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Corsair IV Fleet Air Arm KD838 Venerable - 1851 Sqn


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I was asked by a school teacher friend to evaluate whether the 1/72 Forces of Valor Corsair would be suitable for a class project build as he could obtain a large number of them very inexpensively. Forces of Valor is a Hong Kong based company who have a range of diecasts and kits. I assumed they would be knock-offs of existing kits but I am sure the Corsair at least is an original tooling. They seem to be mainly a die-cast company but it’s hard to say who their kit products are aimed at. Their rather slick website can be found here but it looks a bit like over-promising and under-delivering!

 

https://www.forcesofvalor.com/products_entry.php?cid=4

 

It’s all very well just looking in the box – I have done lots of in-box reviews and I don’t value them very highly, so I was committed to building it. It comes attractively presented with every sprue individually bagged in a stout box.

 

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It looks superficially a bit crude compared to the Tamiya Corsair but the outline is fairly accurate – at least compared to the Tamiya kit and the drawings in the Osprey book. The fuselage does appear a bit too wide at the cockpit area, making the canopy a little oversize in width. The least attractive parts are the crude cockpit, the shallow wheel wells, the thick undercarriage struts and the misinterpretation of some inspection ports as dinner plates. In the circumstances of the build I chose to correct only simple things.

 

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The bombs and fuel tank are extras from the spares box. I thought a couple of little extras would add to the kit.

 

Although the USN version is the overall GSB that I wanted (being inspired by some of @tonyot's Corsair builds) I came across a nice FAA Corsair in Xtradecals sheet X72142. I did wonder about the yellow cowl and asked the appropriate question in the WW2 section of BM. Some time later, thanks to very useful contributions from @Vulcanicity, @Grey Beema @EwenS @85sqn @Troy Smith and @iang, I decided to go for yellow cowl and mixed blue lettering. The fact that USN Corsairs were marked thus is a compelling argument as is the official document (CAFO 1099) that gives guidance for lettering.

 

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A few notes -

The ‘short short’ wingtips are evident. The cowling is brighter because the engine covers have done a good job. The European theatre roundels are painted out in newer GSB. I used a ProModeller F4U-1 instrument panel decal and left the hunchback hominid out of the cockpit – they do give you a control column, marked not to be used! I made the 111 on the gear doors from small strips of white decal but they look a bit crappy. I want to do this one next. So when I print the decals for it I will do some nice 111 decals.

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Given the unprepossessing nature of the starting material I am quite happy with how it turned out, especially as it was built in under a fortnight.

So, would I recommend it for a class project?

The good points are that the fit is exemplary and no filler at all was used. The crude surface detail is not so evident under a dark, glossy finish.

The bad points are that it is very difficult to remove some parts without breaking them. The tailwheel/tailhook assembly challenged me so a new modeller will find it virtually impossible. The cowling is meant to be assembled around the engine but the engine is just a tiny bit too wide so fettling is needed which is best done before painting. The moulded-on pitot tube falls off easily. There are no canopy masks. So, a guarded positive recommendation – the supervisor will need to do a fair bit of work.

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On 5/23/2021 at 6:38 PM, Wulfman said:

I believe their range of kits are based on their ready made models.

I think you are correct but the few FOV die-casts I have seen do not have associated kits and I have not seen a Corsair die-cast. I would like to see one to see if it's better than my model!

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On 5/23/2021 at 6:38 PM, Wulfman said:

I believe their range of kits are based on their ready made models.

Here's the answer - yes, to a degree. Depending on the photography and perhaps the run of diecasts, they look either.....

About the same as my model

 

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or quite a bit cruder

 

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