My first Aircraft. F4U-1A corsair

[Guest]

Ok, done some more, got the Milliput and made some seat belts and cushions,


I found some foam that was about the right thickness first and cut that down to make a template and check the look and size.


Then I rolled out some putty, and cut it to the size I wanted. Then using the knife, I shaped the edges, took the sharpness out of the cuts and then fitted the cushions onto the seat.


Using the piece of foam, I wetted the cushions and pushed the foam onto the putty, to give it the texture of the seat.


Then I rolls out the remainder of putty to a very thin paper thickness for the belts. Cut the strips and then cut them to length, using water and a brush, I placed each one onto the seat unit, and curved them to get a realistic shape. Once the belts were on, I used small pieces to overlay the tops of the belts where they fit to the bulkhead and some adjuster slides.


I'm really happy with my first attempt at this, as I practice I hope to get better, and I can already see, by taking a little more time to shape the end of each belt, and by cutting a slot in the bulkhead, I could make it even more realistic.


Anyway, once dry in a few days I'll begin to paint them up too


[ATTACH]122097.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]122098.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]122099.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]122100.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]122101.IPB[/ATTACH]

[flyjoe180]

One thing is the IP has raised markings for the dials, but the decal obviously only goes in one position, and the dials on that are not even the same as the IP!!

Be aware of war-bird aircraft, they often have redesigned cockpits to comply with modern radios, navigation aids etc. There are plenty of cockpit photos online. For an example of an original Corsair cockpit see here (yes it's actually a later Goodyear-built F4U FG-1D, but it gives you an idea: http://www.airspacemag.com/panoramas/fg-1d-corsair-180953750/

Although there's some discrepancies between the distance the lighter grey/blue reaches down the fuselage from the engine nacelle, one lot of pics shows it ending just past the fuselage prior to cockpit, the other (below) shows it going full length.
Wonder what the idea behind that was?

Again, war-bird aircraft are often painted in fictitious or variations of the original schemes. The official paint scheme for the F4U-1 in the US Navy four-tone scheme (often referred to as the tricolor scheme):


Undersides: Insignia white (ANA601, = FS37880).


Underside of outer wings: Intermediate Blue (ANA608 = FS35164)


Sides of fuselage: Intermediate Blue (ANA608 = FS35164)


Upper surfaces, blending down the fuselage sides over the intermediate blue to align with the wing surfaces: Non-Specular (flat) Sea Blue (ANA607 = FS35402)


Wing leading edges: Semi-Specular (semi gloss) Sea Blue (ANA606 = FS25042)


Here is an example of the scheme. It's a RNZAF example but these were delivered in US Navy paint schemes. After months of operating on coral airfields, tropical weather, and the fact that the aircraft were often washed down using aviation gasoline, the paint often faded badly, to the point that it was stripped from the leading edges of wings, propellers and other surfaces.


[ATTACH]122152.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

Thank you!! Great info!


Did some more, I finished the seat unit,


[ATTACH]122227.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]122228.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

All stop on this build for a few, the office is finished, and put to one side.


But my Mig pigment kit and some plaster of Paris has arrived and I want to finish the tank before I continue building this.


Terminator quote inserted here.


(You know the one!)

[Guest]

Carrying on, as there's only a little left on the tank.


So I cut out the side fuselages, and the rear jockey wheel system. The fuselage halves were not too bad, little bit of flashing on the engine end, easily removed with a knife and a little 1200.


Painted the office space and jockey wheel space and put to one side, as I want to put some more detail in the cockpit sides before I fit the cockpit.


Onto the rear jockey wheel assembly, the sprues were melded into the parts a little, so I cut them off carefully. I then noticed the wheel wasn't even wheel shaped! Never seen an aircraft with a square edged wheel, with a huge ribbing down the centre, so I got it in the drill, on a stick and sanded it down and gave it some shape. Not as much as I'd like, but without my mini lathe I'm going to have to accept the finish.


Also the centre flashing on the other parts was quite prominent, so I sanded those down too.


All waiting to dry, rubber black on the wheel, alloy silver base on the assembly.


[ATTACH]122657.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]122658.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]122659.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

Done some more on this puppy, and finding that these Revell kits require some extensive sanding.


I've been using a needle file, and some nail files (cheapskate I know!) which have worked fine on some of my previous models, but the plastic on this kit is very brittle. So I've bought a few bits off John at the shop including some bespoke sanding fingers, which I think will help me on this.


Now you'll have to excuse me, as I have forgotten my iPad every single time I went into the garage!


So I have made the fuselage, and also the front undercarriage and wheels, and begun the main wing assembly.


This kit incorporates the folding wing system, rather than solid wings, but I have to say it's INCREDIBLY flimsy.


It uses one single attachment, and really doesn't offer a great deal of support. I've tried and tried to make it stronger, but there's not a great deal of room to build up some epoxy.


So this afternoon I said bugger it, and glued the outer wing assy to the main wing structure.


It's not a problem for me as I'm going to display it as static with wings down anyway.


So tomorrow, I'll try remember my iPad and take some photos!

[Guest]

One pic, I'm afraid, I'm hurting this evening, and dont want to be in the cold, sorry!


[ATTACH]123117.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

Brave man I don't do planes any more as I'm crap at them (stick to what you can do is my moto) take my hat off to anyone who builds them.

[Guest]

Brave man I don't do planes any more as I'm crap at them (stick to what you can do is my moto) take my hat off to anyone who builds them.

Says the man who can build some awesome fiddly bloody ships!


If you're taking your hat off to anyone doing planes, then I'll take everything off to you for your builds.....


Err.....hang on......


I just re read that......


I don't mean it how it sounds!!

[yak face]

Looking nice dave , im really enjoying watching this come together , its making me want to get another one and make it in the FAA scheme , cheers tony

[Guest]

All taking a bit more time than it should at the moment, the wings were flimsy, so I removed them and used epoxy, made some stays and glued it all back together again.


The fuselage wasn't too bad but the wing parts have big gaps, which I've filled now, problem is, this model is raised detail, and it's a struggle not to loose some of that detail when sanding.


So for Take 2 it's sitting there looks exactly like the last picture, drying again!

[Guest]

Become dissappinted in this kit, the first aeroplane build I've done.


The fuselage and wings are on, and the gaps were terrible in some places, and I've had to use epoxy to hold the wing assy to the fuselage, not something I'd expect.


The main contention for my disappointment is the detailing being raised.


I've had to sand the front nose area, where it was a poor fit, and used some filler, but the exhaust outlets were very thin raised areas and they're gone, along with a lot of the panel lines and rivets.


Now I've primed it, the detail is even less prominent,


It's kits like these that make you dismayed, and I have to reprimand myself, telling myself to not push it to one side, but to persevere. Sadly, the finished model will. It have a lot of the detail it should have.

[Guest]

Dave I feel your pain! The first aircraft kit I built was also a Revell kit, their 1/48 F-14 Black Tomcat.


It too had terrible fit problems & raised panel lines etc that disappeared after all the sanding & filling that was necessary.


But I learnt a lot from it, not least to do research before impulsively hitting the bid button on eBay!


After this one, try an Airfix new tool, either their 1/72 Typhoon 1b or Mustang P51-D. Both kits are a joy to build!

[Guest]

I know how you feel with back pain, I am limited to how long I can sit and do model making, as I have four prolapsed disc's had a Laminectomy at the age of 22 as I was paralyzed and this has lead to arthritis of the hips and spine and no feeling in my left leg, and I'm on a major concoction of drugs, but I am determined to make my first model after a 40+ years break..

[rickoshea52]

After this one, try an Airfix new tool, either their 1/72 Typhoon 1b or Mustang P51-D. Both kits are a joy to build!

I definately agree with Patrick, the new tool Airfix kits are a pleasure to build and the smaller ones are fairly cheap considering the quality on offer. The Typhoon, Lightning and Zero are great to build but there's plenty more to choose from.