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Tamiya F4U-1 birdcage to F4U-1A or -1D?


jenshb

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I am looking to use some store credit, and only the Birdcage Corsair is available.  Is it possible to order sprues to make that kit into a non-Birdcage Fleet Air Arm Corsair?  If so, which sprues would I need?

 

Jens

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You can make the Birdcage kit in to a Fleet Air Arm version straight from the box. This is what I plan to do with mine when it arrives. However you can only do the non clipped wing ones that were based in the States for training roles. HGW have some decal sets for them. I believe the Eaglecal ones are out of print now or at least hard to source. 

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16 minutes ago, jenshb said:

I know the FAA use the birdcage Corsairs, but I don't like the look of the birdcage Corsair - I prefer the later raised canopy.


Having read your post properly now and understood what you were asking I went on a bit of a trawl to see if I could find the kit. Checked my usual places and couldn’t find any in the UK in stock at least. The F4U-1D seems a bit thin on the ground too. I can  recommend http://www.sealmodel.com/product_details.php?category_id=48&item_id=4041 if you can wait for it to arrive from the Far East. They will also come through customs unmolested if you ask at check out for a low value invoice. 

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I think you can get it to a 1A, with fewer parts, compare the instructions from the two kits a, you need the raised cockpit parts, canopy, and the insert for the bubble canopy.  Look at the instructions there might be a few more bits but those would be key.  The magnetos are wrong in the -1 kit and are wrong for the -1a so you need a set of those for the motor.  Also need the raised tail wheel.  

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“The magnetos arewrong in the -1 kit and are wrong for the -1a .”

 

The F4U-1A kept the earlier  R-2800-8 until later on in the production run when it was changed to the water injected R-2800-8W.  I believe it is this version where the magnetos were changed from the earlier “teardrop” shapes magnetos to the octangular shaped ones.

Edited by Juggernut
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  • 5 weeks later...

Hey, Jens, hope I'm helping you by resurrecting a little older thread; you need the Sprue R, T, P, and Q to get to a -1A. I went through both kit instructions and that's what I'm going to do to get a -1A myself. I figured on buying the sprues from Tamiya USA customer service, but I still haven't been able to reach a representative. Ebay has a couple of the needed sprues, but not every one. Hope this helps!

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Hi Granger, thank you very much for your help.  I take it you only need one of each sprue?  I have used Time Tunnel Model here in the UK to get Tamiya sprues, and they have delivered the goods every time (as long as the kit is in production) within a couple of weeks.

 

Jens

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On 8/15/2020 at 1:28 AM, Jennings Heilig said:

 

Tamiya USA is still closed.  I sent an email and got a response pretty quickly, as the customer service manager is working from home.  My (fortunately for him) adorable little brown dog Buck *destroyed* one of the sprues from my Tamiya P-38F/G kit, and the gentleman from Tamiya was kind enough to send me out a replacement free of charge.  I wouldn't expect to get them by phone though.  And he may or may not have access to all of their inventory of parts.

i'll second this.  I approached them via email about getting a replacement part from my Mosquito.   The manager (Gary?) responded almost immediately and explained that it would have to wait until they were back in the office.   Took a couple of weeks but i got my part (free of charge despite offering multiple times to pay for it).    These guys are fantastic. 

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