1/48 Monogram/Hasegawa F4U5 Corsair, NAS Glenview

[Brian C.]

Here's my take on the Monogram Pro Modeller rebox of the 1/48 Hasegawa F4U5. I live about 80 miles from the location of NAS Glenview, so I felt compelled to do that scheme. This model was going to have that scheme, and that was that- more on that later. 

Aftermarket additions include a Wolfpack cockpit set, Quickboost gun barrels, and ResKit tires and wheels. Paints are Mission Models glossy sea blue, Mr Hobby aqueous semi gloss clear, and Vallejo Model Air colors and matt and satin varnish for the anti glare panel, cockpit, wheels, etc. Decals are a mix of kit decals, Super Scale, and Eagle Strike. 

I started off on the Wolfpack cockpit, which really was nice to work with. Minimal fitting was needed. The only issue was with the cockpit side walls- installed on the cockpit tub, they would have sat well below the cockpit opening. Those were glued to the fuselage sides instead. I used the included decal for the instrument panel, which was sealed with Vallejo satin varnish, topped with a drop of Mr Hobby aqueous clear gloss on each gauge. I used Vallejo metal color dull aluminum for some wear. I also scratched out armrests.

I then set to work on the engine, which was pretty straightforward, except for drilling 36 tiny holes for the ignition wires. It was made to look grimy with oils.

I used a shim, about .030", in the lower part of the nose to address the poor fit between the fuselage sides and lower panel that's part of the wing. The shim was glued on one fuselage side, allowed to dry, then the fuselage stump on the front clamped and glued. I had to open the notch in the exhaust mount to fit. It sat down snug when installed. 

The rest of the assembly was uneventful The seams were addressed with a thin application of Mr Dissolved Putty and careful sanding. Surgery was performed to put the flaps in the up position. The priming, painting and pre-decal gloss clear were equally uneventful. The adventure began when the decals came out!

I bought this kit second hand, and it was still factory sealed. What I did not know is how it may have been stored! When it arrived, I took a quick look over the decal sheet, and it appeared fine. Wrong! I cut and dipped a national insignia in water, and to my horror, it was full of cracks! Thankfully, I have an abundance of aftermarket national insignias. A closer inspection of the kit sheet showed cracking in nearly every larger white decal! This Corsair was going to be a Glenview bird no matter what, and I saw no aftermarket NAS decal options, so I treated all the kit decals I would be using with liquid decal film, and set about using them anyway. They released from the paper just fine, and adhered wonderfully. Unfortunately, the cracks still showed. I made up a mix of Vallejo white paint, slightly thinned and mixed with retarder medium, and started filling the cracks with a fine brush. I then used micromesh to polish out the painted areas, and it came out acceptable. Photos are of the worst one, before touch up, during, and then after the final clear coat.

This aircraft had distinctive exhaust pipes, which were replicated with bent styrene rod, drilled out. Weathering was kept minimal, as the real thing looked pretty clean. Tamiya Weathering Master was used on the exhaust, and I did some pin wash on the upper fuselage to replicate oil and fuel spills. Additional detailing was done to the canopy, gun sight, and upper switch panels. I cut the wingtip lights out, made a "bulb" in each with Micro Kristal Klear, painted the area silver, added red and green for the bulbs, and made lenses with Kristal Klear. I added a bit of wiring and tubing to the wheel wells, which wasn't worth the effort, or worth photographing. It all but disappeared once it was closed up and painted. I noticed the real aircraft had white overspray by the "6" on the nose, which was replicated. I took some artistic liberty in adding this on the starboard side too. There was a cutout in the lower part of the orange band decal, and I drilled a hole there for the "T" antenna, not realizing it's a bit far forward. Oh well! This build was fun, but not without a few hiccups. I rarely say this about my own work, but I am genuinely satisfied with the end result. It felt like it took forever to finish- it was started at the beginning of January and finished today. Here's the finished product. Photos were taken in indirect natural light and indoor light. Apologies for the novel length writeup. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

[hopkp]

That's a beautiful F4U build, your shot of the finished model in black and white above the picture of the full-size aircraft shows how accurate the model is. Nice save on the white decals too, I'd never have thought of doing that.....now added to my list of possible decalling techniques!

[Blue Monday]

That is a fabulous replica of the F4U-5! By all accounts, the Monogram kit is not the easiest to build but you have made it look like it was a breeze (obviously it wasn't, though). 👍

 

BM.

[mick b]

Stunning result.

 

Mike

Edited February 27 by mick b

[georgeusa]

This is just a beautifully done Corsair from the ProModeller kit.  The additions you made to it really make it sing.  The exhausts and cockpit area, not to mention the engine area have greatly benefited from your efforts.  The save you made on the decals was also something I have never heard of doing and will keep it in mind for some of my older kit decals.  Just a great looking model.  Thanks for sharing.

[noelh]

Beautiful job. The -5 is one of my favourite Corsairs. 

 

You might be interested in this video as you live near Glenview. You may be aware of it already. Maybe 'your' F4U-5 is there in the line up. 

 

Compared to your clean aircraft. There's a visiting Corsair that's very scruffy.

 

 

 

[Mycapt65]

Beautiful. 

[HL-10]

Very impressive! 

Love the look of this scheme, the bright orange fuselage band against the dark blue is really attractive!

Great work

[David H]

Absolutely Splendid job. Love the comparision of the finished model, with the real thing.

 

-d-

[Mynimal]

Amazing job. Well done.

[HPoirot]

What s beautiful model! Well done! 👍 

[Col Walter E Kurtz]

Lovely model.

I found your solutions to the problems encountered an interesting and very informative read. Nothing more frustrating than decals failing at the last hurdle!!  Thanks for showing

Regards, Andy

[Wlad]

Very nice work on the F4U-5! Great save on the decals too.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

[Brian C.]

Thanks everyone! Noelh, I hadn't seen that  video before, that was great! The decal repair idea came from an old automotive fix I learned years back for repairing paint chips- fill the chip in until the fresh paint is a bit higher than the existing paint, let it cure, and buff it down level. I used regular Vallejo paint, model air was a bit thin. The Vallejo responded to the micromesh polish fairly well. I used Vallejo because it's what I have and primarily use- there might be other paints out there that work even better. Go slow, and use a gentle touch. I probably could have polished a bit more, but didn't want to burn through the decals, or the paint and primer.