ericg Posted June 16, 2017 Posted June 16, 2017 (edited) So after the dust had settled from my recent activity trying to get a few entries ready for the Australian Model Expo, I started on the new Lukgraph Corsair. I was sent this kit to do a build after Kevin Futter had done an in box review of the model. As most would know, I will take on practically any aviation subject in 1/32 and have a pretty eclectic collection of built models in my display cabinet, so this will fit in quite well. I have seen a couple of nice builds and a completion of this kit already and am pretty impressed with how they have come together. This will be an OOB build as far as I can manage, as Lukasz has done a great job of including everything that the modeler will need to complete the kit. Of course there are similarities to Silverwings kits as the instructions, and resin parts remind me of their kits (having recently finished the excellent Demon), although I am not sure where the connections are. Onto the build. An extremely important aspect of receiving a kit is allowing my oldest son to experience the unwrapping of the parcel and the resulting excitement of looking through the new kits. I believe it is a good way of encouraging the younger generation to get into modelling. The kit is nicely packaged and has lots of stuff in it! All of the parts are bagged in the appropriate groupings of parts, which is handy as there is no parts breakdown. A fret of photo etch, instructions, a sticker set of the squadron patches, vinyl canopy frames and even a polishing cloth. A nice touch is the certificate of special dedication, personalized to the modeller. I started with the cockpit framing. There are lots of hidden air bubbles in this resin, which means lots of breakages. Once it is all together though, it is quite strong enabling cleanup of the casting seams present on all elements. The cross members are cut tot he specified length from spare styrene rod. Resin rods are included in the kit, but the styrene is a bit of a shortcut as there is less cleanup involved. Once the framing was primed and then painted with AK Interactive Aluminium, I assembled the supplied instrument panels and radio boxes using the resin parts and instruments printed on plastic sheet sandwiched between photo etched panels. This method was quite effective. I then used PVA glue to simulate instrument glass. The partially assembled cockpit, with the floors in place. There are quite a few extra details yet to be added here. Onto the cockpit sides. The instructions do call out for interior green but I decided to go along with LSP member Brandon Woods research that concluded that it was more likely to be aluminium dope with fabric elements. I painted the sides Tamiya AS-12 Bare metal Silver and then masked and painted the fabric elements with a lightened mix of Gunze sail colour before a wash of AK Sand and Desert cam Paneliner. I used a bit of Tamiya smoke to add some shadow and grime. Some of the parts had to be shifted around or removed to get everything to fit. There is a small quadrant type part (in black on the bottom fuselage half) that needed to be shifted up from its former location otherwise it interferes with the elevator trim wheel. Similarly, there should be 3 small boxes (in olive green as per instructions) on a moulded frame on each side of the rear seaters fuselage, that required removal of the bottom box to fit the cockpit frame. The kit seats are nicely moulded in resin, with photo etch belts. I decided to assemble these and will paint them later. Edited August 21, 2017 by ericg Hubert Boillot, Whitey, cib2265 and 11 others 14
LSP_Kevin Posted June 16, 2017 Posted June 16, 2017 Great start, mate! Part of me wishes I'd kept this kit, as I was quite impressed with it when I compiled my review. Will follow along avidly. Kev mpk 1
Joel_W Posted June 16, 2017 Posted June 16, 2017 (edited) Eric, I'll be following along with great interest, as I'm sure that your build blog will go a long ways to building my confidence to finally trying a resin kit myself. Joel Edited June 16, 2017 by Joel_W mpk 1
ericg Posted June 21, 2017 Author Posted June 21, 2017 More work on the cockpit with the addition of the small detail parts. I made a new loop antenna from brass, as I felt it would be easier to keep the tubular profile of the brass rather than clean up the resin part. The completed cockpit ready to insert into the fuselage halves Onto the engine. The cylinders are a little rough, but look OK once finished. Build up of the engine. I chose to add some wash at this point to see what I could do with the cylinders and see if the fins needed to be reworked. I started to wire up the engine, using copper wire for the spark plug wires. I then noticed that the spark plug wire harness assembly did not reach around as far as it should, so scratchbuilt an extension on both sides with plastic card, as can be seen by the white colour of the end of the harness Almost completed engine. Hubert Boillot, DesTROYer, Whitey and 3 others 6
Joel_W Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 Eric, I'm really impressed at how the engine is coming along. the wash did a great deal to tone down those cylinder heads. As for the cockpit, it's quite nicely detailed and should add a lot to the overall look of the finished model. Joel
KUROK Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 Yep. Looking fabulous! I'm ridin' along on this one too!
ericg Posted June 23, 2017 Author Posted June 23, 2017 Thanks alot guys. Moving along. I next tackled the vacform canopy. These really aren't that hard to do provided you take care when handling the clear plastic. Lukgraph has thoughtfully included 2 canopies in the kit. Due to the complex nature of the front windscreen, I nibbled away at the shape with my precision side cutters. A bit of blue tack pushed into the canopy gives it some support during handling. I then started to cut the canopy. I want to pose all of the parts open. I used my JLC razor saw for this task, and completed each cut by eye. I took a bit of a break from the canopy and fitted the undercarriage to the completed fuselage. I will leave off the elevators until after painting. I also drilled holes for each outer wing strut, once again aligning the drill bit by eye. cib2265, Girlscanplay2, Whitey and 3 others 6
Jeff Posted June 23, 2017 Posted June 23, 2017 Eric, silly question time.............. you knew it would come sooner or later......... how do you bend the brass tube so precise and smooth with out kinking it?? A taks I CANNOT do at all, any tip would be of great help... excellent work so far for sure.. Jeff
Joel_W Posted June 23, 2017 Posted June 23, 2017 Eric, Your vac canopy is coming out great. I've dealt with them just twice, and managed to screw the 1st one up pretty bad. You make it look real easy. The dry fitted Corsair really looks quite good. I'm going to assume that you heated the tubing up before bending it around a stationary curved surface. Joel
ericg Posted June 23, 2017 Author Posted June 23, 2017 Eric, silly question time.............. you knew it would come sooner or later......... how do you bend the brass tube so precise and smooth with out kinking it?? A taks I CANNOT do at all, any tip would be of great help... excellent work so far for sure.. Jeff Hi Jeff, the part that I made was from brass rod rather than tube, so it won't kink. If I were to use tube then I would insert rod of a smaller diameter inside it before bending to avoid the kink issue. Eric DesTROYer 1
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now