big matt Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Here is my interpretation of a first tour VF-17 -1A Corsair. Having had more than my share of "fun" with the Trumpeter Corsair, I thought I might explain some of my choices. Pretty straight forward cockpit stuff. I chose to model the canopy recess behind the rear bulkhead and tried to get the armor plating correct. I chose interior green for the recessed portion as it would have been an interior surface. Jury is out on this one. Oil cooler vanes. I felt the use of salmon as a primer was appropriate for an early -1A. I have been unable to locate specific info but was greatly influenced by the recovery of the -1 from Lake Michigan. VF-17 utilized a color coded recognition system that had paint on the propeller hub and it extended a bit down the blades, which in this case are narrow chord rather than the wider chord seen on some Jolly Rogers planes. Speculation ran rampant concerning which color Freeman had at this point but I do believe he was on Butch Davenport's flight and felt blue would be appropriate. The use of salmon on wheel wells seemed correct as well. Photographic evidence suggested that ground crews repainted the interior of the main gear doors white. The gear legs might have been gray as I have portrayed or a steel color at this point. to be continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 part two. The white stripes were actually medical tape used to help with fuel tank leakage and the resulting windshield fouling and fumes in the cockpit. This problem also affected the -1A leading edge wing tanks. Tape application was anything but uniform and looked rather ratty. Here is the wing tank filler cap. Some planes leaked more than other as there seemed to be no uniform application of tape on USN or Marine Corsairs. -1A's had a formatin light (blue) and an additional white light forward of the blue. This was deleted on later variants. Original VF-17 aircraft made the trip to the South Pacific on a carrier deck. They had a rudder stop brace and this left a noticeable stain and fading. It is quite prominent in period photos of VF-17. White 7 was also flown by Ira Kepford. There is a photo of Kepford in 7 with 4 kills and his name on the port side cockpit opening. I felt that since Chico had applied his tail art he would have had Kepford's name and victories overpainted. Speculation but it made sense to me. Other photos of Freeman with white 7 show no kills or names on the port side. I tried to blend the intermediate blue with the sea blue as accounts related that the two were virtually indistinguishable after time in the tropical sun. Some but not all VF-17 planes sported cowling numbers. I found no evidence that 7 did or did not have this marking. I did it anyway. Chico's bent wing bird. Lt. Freeman was killed while in the ready room on board the Bunker Hill with VF-84. A kamikaze crashed into the carrier killing several VF-84 pilots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 A stunning Corsair, lovely work! Thanks for explaining all of your markings, made for a very interesting read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigern007 Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hey Matt...A really nice rendition of my favourite a/c. Great finish,interestig [means I'll probably copy your style] color blending. Nice restrained weathering.I like the cockpit a lot. I guess I'd better buy some "salmon" paint soon. ....Cheers Bigern... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Peters Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Great history lesson Matt, all very relevant and useful info. Excellent photography, close-ups show the finer details are on par with the rest of the stunning finish. You did pretty good for a Luft guy. Regards, Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I am speechless with the attention to detail. The medical tape does look like medical tape. The over all finish is really well done. There are lots of little details that pop out as one studies the pics (which are really well done by the way) Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Nice Corsair!! One of my favorite aircraft, too. Great historical background work as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Well done Sir! I know what you went through with this kit. Brilliantly researched and interpreted to a great result. Terrific stuff. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Great looking F4U. The extra effort in the details really shows. Great work - thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 really nice job! Turned out great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomek Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Now, these pictures do more justice to your work Amazing work, Matt! I'm stunned by the sheer amount of research you put into this build, and your execution is just incredible. Great details! Very inspiring. Way to go Matt :bow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 turned out really nice matt, congrats on the build - it looks great! rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamme Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hello Matt. Nice job on this Corsair. Congrats! Cheers, Jamme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Superb mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 Thank you so much guys! I really appreciate the comments and look forward to hearing what you think. For me,the research is a BIG part of building models. I read several books, or try to, for each build. History is fun. Math is not... Thanks a lot everyone! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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