Tamiya Corsair 1/72

[Crane]

Hey Folks, 

 

Started another build (my fourth simultaneous). Sorry for no pictures of the cockpit, was too involved with the others. If I do anything special to a cockpit during a build, I promise pictures. I picked the kit up on Amazon when the price lowered. It was described as 'new'. When it arrived, every single bag inside was opened. Fortunately, everything was o.k.

 

It was a lot of work trying to keep all the details on the fuselage in front of the canopy. Kudos to all who have built a corsair. It is something to consider before building one, which I wasn't aware of. I don't think I should have taken on the challenge yet, my scribing skills are poor. Plus, this is the first time I have used my new red putty and the whole thing looked a mess. I thought it was going to end up on the shelf of doom, until I put a coat of white primer on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not too shabby looking after the primer. Actually I'm really happy with it so far and the build will proceed!

 

[Crane]

Here is a picture of the Tamiya 1/48 Corsair I started over 15 years ago. It currently sits on the shelf of doom. I was afraid the one I am working on was going to end up next to it. Maybe completion of the 1/72 will inspire me to get back to this one?

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

As a certifiable Corsair nut, good work so far. Yes its a bit tricky to keep the lines up front good but practice makes better. Looking forward to the rest so I'm going to follow this. Please oh please build the shelf corsair she deserves her time in the sun so to speak. 
 

Dennis

[Crane]

Even though it doesn't look like much, this is a major update. With a tiny amount of pressure, the red acryl putty I used to fill a gap between the fuselage and starboard wing cracked. It was a very fine crack, couldn't even see it once the pressure was off, but I was not going to put any more time into the build because I did not want to continue with an issue that may show up after completion. So I tried every glue I have and nothing would bond the acryl putty to itself. My last effort was to email the makers of Starbond and ask for help. I had to email back and forth a few times to explain what I was trying to accomplish, and they were unfamiliar with the acryl putty I used, but in their last email to me they said it would work. I wasn't too confident but I decided to take a risk and purchased a bottle. It worked! Once the joint between the fuselage and wing was solid, I decided to continue the build. 

 

I do have another issue though. I did not create the hole for the antenna (missed it in the directions). And there is no mark visible for me to know where to start. Can someone help out and give me an accurate measurement in millimeters from the panel line outlined in red to the center of the antenna?

 

 

 

 

 

[Crane]

The underside is airbrushed. Since white is such a light color and no one sees the underside much, I decided to do all the weathering at a later time. In my corsair book, I saw most most have a straight line where the white and blue meet. But I decided to paint that little section at the front of the wing blue because it does fold up along with the rest of the wing.

 

 

And here is the progress on the upper surfaces. The light blue is masked off and only the darker upper surface blue is visible.

Though barely visible, I added some shades of blue and brown on access panels, and for the first time ever - I am trying the 'salt trick'. 

I finally took at guess at where to make the hole for the mast, that is why it has no paint yet. I mixed all my own colors using MRP. The upper surfaces will be a bit darker when complete.

I've been working like a mad man at work that is why progress here is slow. But I have this Sunday off so I intend to spend time on this bugger.

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

1 hour ago, Crane said:

But I decided to paint that little section at the front of the wing blue because it does fold up along with the rest of the wing.

The wings were made by subcontractors and pre-painted when arriving at Vought or the other companies. These two photo’s are from online and are from a Life magazine shoot showing Vought’s construction lines. Ive long since lost the link but you can see the breakdown of the sub-assemblies. 

 

You can see the wings are completely painted, as is the rudder and stabilizer’s are also painted
 

Dennis

[Crane]

On 8/6/2020 at 6:42 PM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

The wings were made by subcontractors and pre-painted when arriving at Vought or the other companies. These two photo’s are from online and are from a Life magazine shoot showing Vought’s construction lines. Ive long since lost the link but you can see the breakdown of the sub-assemblies. 

 

You can see the wings are completely painted, as is the rudder and stabilizer’s are also painted
 

Dennis

Ahh yes, thank you. I made the correct decision then!

[Crane]

After days of researching where to make the hole for the mast (I was trying to line it up with what I thought was a divet inside the fuselage), I still ended up putting the mast in the wrong spot. I noticed when I was looking over my top coat, I realized if the canopy was opened, it would hit the mast.   SO, I had to remove it, seal up the hole and then glue it down further back. This time I did not drill a hole, just cut off the nubbin on the bottom of the mast. That set my progress back, plus all the hours I work. My company can't keep people hired, so I volunteer for overtime.

 

I had the day off today, and finished up the top coat. I took off most of the salt off, but some of the finer granules won't come off. I was wondering if water may do the trick?

I crushed up the salt to try to get different sizes, but it still looks a little too uniform to me. I will have to blend in some painted chips so break it up.

Overall, I was never a big fan of chipping. Especially my chipping. But I will hold off on final judgement until this build is complete.

 

Here she is today:

 

[Crane]

Finally tracked down some masks. I like Maketar, but on their Facebook page, there are some old messages from people not getting their orders. So I found a set on ebay. Super easy insignia compared to the concentric circles that I am working on for some Spitfires.

 

The mast fell off because I didn't put enough glue and the surfaces were already painted. It is not broken, so I am not too worried over it.

 

After building 3 Hellcats, I was accustomed to putting the larger masks on the fuselage. Then it struck me while unable to sleep. Corsairs have the larger insignia on the wings. (pretty sure about that, correct me if I am wrong even though it is too late!).