LetLetLet ~ Warplanes
Let Let Let - Warplanes => Aircraft Modeling => Topic started by: Second Air Force on April 01, 2011, 07:57:24 PM
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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)
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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...
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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
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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
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For me two weeks is enough for mode build and I will start my today ;)
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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)
Just kidding, I had to use the April 1st gag one more time. :-roll
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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.
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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
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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)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6488.jpg)
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Restorer in action :-ok
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This will be great school for me! :-ok :-clap
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Nice idea for a group build! Unfortunately I will not have time enough to participate... Too many builds in progress actually
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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)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6590.jpg)
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)
Next, paint removal....... :-danger :-danger
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Nice work mate and slow progress from my side :(
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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)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6601-1.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6616-1.jpg)
"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)
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Well done!!!
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Great post.Very useful. :-ok
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With all of the paint removed from the principal parts it's time to examine my "work" from thirty years ago.
I had scratchbuilt the wing fold parts when I built this model but the parts didn't hold up to the moving damage over the years. I decided that it would be much easier to fix the wings in the flying position. As it turns out, that wasn't too easy either! I'd done a pretty accurate job of splitting the wing sections but there are some folding doors involved with the linkage that I had to remake. I also made a fixture to hold the outer wings in the proper dihedral for joining. Here are a couple of in progress shots of the wing rebuild:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6621.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6625.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6628.jpg)
I also removed the cannon barrels and shrouds and reopened the .50 caliber ports in both outer wings. Thankfully the filler was easily found and removed from the original holes.
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Hard job! :-flo
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Not too bad, Sall, but there is a bit of the "fill and sand, fill and sand" routine to go through. I made some spars out of scrap material to help guide the wings back together and used some CA glue here and there. I'm heading up to work on finishing the wing for primer right now.
Here's the finished wing assembly just before a primer coat. You can just make out the little hinge doors I had to build to replace the ones I cut out to fold the wings.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6640.jpg)
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Very slow progress from my side :(
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Yes, but you are dealing with a lot more parts than I am! :-ok The Otaki kit has beautiful molding and surface detail on the exterior but the cockpit and engine are very basic. If memory serves there are between forty and fifty total parts in the Otaki/Arii kit.
Here's a little progress, first on the cockpit before I finished adding some details to the sidewall consoles. This is still going to be an almost out-of-the-box restoration so I can preserve a little of the original workmanship:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6642.jpg)
The engine from Otaki is simply a blob :-red, the only thing in the kit that is useless. Here is the original next to a Monogram R-2800 from the P-61. The Monogram part has been replicated in resin for this and future projects.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6651.jpg)
Here are the principal assemblies nearly ready for a little primer and more sand-and-fill action.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6652.jpg)
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I get some time to work and here we are- almost in the same step of work :))
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Nice job Scott. :-clap I like your "store" in your posts! :-flo
Srecko,it is important that kit is rolling!Btw,i like your cockpit much.I love when that part of plane looks busy! :-clap :-clap
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Splendid work lads :-clap
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Here's a shot of the resin engine and prop during the fitting process. The propeller on the Otaki/Arii kits is peculiar because they molded a little indentation in each blade for the Hamilton Standard decal to fit into. It just takes a little filler to fix it and then sanding all the flat black off the blades. I tried the EasyOff cleaner on the prop but it didn't do a thing to the paint, just like the anti-glare panel.......
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6655.jpg)
I had a few minutes tonight after getting home from work so I assembled the fuselage and wing. Just a tiny bit of filling, sanding, and priming of these joints and it'll be ready for the camouflage paint.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6659.jpg)
If you ever get a chance to build one of these old Otaki Corsair kits you'll really be impressed by how nicely the wing joins the fuselage. It is one of the most precise fits of any model I've built, including the best Tamiya kits, and almost doesn't require any work to make the seam invisible.
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On my side nothing special, just assembled fuselage with wings and ad landing gear
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Just that! :)) :)) You are on half way,and you say "just".Good work.I like progress. :-clap :-clap
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Well... thus could be faster. I am not fine last days and ceased all works
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I finished all the filler work on the airframe yesterday by fairing the windscreen into the fuselage. This doesn't fit perfectly and leaves a gap where it joins so I masked the clear areas, glued it together, and used a bit of filler and sandpaper to get the smooth seam required. Just a little primer and the aircraft is ready for paint.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6671.jpg)
The winds died down a bit this morning so I cleaned the paint booth out and painted the interior of the gear doors and the landing gear assemblies. I also shot the small parts for the F-106 project while I had the good airbrush hooked up.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6673.jpg)
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Nice,nice... :-ok
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New shine on old kit :))
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Part of my restoration is to fix some of my less-than-professional results from the first time I built this kit. One of my mistakes twenty years ago was to get glue all over the sliding canopy when I fastened it to the fuselage. Here's the damage:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6661.jpg)
To fix this I used sandpaper and a lot of patience. I started with some 400 grit that was worn from use and wetsanded the majority of the white area down. I next went to finer grits down to 8000 to get rid of as much of the damage as I could without sanding completely through the plastic.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6662.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6667.jpg)
The final step was to polish the surface with the two products in my trusty Micromesh Plexiglas polishing kit. After repainting the framework the canopy will be acceptable for this model. If I'd been working towards a contest-quality finish I would either vacuform a new canopy or find a replacement, but the idea here is to show a restoration without spending much money. ;)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6679.jpg)
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Excellent work! I do the same some time ago but as well I still have Squadron clear sheets for the canopy making, I guess it would be more easy to make it next time.
:))
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I found my Squadron Thermaform sheets just yesterday, in the back of a drawer full of parts! :-tri
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Great mate :) I also hear that foil for laser printers can be used in same way. My kit get just black panel... lazy today to do anything more
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Great progress guys! :-clap :-clap :-clap :-clap
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Tonight I painted the tips and dome of the propeller. After that I hooked up the "good" airbrush and sprayed the blue.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6699.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6700.jpg)
I'm going to add a post to Sall's Modeling Techniques sticky thread showing how I do most of my painting.
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Clipped wings? British machine?
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Ahhhhh......someone finally noticed the tips! :-ok I thought one of you would have caught it in an earlier "in-progress" photo:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6621.jpg)
I also added the small vents that the FAA installed in the aft fuselage to vent fumes from the cockpit. These took the place of the commonly used tape on the fuel tank seams that you see on many U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Corsairs.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6692.jpg)
I confess that I didn't modify the cockpit to Fleet Air Arm standards. By rights the sidewall panels should be a bit different and a different seat and harness were used on the Corsair IV. My propeller is correct for the particular airplane I'm building, though some FAA Corsairs used a different blade profile than the U.S. airplanes.
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I make drawings of this plane for book about this plane some time ago and one of variants I made was FAA
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Looks nice!Good job! :-clap
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Cockpit on from my side :))
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Good! ;) :-ok
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I have enter into the painting progress. In the box was given two options for painting and I have choose sample flown by Blackburn. Image show that camouflage pattern differ from the one given in instruction so I will continue work in regard to image. One point... I have feeling that something miss and when I painted top in the dark blue color I realized that missing thing is the aerial must on the fuselage front. Will cement this some later
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Big Hog is a great paint scheme to pick for your airplane. :-ok I really like the three-color camouflage a lot. I might just have to build another Corsair so I can do a Marine Corps example.
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Thank you mate ;) I will update subject with more images today :))
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Good result! :-clap
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Here you are with few more images
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:-ok
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:-love
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Your three-color scheme is looking nice, No.1 :-love
I started the decaling on my FAA machine tonight. This is quite an experiment as I am using the original kit decals that came with the Otaki model in the 1970s. These three roundels worked perfectly with a long time spent soaking in water. They even snuggled down nicely to the detail on the surfaces. I was actually rather amazed at how nice they are going on. I did run into a problem with the first fin flash that I tried as it started to break up around the edges a bit. I have several sheets so it isn't going to be a problem. I'll just clearcoat the rest of the decals before trying to apply them.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6743.jpg)
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This Brit look great!!!
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Decals completed, here you are the very start and complete :))
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Excellent, mate!
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Thank you :))
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Good job guys!I like it much!! :-clap :-clap :-clap
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Final fitting and top coat varnish sprayed... now detailing and tomorrow final images :))
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Excellent results once again!
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:-ok :-ok :-ok
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Beautiful birds, guys! :-jump :-clap :-ok
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Thank you :)) Your kit is still in basement ;) ?
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yep, and right now with all the workload there's no chance of retreiving it :-roll
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yep, and right now with all the workload there's no chance of retreiving it :-roll
Sound like aircraft factory on your desk
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Completed :-tri
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A beauty! Well done, mate!!!
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Love it! :-love
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Beautiful job mate.Really like it! :-love :-clap :-clap :-clap :-clap
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A portion of the decals have gone on the FAA bird. Hopefully it'll be complete by this weekend.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6763.jpg)
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Beautiful!!!
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Yes, another nice Corsair!!!
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Yes, another nice Corsair!!!
To be honest, never've heard of a Corsair that isn't nice ;)
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Wonderful...I like paint job much! :-clap :-clap :-love
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Finished.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6800.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6787.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6789.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6798.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_6794.jpg)
This model depicts KD164, the fourth Corsair IV built. She was assigned to 1850 Squadron, coded "N" and served aboard HMS Vengeance. The model depicts how the airplane looked in the spring of '45. An interesting bit of Corsair trivia is the fact that the FAA still used the centerline tank while the equivalent F4U-1D and FG-1D were using the twin pylons at this time while in U.S. service.
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You make a great job mate!!! Now few days of relax and then start new Group builds ;)
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Beautiful Scott, and so "exotic" in British colors...
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Thank you! I really enjoyed the reconstruction of this old model.
The amazing part of those markings was that I could use the roundels and fin flash from the original Otaki sheet that is over thirty years old! While researching 1850 Squadron I realized that I could build at least three different variations of markings for their Corsair IVs--the normal roundels, small Pacific blue/white roundels, or the blue and white with the U.S. style bars on them. All of these styles were used with the same dark sea blue scheme.
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Tremendous job! :-clap :-clap I really like your Corsair!It has untypical camouflage scheme!Once again,great job!
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Scott, Srecko... beautiful, guys it is an honor to look at your work. Amazing! Thank you. :-obey :-obey :-obey :-wave :-wave :-wave :-wave :-wave :-wave :-flo :-clap
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Thanks man ;)
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Yes, Letipapa, thank you. It's great fun to again "exercise" my modeling abilities and nice to rebuild some of my old kits.
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Time to bring back an old thread as I found my last two previously built 1/48 Corsairs. I'll eventually put these through a restoration process... :-blah :-blah
First up is a Hasegawa? F4U-4/AU-1 that is all there but needs much reworking. The paint job is simply embarrassing now but I thought I did a good job way back when. :-red
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8260.jpg)
And this poor thing was once an Otaki F4U-1 that I butchered into a Reno Unlimited. The real Super Corsair is no longer with us and this one won't be either. I found enough pieces, including the original wing tips, to restore this one to a more "normal" configuration. I'm lacking some cowling parts but that shouldn't prove to be a big drawback.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8258.jpg)
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Yeees... Go forward Scott. :-ok
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This is nice way to wake up this topic :-clap
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Once again, interresting things to come!!! :)
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Once more to the Corsair Build. :-love
The old BUD LIGHT Super Corsair air racer is finally getting a restoration to the military configuration. This will be somewhat of a difficult "de-conversion" as my original modifications were, shall I say, less than contest-worthy. :-red
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8594.jpg)
An explanation of what I did in the first build is in order. This model roughly represented an F4U-1 that was resurrected from storage in Chino, California. The R-2800 was replaced with a R-4360. In this configuration the airplane was roughly the same as an F2G-1 with other racing modifications such as severely clipped wings and lower canopy.
I started out with an Otaki F4U-1D and basically destroyed it. The main reason I decided to try a restoration was that I found the wingtips in a spares box. I hope y'all enjoy watching me try to save this one--it might get ugly! :-danger
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Uuuuhhhh.... :(
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I have a plan--and most of the parts. It will be fun in an aggravating way!
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This will be interesting. :-jump
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Lots of work as I can see... ;)
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Not so much damage as I had first thought. All the layers of paint are gone so a full examination could be done.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8595.jpg)
The big issue on the fuselage is the opening I ground into it for the big cowl flaps that were on the Super Corsair. That is the huge glob of filler you see. Also I will have to cut off the cowl flap area just forward of the putty. Fortunately the spare cowl flap.firewall section from my other F2G-1D conversion was still in the spares as was a nose cowl ring. The rest of the engine cowl will have to be sourced elsewhere, but that's just a round tube.
The wing tips are CA glued in place with some wire spars for strength. A bit of filler on the tips and they'll be ready for the later steps. Also the leading edge inlets were hacked up and will need some work.
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Re conversion of conversion :))
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:-ok
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A bit of fuselage progress. You can see how I puttied the accessory section outlet ducting with bondo during the first build of this monstrosity. The undamaged section sits next to it ready for trimming and installation. The second photo is obvious, just glued it together and then test-fitted the wing to the fuselage. A little filler and some sanding and I'll be ready to move on to the cowling scratchbuilding.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8602.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8607.jpg)
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Amazing work...
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For the life of me I don't remember why I cut the tips off of this propeller. It's the original prop from one of these Otaki kits so I dug in the junk box and found these three B-29 blades and the tips fit perfectly! Just a little glue, a bit of filling and sanding, and the prop is saved....
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8608.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8609.jpg)
Oh, and that's the ring cowl I'll be reconstructing too, also from the old Otaki remains.
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Good rework ;)
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Gooood job!! :-clap
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Last night and again this evening I worked on the cowling reconstruction. I have two of the forward ring cowls from the Otaki kits but nothing else. With a little measuring I decided that some spare B-17 cowls would work with proper planning. Here is the cowl after splicing the parts together. The front is Otaki Corsair, then Revell B-17F, and the rear is Monogram B-17G. The extra pieces to the right show you what the starting point was.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8616.jpg)
After splicing and letting the glue completely cure it was an easy matter to use filler on the seams. The cowl sections all have a slight taper so a good amount of putty was needed. The easy way to sand this and keep the cowling perfectly round was to chuck it up in the lathe and wet-sand it until the surface was perfectly smooth.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8620.jpg)
Then the inside of the cowling was smoothed and cleaned up and three small strips added where the three sections of removable cowling come together. A bit of primer and the cowl is complete.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8621.jpg)
Now all the major parts are assembled and a first coat of primer sprayed on. Some fine-tuning and this will be ready for another coat of primer and then installing the windscreen, then paint.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8622.jpg)
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Good to see that you have turning machine, I dream about multi practical machine for a long time. One company from Austria manufactured combination machine which sections could be assembled in various way and get turner, milling machine, drill...
Excellent work mate!
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Amazing work once again!!!
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Amazing work once again!!!
I fully agree!!! :-eek :-clap :-clap :-clap
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Good to see that you have turning machine, I dream about multi practical machine for a long time. One company from Austria manufactured combination machine which sections could be assembled in various way and get turner, milling machine, drill...
Yes, I've seen this Austrian machine and it looked very nice. My Unimat has a vertical mill attachment and a lot of other parts to adapt it to most any use also. I really got lucky as a friend of a friend etc. sold this to me for not a lot of money. It's really old (early 1960s) but it works great.
Thanks for the compliments, guys--just call me the Junkyard Modeler! :-flo
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Today I decided to put the landing gear back in this airplane so I could begin painting. Usually I leave the gear out until after paint, but Vought sprayed everything on the bottom of the early airplanes, including the gear and wheelwells, with the camouflage color.
When I looked at my original gear legs I realized that I no longer have the lock links for either side. First I cussed a little that I hadn't done a proper inventory of the broken model earlier. Then I remembered that there was a set of SAC metal landing gear legs among my acquisitions. These are actually designed for the Hasegawa F4U kit but I was able to modify things a bit to fit them to this old Otaki kit. This is a very nice landing gear kit and looks great after fitting it. In the first photo you'll see that I was forced to trim the lock links in order to fit them to the wing cavity. It takes away some detail of the SAC parts but was the only way I could fit them to the Otaki wheelwell.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8624.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8626.jpg)
After fitting the alighting gear and vacuformed windscreen (the original part was cut down for the air-racer modification) it was time to spray the underbelly with the final camo color.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8627.jpg)
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What I specially like is when you use product for one manufacturer and adopt to another :-clap At least, landing gear as well other parts and elements must be the same on all kits if they are precisely manufactured :-danger Excellent work mate :-tri
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Ha ha.. Me to. ;)
Excellent solved problem Scott! :-clap :-clap
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Yes, but I felt rather bad cutting up the SAC gear and then taking a photo of it. I should have assembled the parts un-trimmed first so everyone could see how nice they look before modifying them. However, this does prove that they fit the old-generation of Corsair kits with just a little bit of work. They fit quite nicely with a small effort.
The tailwheel took some engineering also, I should mention. Otaki provided a small tab way up in the tailcone to hold the strut. The SAC part mounts differently and Hasegawa provided a "ceiling" to the tailwheel well. I just CA glued on an angled bracket to fit the upper tab and a small copper wire guide pin for the bottom. Had I known I was going to use the SAC kit I would have engineered the mounts before gluing the fuselage halves together.
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On errors we are learning,so.. Next time look what you have from aditional parts. ;)
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Yep, I got lucky that I had the new gear available. When I was reassembling all of the parts for these old restorations I put the pieces for each model into small plastic bags as they were discovered. I never expected to actually restore this one and I guess I failed to keep looking for the last of the bits!
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I am sure that SAC Team will be pleasured with your work and adaptation ;)
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First topcoat color applied.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8657.jpg)
And, while that was drying, a start on a new project. I'll probably start a new thread on this one next week.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8658.jpg)
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:-ok
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Things going better and better :-ok
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:-ok
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Things going better and better :-ok
Umm.......things were going better, then I made a big blunder. :-wall I arose this morning and had a cup of coffee, then started masking for the final color pattern. Stupid me, I'd used some hand lotion when I woke up and forgot to completely wash it off before touching the Corsair. Needless to say, the dead flat Humbrol paint and my greasy fingers got together and :-roll. So, instead of painting the final color I spent the last hour fixing my fingerprints. Oh, well.
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No doubt that you will fix that, but that was not needed to you. Waste of time. :-roll
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Already fixed, Sall. :-salut What made me unhappy with myself was that I'd intended to mask and spray the final color so it could cure. I was going to put the gloss clear on it in a couple of days. No schedule deadlines, so no big deal.
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Glad that everything is ok! ;)
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Final camouflage colors tonight.....we've been away from home and involved in other stuff the last few days. :-paper
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Good :-ok
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Well, I managed to have problems with this thing and it is now stripped down to bare plastic for a repaint. :-wall :-wall :-wall
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:-wall
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Yup, I was pretty unhappy with this. I had already had some problem with the first color that was caused by my oily fingers. Tonight I masked this (repaired) coat off for the last color, using the same masking material I always use. When I started to remove the masking paper and tape there were patterns all over the green, as though it picked up the adhesive and something in the bare paper masking material. I will simply try again with maybe a different brand of paint this time. Live and learn!
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Thanks for explanation. ;)
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I should mention that the paint I'm having trouble with is over thirty years old, so I don't blame the manufacturer!
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Here's an "update" or backdate as the case may be...... I stripped the upper surfaces off and touched up the underside grey. I'll get some new paint sprayed on tonight if time permits, using a different container of paint. I experimented a bit and I'm quite sure the problem was with that ancient tin of paint that mixed up and sprayed beautifully. However, I think it didn't fully cure after I painted it, even though I left it alone for several days.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8697.jpg)
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Seen this one and compared with its initial state- two different worlds mate :-clap
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Looks nice!!!
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The second attempt at spraying the topcoats went MUCH better :-ok. I ended up using MM paint for the green shade and three-decade old Humbrol for the grey. I recall buying this tin of Humbrol and one of my Corsair models on the same day but I'm not certain if it was this particular kit. Either way, they are the same age :-wise more-or-less.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8698.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8705.jpg)
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Great! :-clap :-clap
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:-ok
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Very good mate :-clap
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Nice save :-ok Looks like it will turn out well!
Ernie
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Yep, it'll be alright now. I'm impatient to let the paint cure before spraying on the clear gloss--I really want to keep going on this as I can't work outside--we're getting some much-needed rain today.
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Today's update and a new technique I'm trying.
This is turning out to be an "all-Otaki" buildup. I've ended up using the entire set of kit decals for a Fleet Air Arm Corsair II that flew in Operation Tungsten against the Tirpitz.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8740.jpg)
The new techique is to figure out how to replicate saltwater staining that was evident in photos taken during this operation. The airplanes look quite dirty and have much water staining from sitting on the deck during heavy weather. To do this in 1/48 scale I tried plain water with no real result. The next attempt I added this:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8755.jpg)
I simply mixed a couple drops of this white glue in a quantity of water and then brushed it onto the airplane, making sure to "stain" the paint at the right angles for a parked airplane. The first photo is the unstained port side and the second is the starboard side after a couple of attempts of the wash. The beauty of this is that you can simply wash off the staining if it doesn't turn out the first time:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8763.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8764.jpg)
The effect is sort of subtle but looks like the real thing in person. I still must finish this water staining and then add other "normal" weathering to the entire machine.
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Excellent tips with this brushing, realistic effect!
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I agree!!! Looking great!!! Very nice! :-clap :-clap
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:-ok
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FAA projects always exites me. I simply love the those colours.
Primož
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The Corsair II is complete--photos possibly tomorrow or Friday.
Here's the last restoration F4U in my collection. This is an old 1/48 Hasegawa -4. I'd love to have kept the French markings but the paint job is so poor it's beyond saving. I'll strip this and repaint it in a scheme to be decided. I'm down to two or three markings choices and will make the final decision as the project progresses.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8801.jpg)
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Do you have decals for this one?
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:-ok
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Okay, the Corsair II photos. First, a "before and after" pair:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8258.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8812.jpg)
And the rest of the pictures. This is a Corsair II of 1836 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, assigned to HMS Victorious. The airplane is depicted as it was on the first days of April, 1944 during Operation Tungsten, the attack on the Tirpitz. I don't have the exact serial number of this airplane other than it is JT???. I left the entire serial number off the airplane until I'm able to confirm its identity.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8806.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8802.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8803.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8808.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8809.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8804.jpg)
One of the ironies of this restoration is the decals. With the exception of the Royal Navy lettering (which is the only decal that silvered on this.. :-red) all the decals are from the original Otaki sheet. So the airplane, decals, and the two grey paint sources are all over thirty years old. The "modern" additions were the SAC landing gear and the green paint.
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Very nicel job! :-ok :-salut Your restorations amaze me; I can never seem to get a good result when I try to re-build something. Thus, when I finish something it is done and done. Again, very nice job.
Ernie
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Excellent work mate :)
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Thanks, guys.
Now I have to straighten the tailwheel fork before I put the airplane in the display case. Can't believe I missed that misalignment before the photo session!
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Nice work on an old classic. Otaki made some kits that were far ahead of their era, standouts include the Corsair, P-47, Hellcat and Spitfire VIII (actually a IX). Ironically, for a Japanese company, their Japanese aircraft were very poor. Rumours abound to this day that their CEO committed hara-kiri because of this. Could be an urban myth, of course :(
From a personal point of view, its always great to see more Fleet Air Arm stuff. An interesting anecdote concerns the FAA carriers in operation against Japan during 1945 -when a 'Kamikaze' hit a US Fleet carrier (wooden deck), it resulted in a 6-month refit. When they hit a British one (armour-plated deck), they got out brooms and swept the stuff over the side :)
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After much troubles, you have done very good job. Beautiful!!! :-clap :-clap :-clap
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Thanks friends!
Should we consider a Fleet Air Arm Group Build later next year?
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I don't see why not, it could tie in with the 70th anniversary of Operation 'Torch' :)
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Splendid, Scott!!!
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I don't see why not, it could tie in with the 70th anniversary of Operation 'Torch' :)
You know, I nearly forgot that anniversary and I shouldn't have--my father was in Operation Torch. Perhaps we could consider doing armor, aircraft, ships, anything at all that was involved in that part of the War. There are certainly enough different nationalities and machinery that were involved there.
No.1,
I don't exactly have a set scheme yet for the F4U-4 but I do have markings in my spares for one of the choices. In fact, it's an airplane you sent me a photo of.
Here's a photo of the "progress" so far. As I have earlier learned, Testors and Pactra yellow and black are almost indestructible. I tried stripping with oven cleaner, brake fluid, acetone/alcohol mix, and straight acetone. I finally broke down and wet-sanded the stripes smooth using acetone/alcohol for the fluid and simply made the surface uniform and smooth. Other than that this is a very straightforward restoration, though the kit isn't exactly what one would call high-tech today. For 1981 it was decent, though the cockpit, gear well, and engine detail are very sparse.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8828.jpg)
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Here's a photo of the Corsair II in sunlight that gives you a much better view of the seawater staining effect I attempted with the white glue. It's far too subtle to properly see on the cloudy-day photos I posted earlier. This effect actually took a bit of planning since the Corsair has the gull wing layout. Getting the water streaks to "run" down to the low spot took a little thinking.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8830.jpg)
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Cool effect :-ok I don't know if I would have even though to try the clear glue for something like that.
Ernie
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Again great result mate :-ok
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Here is one of the photos that inspired the water staining idea, from the Imperial War Museum collection. This is also a Victorious airplane but from 1834 Squadron:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/Victorious1834Squadron.jpg)
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Nice source mate :-ok
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:-ok
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Evidence of repainting on the F4U in the foreground too, behind the fuselage code '7T' -is it possible it had USN roundels before? The amount of staining on the wing is very severe too, nice to see.
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Most likely the overpainting was from the earlier codes used in training here in the U.S. I've done a bit of research into 1834 and 1836 Squadrons and they brought their new airplanes along from the East Coast training centers when they shipped back to England. Chances are this was one of those airplanes. The bird I modeled doesn't have this, so I assume it was a fresh airplane when assigned to 1836. The FAA-schemed airplanes don't seem to have ever had U.S. markings, at least the Corsair IIs that I've been looking at.
I forgot to take a photo of the underside of mine--I'll try to do so tonight.
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As I mentioned, I neglected to shoot a photo of the underside of the Corsair II:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8834.jpg)
And some progress on the -4. It is in the "paint booth" right now for the final color:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8833.jpg)
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Excellent result, Scott!
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Very realistic on bottom, I see some images and they was like that ;)
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My learning for today: Don't try to paint gloss paints when it's below freezing! It was a nice but cold morning so I tried spraying this in the garage. It worked until the plastic got too cold, then the paint started to fisheye a little. This forced me to stop painting and bring everything into the kitchen to warm up again. The second time was the charm and everything is blue. I do mean everything on this one as the gear, wheelwells, doors, EVERYTHING was sprayed gloss sea blue on this F4U-4.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8835.jpg)
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I love this paint. Look good ön this type of planes. ;) :-ok
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Yep, overall sea blue looks great, but I'm glad you can't see this one up close :-red :-roll. The paint job is pretty ugly when you see it in person. It's still better than the attempt I made with the original French scheme but it won't win any prizes! :-danger
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Couldn't you polish it with T-Cut and 8-12,000 grade micromesh?
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Sure, but it's really just a "rebuilder" anyway and it'll be fine after decaling. This got overhauled because it's the last one in the box and it looked lonely. :-help When I painted the Corsair IV long ago I took the extra care to have proper temperature in the paint area. This was a bit of an experiment to see how cold it could be and still get a decent result. 30 degrees Farenheit is too cold for gloss enamel! ;)
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Might be worth trying to see how much it removes, and might work for further restrips?
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Oh, I know it would polish out, but I am too lazy :)) to repair this one. When I was still building automotive subjects I got my fill of 12000 grit Micromesh! This old model is a good relaxer, though!
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Fair point :)
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Here are a couple of pictures of the nearly finished -4. I was quite confident that I had the decals needed for this until I started digging in the decal packages. It turns out that I need to replenish the supply of both white numerals and U.S. insignia--no inventory here! :-red So, this will be placed in the "almost finished" storage for later completion.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8861.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8855.jpg)
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Too beautiful to left it long without decals :(
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I agree with Srecko! Hope you will find something soon. ;) :-flo
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Splendid!
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Today my decal sheet arrived to finish this -4. The entire Otaki F4U-1 cost less than a decal sheet and now I have another Corsair to add to the collection! This one will either be RNZAF or possibly FAA Southwest Pacific scheme.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8935.jpg)
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I think there is some images of NZ machines on forum :) Decals look excellent, nice colors and you have cover three airplanes with national insignia
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Yes, this decal sheet is actually pretty nice as long as the example in your hands is on-register! I have parts of five of these sheets in my collection and on two of them the British roundels and fin flashes are no good, though the other markings are fine. I used the good sheets to do both the Corsair II and Corsair IV in this GB. This newest one is spot-on, all in register and ready for use!
I've picked a ship to build from this Otaki kit, having found a great series of photos on the Wings Over New Zealand website. I'll be building NZ5215 "E" from 19 Squadron in the USN four-tone paint scheme. I'll be able to use the national insignia from the kit decal sheet as this airplane has the dark blue roundels. I'll also get back to search the Forum, thanks No.1 for reminding me!
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Here's the old F4U-4 rejuvenated from the first attempt. It's not pretty but still better than my first attempt with the French scheme all those years ago. One of these days I'll do another Aeronavale airplane--I've always liked the markings of those machines :-ok.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8942.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8945.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8944.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_8943.jpg)
This model comes from a nice color photo that No.1 sent me a while back of a -4 after landing aboard her carrier. The airplane had a number of bullet holes in the aft fuselage and had gone over on the nose just enough to bend some propeller blades. The deck crew is running to assist the pilot from his airplane but I don't know what unit or carrier is shown.
Scott
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USS Lexington, CV-14 :)
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Sorry, CV-16 :) CV-14 was USS Ticonderoga.
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Nice work, neat finish :)
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Sorry, CV-16 :) CV-14 was USS Ticonderoga.
Yes, you're correct, this airplane was from Air Group 16 on the Lexington. I actually just found a diagram of the geometric markings in use by the USN during that timeframe.
Thanks for the I.D! :-clap :-flo
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Okay, the Corsair II photos. First, a "before and after" pair
Hi, :-salut :-salut
Very amazing result. Bravo !
Restoration is always a hazardous work.
Jicehem :-wave :-wave
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:-ok :-ok :-ok
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Here's the old F4U-4 rejuvenated from the first attempt. It's not pretty but still better than my first attempt with the French scheme all those years ago. One of these days I'll do another Aeronavale airplane--I've always liked the markings of those machines :-ok.
Hi Scoot, :-salut :-salut
Your model is very nice :-clap :-clap
You were right to put markings of an F4U-4, because French markings are inaccurate for this model. The French Corsairs (F4U-7) were basically AU-1 fuselages with the raised cockpit fitted with the F4U-4 engine. 94 F4U-7s were produced only for the French navy. France received also 11 AU-1s. I saw some of them still active in 1964 at Nîmes-Garons navy base and others at Rochefort in 1965 where they were used to train mechanics of the French Aéronavale.
Cheers,
Jicehem :-wave :-wave
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Jicehen- great info about this machine in French service. Any options to make article for magazine?
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Excellent! :-clap :-clap I like it! ;)