Tamiya F4U-1 "Birdcage" Corsair

[Neo]

Looking good. 

 

Weathering looks perfect to me 

 

Maybe a touch of that sand you have at the bottom of the pit in the back bottom of the seat

 

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Neo

[AlbertD]

The cockpit is finished and fitted. The fitting to the fuselage was very easy. It was just a matter of removing the ribs from the inside of the fuselage sides and it closes right up. When you hear people say that these newer Tamiya kits are the best they have ever build you can believe them. The detail and fit are amazing. Here are the latest pictures.

[AlbertD]

A little progress to show. Did I say this is a Fantastic kit? I was afraid to mess up one of these Tamiya kits so they sat in the stash waiting until I had more experience but there was no reason. Not that it's a simple kit, it's not. But as long as you take your time and follow the instructions it goes together with absolutely no trouble. The Eduard cockpit and engine are really nice but I almost wish I didn't bother. The kit parts are just fine and have plenty of detail. All they would need is some wires and little extras to spuce them up a bit. 

[AlbertD]

For anyone who has this kit in their stash or plan to build it in the future don't waste your time and money on the Eduard engine set. It has great detail but really no better than the kit engine. Assembly is also kind of a pain in the rear end. The cylinders need to be lined up absolutely perfectly front and back because there are tiny clips on the cowl parts that need to precisely need to line up with tabs on the cylinders. I couldn't get it done so put it aside to use the kit engine. It's way easier and to me looks just as good. Once it's wired up its gonna look fine.

 

The Eduard cockpit was a different story as far as fit goes. It builds up easy enough and does add more detail. Is it enough to justify it? Probably not. I have the F4U-1A in the stash and it will be OOB except for decals, wheels and little add on's like wiring. 

[Anthony in NZ]

3 hours ago, AlbertD said:

For anyone who has this kit in their stash or plan to build it in the future don't waste your time and money on the Eduard engine set. It has great detail but really no better than the kit engine. Assembly is also kind of a pain in the rear end. The cylinders need to be lined up absolutely perfectly front and back because there are tiny clips on the cowl parts that need to precisely need to line up with tabs on the cylinders. I couldn't get it done so put it aside to use the kit engine. It's way easier and to me looks just as good. Once it's wired up its gonna look fine.

 

The Eduard cockpit was a different story as far as fit goes. It builds up easy enough and does add more detail. Is it enough to justify it? Probably not. I have the F4U-1A in the stash and it will be OOB except for decals, wheels and little add on's like wiring. 

Good to know Al...thanks for the tip!

[AlbertD]

9 hours ago, MARU5137 said:

Albert 

Oh goodness  you have done a fantastic  job so far.

The cockpit et al looks AWESOME. 

 

keep up the excellent  work.

 

Thank you for your kind words. I stepped away from this one for a few days to take a break from the more complicated kit. I'm currently building a Tamiya 1/12 motorcycle and am really enjoying it. I'll be back to the Corsair pretty soon. 

[Dadeo911]

That cockpit looks amazing.  Sorry to hear the Eduard Engine is not worth it,  the pictures make it look pretty good.

 

Happy modeling,

 

Chris

[Alex]

On 12/28/2020 at 6:47 PM, AlbertD said:

For anyone who has this kit in their stash or plan to build it in the future don't waste your time and money on the Eduard engine set. It has great detail but really no better than the kit engine. Assembly is also kind of a pain in the rear end. The cylinders need to be lined up absolutely perfectly front and back because there are tiny clips on the cowl parts that need to precisely need to line up with tabs on the cylinders. I couldn't get it done so put it aside to use the kit engine. It's way easier and to me looks just as good. Once it's wired up its gonna look fine.

 

The Eduard cockpit was a different story as far as fit goes. It builds up easy enough and does add more detail. Is it enough to justify it? Probably not. I have the F4U-1A in the stash and it will be OOB except for decals, wheels and little add on's like wiring. 

Yeah, it's hard to see what you would really replace with AM on one of these high-end Tamiya kits.  I'm adding scratchbuilt stuff to my Mustang, but things you can't buy AM anyway.  The only direct replacement I'm going to use is resin wheels/tires.

 

The cockpit weathering looks good BTW.  I especially like the appearance of the worn paint on the sidewalls - really looks like it's been abraded down to translucence, showing a primer coat underneath.  It's a nice effect.

[AlbertD]

9 hours ago, Alex said:

Yeah, it's hard to see what you would really replace with AM on one of these high-end Tamiya kits.  I'm adding scratchbuilt stuff to my Mustang, but things you can't buy AM anyway.  The only direct replacement I'm going to use is resin wheels/tires.

 

The cockpit weathering looks good BTW.  I especially like the appearance of the worn paint on the sidewalls - really looks like it's been abraded down to translucence, showing a primer coat underneath.  It's a nice effect.

Thanks Alex. The thinning paint effect was what I was after. Looking at pictures of these planes they were pretty beat up operating from islands with the abrasive coral sand.

 

As far as aftermarket I agree that resin wheels are a good thing to change on the Tamiya kits. I'm not a big fan of the kit rubber tires.

[AlbertD]

Hey guys, I'm close to getting this one going again. I posted in the lounge about my long absence from the forum and modeling in general. On this thread I'll just say my wife and I had a life changing event. Things are getting more stable now and we are settling into our new normal.

 

I'll be posting some build updates in the near future. I see some great builds going on and I'm looking forward to getting to know the new members and get reacquainted with my old friends.

 

Al