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

[CShanne]

So, with regards to your scoreboard issue (or dilemma), when VF-17 left Bougainville for the last time, did they take their aircraft? If so, then the complete scoreboard would be there and so would the tail hook. I am not sure if they left their aircraft for other units to use either for parts or the complete aircraft, but that is a way for you to get to use everything and be accurate. 
 

As far as tires: 

 

Cook L.. Fighting 17: A photographic History of VF-17 in WWII. (2011) Schaffer Publishing. Page 173, 174, 133, 131 show VF-17 aircraft with treaded tires

Cook L. The Aces of Fighting 17: VF-17 Top Guns in WWII (2011) Schaffer Publishing. page 78 shows a VF-17 aircraft with treaded tires 

Cook L. The Skull and Crossbones Squadron: VF-17 in WWII. (1998) Schaffer Publishing. Pages 82, 102, 100, 188 show VF-17 aircraft with treaded tires.  
 

at least 2 aircraft had the cross tread  like your tires 

 

I think you are safe with the tires. 

[Oldbaldguy]

I vote for the diamond tread tire and wheel combo and the tailhook.  The hook because it’s a Navy airplane and was born with it, and the wheels because they are epic and should not be wasted.  Kill markings, tank tape and such?  Don’t care.

[JayW]

4 hours ago, CShanne said:

I think you are safe with the tires. 

 

Hey!!  Well I guess I didn't look hard enough.  I agree - it gets the diamond tread tires!  Thanks for that.  They will however get alot dirtier!

 

As for speed tape on the fuel bay joints - undecided except that the Tamiya tape is probably a poor choice (I agree with Chuck).  Thanks for the input so far all. 

Edited September 16, 2022 by JayW

[Maybach_man]

How about plumbers PTFE tape for the joints? ( if its too thick out of the roll you can stretch it to make it as thin as you want)

Edited September 16, 2022 by Maybach_man

[JayW]

5 hours ago, Maybach_man said:

How about plumbers PTFE tape for the joints? ( if its too thick out of the roll you can stretch it to make it as thin as you want)

 

Honestly - how do you guys think of these things?  My imagination just isn't as high as yours.  I'll try it!

 

[Gazzas]

Hi Jay...   I love those tires too.  I'd keep and say they were replacement tires if anybody asks.

 

Secondly...   here is my take on the white tape.  White decal paper.   That way all you have to do is cut it to the size and shape you want.  Don't trust that vinyl tape.  It will only hold on for so long.  Especially the curved area.  I hardly use the stuff anymore.

 

Painting with a thicker paint as has been mentioned before is also possible...   but means more masking....   ick!

[Allan Peters]

I wouldn't throw away those diamond tread... a quick survey of photos from the AJ Press book set on VF17 shows that the original #29 had diamond tread on at least one wheel. These were photos of the wreck in the second tour book. Diamond tread on your subject is at least plausible. I only saw a couple with block tread but nearly all that are legible were smooth.

[JeepsGunsTanks]

I can't remember what book it was, I think it was the Dana Bell F4U-1 Book, that said, it wasn't the tank leaking, so much as fuel being spilled around the filler, then getting into the fuselage through the seams. The tape kept the fuel out. Not in. 

 

I'll see if I can find the source.

 

This may be the coolest scale model build ever!

Edited September 17, 2022 by JeepsGunsTanks

[JeepsGunsTanks]

Page 56 of Dana Bells, F4U-1 Volume 1 " Refueling an aircraft in primitive conditions can be a sloppy task. In the Solomons in may of 1943, VMF-112 ground crews refueled BuNo 02457; two hours later the aircraft burst into flames. Examining the wreck- the third such incident in a month - inspectors found that gasoline had spilled down the fuselage panels, leaking into the fuel tank compartment and cockpit through the skin seems. the fumes ignited as the engine started.  By August, BuAer had instructed crews to seal all seams below the fuel tank filler cap. Zinc Chromate tape was the first choice, but any tape (even medical tape!) was used effectively."

Edited September 17, 2022 by JeepsGunsTanks

[JayW]

4 hours ago, JeepsGunsTanks said:

Page 56 of Dana Bells, F4U-1 Volume 1 " Refueling an aircraft in primitive conditions can be a sloppy task. In the Solomons in may of 1943, VMF-112 ground crews refueled BuNo 02457; two hours later the aircraft burst into flames. Examining the wreck- the third such incident in a month - inspectors found that gasoline had spilled down the fuselage panels, leaking into the fuel tank compartment and cockpit through the skin seems. the fumes ignited as the engine started.  By August, BuAer had instructed crews to seal all seams below the fuel tank filler cap. Zinc Chromate tape was the first choice, but any tape (even medical tape!) was used effectively."

Edited 3 hours ago by JeepsGunsTanks

 

And there we have it.  I even possess the two Dana Bell volumes on the Corsair, and never noticed.  Thanks for that.  I need to come up with some tape that everybody likes!

[Oldbaldguy]

Ya know, whatever tape they used at the time would have been pretty thick.  The idea was to cover over the seams and joints which were already pretty tight, so it’s not likely you would have seen much detail at all through the tape.  Admittedly I haven’t really looked, but it seems to me that none of the tape seen in photos is very dirty or weathered.  I can’t see it lasting very long in the blast of air behind that prop once it was soaked in avgas.  Sort of put down the tape, fill the tank, tape comes off during the next flight, put down the tape, fill the tank, tape comes off ad infinitum.  It likely didn’t stick around long enough to get dirty, no pun intended.  This was a stop-gap effort, not a final solution, so precision was not high on the list of priorities, especially if they were using whatever was at hand until Vought cooked up a fix.  

[JayW]

3 hours ago, Oldbaldguy said:

Ya know, whatever tape they used at the time would have been pretty thick.  The idea was to cover over the seams and joints which were already pretty tight, so it’s not likely you would have seen much detail at all through the tape.  

 

I've been measuring tape thicknesses.  By folding in half twice, measuring thickness and dividing by 4.  The white stretchy Tamiya masking tape is about 0.0045 inch thick.  That's too much.  That scales up to about 0.08 inch thick so it isn't surprising it looks a little thick on my 1/18 Corsair.  Regular old duck tape is just shy of 0.01 inch thick.  My thinnest hardware store masking tape is 0.0035 inch - a bit better.  And surprise, the regular old yellow Tamiya masking tape is 0.0030 inch thick.  Better still.  And, when applied it does a pretty good job of hiding the seams. 

 

0.003 inch scales up to 0.054 inch - still thick, but I think I could live with it.  On the other hand, even if tape actually used was say 0.02 inch (twice that of duck tape), that scales down to 0.001 inch, and I don't know of anything that thin.  

 

I also tried plumbers pipe sealing tape - it is also about 0.003 inch thick.  But I have no idea how I would bond that stuff.  So I will abandon that idea. 

 

I still want to try a white decal.  But the yellow Tamiya tape (painted white) seems a pretty strong candidate.  Pretty sure I am going to have tape on this Corsair - it adds to the authenticity.  

[Woody V]

For a few bucks, you can get vinyl at a craft store that has a permanent adhesive. Avery also seems labels with a permanent adhesive.

[Oldbaldguy]

3 hours ago, Archer Fine Transfers said:

For a few bucks, you can get vinyl at a craft store that has a permanent adhesive. Avery also seems labels with a permanent adhesive.

A trip to your local Hobby Lobby store might be in the offing if there is one near you.  They have all sorts of crafty sticky,

tape-y things in different aisles all over the store.  No telling what you might find.

[TAG]

For what it's worth, Hedrick's plane did have tape over the fuel tank panel lines. That whole area on Number 17 was kind of a hot mess, with fuel stains and spills galore plus the tape, which has clearly been reapplied several times and whose sticky residue has been retouched with both blue and white paint at some point. Note how one of the victory markings overlaps the retouched white paint.

Here's another look with ol' Rog sitting in the office proper.

Starboard side got extra grody from the pilots rubbing against the fuselage to enter/exit the cockpit, also of note on this bird are the white stencil oversprays around the 17 as well as the tiny bit of white overspray on the red surround of the star-and-bars.

 

Like @Oldbaldguy said, whatever it was, the tape probably didn't last long in such harsh conditions and got constantly reapplied. It also left behind some residue or maybe even lifted up the paint so that the whole area got touched up frequently, as can be seen in these photos and many more.

 

As for treaded tires on VF-17 F4U-1A's, here's a photo on Bougainville in February '44 that clearly shows treads on the machine in the foreground, so you're all set.

Voilà, can't wait for the next steps, Jay!

 

Cheers,

- Thomaz