David Hansen

Just placed an order with Sprue Brothers for the new G-Factor Brass cast antenna post and pitot set for the Tamiya Corsair. Many of you know i'm a bit skeptical of the strength of the plastic Tamiya parts. So.... for those of you who share my concerns, it would appear that the need has been fulfilled! david

Nice looking engine. Everything you want in a 32nd scale R-2800: Good fit, Modular construction (easier to paint), and really looks the business.... even with nothing added! I just caught this in the earlier pic you posted: Seems this Kiwi Corsair has the modified tailwheel fork. Interesting. david

i know its taken a heck of a lot of work, but the restored detail using the Archer rivets looks soooo much better than the regimented bullet holes that Trumpeter stuck us with. It was worth the effort. david

Just my opinion but i too am of the mind that a model can be "Too Flat", particularly in larger scales. It depends a lot on whether the plane is brand new or sun-baked, but F4Us have a mostly flat finish on the fuselage, and a slight semi gloss wing, at least when delivered new. David

FWIW, building the model flaps up is not only operationally authentic but it makes the finished model a LOT easier to handle. david

The kit has very very few potential traps. One to be careful of, is the stainless steel "Dishpan' segment that the engine attaches to, along with the exhaust pipes which are nested inside them. If this piece is not fully seated against the rabbit joint inside the forward fuselage, you can run into problems with mounting the "Boot Cowl" that closes off the firewall from the cowling..... In the end it worked out OK, but it made for more work than it needed to be. The other pitfall regards the "sleeves" that the wing spar slides into in the outer wing panels. Read the instructions carefully, and be careful not to glue these in place! People who have ignored this encounter difficulties when attaching the outer wings in the "Spread" position. Bon Chance! david

So where's the Corsair? This thread has gone to 5 pages. Just Sayin.... david

I think you will enjoy this build. The cockpit takes a while to get finished, and the Powerplant is sort of involved, but everything fits like a dream and the modular construction makes painting up in subassemblies a snap. Once those two areas are completed, i think you will find the rest of the build goes rather quickly. If you like to paint, this model is for you! david

And now- a status update. I've started a new job and moved from Portland to Hayward CA in the SF Bay area. I brought my Corsairs with me along with many of my tools. Trouble is, i simply haven't had time to work on my bird. I get up very early in the AM and by the time i get home in the evening i'm just too knackered to work on much of anything. As the joke goes, being a pilot s a hard way to make an easy living. Nothing has gone wrong with the project; it's just a matter of getting some time to myself to work on it. I since picked up the new 32nd scale -1A kit, and while i could immediately go crazy slamming subassemblies together, self discipline tells me i need to get the three Corsairs i have in the finishing stages done first. So i hope you won't mind while i sit back and admire everyone else's hard work from the cheap seats. For a little while, anyway. david

Thats a very nice Lightning you've done there, Dave! They are not exactly one of my core competencies but i know the Trumpeter kit came in for a right thrashing, given all the annoying and difficult- to- fix issues associated with it. You picked a great paint scheme to at least distract away from the kits weak points; not too gaudy and not a scheme we've seen too many of before. Fixing the stance of the undercarriage made a world of difference to my eye too. I think it goes to show that even a highly imperfect kit, when built extremely well, still has a lot of visual appeal. Thanks for posting! david

Beautiful job Alain. I'm not very knowledgeable about the F4U-7, but i do know what the Trumpeter -4 looks like built up out of the box, and that ain't it. Your looks miles better. I got a ride in an F4U-5 last July and that plane is a runaway freight train but by most accounts pretty fun to fly. Thanks for posting! david

I really like the colours and your interpretation of the yzc peeking out from under the Blue paint. The only criticism i've ever heard about this kit is the very high parts count. This, the Dauntless, Bearcat and Skyraider are examples of some of Trumpeters best work. david

Hi Tim, Considering the quality of the kit especially, i have to say that's one of the nicest-rendered 32nd scale P-38s i've ever seen regardless of manufacturer. Brilliantly presented and inspired choice of paint scheme. No kidding, really nice work. I think its actually the first "Yippee" built up in any scale. All the more amazing since those Microscale decals have been around forever. And yeah, i guess the P-26 is all right too LOL Thanks for posting! david

Brilliant Job. I'm not a huge fan of the desert scheme but the overall execution and weathering is just superb. I can definitely learn from your skills. Will try applying these to my next Corsair. A change up in my painting and finishing technique may be just what i need. Did you also build a 32nd scale Hasegawa Thunderbolt, not long ago? Nice work. Sincere admiration. Suggest you share these pics with Roy @ Barracuda. He will eat them up, david

Hi Jeff, The cockpit and engine so far, look great. Personally, i'd avoid the Techmod decals for at least the national insignia. It's been my experience that once they get on the model they're pretty tenacious and hard to slide around into position. Given the size of the national insignia, you way want to consider painting them instead of decal using Mal Mayfields masks. Same would apply (paint instead of decal) to the 1" walkway stripes and the non-skid areas on the wing center section. If it were a smaller model i'd probably go with decals. Should you decide to stick with decals (no pun intended) i think you will have better luck with Eagle Editions or Fundekals. Xtradecal also came out with a sheet not too long ago. Not sure if they did it in 32nd scale, but it includes some neat schemes that hadn't been done before. FWIW, david

See? Dana Bell FTW.

Hi Jeff, Thats a toughie. I don't know very much about Kepford's Corsair aside from the fact that i was one of the very first -1A Corsairs. Considering the fact Willys Overland built the wing center section, my guess is the wing center may very well have arrived with the wheel wells painted light gray, or simply YZC like the exterior of the wing center section. I think some gear doors were installed with light gray interior sides, with flat white being sprayed on the outsides along with the wing undersides, while the gear was retracted up in the wells with the doors closed. I can't see Chance Vought wasting time re painting the wheel well interior white. That being said, the change over to the three tone scheme occurred before the change to F4U-1A production. Maybe Willys was delivering wing sections with white wheel wells....? After experimenting with Salmon, i'm of the opinion the wheel wells were probably light gray or YZC, based on the recovered -1 from Lake Michigan. Honestly, nobody knows for sure. i think you could use any one of the three and be OK. Since YZC was intended as an undercoat, i think they would have sprayed... something over it. I'd say the cowling flap interior was probably YZC. The nose bowl was light gray. Dana will probably have more to add when his book comes out. Like i said before, i haven't researched Kepford's plane at all. I'm sure you will get more opinions. david

Thanks for the info, Wiiliam! i will pass this on to Steve. david

Great work, William! Could you elaborate a bit more on how you modified the gear struts so you could install them after gluing in the leading edge inserts? I have a friend building the kit who is in the process of getting the wing assembled, and filling in all the rivets. Cheers, david

I'm lovin' it....The quality of your build meets the quality of the original Airfix boxtop artwork. -d-

How about adding red to flat black? Just a thought. -d-

Fantastic work Bill. I'm not a huge fan of the P-51D but i really like how clean the build is shaping up to be. i especially like the painted silver treatment on the wings. I look forward to more! david

Hard to tell from photos how good a scribing job turned out when seen on bare plastic but looks good from here! Did you give any thought to sawing the cowling clear of the fuselage so you could assemble it to the nose ring and install it after main painting? Thought it might make working on the engine a little bit easier. david

It really looks good so far, Wolf. Everyone seems to rave about the WingNuts kits. Perhaps i should build one myself, because then i won't be without my Pfaltz. Boom-Tish. Moving on...... -d-

Dana did you find a volunteer yet? david