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F4U-1A Corsair Revell 1/72


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Hi there fellow modellers. First time post in ready for inspection. It’s my second build with my new airbrush (Revell’s basic set, single action) and my tenth build overall, so I ‘m still figuring things out. Overall I’m happy with the result but there are things that need improving.

 

First of all when I painted the fuselage paint looked nice, really happy with the result. Then I gloss coated it before putting on the decals (with Vallejo gloss acrylic varnish 26.517). After coating the paint didn’t look that nice/smooth anymore. In hind side I don’t know if the paint never was that smooth to begin with and the gloss coat just accented it or that I simply messed up applying the coating. (perhaps more/less coating?). I do know that after the coating the plane feels a bit sticky, even after 24 hours and is a dust magnet. After coating I did cover the plane with a shoebox to prevent dust falling on to it. Thinking about using another brand of gloss next time.

 

The second thing I struggled with is putting the separately painted small parts on to the fuselage without messing up the paint or leaving glue residue. I know the preferred order is first gluing and then painting but with some parts I just don’t see any other way to pull it off. I guess experience and gaining more modelling skills will lead to improvement in this area.

 

Then there is the fr#@k!ng canopy. For me without a doubt the most difficult part of a build. In videos I see all those people cutting maskingtape like it’s the easiest job in the world, but now, for me free brushpainting and scrapping the excess paint with a toothpick works best. I see a lot of improvement compared with my older builds but still a whole lot to gain.

 

The Corsair purists among you will notice the paint color is a bit of. I think I messed up the color mixing percentages, but considering the points I mentioned above, it doesn’t bother me that much.

 

My last build I started to use Tamiya panel line accent color but the panel lines on this kit are so shallow that I didn’t think the result would justify the work I had to put in.

 

Well, all the disclaimers are in place 😉 so plane is ready for inspection!

 

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That’s quite nice - you’re on your way now! I buy canopy masks after many disasters in this area - well worth the money and they’re quite easy to use. The airbrush is a steep learning curve but with practice you won’t know yourself. Your model is great and 10 times better than my early efforts. Well done!

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Nice looking Corsair, i like the colors.

What i suggest is in situation like this is to use some  Gunze, or Tamiya Flat Clear Spray, he will make surface more...smooth...

Also i think that center line of bottom side should be also white, but does not matter a lot.

In general i like how you finish this one.

Best regards Djordje

 

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19 minutes ago, Kitchen Modeller said:

That’s quite nice - you’re on your way now! I buy canopy masks after many disasters in this area - well worth the money and they’re quite easy to use. The airbrush is a steep learning curve but with practice you won’t know yourself. Your model is great and 10 times better than my early efforts. Well done!

Thanks for the positive words! The canopy masks you talk about are model specific right? Or are there universal ones you have to modify a bit? Aren't they expensive?

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21 minutes ago, djos said:

Nice looking Corsair, i like the colors.

What i suggest is in situation like this is to use some  Gunze, or Tamiya Flat Clear Spray, he will make surface more...smooth...

Also i think that center line of bottom side should be also white, but does not matter a lot.

In general i like how you finish this one.

Best regards Djordje

 

Thanks!

 

Haha, you are right on the color of the bottom side. The instructions said 90% white and 10% light green (the bottom inside of the plane and the fuel tanks are 100% white) . I started with the green and mixed in the white. When my mixing cup was filled up to the rim and I almost run out of white I thought to myself, this is going to be a custom Corsair 🙂

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Very good work on your Corsair. :thumbsup: ... Don't be so hard on yourself, its like any skillset it takes time to learn. The more you do the easier it will get. Im here and so is everyone else so don't hesitate to ask for tips or help. Im not sure if you did a work in progress for this. But it pays to do one, as its easier to get tips and ask for help in one. Now as for the canopy situation pre cut masks work wonders, liquid mask works well if there is no other solution but that is another material you will have to practice with when you get to that bridge. 

 

Dennis

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Very good effort. You're on the right path since you already know what do you need to improve. I particularly hate Vallejo paints to spray, for me they are useless (but I know people that are comfortable airbrushing them). I like them for brush painting only and they are very good on this. I would suggest you using Tamiya or Gunze acrylics instead. I use 1 paint to 2 thinner (x20A) for Tamiya and the same for Gunze. This will probably solve your problem of ORANGE PEEL like paint surface.

In regards to masking canopy, it's my Achilles heel as well, What I normally do is, instead of trying draw a border with a pencil and than cut the masking tape, I do cut a few 1 to 2mm stripes of masking tape and cut again in small pieces sometimes cutting it at an angle and than start masking the canopy by the edges like a quilt until all the canopy is masked, the photo below from one of my models will give you an idea:

P51D_BBD_031.jpg

 

Cheers

 

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I think your Corsair looks great. I'd be pleased as heck if I could do it that nicely. One small point. The yellow on the prop tips is a bit too large. There were only 4 inches wide in reality.

 

 

Chris

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11 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Very good work on your Corsair. :thumbsup: ... Don't be so hard on yourself, its like any skillset it takes time to learn. The more you do the easier it will get. Im here and so is everyone else so don't hesitate to ask for tips or help. Im not sure if you did a work in progress for this. But it pays to do one, as its easier to get tips and ask for help in one. Now as for the canopy situation pre cut masks work wonders, liquid mask works well if there is no other solution but that is another material you will have to practice with when you get to that bridge. 

 

Dennis

Thanks Dennis! 

 

I have tried (only once) liquid masking (by Vallejo) but like you said, that’s something I have to get familiar with. Someone else in this thread already commented about pre cut masks, I'm going to look in to that! 

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10 hours ago, ArmouredSprue said:

Very good effort. You're on the right path since you already know what do you need to improve. I particularly hate Vallejo paints to spray, for me they are useless (but I know people that are comfortable airbrushing them). I like them for brush painting only and they are very good on this. I would suggest you using Tamiya or Gunze acrylics instead. I use 1 paint to 2 thinner (x20A) for Tamiya and the same for Gunze. This will probably solve your problem of ORANGE PEEL like paint surface.

In regards to masking canopy, it's my Achilles heel as well, What I normally do is, instead of trying draw a border with a pencil and than cut the masking tape, I do cut a few 1 to 2mm stripes of masking tape and cut again in small pieces sometimes cutting it at an angle and than start masking the canopy by the edges like a quilt until all the canopy is masked, the photo below from one of my models will give you an idea:

 

Thanks for the paint tips. It's just that the shop I buy my supplies (< 1 km of my home 🙂 ) has a giagantic Vallejo collection. They do have some Tamiya (no Gunze), but if I recall correct a limited collection. Beside that, I kind of like the practical plastic bottle Vallejo is in. But I'm gonna rember your tip and try another brand of paint if I'm keep running in to these problems!

 

I see the masking of your canopy. For me, cutting with an angle or curve is still a bit difficult but I will give it a try. Thanks!

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10 hours ago, dogsbody said:

I think your Corsair looks great. I'd be pleased as heck if I could do it that nicely. One small point. The yellow on the prop tips is a bit too large. There were only 4 inches wide in reality.

 

 

Chris

Thanks Chris! 

 

To you know of the same goes for the yellow tips on a Hellcat, Wildcat and PD-51 Mustang? (please say no 🙂 )

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Really a nice job on the Corsair!  I can't help with your problems with the gloss clear coat, since I don't use Vallejo products, but I agree with Kitchen Modeller's comments about pre-cut canopy masks, especially those by Eduard with the yellow tape.  These masks are model specific and can be a time and stress saver.

 

I believe the 4" rule for the yellow tips on prop blades was pretty universal but am not positive.  I'm sure someone else can confirm this.  Honestly, if Chris hadn't mentioned it I probably wouldn't have noticed.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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On 8/14/2019 at 2:00 PM, DutchXActo said:

Thanks!

 

Haha, you are right on the color of the bottom side. The instructions said 90% white and 10% light green (the bottom inside of the plane and the fuel tanks are 100% white) . I started with the green and mixed in the white. When my mixing cup was filled up to the rim and I almost run out of white I thought to myself, this is going to be a custom Corsair 🙂

 

Word of advice: never believe instruction colors! (Revell's are particularly bad). Just google the camo colors and you'll find plenty of articles from BM, ARC and other modelling sites which will refer you to the correct colors. ;)

 

For the US Navy mid-war tri-color scheme, the correct colors are ANA 601 Insignia White, ANA 608 Intermediate blue, and ANA 607 Non-spectacular Sea Blue. The blues in your build are close enough (slightly bright) but the undersides should all be the same color: insignia white is a slightly off white but from a distance is indistinguishable from white.

 

As for canopy masks, Eduard makes pretty good ones but their latest ones are quite pricey IMHO. Montex makes much cheaper ones and are vinyl which means they can be reused at least once, but don't adhere as well. Make sure you get the one that corresponds to the kit manufacturer since no two companies make the same pieces exactly the same, canopy included. I agree with the poster that they are worth the expense as they save you 1-2 hours of non-gratifying work for just a few pounds/euros.

 

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Phantome said:

As for canopy masks, Eduard makes pretty good ones but their latest ones are quite pricey IMHO. Montex makes much cheaper ones and are vinyl which means they can be reused at least once, but don't adhere as well. Make sure you get the one that corresponds to the kit manufacturer since no two companies make the same pieces exactly the same, canopy included. I agree with the poster that they are worth the expense as they save you 1-2 hours of non-gratifying work for just a few pounds/euros.

 

Thanks for the brand names of the canopy masks!

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6 hours ago, dogsbody said:

As far as I'm aware the 4" yellow tips were standard for both the US and Britain during the WW2 era. 

 

 

Chris

Oke, so I have not one, but 4 model planes with wrong sized yellow tips 🧐

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What Chris said. There's no point in turning yourself inside out over what is nothing more than a pastime. Fun, but it won't cure cancer or save the world, regardless of how 'good' you are at it, so get on with the next one and enjoy yourself.

 

Regarding masks, the precut Eduard ones are a great way to save time and stress. Well worth the few dollars/pounds/euros/cowrie shells they'll cost you, especially if you make models of aircraft with heavily framed canopies and small panes. I tend to make my own for bubble canopies, but buy masks for the rest.

 

The Corsair looks fine. I'd be pretty happy to have it on my shelf, and given the variables inherent in digital colour representation, I'm not going to comment on any possibly 'incorrect' colours, as no one can say for sure that it's wrong (or right) without seeing it in person, with at least a book of colour swatches in hand. That said, Revell's colour call outs can be a mite... odd, at times. Check references whenever possible.

 

The only comment I'd make is that it may benefit from a dark wash along the control surface lines - I'm not a fan of covering models in black goop and calling it weathering, but moving bits do have substantial gaps that do appear as dark lines, so I have no issue with that.  If you can't get a wash to stick, a fine pointed 2B pencil run along the lines will work excellently. You may need a flat clear coat to get it to stick well though.

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Nice Corsair, judging by the pictures looks like the paint was possibly drying as it hit the surface. Do you have a compressor or are you using canned air? Valejo Air paint is poor for spraying, the normal Valejo is better but still needs thinning 25/75 paint to thinner, 2 or 3 coats rather than 1 thick one.

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If that is your 10th build overall, there shouldn't be anything to worry about, it took me years to build a plane that nice and faultless as your Corsair (and I'm not even mentioning painting), and I'm still not anywhere near some of the folks around here...

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On 16/08/2019 at 19:30, neil5208 said:

Nice Corsair, judging by the pictures looks like the paint was possibly drying as it hit the surface. Do you have a compressor or are you using canned air? Valejo Air paint is poor for spraying, the normal Valejo is better but still needs thinning 25/75 paint to thinner, 2 or 3 coats rather than 1 thick one.

I use the Basic airbrush set by Revell (single action airbrush). Other members also mentioned it could be the brand of paint and/or the mixing ratio thinner : paint. I definitely look in to that with my next build. Thank you for your insight! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Very impressive for a 10th build, no finger marks like my early efforts!

 

You can see the orange peel effect. I use Johnson's Klear which I believe is now called Pledge multi surface polish. It's acrylic, brushes well & can be found at hardware shops & supermarkets. A bottle will last ages, it's gloss varnish & I've never had any problems with it.

 

This stuff is very useful for masking canopies. Tamiya curved masking tape.

 

Pete

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