Eenyweeny Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 After the disaster of the Trumpter F4u-1D build and the ridiculous wing arrangement, I've decided to jump straight back on the horse and build another Corsair... this time Tamiya's offering. First impressions were that it's not much different to the Trumpter offering... Right up to the point where I found the decals and instruction manual AND full colour reference photo book. I was sceptical before buying the Tamiya, due to the fairly substantial hike in price, but I think that Tamiya can utterly justify their price. The quality of moldings and lack of flashing and release pin marks is unbelievable. The level of detail of the cockpit alone is the best I've ever seen. I apologise in advance to using John1's build as inspiration, If mine ends up 1/10 as well as his did, I will be a very happy man! I have purchased the cockpit decal set and resin wheels from Baracudu and the cowl kit from Vector to enhance this build, but other than that I will be doing no scratch building, just enjoying the build. I will post pictures of progress to follow. Thanks for looking and I welcome any tips or critism, good or bad. Out2gtcha and LSP_Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 I think you'll find Tamiya-san's F4U LIGHTYEARS ahead of your last experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwrench Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 How much is it? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 19 minutes ago, Hawkwrench said: How much is it? Tim Tim, it’s pricy. I think I paid around $150 (can’t recall for sure). All I can tell you is to me, it was well worth it. Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwrench Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Wooo, that's a little much. No doubt it's well worth it. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 Hawkwrench, the engineering is incredible, really well though out. Plus the instruction manual is accurate and easy to follow. This is my progress to date: An utter joy to assemble and paint, the tiny decals from barracuda were quite fiddly, but well worth the trouble. They really bring the cockpit to life! I really like the seatbelts as well, however I found it incredibly difficult to bend them convincingly. Any comments, criticism good or bed are welcomed thanks. Gazzas, Out2gtcha, MikeMaben and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 12 hours ago, Hawkwrench said: Wooo, that's a little much. No doubt it's well worth it. Tim Indeed. I have to say, arguably one of the best fitting kits in any scale, and as worth it as any kits Ive purchased. 58 minutes ago, Eenyweeny said: I really like the seatbelts as well, however I found it incredibly difficult to bend them convincingly. Any comments, criticism good or bed are welcomed thanks. Lovely work! That pit looks really good. Just a heads up on the PE seatbelts for next time: Even though they are painted PE, I would highly recommend annealing them with a small hand held torch or lighter, and then cleaning and painting them from there. Annealed PE belts perform more like lead sheet belts after annealing; MUCH easier to bend and conform, with none of that PE "springiness" Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 Out2gtcha, thanks for the tip and the kind words. These belts were actually unpainted so the annealing process wouldn't have harmed them! Is it just a case of heat them and allow to cool, or heat them and quench? Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 45 minutes ago, Eenyweeny said: Is it just a case of heat them and allow to cool, or heat them and quench? I like to use a small pencil torch I picked up from home depot. But yes, a quick run though the torch or lighter till black, then a quench in water, wipe off the black marks and you should be GTG! I've found they cooperate MUCH more. A cigarette lighter works too, but need just a few more seconds under the lighter than with a torch. If you do pick up torch, just keep the time in the flame short, as I found it doesn't take long to get things TOO hot. Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 That cockpit is looking great, by all accounts the Tamiya Corsair kit is way superior to most other kits, apart from other Tamiya super kits that is. Cheers Dennis Out2gtcha and Eenyweeny 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 19 hours ago, Eenyweeny said: I apologise in advance to using John1's build as inspiration, If mine ends up 1/10 as well as his did, I will be a very happy man! I have purchased the cockpit decal set and resin wheels from Baracudu and the cowl kit from Vector to enhance this build, but other than that I will be doing no scratch building, just enjoying the build. I'm truly honored. From what I've seen, your work looks fantastic. Honestly, don't worry about trying to match anyone else's build. Before starting mine, I looked at some of the awesome Corsair builds other folks have posted and was thinking about not even starting mine since I'd never get close to their level. As long as you are having fun and learning some new tricks, that's all that matters. My only word of advice is to take it slow with the Vector cowl flaps. Do a lot of dry fitting to make sure the Tamiya cowling covers fit w/ no gaps. You might have to thin some of the resin and widen the holes that mate with the Tamiya parts. Hard to explain but you'll see once you get to that stage and dryfit everything together. It's a lot of work but the end result is really worth it. Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Thanks for all the kind words and advice so far, it is very much appreciated. I have reached a bit of a stall, for now, due to the Vector cowl parts not being delivered yet, as they are coming from the UK. I will be building a Tamiya, birdcage F4u-1 Corsair at some point in the near future and was wondering if the vector cowl is compatible with that kit. If so, I'll just continue on with this kit, out of the box as I can't really afford to go hyper detail on both models. Does anyone know the answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Looks great so far, cockpit is awesome. I’ll be following closely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Not much progress to report I'm afraid... Work keeps getting in the way! The Vector cowl arrived and I'm impressed! the level of detail is incredible: I haven't decided how to tackle the removal of the existing ribs in the Tamiya cowl front piece... any advice would be greatly welcomed. I've made a start on the engine (another Tamiya work of art! I shot tamiya flat aluminium on the cylinder heads, painted the crank case grey and then gave the whole lot a black wash to pick out the fin detail... looks ok to me! I made a start at attempting to add the HT leads to the Vector part. I think this copper wire is a tad too think, but it's all I have. If I'm not happy with it, then I'll revert to the kit part. That's all for now... thanks for looking. MikeMaben, BiggTim, Out2gtcha and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 The copper is a tad thick, but unless you are really unhappy with the way it looks, or are entering it in a contest, Id say dont worry about it. If needed for future reference, Im not sure what they have up north, but they have here in the states a case of multiple thicknesses of lead fishing wire. I find the sizing invariably handy - Contains one spool each of .020, .025, .030, .035 and two spools of .015: https://www.fishusa.com/product/Round-Lead-Wire-Assortment The lead wire is delicate and if you man-handle it, you will crush it, but it works really well for running multiple "hard lines" like the ones found in wheel wells and what not karimb, CJP and KUROK 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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