ChuckD

man that cockpit is sweet
 
as is the whole build & love the backstory / inspiration
 
Peter

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

So, it's apparently time for me to buy a lottery ticket.
 
No sooner had I stuck a piece of tape over the Quinta IP, than this happened.  

 
I was trying to mix up a lighter color of green to use for dry brushing when I squeezed my ancient Vallejo white juuuuust a bit too hard.  Man I got lucky; not an errant speck on the unmasked areas.  
 
Anyway, after recovering from that, I went on to finish the cockpit today.  The interior is lightly chipped via the sponge method, then dirtied up a bit with oils and enamels.    The results of the Quinta set and painted wires are really nice.

 
Where the tail wheel would toss up debris and dirt, I splashed dark enamel washes along with some lighter mud tones using the speckling method.






 
Again, the speckling is not nearly as pronounced to the naked eye.  If I had more brain power, I'd get really good with model photography but I only have so much bandwidth and I already spend enough of my days in front of a computer anyway.  So, I'll live with my phone doing it's consumer-friendly best and over-emphasizing the speckling.  

 
The results of the wiring below the IP are pretty solid and I'm happy with them.  They can't be seen much when it's all together, but it still adds quite a bit of visual interest.











 
And, with that it was time to close up the fuse!  This is always a fun milestone of any airplane build.  Don't tell anyone, but it's starting to look like a Corsair already. 

 
The roundish body of the corsair swallows most of the detail I spent yesterday building.  :/



 
And that's it for now.  I'm back to work tomorrow, so I suspect updates will slow down quite a bit, but the next steps are to add the firewall, exhausts and engine.  Then it'll be on to the tail wheel assembly and the wings!  

Boy howdy, there is nothing like spending an entire day adding miles...


 
...and miles...

 
...and miles...

 
...and miles... 

 
...and miles...

 
... and miles...

 
...of wiring and linkages...

 
just so that you can close up the fuselage and never see any of it ever again.



 
C'est la hobby, I suppose. 
 
Anyway, as you can see, I've made quite a bit of progress on the cockpit.  At this point, it's roughly base coated and the lovely Quinta set has been (mostly) added.  I have obviously not yet done any weathering or anything, so it's pretty underwhelming at this point.  The next step will be to touch up the base coat, paint the newly-added wiring and such, then gloss, wash, weather, etc. 
 
I'm not going to cover much of the actual build process of the kit itself - certainly not as in depth as I went on my A-20G a few months ago - because this kit has had roughly a half a million build threads devoted to its several iterations over the years.  So, I shan't belabor that point, but as I get along and reach milestones, I'll post updates. 
 
I did receive the Black Dog figure kit and the paints I need to achieve the salmon primer, so we're moving forward there.  I can't really start roughing in the figures until I at least get the wings under the fuselage.  To combat my gnat-like attention span, I'm going to shift my focus from the a/c to the figures and groundwork as soon as I get the wings in place.  I'm concerned that if I finish the a/c in entirety, I'll be too tempted to move on to something else and never actually finish the dio idea.  
 
Anyhoo, no more modeling for me today, my brain is fried. 

Thanks, Mike!  I do appreciate it.  Anything to provide more and clearer information to the scene is helpful!
 
I spent yesterday getting the engine around.  I added the spark plug wiring and other assorted oil plumbing.  As always, the photographs make the dirt and oil speckling look far more pronounced than it is to the naked eye.  And the data plate is a close approximate from the spares bin.  All in all though, despite how much the ignition wiring fought me, I'm very happy with how it turned out.



 
The forward cowling got a little love too.  

 
And the two dry fit together.

 
The Quinta cockpit set is supposed to arrive today, so I should be able to get moving on the build proper today or tomorrow.  
 
 

Hi, all.  After cleansing my palate and clearing a few lingerers from the shelf of doom, I'm back with another fairly large project... and no, it's not another big twin. 
 
If you've seen many of my posts over the last few years, I like to recreate historical photographs to the best of my ability.  With this project, I'm going to try something a little more ambitious to include some figures and at least some basic groundwork.  Inspired by @Effik's awesome F4U-1 build, I decided to crack open the box and get going on a project that's been simmering for a while.
 
I want to recreate this photo...

 
... from this series of photos taken at Turtle Bay in Espiritu Santo in July 1943.

 

 

 
I wanted to do this one for a couple reasons.  First, I've never done a model with the red surround on the national insignia.  I understand why it had a fairly short service history, but I always thought it was visually very striking.  I've seen some modelers portray this airplane with light blue surrounds, but if this photo series was, in fact, taken in July of 1943 (and that seems to be the consistent theme), it sits smack-dab in the middle of the ~6 week period when red surrounds would have been used.
 
Second, the sand and coral dust blown back along the fuselage is fascinating and should prove challenging to recreate.  There are a few other interesting observations as well: the top cowl flaps are fixed closed and there's an odd patch of discoloration just forward of the cockpit that doesn't look like the usual fuel staining found there.  Wondering what color that might have been.  Also, a film crew is visible to the right in the 3rd photo; I'm not sure what was going on that day, but this a/c and pilot seem to be the subject of some interest.
 
That said, I've got what I have on hand organized and ready to go:

 
I've also got a few things on order that will enhance the build, though I'm not going for all-out perfection and nth degree super detailing.  My goal with this project is to recreate the vibe and the feeling of the photo, not correct an out of place rivet or obsess over the perfect shade of salmon pink primer.
 
In the mail are:
- Barracudacast plain tread wheels
- Anyz canopy frame
- Quinta studio cockpit interior
- Black dog resin figure for the pilot
 
I've also got a set of cockpit placards from Airscale to gussy the interior up a bit if there are places the Quinta set is lacking.  I'm going to have to sculpt the ground crew standing on the wing, so that ought to prove interesting, but that's future me's problem.  As the Quinta set won't be here for a few days, and I don't want to just sit idle, I'm going to get started on the engine and maybe the wing sections first.  
 
More to come!

So, it's apparently time for me to buy a lottery ticket.
 
No sooner had I stuck a piece of tape over the Quinta IP, than this happened.  

 
I was trying to mix up a lighter color of green to use for dry brushing when I squeezed my ancient Vallejo white juuuuust a bit too hard.  Man I got lucky; not an errant speck on the unmasked areas.  
 
Anyway, after recovering from that, I went on to finish the cockpit today.  The interior is lightly chipped via the sponge method, then dirtied up a bit with oils and enamels.    The results of the Quinta set and painted wires are really nice.

 
Where the tail wheel would toss up debris and dirt, I splashed dark enamel washes along with some lighter mud tones using the speckling method.






 
Again, the speckling is not nearly as pronounced to the naked eye.  If I had more brain power, I'd get really good with model photography but I only have so much bandwidth and I already spend enough of my days in front of a computer anyway.  So, I'll live with my phone doing it's consumer-friendly best and over-emphasizing the speckling.  

 
The results of the wiring below the IP are pretty solid and I'm happy with them.  They can't be seen much when it's all together, but it still adds quite a bit of visual interest.











 
And, with that it was time to close up the fuse!  This is always a fun milestone of any airplane build.  Don't tell anyone, but it's starting to look like a Corsair already. 

 
The roundish body of the corsair swallows most of the detail I spent yesterday building.  :/



 
And that's it for now.  I'm back to work tomorrow, so I suspect updates will slow down quite a bit, but the next steps are to add the firewall, exhausts and engine.  Then it'll be on to the tail wheel assembly and the wings!  

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Guys.
 
Guys!
 
Guys, listen!
 
I've got a great idea.
 
GUYS!
 
You know the Devastator?  Remember how it can barely fly under its own weight and was obsolete practically before it rolled off the line?
 
Guys!
 
Know what it needs??
 
Floats.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

So, it's apparently time for me to buy a lottery ticket.
 
No sooner had I stuck a piece of tape over the Quinta IP, than this happened.  

 
I was trying to mix up a lighter color of green to use for dry brushing when I squeezed my ancient Vallejo white juuuuust a bit too hard.  Man I got lucky; not an errant speck on the unmasked areas.  
 
Anyway, after recovering from that, I went on to finish the cockpit today.  The interior is lightly chipped via the sponge method, then dirtied up a bit with oils and enamels.    The results of the Quinta set and painted wires are really nice.

 
Where the tail wheel would toss up debris and dirt, I splashed dark enamel washes along with some lighter mud tones using the speckling method.






 
Again, the speckling is not nearly as pronounced to the naked eye.  If I had more brain power, I'd get really good with model photography but I only have so much bandwidth and I already spend enough of my days in front of a computer anyway.  So, I'll live with my phone doing it's consumer-friendly best and over-emphasizing the speckling.  

 
The results of the wiring below the IP are pretty solid and I'm happy with them.  They can't be seen much when it's all together, but it still adds quite a bit of visual interest.











 
And, with that it was time to close up the fuse!  This is always a fun milestone of any airplane build.  Don't tell anyone, but it's starting to look like a Corsair already. 

 
The roundish body of the corsair swallows most of the detail I spent yesterday building.  :/



 
And that's it for now.  I'm back to work tomorrow, so I suspect updates will slow down quite a bit, but the next steps are to add the firewall, exhausts and engine.  Then it'll be on to the tail wheel assembly and the wings!  

Fascinating, thanks.  I'll see if I can grab a copy of it.  You know, if this turns out to be a presentable project when done, I'd be happy to give this to you as a direct descendant of the man being portrayed.  I just don't know how I'd get it to you without UPS or the likes turning the whole thing into plastic kibble. 
 
Anyway, I couldn't stand the back of the cowl flaps being completely devoid of details and none of the aftermarket detail sets are in stock anywhere, so I added a little bit myself.  It's not much, but it does add some visual interest behind the flaps.
 

 

 

 
 
As it stands, I currently have the tailwheel, cowls, and engine installed and am working on the lower wings.  I'll be adding some wiring to the gear bays to busy them up a bit.

I echo these sentiments verbatim. They're always my first stop for model stuff.  I shudder to think how much money I've sent them in the last decade. 

Sweet merciful God, please don't connect that to the Internet. 

It can't be terrible if it's right.

I read that he was one of the few people whose health improved while in a POW camp.