1/18 Scale Blue Box F4U-1A Corsair Modification

[LSP_Kevin]

Amazing stuff, Jay! Your eye for detail - and ability to recreate it - is as good as anybody's. And certainly far better than mine! Merry Christmas.

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

Wow man! This thing just keeps getting better and better. 

The view of both wells together with the wing really drive home all that wonderful detail.

[Jim Barry]

Incredible! It's such a tribute to the engineering. I 3D designed and printed working landing gear for the Bearcat but decided it was too much to also install and operate in the model. Close, but I compromised too much detail. For you to have done both is a great achievement. Seeing this, it's tempting to "go back to the drawing board", but I must finish the Bearcat within its scope. Another day...

[JayW]

42 minutes ago, Jim Barry said:

For you to have done both is a great achievement.

 

Jim - this landing gear is not operable.  There was no way I was going to be able to pull that off!!!   But I gave every effort to make it look like it does.  It would be cool to do a 1/10 or so model of just a Corsair wheel well with operable landing gear.  Or a Bearcat for that matter.    

[TAG]

Wow, Jay, I've always been in awe of your scratch skills, but you are just CRUSHING this build right now.

 

Indubitably your best work yet, just absolutely effin' glorious!

[chuck540z3]

Hat's off to you sir!  You continue to amaze with your skill and craftsmanship with no detail ignored, like that little fabric piece.  Really cool.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[Oldbaldguy]

Uh oh.  I just discovered something while following your build:  While I knew about the little fabric gizmo on the gear doors, I was not aware that there appears to be no visible shiny chrome ram tube on the main gear oleo struts.  None.  And all these years I’ve been duly painting parts of the struts on my Corsairs silver.  I am crushed.  Spiked nog of the egg may help, but regaining my nerve will be slow.  Here’s to ya!  I learn something new every day.

[JayW]

1 hour ago, Oldbaldguy said:

there appears to be no visible shiny chrome ram tube on the main gear oleo struts.

 

According to the landing gear installation drawing VS-10275, the oleo extension for a "taxiing" full gross weight aircraft is 2.5 inches.  But look at this picture of a strut/oleo fully compressed:

 

 

 

The beginning of the chrome plated surface is buried inside the upper strut by approximately 1.75 inches by my measurement.  

 

So that means there should be a small amount of chrome exposed on a fully loaded aircraft (2.5 - 1.75 = 0.75 inch).

 

Here is mine:

 

 

That is supposed to depict an aircraft with something less than full gross weight, but not fully empty weight.  So i have a little more "chrome" exposed.  That part of my lower strut is made of aluminum tube, polished as best I could get it.  But as you can see it's not very shiny.  

 

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by JayW

[JayW]

2 hours ago, TAG said:

Indubitably your best work yet

Some mighty kind words Thomaz.  All of us strive to improve as we go, I believe.  But this time around I have some secret weapons I didn't have with the Thunderbolt (which is IMO the best of the ones I have completed over the years) - and that is computer modeling, and 3D print parts.  It isn't so much any increase in skills....

 

Extensive use of 3DP parts, if modeled well on the computer, can turn a scratch build into something closer to a manufactured kit.  And the quality improves.  I am limiting my 3DP parts to those that I cannot scratch build well if at all.  But even with that - I shudder to think what the total cost will be.   

[JayW]

17 hours ago, Jim Barry said:

Seeing this, it's tempting to "go back to the drawing board", but I must finish the Bearcat within its scope. Another day...

 

I remember exploring with you that (4-bar?) mechanism that comprised the Bearcat landing gear.  Man, if you can do it, go for it.  But I agree with you to keep the project within its scope.

 

Here, for those of you wondering what I'm talking about:

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by JayW

[Jim Barry]

Thanks for that, Jay. Lovely image. I have the first designer rendering of the Bearcat on my wall. 

 

I don't know where I thought your's worked, but they look so good, I just got caught up in the magic! You are killing it! 

 

Working landing gear is  "A cut above"......one day...maybe. Here's as far as I got in 3D land. Working was clearly a priority over accuracy! (toy vs model is a blurry line!). 

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Jim Barry

[JayW]

4 hours ago, Jim Barry said:

Working landing gear is  "A cut above"......one day...maybe.

 

Very cool kinematic videos!!  Making workable landing gear (or flaps or other things that normally move) on a scale model is almost always problematic.  In real full scale life, the geometry for an article like a landing gear is going to take advantage of all the space it can, just to get the best mechanical advantage for the various elements of the mechanism, especially the actuator.  So joints are going to be as close as practical to the wing surface, accounting for skin thickness and any stringers or other stiffening elements.  Well we all know how disproportionately thick skin gages are on a 1/32 (or in my case a 1/18) scale model.  So we usually cannot hope to just scale down the geometry.  It must be tweaked to account for the model's too thick gage.  For that bearcat landing gear, it's kinematic geometry is certainly carefully tailored for the real world envelope in which it resides, and the two positions it must place the gear (up and down).  You would have to develop a different kinemat for a scale model where some of the critical points would have to be further inside the wing that they ordinarily would be by merely scaling then down.  

 

I tried to scale down the P-47 flap linkage while doing that big project.  And I ran into the same problems in spades.  What I ended up with not only did not actually move the flaps, but didn't even look like it was supposed to, to the trained eye.  

[JayW]

Let me show you my progress.  The main near term goal here is to complete the cockpit (except the seat and armor plate).  Recall the sequencing is of critical importance due to access issues. 

 

First, this thing has been sporting one rudder pedal for months on end, sticking up like an antenna, protected by a specially made guard.  No longer - we now have both rudder pedals:

 

 

 

Man - that lower hold has really gotten dusty and dirty.  I might just leave it that way.  Or dirty it up some more. 

 

Also, one of the steps I have on my list is to recheck all applicable drawings to see if I forgot something - and I did!  Look:

 

    

 

I already had a fluorescent light on the LH side - now I have one on the RH side.  Later, after I install the windshield, two more will be fabricated and installed (they attach to the windshield post).  Just simple tube and strip stock, and .022 solder for the wire. 

 

Next on the list was to (drum roll please) join the LH and RH center fuselage halves.  Finally!  Here:

 

 

 

 

No more dry fitting - they are glued and epoxied.  Too late to go back.  You will note on that last shot I have spliced the seat mount beam on the aft cockpit bulkhead.  You may recall that many months ago I sawed it in half.  Also note the rudder cables flying all over the place...

 

I had planned on doing the belly door - but I have now decided to delay it.  I think it is better sequenced later.

 

Next on the list (and I have a written living list) is as follows:

 

1.  The fire wall (this will be a big and tricky project)

2.  The instrument panel shroud, or hood (another tricky project) - this includes the gun sight and front bullet proof glass.

3.  The instrument panel - I have an Airscale special that Peter did for me about a year ago.  He should be pleased this work is coming up finally.

 

I may reverse the order some - we'll see how it goes.  This all will ultimately support joining the center fuselage to the center wing.  At that time, I can complete the cockpit 100% (except the seat, unless I can figure out how to install it without the aft fuselage in place....)

 

Take care, and have a happy safe covid-free New Year!  

Edited December 29, 2021 by JayW

[geedubelyer]

Tremendous!

 

"Take care, and have a happy safe covid-free New Year! "

 

Thanks, you too Jay, stay safe. 

 

Cheers.

 

 

[Wolf Buddee]

Uber awesome on so many levels Jay!

 

Are you going to bring up the outer surface details to the same level?

 

Cheers,

Wolf