Author Topic: April Group Build--F4U Corsair  (Read 71773 times)

Offline Second Air Force

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April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« on: April 01, 2011, 07:57:24 PM »
It's time to begin the April group project, the Vought Corsair, of long service in several military forces.

I confess that I'm not doing a conventional kit build-up in my case, mainly because I've been using my modeling "allowance" on some Fairey projects. :-ok After discussing it on the Group Builds thread, I'll be restoring an old kit that I built in 1980. Here is the box art cover that mine came in, the Otaki/Arii kit of the seventies:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/Otaki.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


samuraj77

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2011, 10:47:37 PM »
Currently I am involved in some kind of project that takes almost all my spare time, so I am uncertain I will have time to take part in this month build... Anyway If I catch time it could be with Academy Corsair built OOB...
Sorry... :-roll
Next month I am in...

Profa

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2011, 02:29:41 AM »
Hugh... Now I have to go to the cellar and look for Hasegawa and Smer... :-roll
Shall try to manage it, since this evening I have started (yet) another kit... :-wall

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2011, 07:01:43 AM »
We can just stretch this build out for a longer period so that more can participate. Whenever you wish to join the group is fine as far as I am concerned, no deadlines need apply! :-flo

Offline No.1

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2011, 07:47:26 AM »
For me two weeks is enough for mode build and I will start my today ;)

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2011, 07:55:36 AM »
For me two weeks is enough for mode build and I will start my today ;)

Mine's done:  :-tri
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6632.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


Just kidding, I had to use the April 1st gag one more time. :-roll

Offline No.1

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2011, 08:07:42 AM »
Here is my work. I get this kit few years ago as gift and it wait until now. When I get it I have removed and fast assemble engine to test new fast cement. So what you see now is the box, instructions as well parts spray on frets in their interior colors.

Offline Sall

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2011, 09:58:55 AM »
Yea...New group build!
Great job Scott. :-clap I never work on restoration.I think it is difficult work!
I'm glad that you start work on this machine Srecko. :-flo Hardly wait continue of work! :-ok

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2011, 05:05:16 PM »
Thanks, Sall. We talked about whether it was appropriate for me to restore an old model in this build or only a new kit. Usually, especially when the builds are "competitive" in nature, everyone starts with an unbuilt model. Since we're here to share our methods and enjoy each other's work, I'll go ahead and include my toils in the Group.

My model was built in 1980 or so as a gift to my then-fiancee, now wife. The F4U has always been Ellen's favorite fighter plane so I built this Otaki for her to display at her apartment. I folded the wings so it would fit in the space available. The paint scheme was for a F4U-1C of VBF-99 from U.S.S. Shangri-La, CV-38. During our various moves around the country the airplane was damaged and has been in a box since 1989.

Here is what I started with--thankfully all the pieces (including a thick layer of Arizona/Oklahoma/Texas dust) except one main gear door were still in the box!
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6485.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6488.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair




Offline No.1

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2011, 06:17:05 PM »
Restorer in action :-ok

Offline Sall

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #10 on: April 02, 2011, 08:04:17 PM »
This will be great school for me! :-ok :-clap

Offline draken35

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #11 on: April 02, 2011, 10:14:25 PM »
Nice idea for a group build! Unfortunately I will not have time enough to participate... Too many builds in progress actually

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #12 on: April 02, 2011, 11:15:27 PM »
So.....I decided to strip the paint off the entire model. My first step was to disassemble the remains. As it turned out I had used Testors tube glue on this kit all those years ago and it was quite brittle. Most of the seams were easily separated by just lightly flexing the parts to start the loosening. In some cases a very soft touch with an X-acto blade helped to pry the pieces apart:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6591.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6590.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


And here are all of the parts after disassembly. The only seam that didn't separate where it should have was the trailing edge of the rudder, and then only a small area broke free, easily fixed. The cockpit is in fair shape and I'll refurbish it as an assembly.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6599.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


Next, paint removal....... :-danger :-danger

Offline No.1

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2011, 08:45:38 AM »
Nice work mate and slow progress from my side :(

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2011, 04:53:09 PM »
I like the look of your new versus my old parts here! :-eek

Here's the next step in my restoration build. After disassembling everything (except the outer wing panels, I left the halves together on these) it's time to remove the paint. These old Otaki kits have really nice surface detail with delicately scribed panel lines and fabric detailing and I didn't want to lose that by sanding. The best solution was EasyOff oven cleaner, a product I've used to strip paint on automobile models in the past.

A word of caution on paint stripping--always make a test on some part of the painted model that you could easily replace if the stripper ruins it! I take a gear door or something else you can easily scratchbuild and apply to that part first. If the test is successful, then the balance of the kit may be stripped. We have a thread over on WIX that addresses these methods right now: http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=40234

So, I knew that EasyOff works on Otaki plastic. The next step is my "frying pan spray booth". I just put the parts in the pan and sprayed a liberal coat of oven cleaner on them. After soaking for an hour or so I washed off the residue and removed as much paint as would easily come off. A second application was necessary for most of the parts. When down to the primer I had to use my fingernail to carefully scrape the final bits of residue from the surfaces. Oddly enough, the flat black and interior green didn't come off of the parts. If I recall they were both Humbrol paints while the blue was Testors. This might be the reason the stripper didn't work.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6600-1.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6601-1.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6616-1.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair


"Fume free" is not totally true--this stuff stinks :-danger and I recommend spraying it out-of-doors if possible.

Once the paint was removed I went back and cleaned the residual out of all the panel lines by using my scriber lightly:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6627.jpg
April Group Build--F4U Corsair
« Last Edit: April 03, 2011, 04:55:18 PM by Second Air Force »