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John B

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  1. The nose on my kit is mis-aligned by just fractions of a millimeter on each half and it caused mis-alignments on the fuselage, cowl, wings, and engine. The really annoying part was that the misalignments were NOT symetrical on each fuselage half. Anyway, I used some sprue to spread the fuselage at the mold line. I forced the firewall area together and used sheet styrene to fill gaps where required. When I forced the fuselage to fit the wing, it caused the fuselage seams aft of the cockpit to SNAP apart due to the stress. I also used filler, liberal sanding, and scribing around the mold line around the fuselage insert seam, but you can still see the asymmetric dips in the area. (Maybe exhaust stains will conceal this?) In turn, the part that holds the exhaust stubs (N14) somehow threw off the alignment of the cowl and engine in my kit. Since it doesn't line up with the exhaust cutouts anyway, I just left that part out entirely. It seems that the slide-mold feature of the fuselage is the root of fit problems.* The cowl (J1) and fuselage took some sanding and spacing with sheet styrene to minimize the gaps without filler. Here it stands with the cowl just press-fit into place. The kit lacks a few antennas for the configuration of VMA-323's AU-1s in Korea (the T-shaped altimeter antennas under the fuselage and the taller wedged-shaped antenna). I made the wedge antenna from sheet styrene and I have leftover altimeter antennas from a Tamiya Corsair. The flaps required some minor tweaking to fit. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the older and newer Hasegawa Corsair kits. Conjures up memories watching Black Sheep Squadron doesn't it? ->>>Video *(The degree of the fuselage mis-alignment seems to vary. In this AU-1 boxing, one half was more mis-aligned than the other. Back when I built Hasegawa's F4U-5N with the Dangerboy wingfold, I thought the resin was the problem, but I encountered the same nose fit issues with plastic parts with the AU-1. It's a real shame, because the recessed details are spot-on compared to the F4U-5N at Miramar and the AU-1 under restoration at the SD Air Museum.)
  2. I had a leftover set of True Details vinyl masks from my Hasegawa F4U-5N build. Since I sanded away the incorrect F4U-4 windscreen frames, I used the pre-cut mask for the center portion to establish the proper shape and position. Scotch tape was used to mask the remainder of the clear parts. The cowl and tail painted with Tamiya spray prior to being masked for the blue. I examined an AU-1 under restoration and noticed that the blue wraps around the cowl inner surface to the panel line. I painted the cowl piece seperately to duplicate this. My favorite Gloss Sea Blue was the the enamel from Aeromaster, but it is long out-of-production. I used the Model Master Acryl equivalent for this project, but I'm not 100% pleased with the shade, the finish, and how it has a tendancy to be peel off with masking tape. It's readily available where I am and their acryls match thier corresponding enamel shades for touching up, but I'm still looking for a suitable replacement for the old Aeromaster enamel line. The above image shows the cowl piece just pressed into position for the photo. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the older and newer Hasegawa Corsair kits. Conjures up memories watching Black Sheep Squadron doesn't it? ->>>Video
  3. WOW! The image with all three models is very impressive! Care to share your technique for replicating the exhaust stains on the Lanc?
  4. I'm afraid we may be have criss-crossed our messages a little. I cropped the warbird images in order to confine the discussion to just the canopy. I tried to find similar angles that illustrate my post. I apologize if this caused any confusion. Just for clarity, the center image is a cropped image of a F4U-4. Here is the link to the full-size uncropped image -> F4U-4 The image on the right was F4U-5. (Please notice the increased space between the rear portion of the frame and the fuselage and the raised fairing behind the cockpit. Here is to the full-size uncropped image -> F4U-5 Maybe I wasn't clear in my initial question, but would you agree that F4U-4s with the FLAT windscreen have a canopy where the plexiglass is bulged akin to the later F4U-5/-5N/-7/ AU-1? They aren't exactly the same since the later Corsair marks have a taller rear frame, but the F4U-4s with the ROUND windscreen have canopy plexiglass without bulges akin to the F4U-1D? If you're asking what mark Corsair I'm modelling, I'm working on a F4U-4B. Here's a link to my WIP -> Hasegawa F4U-4B build I hope this removes any confusion I incurred. Thanks for your input.
  5. I acknowledge that I've already posted this multiple times elsewhere, so I apologize if it seems a bit repetitive. I reposted here in this thread just for continuity of the thread for future reference. The frames on the Hasegawa windscreen are too far apart and are incorrectly parallel. I sanded, polished, and dipped the Hasegawa F4U-4 windscreen in Future. I'll use the newer F4U-5/-5N/-7/ AU-1 as guide to reposition the frames.
  6. Thanks David! I actually own that particular book. Upon reflection, I agree with you that the Hasegawa canopy is correctly molded. I managed to find images of the Corsair canopies for illustration. I wasn't able to find contemporary images of the different canopies from the similar angles, but I did find shots of warbirds. Its shows the bulged canopy for the F4U-4 (with flat windscreen) and later versions.
  7. I'm fortunate to live near a F4U-5N and a F4U-4 on display. I'm also fortunate that a F4U-7/ AU-1 is undergoing restoration which can viewed by the public. Unfortunately, there isn't a F4U-4B that I know of within a quick drive. I'm converting on a 1/48 Hasegawa F4U-4 into a -4B while simultaneously working on a 1/48 Hasegawa AU-1. Doing the side-by-side build allows me to a compare the parts and Corsair versions. It also allows me to use the newer kit as a guide to make corrections to old kit. Something about the sliding hood (the rear part of the canopy) on the F4U-4 looks strange to me. I'm doing a F4U-4B with the flat windscreen, but I'm wondering is the sliding part is supposed to be bulged like the AU-1 or flat like the F4U-1D? The Hasegawa AU-1 has the bulged canopy, but the F4U-4 seems to have a bulged canopy, too. I previously a completed a 1/48 Tamiya F4U-1D and the sides of that canopy from kit looks "flat" compared to the F4U-4 parts. The rear frame of the AU-1 kit TALLER than the same area on the F4U-4 parts. This seems to agree with reference photos, but I can't find anything definitive about the plexiglass ifself. The old Hasegawa canopy is shaped like it has the short frame of the F4U-1D, but the bulged plexiglass of the AU-1. Does anyone have access to a F4U-4B or can post images of the canopy cross-section? Is the canopy plexiglass from old Hasegawa F4U-4 kit incorrect in shape?
  8. WOWZERS!!! That's a lot of detail in such a small scale cockpit!
  9. Just for point of comparison, these are the stock interior parts for the wingroots lack depth. A comparison between the R-2800 engines from the new F4U-5/-5N/-7/ AU-1 (left) and old F4U-4 (right) Hasegawa Corsairs. The stock engine crankcase in the older Hasegawa and Academy copy incorrectly represents the engine used in the earlier Corsair models. Fortunately the newer engine mates with the older kit without many problems. I discovered that converting the machine-gun armed F4U-4 to a F4U-4B entails a few more details. The position of the inboard rocket stubs is NOT in line with the 2 outboard stubs. The location hole in the Academy clone is therefore in the wrong position. The inboard stub is further back and corrected my earlier error. The gunbays for the -4B only has 2 panels, whereas the both the old Hasegawa and Academy copy depict the -4 configuration. The ammo bay panels were reduced from 3 panels to 2 panels in the -4B as well.
  10. As long as I'm building the 1/48 Hasegawa AU-1, I'm converting the Hasegawa F4U-4 in the -4B. (Yes, the OLD kit with raised panel lines.) It's interesting and disappointing to see the difference between Hasegawa's Corsairs from 1981 and this decade. (Yeah, yeah. I know the Hasegawa F4U-4 kit was originally a Mania kit, but you get the point.) Talk about light-years of improvement between the two Corsair kits. All those kit-technology molding improvements is really obvious when you compare similar areas. I'm using some of the parts from the newer Hasegawa Corsair kit to improve the old Corsair kit. I'm not finished altering the exhausts, but the new parts already look so much nicer. I opened up the tailgear well and dry-fitted the newer tailgear. Instead of detailing the well, I'm cheating by painting it dark sea blue. As part of the conversion of a F4U-4 (with machine-guns) into a cannon-armed -4B, I'll use the cannons and rocket rail parts from the newer Hasegawa Corsair kit. I've adapted the True Details F4U-4B cockpit to fit the Hasegawa kit. I stuck a Tamiya oil cooler in to the wingroot. I won't rescribe the panel lines because I'm too ham-fisted to try.
  11. Very nice! The comparison shots with the reference image is a very nice touch. I remember building the old Thud when it was molded in dark green plastic. How did you deal with any strength issues with the kit landing gear?
  12. I'm too lazy to realign all the instruments in a proper grid pattern. Here's my solution to the instrument panel issue. I sanded down the radar scope, drilled a shallow depression, and applied an instrument decal in it's place. It's still not accurate, but at least it looks different than the panel for the night fighter.
  13. I think people are conditioned to think that “the Monogram kit is bad just because it is old and has raised panel lines”. In my opinion, it was THE most accurate Hornet kit until the Hasegawa uber-kits were released. Okay let’s talk about a few things concerning the Monogram FSD and early Hornet kits. One must be careful when purchasing the F-18 prototype kit. Somewhere along the way, Monogram re-released it with all the changes they made for the "A-18" release.... ... in the white plastic and decals of the original, but you can see below the plastic is NOT the same. The boxtop looks identical and there's no way to really tell without examining the kit contents. In many ways, the "A-18" kits represent FSD #7 and the pre-production F/A-18As more than a full-production F/A-18A. Buyer beware. Gun port and gunbay vents – FSD #1, #2, and #3 didn’t have these items and the vent layout is what is depicted in the Monogram kit. FSD #4 onwards had gunbay vents. LEX slot – All the FSD jets started out with this feature, but they eventually had them filled in. NAV lights on the LEX root – FSD #1 and #2 didn’t start out with these (as correctly represented in the Monogram kit). Fuselage vents aft of canopy – FSD jets had this feature, but they weren’t there on the production jets. Monogram forgot to delete these from the later releases. Ailerons - originally short, but eventually all surviving FSD jets were retro-fitted with ailerons that went out to the wingtips. Dogtooth snag - originally inboard of the wing-fold hinge, then in-line with the wingfold hinge, then eliminated altogether. Taxi-light – FSD #1 originally didn’t have one. The original Monogram kit reflects this. Antennas under the intakes – FSD #1, #2, and #3 didn’t have these. They also didn’t have chaff/flare buckets. Tails - The tails in the "F-18" and "A-18" boxing are identical, but they really resemble the FSD jets with the short antenna shapes and vents at the base of the tail.
  14. I've embarked on construction of a Hasegawa AU-1 in the markings of US Marine squadron VMA-323. I'm trying to keep aftermarket purchases for this project to a minimum, but I know from experience that the kit wheels look too narrow when viewed from the front. I like to work in sub-assemblies and this kit will hopefully lend itself to that approach. I need to point out another discrepancy with Hasegawa's AU-1 kit. It seems as though they took the F4U-5N kit, swapped the sprues with the wing pylons and fuselage from the F4U-7 release, and just added a new cowl. The notch where the upper exhaust stacks attach doesn't line up with the cut-out on the fuselage. The instrument panel is for the F4U-5N with the radar scope top center. That lovely sinkhole on the right is a nice bonus. The cowl piece even blocks the exits for the exhausts parts.... ... but a few minutes sanding will hopefully alleviate the problem. As point of comparison, here's a photo of the Hasegawa F4U-5N I built some years ago. You can see the radar scope in the cockpit, the exhausts fit without interference, and the exhaust collector ring is only just visible. I may not bother fixing the exhaust collector ring at all.
  15. The decalling process quickly turned into a scavenger hunt crossed with an initiation rite of passage. I found that the decal for the anti-glare panel from the Testors kit didn't fit the Monogram shape so I used the corresponding decal from Fightertown Decals White Hot Hornets sheet. Even then, there was a mis-match in the shapes near the canopy, so I painted in the gaps with black paint. The blue parts of the national insignia decals from the Testors sheet were noticeably too light, so I substituted those with decals from Afterburner Decals Pax River Bug Testers sheet. Herein lay another problem, the decals I used were thin, too thin! The white portions of intake warning decals were not as white as the surrounding white painted areas. The white portions of the national insignias allowed the blue/white boundaries to show through. I ended up purchasing another of the same sheet just for those decals to double them up. The rest of the decals were a mix of decals from Testors and Monogram kit as well as some spare numbers for the "3" on the tail. I used some spare decals from a MAW sheet for the placards on the landing gear and low-intensity formation light panels. At this point, I had called an "end" to decalling -
  16. I forgot to mention that I cut out the ailerons and removed the aileron hinges in order to show them drooped AND to emphasize that the ailerons were originally shorter in span. (These were replaced with Hasegawa flap hinges VERY generously supplied by another modeller after I put out a request for someone with spares.) Major painting was complete at this point in April. Using the decal sheet from the initial Testors release as a basis (image below), I eventually started decalling - On the copy I had, there was a slight registry problem affecting the white and red colors but as this was the only sheet with many of the required FSD decals available I used it as a basis. Here's an image of it early in the decal process.
  17. As with every 1/48 Monogram/Revell-Monogram kit I've ever built, they soak up putty in the fuselage seams. Here's where I made my first MAJOR error - I used Mr Surfacer to fill the seams, which is DARK GRAY. I should've used Tamiya or Squadron white putty instead. In not using a white, I was forced to prime the whole model in gray to make all the surfaces a uniform color for the coats of white paint to follow. In November 2010, it looked like this - In order to fix that first major error, I elected to fix it by prime the whole thing with whatever can of gray-colored Tamiya Spray I had at-hand. After , I had to cover it up with multiple coats Tamiya Primer (which IS slightly off-white), then a few coats of Tamiya Flat White, and a topcoat of Tamiya Pure white. By early January 2011, it looked like this - For the blue areas, I used Model Master Blue Angel Blue. The blue pinstripe was created by using thin Chartpack vinyl tape to mask off the area to remain white. I found that vinyl tape in the drafting section of a Staples (an office supply chain in the US) years ago. Unfortunately, the vinyl tape had pulled away from some surfaces allowing the blue to bleed onto the white areas. In addition, some blue went everywhere there was the smallest gap in the masking. Since blue is REALLY STRONG primary color and any it stained the white areas even after I sanded it off. I was forced to mask the blue areas and re-paint the white areas. Here are some post-fix shots of the same areas - By February 2011, it looked like this -
  18. This is the story of a series of errors that have made this project an odessy of Homeric proportions. I apologize in advance for using US spelling for words such as "gray", "colour", and "defense". I know those terms are spelled "grey", "colour", and "defense", but I don't know what other US terms are spelled differently. Back in September 2010, I had a side bet going with someone to see which of us could build the 1/48 Monogram Hornet in time for a contest. I selected to do FSD Jet #3 BuNo160777. It was the jet that was used for Carrier Suitability Trials beginning in October 1979 aboard USS America. It originally started out with snagged horizontal tails, but by Feb 1982 the snags were filled. It also started out with the full slots in the LEX root, dogtooth leading edge, and short span ailerons. Here is the obligatory pic of the boxtop, kit parts and the aftermarket I planned to use. Since I chose to model after it completed the Oct 1979, but before the dogtooths, LEX slots and short-span ailerons were completely removed (as seen in this Dept of Defense image from 1983 with all those features deleted). I added Black Box pedals to the otherwise kit cockpit. I outlined some panels in orange (indicating TEST ONLY status) based on images I found in a Koku-Fan magazine. Here's a blurry image of the painted up and decalled seat.
  19. I missed this topic when it posted last year, but I was thinking about how it could be done - do it as a "family of kits" that share common molds. The examples of this philosophy are the Airfix Spitfire 22/24 Seafire 44/46 family, the Hasegawa A-4 series, the Tamiya F4U-1/1A/1D/2N series, and Revell-Monogram F-14A/B/D releases. Starting the "common Harrier GR.1" with modular fuselage as a starting point, a USMC AV-8A kit rebox could be produced with a different seat and decals. A Spainish and Thai boxing could also be produced with a new sprue for the tail and decals. From the "common Harrier GR.1" parts, add a seperate sprue with the LIDs parts and new decals to create a AV-8C release. (I'm not certain if the Spanish Harrriers had the LIDs modification or not.) From the "common Harrier GR.1" parts, a new fuselage module from the intakes forward to create a Harrier GR.3 release. Add necessary pods as a new seperate sprue. From the "common Harrier GR.1" parts, a new fuselage module from the intakes forward and re-use the tail from the Spain/Thai release to create a Sea Harrier FRS.1. This kit can be reboxed with Indian Navy decals. From the "common Harrier GR.1" parts, a new fuselage (ala Airfix) and new parts sprues to create a Sea Harrier FA2. The obvious advantage of this approach is the economy of using common parts shared between the kits. The Sea Harrier FA2 would be the biggest departure from the "common Harrier GR.1" core parts, as was the real article. It sounds like an logical approach in my mind, but I don't own any companies. I would hope that the manufacturer would take up this cause with the thought that re-boxings with US, Spainish, Indian, and Thai markings to drive sales to a wide audience. I would only hope that Airfix/Hornby take up this project for one of the aircraft most iconic of the UK aviation since the Spitfire.
  20. So the consensus on the Spitfire F.24s flown from Kai Tak, Hong Kong at the end of that type's service seems to be. 1) In 1955, they WERE painted in High Speed Silver. 2) They may have carried either one letter codes on the fuselage. 3) Photos also show them without code letters. 4) The spinners were definitely red/white with the RHKAAF. 5) They flew F.24s with the short barrels in 1955, but this seems to be up for debate. Am I correct in this interpretation? Thanks again in advance - John B
  21. Hope you don't mind some questions from across the pond, but my expertise is in a different subject. I need some clarification on the Spitfire F.24s flown from Kai Tak, Hong Kong at the end of that type's service. Here's what I can gleam from sources and posts on-line about them. I was hoping you folks could confirm or correct them - 1) In 1955, they may have been painted in High Speed Silver or left in bare-metal, but painted option seems most feasible. 2) When they were flown by 80 Squadron, they had 3-letter ID codes ( i.e. "W2oE"). 3) Once turned over to the Royal Hong Kong Aux Air Force (RHKAAF), the first letter and number were dropped (i.e "oE"). 4) The spinners were blue/white in 80 Sqn, then red/white with the RHKAAF. 5) They flew F.24s with the short barrels in 1955. I'm looking from some guidance on this because I've seen build-ups models of them posted that don't seem to agree on these 5 points. Thanks in advance - John B
  22. All the RF-4B had engines with the shorter burner cans when built. Around 1987 (or so), the older engines were swapped out with the newer engines with the long burner on all surviving RF-4Bs. Both thick-wing and thin-wing RF-4Bs made the switch. The engine change was seperate from and NOT part of the SURE (Sensor Upgrade and Refurbishment Effort) program which preceded it by a several years. The SURE program began in the mid/late 1970s for all surviving RF-4Bs. In order to produce a RF-4C from the Hasegawa RF-4B kit, the following changes should be made (from nose-to-tail) - - use the earlier "flat" sided camera nose(parts X1 and X2) - use/obtain the nose gear parts WITHOUT the "traffic light" (parts Y5) - fill-in the light for the IFR probe just below the windscreen on the starboard side - perform the aforementioned front and rear cockpit changes - do not add the intake shoulder antennae - remove the antennae ahead of the catapult bridle hooks - use the catapult bridle covers (parts L8 and L9) - use the USAF-style main wheels (not included in kit) - depending on the timeframe, use later style centerline tank (not included in kit) - remove the antennae outboard of the main landing gear - use only the short afterburner cans (parts T3) - use non-slatted stabilator (not included in kit) - Use fincap without the antenna (part N18) MOST of the neccesary parts are already included in the kit save for the RF-4C cockpit changes, unslotted stabilators, main wheels, and (depending on timeframe) the centerline tank. Here's a useful link -> Royale Resin's F-4 parts page
  23. Just a few of my photos of the some of specially-marked aircraft from last weekend - Pre-WW2 style USCG markings Markings evocative of a UH-1 Huey during the war in Vietnam Markings of a circa 1960s A-4 Skyhawk at China Lake Markings of a circa 1945 F6F Hellcat aboard USS Randolph Markings commemorating VX-4 circa 1990s Markings commemorating VX-5 circa 1970s (not my image, but I was standing next to the photographer as he shot it)
  24. Nicely done! The kit read "Hi-Grade" on the side of the box and your result certainly deserves it. It really was a conversion with all the cutting and fitting required, but that certainly isn't evident from your photographs.
  25. Wow! I have the opportunity to use this image again?
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