add rocket stubs. In 1/72 the Academy F4U-1 or the Tamiya F4U-1A or -1D kits would be acceptable starting points.

The metal is beautiful and the rivets really add to the overall effect.

Oh, but that's nice. You had fun getting her dirty, didn't you? 😎

Hobby Boss easy-builds are great for a painter, but they don't IMHO offer much satisfaction to the modeller. If you want to practise the former, by all means consider starting there. I tend to think you'd be more satisfied with a better kit. Maybe not Arma Hobby out of the gate-- as good as they are I feel that's a "third or fourth aircraft model" sort of project. It'd be like a teenager learning to drive in a Ferrari-- you aren't ready to push it to its potential and you wouldn't yet appreciate all the subtle touches. VMA131 Marine's suggestions are all good, as are Giorgio's. If you feel you can handle lots of tiny bits that nevertheless fit splendidly, I'd suggest one of Eduard's Weekend Edition Spitfires, they're amazing little kits that fit well. Also the transparencies are minimal and easy to mask without an aftermarket set. Convincing clear bits are one of the hardest effects for a novice aeromodeller to achieve.

Gotta love a Tamiya kit for a fun build. The understated exhaust staining is a fine touch. 😉 Your concrete hardstand looks aces as well. Is it a base just for this model, or a general purpose base used for various photo ops?

Your modelling is... adequate. That's a level I aspire to. 😎

I remember when these were released, it was one of the first kits to include photo etch. It was really expensive in the day, and the Trimaster concern folded fairly quickly, consequently I never go to see an unbuilt one firsthand. You did a great job on this one. Much like the Accurate Miniatures line, these may not be the latest and greatest anymore, but they certainly still build well (as your specimen shows), and I'm pretty sure the moulds are still in use. How did you do the base, static grass and some tufts? It's sufficiently convincing without competing with the model, a look I'd like to emulate.

I've never lived near Morton Grove, but I was a fairly well-informed Monogram fan as a kid, and I don't recall any of their WWI offerings either. Richard Humm's comment reminded me Monogram acquired Aurora moulds but I was only aware of the movie monsters. Your model is looking gorgeous, Allan. Can't wait to see her done!