Tamiya Factory Corsair *finished*

[Gisbod]

Hello All,

 

I've finally succumbed to the Tamiya Corsair - the F-4U1D version. 

 

I’ve held back in the past because there have been so many of these made and there are (relatively) limited colour schemes. Blue or grey basically. Not that I didn’t like those schemes, just that I like to have a different twist rather than looking like everyone else’s. They’ve also been a whole load made to an incredibly high standard I thought; what could I add? But I’ve finally been worn down and thought I was spiting myself for the sake of it. It’s clearly just about the best kit ever according to the reports, so what was not to like?

 

I have seen a couple of beautifully made up ones on line as production line versions in varying stages of primer and I think I want to go along this route. I’ve gone through a bit of a run of kits lately where I feel they’ve been slightly marred by the weathering process rather than adding anything and I like the idea of a clean Corsair, as the ones in use seem to be total wrecks!

 

Anyway, in terms of extras I’ve ordered a set of HGW seatbelts, a Eduard ‘Look’ instrument panel (haven’t seen these in the flesh, so I’m curious), the Eduard cowling & cooling flaps set and the Grey Matter engine bay resin set - quite expensive, but a big difference. I wanted a set of Barracuda cockpit stencils but they all appear to be sold out in the U.K. so I went with the HGW ‘wet’ transfer set - I haven’t tried these either. If I end up doing any national marking I’ll be getting a mask set for those.

 

The Eduard engine & cockpit replacements just seem a little too extravagant (and perhaps unnecessary?)

 

Looking forward to getting started!

 

Any tips much appreciated and I have the wonderful build threads from Thunnus and Wolf Budee to reference to.

 

Cheers,

 

Guy

Edited May 15, 2019 by Gisbod

[misha71]

it is great to have another corsair build

good luck and will follow with interest

[Fvdm]

A corsair is always good. Good luck.

[Thunnus]

Very cool!  Corsairs are such cool birds so bring the F4U-1D on, my friend!

 

I'm not a Corsair expert and have been relying on other builds and ongoing help from LSP members to keep my build going in the right direction.  Knowing what I know about the Tamiya kit, one word of caution would be regarding the Eduard cowling flaps and how they mate with the Grey Matter Engine bay set.  Since the fit of the Vector resin cowl flaps was not as precise as the kit flaps, I've relied on butt joints between the engine cowling parts to the forward nose ring and the rear cowl flaps to ensure good fit.  I may end up with all of the engine cowls glued shut, which is ok with me.  I don't have experience with the Eduard flaps nor the Grey Matter set so maybe they may work well but I advise lots of careful dry-fitting before committing any parts to glue!

[Gisbod]

Thanks chaps,

 

John - thanks for the heads up. I will of course take care there. If there’s any chance of it not looking neat, I would rather have the simple option - but well done. I’ll see how I go.

 

Just been cleaning up the cockpit parts and impressed so far. It’s funny how you get used to a certain scale. Having just finished the Airfix 1/24 Stuka and the Hobby Boss 1/18 Fw190 - the Corsair seems tiny! 

 

Will get some pics up shortly.

 

Guy

[Gisbod]

The Postman came today bearing gifts...

 

This is the Eduard ‘Look’ panel, which is pretty jaw dropping! The photo doesn’t do it justice. The instrument faces are even glazed. My only concern is that it feels like cheating... it’s particularly good if you’re portraying a new, unweathered Corsair as I am. Lovely 

 

 

 

 

Also in the ‘Look’ packet was a set of pre painted seat belts. Normally, I’d just chuck these in the bin compared to the HGW set, but they do look very nicely done and clean cut. I may even have a little experiment with them. My usual gripe with painted etched belts is the paint splits off when they’re bent to shape, which always seemed a bit silly, but you never know.

 

 

 

 

The next packet was the HGW belts which conversely didn’t look quite as sharp as they normally do? Shame you can’t combine the razor sharp detail of the PE set with the lovely fabric effect of this one. These came with an inside and out canopy masking set. The kit has one, but you do have to cut it yourself, so it won’t do any harm to have this set.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, just a comparison to the Kit PE belts:

 

 

 

 

Next up is the HGW Wet Transfer Set. I’ve no idea how these perform, but they come in quite a substantial pack:

 

 

 

 

... and on opening you can see why, there are a LOT of transfers and heaps of rather intimidating instruction sheets. These should keep me out of mischief for some time!

 

 

 

 

 

And last, but not least, the Eduard Cowling Set:

 

 

 

 

Very finely moulded and super thin! This looks like a good addition, I’ll just have to check the fit obviously, particularly as I’m going to be using the Grey Matter Engne Bay Set (not here yet).

 

You get two cowl flap options. They both look identical apart from a small cut out on one side of the ring, I haven’t delved into what the differences are for yet.

 

 

 

 

Hopefully, it will give me a second option when I **** up the first one!

 

 

Guy

Edited April 18, 2019 by Gisbod

[Fvdm]

All the extra's look really beautifull! Looking forward for further updates.

[Gisbod]

 

Thanks Fvdm 

 

Can anyone direct me to a source of ground/ factory accessories?

 

Trollies/ generators/ step ladders/ tools etc? 1/32 or 1/35?

 

Thanks,

 

Guy

[Thunnus]

I'm always a sucker for the aftermarket stuff, especially when it's straight out of the package.  Sometimes it loses its luster a bit when trouble arises but hopefully these additions will be trouble-free for you.  Good to see the comparison between the Eduard cockpit stuff and what I used on my kit, including the HGW harnesses.  Remember... there is some stitching detail on the HGW fabric harnesses what will come out after a wash is applied.  Curious to see the HGW wet transfers.  I'm wondering how different they are in application compared to decals?  I used the Barracuda cockpit stencil set for mine and even though they weren't the easiest to apply, they really upped the level of detail in the cockpit.

 

The two types of cowl flaps.  Not an expert, but I think some early F4U's had cowl flaps completely around the engine while later Corsairs omitted the flaps along the top of the fuselage.  I'm guessing it had to do with improving forward visibility.

[Gisbod]

Thanks John,

 

Yep, I’m a sucker too! But I think the ‘Look’ IP is a no brainer for a lazy modeller like me! 

 

The Wet Transfers - the instructions say to soak like a normal decal, then apply, once dry the top film peels off to leave no carrier film. I’ll be very interested to see how these turn out. They were about twice the price of the Barracuda set but then you do get a whole airframe’s worth of stencils and markings.

 

I'm sure you must be right re the cowling flaps...

 

cheers 

 

Guy

[Gisbod]

So, I’ve made a start on the kit - and can report it’s absolutely fabulous! Fit, detail, finesse.. it’s got everything  But I guess you already knew that. 

 

I’ve started with the cockpit - Here’s the seat. I went with the Eduard straps in the end - totally surprising myself as I’m usually such an HGW fabric belt fan, but they looked so darn sharp next to the HGW offering that I was persuaded. The paint didn’t split either when I bent them to shape, which usually happens with such a sharp bend. So what they lack in fabricness they make up for in neatness and as it’s a factory build it seemed to suit.

 

 

 

 

 

I re-worked the throttle quadrant, I was quite pleased with it until I took some macro photos! Looks fine to the naked eye. Definitely not up to Wolf & Thunnus’s standards, but the best I could manage.

 

 

 

Here’s the starboard side panel:

 

 

 

 

The HGW wet transfers are excellent. They really work, apply as a normal transfer then leave for 6-8 hours and the film comes off fairly easily, leaving a decal that looks like it’s been painted on. However, I did have some issues with the cockpit decals, some of them are designed to be placed on a surface free of the raised detail, and just weren’t going to fit as was. I did try to cut them up to fit, but it didn’t work. So some are missing. I don’t really know whether it’s the product’s fault or my lack of ability, but this is the best I could do:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve shamelessly copied Wolf’s tag idea on the Oxygen bottle, the red ‘Caution’ decal below the headrest shows off how good the wet transfers can look:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready now to glue all the components together. The Grey Matter Set arrived yesterday so an update on that soon.

 

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Guy

 

 

 

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Fantastic work, Guy! Looks great.

 

Kev

[John1]

On 4/18/2019 at 6:04 PM, Thunnus said:

 

The two types of cowl flaps.  Not an expert, but I think some early F4U's had cowl flaps completely around the engine while later Corsairs omitted the flaps along the top of the fuselage.  I'm guessing it had to do with improving forward visibility.

I believe from Dana Bell’s book, the early cowl flaps that went 360 degrees around allowed oil to splatter on the windscreen.  To solve,  they originally locked the top center flap in the down position, later it was eliminated entirely.   

 

I too am intrigued by those HGW wet transfers.   Looking forward to your feedback.  I’d suggest not using the kit decals, to the extent possible. The smaller stencils were somewhat ok but the national insignias were thick and didn’t settle down as well as I hoped for.  

[Gisbod]

Thanks Kev,

 

...and thanks John, yes, I’d always avoid Tamiya decals, never understand why they persist with such thick decals when everyone else has such fine ones. Apart from my quibble about the HGW smaller cockpit decals, I think they are way ahead a normal decal set. 

 

Just a quick mini review of the Grey Matter Engine Bay resin set. Arrived in a small, sturdy cardboard box filled with this:

 

 

 

 

Quite a lot of parts, the detail looks generally fine with a little clean up of parts required due to the flash of the mouldings. They also recommend soaking in detergent for 12 hours which I duly did. It comes with a fairly extensive set of instructions, but the printing is quite ‘home made’ and hence the colour photos aren’t very crisp, so it’s a little bit difficult to make out some of the detail in the photos, but good enough!

 

 

 

 

The scary part about this addition is having to cut up a perfectly beautiful kit. It took a bit of effort to get scalpel to plastic! The saving grace is it’s along a defined panel line and it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting - I used a new blade and took my time. A quick dry fit of the rear panel which sits into this opening was reassuringly good. 

 

 

 

Finished cockpit pictures to follow.

 

Guy

[Gisbod]

Ps  the colour call outs for internal areas are green, I’ve seen lots of others with Salmon Pink, was that changed on these later Corsairs? 

 

Thanks

 

Guy