Revell 1:32 F4U-1A Corsair

[aerotechi]

Another old kit build I got off a friend. This one the original mould going back to 1970. I had high hopes with this one despite its age having build the 1:32 DH Sea Venom. I knew it wouldn't be the most detailed and prior research told me it was incorrect wth a cockpit floor but I had a cunning plan! So heres my cunning plan list to correct the lack of detail etc.

1. cut cockpit floor out, reposition rudder pedals and use some cotton to give an under floor structure look.(for those who dont know. The F4U-1A had no cockpit floor and the belly window from the F4U-1 was deleted) ... That was the plan till I discovered the seat looked oversized so some chopping and sanding and trimming later I have a floorless cockpit with added O2 bottle with a little side detail.
2. Add some tread to the tyres. After trying cuts and scribing the discovery of heating the knurled end of a broken craft knife and rolling it on the tyre although not great did look somewhat better then the alternative.
3. No gear bay sides. Insert some PVA soaked sponge into the gaps and cover with a little filler- again not great but far better then the gear bay caves!
4. Lack of engine detail on a 1:32. Cut some wire and heat to insert into engine case to act like push rod tubes rather then the floating in mid air nowhere near the cyclinders, and cotton for the ignition leads.
5. Gear doors with zero detail (theyre just smooth) -  again not my best work but a soldering iron to just add some recesses and notches

Now I get to the problems with this kit or my one.

1. Excess flash everywhere - Not too much of a problem just a small irritation
2. Sink marks, malformed, missing plastic,- some leading edges look like they have been hit by a boulder. large sunken area on one wing needing filling up.
3. Parts not fitting together/ misalignment. Gap between copit forward glazing and after sliding section and forward and fuselage. wing halves cut outs not aligned etc etc.
4. The wing is held on at the fold by a single 1mm square hinge. The weight and moment arm of the outboard wing breaks this very easily I've broken and repaired it about 4 times each wing.
5. If you want the wings down just glue it don't hinge it as they dont meet in the middle without a big gap.
6. Landing gear - for such a large and quite heavy wing the gear is just attached with 2 spindley attachment points that bend and break with sidestays that just float in midair.
7. The wing fold stays are about 1-2mm too short to sit comfortably.

 

I don't like to moan about models rather then just advise with tips I've found whilst building for others to watch out for but to be honest I almost gave up on this build. I had intended to try to give the paint some Pacific sun fading but with the fragility I daren't touch it. I broke the wing again just putting decals on and again re folding the wing after the picture taking. (Its now on the shelf drying again with clamped tweezers and bracing for the 5th time)

 

Vought F4U-1A Corsair, VF-17 Squadron, US Navy Ondonga, Solomon Islands, November 1943

 

 

 

And the amount of flash on the frames and even frames not complete.

Edited March 15, 2023 by aerotechi
Hit wrong button :S

[georgeusa]

Wow.  I know this is one of Revell/Monogram older kits that just keeps being reissued with new boxes and decals.  The folding mechanism has always been fragile on their 1/32 kits.  This is truly making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  It's not a terribly bad kit, but by that same token, it isn't really that great either.  But it is at a way better price than either the Trumpeter or Tamiya kit and still less than the Hasegawa version.  I'm glad you did not give up as your finished kit is just beautiful.  Thanks for sharing.

[Toryu]

A walk down memory lane... In the early seventies I built my first one in VF-17 Ira Kepford colours (the kit decals at that time) and later Greg Boyington's 'Lulubelle' (with home-made decals). I wished they would have looked as good as yours!

[spitfire]

Nice build of a very basic kit, I build one of those in the nineties very early on in my return to modelling, then in around 2004 rebuilt it with new paint, decals, and better detailing.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[SAT69]

Very fine modeling done there.

[aerotechi]

20 hours ago, SAT69 said:

Very fine modeling done there.

 

21 hours ago, spitfire said:

Nice build of a very basic kit, I build one of those in the nineties very early on in my return to modelling, then in around 2004 rebuilt it with new paint, decals, and better detailing.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

21 hours ago, Toryu said:

A walk down memory lane... In the early seventies I built my first one in VF-17 Ira Kepford colours (the kit decals at that time) and later Greg Boyington's 'Lulubelle' (with home-made decals). I wished they would have looked as good as yours!

 

22 hours ago, georgeusa said:

Wow.  I know this is one of Revell/Monogram older kits that just keeps being reissued with new boxes and decals.  The folding mechanism has always been fragile on their 1/32 kits.  This is truly making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  It's not a terribly bad kit, but by that same token, it isn't really that great either.  But it is at a way better price than either the Trumpeter or Tamiya kit and still less than the Hasegawa version.  I'm glad you did not give up as your finished kit is just beautiful.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you,

I came very close to leaving it. Ive only ever thrown one model in the past. I do have the airfix corsair but might have to look at the trumpeter or tamiya kits.

[georgeusa]

15 minutes ago, aerotechi said:

I came very close to leaving it. Ive only ever thrown one model in the past. I do have the airfix corsair but might have to look at the trumpeter or tamiya kits.

If you can afford the Tamiya kit, you will not be disappointed.  It is a really nice kit and is a bit less complex in build than the 1/32 Mustang, Spitfire and Zero kits.