Corsair MkI JT190 1837 NAS

[moaning dolphin]

Good day to you all from glorious Nova Scotia! Hope you are all doing well. This is my latest release, built as part of the Corsair GB which finished last month. Although I did manage to get it up in the gallery, it wasn't 100% finished so here she is in her (technically!!) finished glory. This is the Tamiya 1:32 Birdcage kit, done up as a Fleet Air Arm Corsair Mk I JT190 of 1837 NAS, based on the Eastern board of the US. This particular aircraft belonged to Squadron CO and Fighter Ace Lt Cdr Jackie Sewell DSC RNVR. Ultimately the aircraft claimed his life during a training flight when he collided with his Senior Pilot S Lt David Watson RNVR in JT198 over Yarmouth, Maine. Both pilots lost their lives and they both now lie at rest at the Military Cemetery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

 

The kit was built more or less from the box, I added some fabric harnesses as they looked better than Tamiyas steel versions which aren't very flexible. I also added some cockpit stencils to add a bit of realism and interest to the standard cockpit. Points to note on the aircraft. JT190 didn't have clipped wings as it was a US based training aircraft, it also retained US harnesses and didn't have the rear view windows common in most Birdcage Corsairs. The aircraft is displayed having been pushed back for maintenance hence the tail wheel is meant to be reversed! The engine is a thing of beauty and really should be displayed so left the cowlings removeable. I added some ignition harnesses to the engine from wire. The insignia markings are painted, which was a great journey of discovery! The Royal Navy JT190 was from Xtradecal and I used the kit stencils. The internal paints were Mig Ammo, external were Vallejo for the sky, Model Master Gunship Grey from the EDSG and my own mix of Olive and Green for the Slate Grey. I used very fine thread for the aerials (if you can see them!). I think the weathering is slightly heavy but I am claiming artistic license for that! I also took liberties with the flaps which by rights should be  stowed and the cowling flaps are closed where they should be open but the detail looked too complex and time consuming for this build! All that is remaining is the tape for the gun ports and also on the nose cowling there should be some sealing tape but I couldn't decipher the exact layout so left this out This kit was a truly wonderful build, the parts just fell together and the joins were nice and tight. In fact id anything didn't fit right it was down to me not fixing it in properly! If you want to follow along the build the link is below.

 

Now the pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JT190 in glorious technicolour (with a backward tailwheel!)

 

 

And finally the Lt Cdr Jackie Sewell who inspired this build, RIP.

 

Bob

[John Laidlaw]

A beautiful piece of work, Bob!

[SAT69]

Highly impressive! The detail in your model is truly outstanding!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Wonderful tribute to Lt.Cdr. Sewell. 

[85sqn]

Well done! And especially well done to getting those tricky code letters so brilliant! I tried them once using a decal mix and it didn't go too well!

 

Brilliant job👍