don f

I was unable to complete my Hellcat in time. After a long delay, I've started working on the project again. I do not want this kit to end up as another abandoned project. The model was sanded to remove putty and primed again. Very little additional putty was needed. The model will be built without HVAR's. The kit provides HVAR's with chunky, rectangular launchers. The wing has corresponding large rectangular openings to accept the rocket launchers. The rocket launchers were thin. Thin rectangular pieces about half the width of the existing openings were inserted and glued into each opening. New rocket launchers were made from strips of 0.015" plastic. The individual posts were glued in placed and sanded to the correct length. Much better. With all the PE parts in the kit, I wish that Eduard had provided the launchers in brass or stainless with some detail etched in. After the windscreen was installed, the Eduard kit masks were applied. I've never used Eduard masks and hope that they work well. The MLG, tail wheel, small gear doors were glued in place and a first coat of blue has been applied. The plan is to mask and apply the white markings this weekend. I'll continue to post updates here until the model is ready for inspection. Don

Major components are assembled. Primer applied. Getting close to painting the top coat. Exhaust pipes drilled out. After assembling the fuselage, the rear cockpit bulkhead had a gap all around the top. I'm not sure if this gap resulted from me failing to dry fit or if that's the way the kit goes together. A silver of plastic sheet was cut and shaved to fit the gap. The strip was glued into the gap. After the glue cured, the excess plastic was scraped off and the paint touched up. Not perfect, but better. Hopefully, there will not be many rounds of filling, sanding, priming and repeat. The kit went together very nicely with a minimum of adjustments and tinkering. Don

Agree with you about the PE seat belts. Less frustration for me just to make belts from decals or strips of aluminum foil. Don

@Navy Bird Here's the induction system. And the engine cowlings. There were 11 moveable cowl flaps. The bottom fairing of the cowl flap section was not flaps. It was rigidly attached to the nacelle structure. If you open the cowl flaps, the top and bottom cowl flaps had different maximum opening positions. If need, I'll look this up. The right inboard exhaust pipe was a little different. And just in case you need to know how flat to make the tires. Don

A short update. The interior green has been applied to the fuselage and cockpit parts. And the paint was used as a primer coat for the nose cowl. Work on the cockpit was completed using some of the Eduard PE parts. I did not like the PE engine control quadrant. The thin PE quadrant lacked 3D appearance so I made a new one from laminated scraps of the plastic sheet. The PE seat belts are nicely finished. They looked stiff and could not be easily re-positioned. To use some of my aftermarket sets, I used aluminum foil and a Waldron PE set to make new lap and shoulder belts. The sides of the seat were thinned as well. Here's the completed cockpit. The fuselage has been assembled. Now on to final assembly and a first coat of primer. Don

@Gordon Parker Apologies for allowing my enthusiasm for Corsair models letting me run off at the keyboard and go up and down the scales. I promise to keep to your original 1/32 Corsair topic. I finally pulled my abandoned Tamiya 1/32 conversion project from the bottom of the stack to see what Part R5 is. Upon opening the box I was instantly impressed by the quality of the kit and why I abandoned the Corsair IV project. Making and detailing the "Y" duct. Anyhow, here's what Part R5 looked like. Use the kit parts for Option B. This will provide you with the all-around cowl flaps. Get a copy of the Fundekals instruction booklet for the F4U Corsair. This booklet went with the decal set with the FAA Corsairs on it, 2014 I think. This booklet has lots of information and images of the fuselage scoops. Also, "The Time Capsule Fighter: Corsair KD431" by David Morris is a must have, if you don't already have a copy. If you want to modify the cockpit, these may help. Have you visited Large Scale Planes to view the stunning and impressive WIP and 1/32 Tamiya Corsairs posted there? If not, definitely worth a visit. Don P.S. - You are orbiting very close to the black hole TAM.132.F4U! It can suck away your $CAD, time and enthusiasm.

@Chuck1945 Yes. That crude, rusty old X-Acto saw blade removes about 0.050" during a cut. That is about the thickness of the bar at the rear of Part A22. A little sanding to clean up and the image shows what's left. It's a quick fix okay for an OOB build, I think. Here's a more refined attempt with a piece of 0.010" plastic to simulate the armor plate. Don

Hi Jack, I'll start with the white rectangles under the wing. The Corsair flaps had a series of small doors that moved upward into the flap well when the flaps were extended. This left a gap between the leading edge of the flap and the wing structure. The small doors were called flap gap closing doors, or flap gap covers. The 1/48 Tamiya kit is designed to be built with the flaps extended with the flap gap doors molded in the up position. The 1/48 Tamiya kit can be built with the flaps retracted by modifying the kit parts and making the flap gap doors. The fit of the assembled flaps is surprisingly good. The white rectangles of plastic are the homemade flap gap closing doors. I used 0.005" plastic sheet. Dana has answered the query about the fuel tank opening. Removal of the forward radio mast left that hole in the skin at the forward face of the firewall, right and forward of the fuel tank. The support channels for the mast were mounted on the forward side of the firewall. The portion of the mast that extended into the fuselage was oval shaped in cross section. The hole may appear to be circular, but more likely was oval shaped. I don't have a close up of the opening. I will speculate that this hole was sometimes covered with a fabric patch. Here's images showing how I correct the 1/72 Tamiya Corsair seat problem. Seat as is in kit. Cut off the seat mount. Seat assembled to bulkhead. And no worries, the cockpit side walls will still fit. You'll have to remove the bar connecting the side panels at the rear of Part A22. Glue the side panels to Part A16. I would leave that nub of plastic aft of the cowl flaps. This represents the mounting hook for the drop tank. I find scribing the backfire valves to be very difficult in 1/72. Scribing those very small, concentric circles is beyond my ability. I usually just use small disks of decal material. Don

And another detail that needs correcting, F4U-1 birdcages, early F4U-1A's and some Corsair II. The Tamiya kit provides the same tail wheel doors in all of the their F4U kits. If you look at pictures of upside down Birdcage, early F4U-1A's and Corsair II's, you will note that the tail wheel doors are not as provided in the kit. This image in a previous post is a good example: Here's the door construction. This is the revised door as provided in the kits: In 1/72, making a new door with the tiny ribs is difficult. PE or 3D printing would the best solution. With determination, one could make the new 1/72 doors from plastic or brass and cast copies. In the larger scales, tedious work to scratch build, but could be done. If only the doors were not so visible. Sigh. Or forget about fixing them and build the model. Don P.S. - Look at the outboard MLG gear doors in the image above. The Tamiya 1/48 kit instructions have the right and left doors swapped. Easy to fix. I've built them with the doors in the wrong position. I'm not going to snap them off and reattach them. In the future, I'll get them right.

The cockpit images above indicate the installation of the following: TR 1196 HF R 1147 Homing receiver ABK IFF ( IFF Mk. III, I believe) TR 1143 VHF Operational requirements would determine the radio equipment needed. Don

Maybe these will be of some help. A Hellcat II. For USN Hellcats, there was little difference between the cockpit layout of the F6F-3 vs. the F6F-5. Perhaps the same applies to the Hellcat I vs. Hellcat II. Don P.S. - The map pocket appears to have been relocated from the left side next to the seat to the upper left side. And, I wonder if the incendiary bomb was actually carried.

The early birdcage Corsairs had eighteen cowl flaps with eighteen individual hydraulic struts, hydraulically connected in parallel, to control the flap position. As Dana stated, the method of operation was changed from the eighteen individual hydraulic struts to a spring and cable system actuated by a single hydraulic strut. As far as I know, after the change, every Corsair has used the spring and cable system actuated by a single hydraulic strut to control cowl flap position. I've built the all-around cowl flaps in 1/72 and 1/48 using the Tamiya kit. Here's the link to my 1/48 kit modification. One way to make the all-around cowl flaps. Filling in the notch for the dead cowl flaps. Filling the notch in forward fuselage Don

Another detail. This aircraft, like other early F4U-1A's, had all-around cowl flaps like the Birdcage Corsair.. Check your photos. The top three cowl flaps do not appear to have have battened down or modified with a batten plate similar to the USN aircraft. Don

This Hellcat is the first Eduard kit that I've started. So, I took a break from working on my abandoned projects to work on a project that isn't a decade or more old. Here's the progress thus far. The vanes added to the nose cowl. Two slots were made to allow the splitter plates to be inserted. Small shims were used to hold the plates in place while adjustments were made. After the final positions were determined, CA was used to fix the plates in place. Shims were removed and the gaps filled with CA and dental resin paste. The excess material was trimmed off. The filler was sanded to shape. Now the alighting gear. Alignment marks were made on the struts to assist in getting the gear struts straight after reassembly. The struts were cut and small 0.025" plastic rods inserted to provide a stronger join. Shortened strut on the left, original kit part on the right. The shape of the gear doors was corrected. Kit part on the right, the corrected is on the left. After the modifying the gear struts, the doors needed to be modified to match. A 0.050" strip of plastic tape served as a guide for making the cuts to remove the excess length. The kit part on the left, modified door on the left. All done with the alighting gear and doors. The wings were assembled because I knocked off two of the little aileron hinges. These are all the fixes that I'll make to this kit. Now, time to move on to the the cockpit. Hopefully, those Eduard pre-painted cockpit parts and PE will be easy to work with. I've seen the work of others using these parts. The parts seems to be easy to install. Don

That detail inside that turret really stands out. An outstanding job. I would not spend too much time trying to find the perfect OD paint. I'll tread lightly now as I don't want to be flamed or cause this thread to drift into the black hole of the Olive Drab. Dana Bell in his book, "Aircraft Pictorial 9: Aircraft Painting Guide Vol. 1" discusses the development of Dark Olive Drab 41. On page 5, he states, "No manufacturer's test sample of Dark Olive Drab was ever rejected for failing to match the color standards." Regarding ANA 613 Olive Drab, he writes, "With an acceptable Dark Olive Drab already in production, few paint companies saw any need to switch to the ANA Olive Drab before the war's end." I like Humbrol 108, discontinued I think, to represent what I consider to be a fresh Dark Olive Drab 41. If you have access to the IPMS Magazine, dated September, 1971, you will find an interesting article written by Mr. Malcolm Scott, a Navigator/Bomb Aimer 180 Squadron. His article contains his recollections of the paint colors of the Mitchells and anecdotes. His description of the top color can best be described as a grey green. Long ago I mixed this color based on his suggestion. I can dig up the color chip and post an image of it and mix directions if anyone is interested. I'm curious to know if this color falls within the range of the commercially available OD model paints. Don

A very nicely finished Avenger. An inspiration for me to knock the dust off one of my abandoned AM Avenger kits. Don

@noelh Thank you for the compliment. The "X" painted on the vertical stabilizer is in the wrong location. The serial number was painted above the "X". The number should be JX772. Likely that the underwing rocket launchers were removed. Here's a link, on Britmodeller, to one of the discussions regarding this aircraft Bill Atkinson's 1844 NAS Hellcat. I opted not to correct the model. I just want in my display case and move on to another project. Don

@mick b Thank you for the compliment. I have a large store of Floquil paint. Enough that I have no need to purchase any new paints, aqueous or solvent based. The Gloss Sea Blue is my mix using Floquil. ATSF Blue 33 parts, Engine Black 12 parts, Signal Red 3 parts, Reefer White 6 parts. Perhaps any paint could be used to make a similar mix. Or these days, more convenient and economic to purchase a prepared paint. Don

This project is finally finished. It was started in 2004 using the information available to me back then. So here's the model wrong markings, configuration and all. Thank you for taking a look. Don Engine and cowling - Obscureco cowling and a frankenstein R-2800 Cockpit and wheels - Hi-Tech Sliding canopy - Squadron vac-form Windscreen - Hasegawa F6F-3 kit modified to incorporate a 0.015" plexiglass flat panel Prop markings - Archer Fine Transfers HS logos Decals - Aeromaster, White Dog Decals, Yellowhammer Models

Thank you. I'm so happy that the box containing this project is now gone and no longer looking down upon me. I've moved some of my abandoned project boxes to the shelf above my work table. No longer out of sight, they demand attention. Don

Years ago, the Hawkeye Designs 1/72 Me-109G-10 was considered by some as the definitive Me-109 kit in that scale. I have little interest in the 109 so I can't comment on the accuracy of the kit. I don't build 109's so take it easy on me. This project was begun so long ago that I have only a film record of the beginning. I thought this multi-media kit would be an interesting challenge. This project is one of those plagued by mistakes and misfortune, many repairs of broken parts, lost parts, bad paint job, splashed with CA, badly warped wings when left in a hot car, and more. The model was stored for a long time. I am determined to finish the model, hopefully with good luck. Don

Project is finally finished. I'll post more Ready for Inspection images soon as can. Cockpit and wheels - Hi-Tech Sliding canopy - Squadron vac-form Windscreen - Hasegawa F6F-3 kit modified to incorporate a 0.015" plexiglass flat panel Prop markings - Archer Fine Transfers HS logos Decals - Aeromaster, White Dog Decals, Yellowhammer Models Don

Not to disturb his repose, this is a cut from the TM for the rocket launcher. The inverted "T" is the front mount.

Pleased that I was able to help you. Hasegawa kit presents us with errors to fix, if so inclined. The canopies are perhaps the most obvious and difficult to rectify. Don

The frankensteined R-2800 for this model is finally complete. I don't remember the sources for the parts. All the detail I was willing to add. 26 gauge magnet wire for the spark plug wires. I got lazy and did not insert the wires into the holes I drilled in the ignition harness. Painted and ready to install. Almost done, a few details, repairs and touch-up painting are needed. Don