Bstarr3

Nice work, Woody! Did you freehand that mottling, or use stencils or my dreaded scotchbrite pad?

For the DIY-inclined (I built my own spray booth, using the same plans as denders above), I ran across this amazing post on r/modelmakers: This genius built a downdraft right into his workbench! I’m considering doing this myself for my own new workspace after the move

The salt fading was one of the many things I was particularly impressed with and hope, in my own way, to emulate in my build (whenever I get back to it)

Well, sadly, this build is going on hold for the next few months (and just when I was getting into a flow!), as we've somewhat unexpectedly put our house on the market in order to relocate for a new job. So the junky modelling desk gets packed away, completed subassemblies and painted figures carefully put away for the next time. Hopefully, the next time I see you all, I will be posting some shots of my new and improved workspace in the new place.

Just wanted to bring this one back from the dead to say what an inspirational and educational build this was. I've got it bookmarked as a reference for my own F4U-1 that I've just gotten started. Really enjoy your builds, John!

Honestly, I’ve tried this a number of times but can never thin the scotch brite pad down enough without tearing it into little bits.

While I was puzzling about this motor issue and waiting for suggestions from the peanut gallery, I set about some figure painting yesterday. The kit pilot figure is actually pretty well molded for what it is. The detail is not as great as a resin figure, but looked like the face was well-sculpted enough that I could get a decent result with painting it. I’ve used this technique for my last few figures and been happy with the result. First I prime with Mr Surfacer 1500 black, then do zenithal highlights by spraying a light color - in this case MRP clear doped linen - from an angle above, creating highlights where they would naturally fall, and leaving shadows elsewhere. Then, I brush paint with Vallejo Model Colors, mixed with glaze medium. This creates a thin but even layer of color, through which the shadows and highlights show nicely. Here are the basic colors blocked in: I start with a base layer of brown sand on the face, then mix up a wet palette with sunny skin tone, brown sand, and buff, blending shadows and highlights between these three colors. that one brush is what I use for the whole figure, although irises of the eyes were done with a toothpick. here’s the finished work:

Thank you for this insight. I knew I’d get some engineer answers that I hadn’t even thought of. I assume the weight would be most effective at the tips of the propeller?

Telescoping brass rod is an idea. I’ll have to look at how I could rig that with a short distance. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks for the idea. Sadly, I think with the way I’ve already modified the kit part, I’m pretty well committed to a rigid connection, because the prop spindle no longer has anything solid to keep it in place against the front of the gear reduction housing, other than the motor shaft.

Beautiful work. And also, FYI, some of the best modeling YouTubes don’t have any narration at all…

Tonight’s update from the bench: Sadly, it appears that my proof of concept test was not rigorous enough. Although it spins the prop just fine, it seems my motor, in spite of all my efforts, is slightly off center. If I put the whole assembly together - motor, spindle, inside the gear reduction housing - nothing happens. If I remove the gear reduction housing, the spindle spins with the motor, but has a slight wobble on its axis, I’d estimate a half a millimeter to either side. Obviously this is keeping it from spinning freely inside the gear reduction housing. So, I ask the many professional engineers on this site: how would you tackle this problem? As I see it, I have to 1) ensure the motor is perfectly perpendicular to its baseplate, and 2) center the spindle exactly on the centered and perpendicular shaft of the motor. I’d appreciate any suggestions.

Che bella, Paolo! This really looks incredible, and the Tornado kit looks like a nice one. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what you did with the magnets on the canopy, but it looks ingenious. I'm trying some magnets on my current build so looking out for all the different ways people utilize them.

This just looks great, Chuck! No one would be able to tell how much you had to wrestle with this kit to get the final result

This looks great, Woody! Glad you've had time to come back to it. Giving me plenty of inspiration for my own Corsair build. My last project was the Z-M F-4 in 1/48, and although that's a very nice kit, I just can't get over how beautiful the design and engineering is on this Tamiya kit. One of their best efforts ever! FWIW, I agree that this weathering looks perhaps a bit too "splotchy", although the addition of clear coats and weathering always brings down the tonal variation evident from the airbrush layer, so sometimes if it looks "just right", it's too subtle by the time you're finished. It's a hard thing to get dialed in, for sure - you've inspired me to practice my painting on a mule so I don't wreck this lovely kit.

Sorry, I realize I kind of left everybody hanging there. I was trying to figure out how to post video. I uploaded a short clip to YouTube - let's see how this works...

And now for something completely different… As I have alluded, I plan this build as an in-flight Corsair. And what is an in flight plane without a real spinning propeller? I bought some micro 3v DC motors (5 for $8 on Amazon), which happen to fit perfectly inside the gear reduction housing, with just a tiny bit of plastic surgery… Assembling it in this way gave me a perfectly coaxial motor shaft (I know this isn't coaxial - I adjusted it after reviewing these photos.) but I had to figure how to make sure the propeller spindle was coaxial to the motor shaft. I drilled it out, filled it with Milliput Then I assembled everything, allowing the motor shaft to make an impression in the putty. After completing this clever little bit of engineering and construction, and feeling quite proud of myself, I was struck by the concern that this tiny little motor wouldn’t make enough torque to spin the prop, and I couldn’t wait for the Milliput to dry, so I rigged up a test of concept.

I just spent the last three days catching up on this thread between patients at work. This is just a masterclass, John! Beautiful work and can't wait for RFI photos. Also, mark me down as a "yes" for the Thunnus YouTube channel!!

This looks like a cool subject - I love the beat to s**t planes of the Cactus Air Force.

Just caught up on this - just tremendous work on that paintjob! Beautiful modulation, and a really interesting color scheme.

Beautiful build and photographs, Miloslav! GWH P-40B best kit ever in this scale? That's a bold claim - I'll have to check this one out!

Wow what a bummer! Thanks for the heads up.

While on the topic of aftermarket... I went ahead and purchased the Brassin cowling. It certainly would show better with an open engine, but the extra detail on the cowling flaps made it worthwhile to me. Look at the difference from the kit part! I know that this part is designed specifically for the Tamiya kit, but is anyone aware of any fit issues that I need to be on the lookout for with using this part?

I think I’m going to work on the resin tire. We’ll see how it goes…

I’m on the horns of a dilemma as regards my project, here. I bought the Barracudacast resin wheels, which are a lot better than the rubber tires from the kit. However, they have a flat spot, which doesn’t suit to my intended take off display (ie, in flight, but wheels down). What say you - am I better off finding a workaround for the flat spot on the resin tire, or the seam line on the rubber one?