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

[CShanne]

Your parts, before paint, in black and white look real….  Then you paint them and they look real in color.  This whole thread has is an awe inspiring ride.

[Jim Barry]

We’re pulling for you! Love the Elevators. Concrete….ughh, I know it! My son  went to a 4 year college since I started the Bearcat! 

[Greif8]

Your scratch building is awesome man!  Each component is a small work of art.

 

Ernest  

[JayW]

Wow - these elevators are turning out to be a big project!  I underestimated them. 

 

So no, the elevator skeletons were not complete until until leading edge ribs were in place.  The elevators basically have two leading edges due to their length - an inboard one and an outboard one, separated by a middle intermediate hinge.  Straight forward but necessarily very exacting work, so that the thin semicircular shaped skin will cover them with a minimum of lumps and bumps.  Then came one of the main box skin panels (0.005 inch plastic, not fabric).  Bonding down the skin worked just fine, and I did not use plastic glue.  No sir, not with .005 inch gage.  2-part epoxy and CA instead.

 

The elevators on this model are much thinner than the rudder, so the leading edge skins have a tighter radius, and boy what a PITA that was!  

 

Here I am in the process of trying to coax the 0.005 inch thick outboard leading edge skin over the ribs:

 

 

 

Note one of the main skins is on there.  I felt like the other one had to wait until the leading edge skins were in place...  First bond one side, slather the LE ribs with epoxy, then wrap it around and bond the other side, all under lots of pressure from tape and clamps.  What you see there is try number four.  First was a formed piece of litho - way too stiff for that tight radius - I'd have broken the skeleton monkeying with it.  Second was heat/freeze formed .005 plastic sheet, which shrunk about .10 inch during the process rendering it unusable.  Third was annealed .005 alum, which worked sort of OK and reserved as a back up.  And fourth was what you see - .005 inch plastic sheet formed over a file handle to give at least some curvature.   It took lots of coaxing and incremental bonding to the ribs, but I got it to work:

 

 

 

Both:

 

 

Important to get the shape of those LE skins right so the elevator mates up properly to the h/stab at the hinge line.  Then rinse/repeat for the inboard LE portion (a bit easier due to a larger LE radius), bond the opposite side main skin, lots of fiddling with edge trims and thinning the trailing edges, and voila:

 

 

Nice and stiff.  Fit on the airplane is pretty good:

 

 

I don't know if you can notice, but the thin .005 plastic skins give a very slight draped fabric appearance, which is what I want.  These will be cleaner than the rudder I believe.

 

Next up is filling in the tip and balance weight towers with putty and sanding it to shape.  Lots of work to go, but the elevators are coming along.  This scratch building work is very difficult to do and have it come out to the standards I see posted on LSP by some of our geniuses.  I hope to get close anyway.     

Edited January 31, 2023 by JayW

[easixpedro]

3 minutes ago, JayW said:

have it come out to the standards I see posted on LSP by some of our geniuses.

You sir are part of that elite group.  And it looks fantastic by the way--you're on track to pull of a beauty.

[Oldbaldguy]

Wow!  Very nice!   I think you’ve it upon the right combo/process.  Much nicer than your rudder.   (Hint, hint.)

[Shoggz]

1 hour ago, easixpedro said:

You sir are part of that elite group.  And it looks fantastic by the way--you're on track to pull of a beauty.

Agreed on all counts!

[Citadelgrad]

2 hours ago, easixpedro said:

You sir are part of that elite group.  And it looks fantastic by the way--you're on track to pull of a beauty.

Seconded.  Jay, your willingness to scrap an attempt and do it again until it is right is an inspiration.

 

Easysix, you're no slouch yourself.  

 

[airscale]

that is an amazing result Jay

 

I feel your pain, these are very challenging to do - plastic when it is this thin is an incredibly unforgiving material

 

I have my own to look forward to in the not too distant future..

[JayW]

2 hours ago, Oldbaldguy said:

Much nicer than your rudder.   (Hint, hint.)

 

Oh man!  I worked my a__ off on that thing!  Since I last posted on it I cleaned up the edges as best I could and refinished:

 

 

You must admit it looks better than before.   That photo is from an electron scanning microscope (my I-phone zoom close-up).  Step away a couple feet and that is a pretty cool looking control surface.  Heck, you get that close to my engine and it starts looking a little ratty. You know, that engine that everyone seems to love...  

 

I hear ya man.  I will finish up the elevators, and if they are on a truly different level compared to the rudder, then yes I will do the rudder over again, with plastic skin and trailing edges a bit thinner.

 

And, I will take this opportunity to say that constructive criticism is welcome on this build, from people who know what they are talking about.  And my audience sure seems to know.  It helps make this Corsair better than it otherwise would be.  Keep the inputs coming.

Edited January 31, 2023 by JayW

[wingman777]

Wow love the finished product of the vertical stab/rudder!!  Great work!!

[Greif8]

I agree with the comments above that zour work is master class, much respect.  It has been very interesting and educational following your build.

 

Ernest

[TAG]

Been a busy start to the year for me, but I'm still following along (whilst picking my jaw up off the ground). You're still smashing it, Jay, can't wait to see what comes next, let me know if you ever need any more refs for what is easily the greatest F4U build of all time.

 

You rule, dude!

 

Cheers,

- Thomaz

[Jim Barry]

We live and die by the microscope. It's our lot as LSPers!. That said, it's an awesome rudder! Very appealing in the detail and execution. 

[Oldbaldguy]

17 hours ago, JayW said:

 

Oh man!  I worked my a__ off on that thing!  Since I last posted on it I cleaned up the edges as best I could and refinished:

 

 

  I will finish up the elevators, and if they are on a truly different level compared to the rudder, then yes I will do the rudder over again, with plastic skin and trailing edges a bit thinner.

Well, if you end up building another rudder, don’t throw this one away - it has become a complete model in its own right.