Tamiya F4U Corsairs - Daniel Cunningham VF-17 F4U plane 22; F4U-1A Plane 17; F4U-1D VBF-10

[CShanne]

So, this will be the first time I post my work on the forum or any for that matter.  I am not the master modeler many of you are, but I am trying to get there and trying to learn.  I have been in and out of the hobby since the 90’s; although I used to build a lot as a child and a teen. I was predominantly a 1/48 scale builder, but a few years ago I had built the Tamiya P-51, A6M2b, bird-cage Corsair, and a Trumpeter F4F-3 in 1/32, which I enjoyed, so I decided to switch scales. The p-51 and the Corsair had just come out the last time I built each of them, so it has been a few years (at least 7, since that is the date of the Corsair kit.) Well, I am getting back into it and I have a plan:

 

I really like Corsairs and VF-17 is my favorite unit (I never said I was original).  So, I am going to build 1 each of the 1/32 Tamiya Corsairs (F4U-1, F4U-1A, and F4U-1D), only I am going to try and build the planes for a single pilot (I.e., appropriate marketing’s for that model plane for the pilot).  So, I need to select a pilot that was assigned VF-17 when the unit was formed, or at least very early in their organization.  I would like the Birdcage to be blue over grey, early war camouflage, so that limits me more as far as timing.  From there I need to research if the pilot remained with VF-17 for their two tours (as that is my preference) and I need the pilot to has moved on to a new unit that flew the F4U-1D, VF-84 is the obvious choice since a core of pilots moved from VF-17 to VF-84; however, I am not fond of the arrow recognition markings.... so more research and decisions are required.

 

Anyway, here is what I have thus for the birdcage Corsair project:

 

 

Now, I did start with the cockpit, I did not get too much done as work is insane (COVID actually made my job busier, as I am in pharmaceutical development.)
 

I figured, why not start with the Eduard set, which I did (photo below, keep in mind that I only did one side.) Well....  foolishly, I made a rookie mistake and assumed that Eduard had done the proper research on the F4U-1...  well...  the cockpit parts are incorrect for the F4U-1, which I found out a bit late (both sides consoles and the dash are incorrect - meaning the layout of the switches is way off)...  I ordered the replacement parts from Tamiya USA and they will be here in 4-weeks (for the record, the Tamiya parts are very close to the real layout - main reference was Dana Bell’s wonderful book, pictured above).  While I do not have the skill to make my models look as impressive as it seems most of you do, I would like it to at least be close to accurate.  Eduard makes good looking products, but I am a little disappointed to say the least.  
 

While awaiting the replacement cockpit parts, as time permits, I will move on to the engine. I plan to wire the engine, which I have not ever done, so it should be interesting, did I say I am not a master modeler like most of you 

 

Anyway, thanks for reading the small book I wrote above, we will see how this goes (I will also work on my photo quality)
 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by CShanne
Change title

[bdthoresen]

Welcome to the Forums! The work thus far looks pretty good to me. I have not had the pleasure of building a Tamiya Corsair as of yet, not too much time for building right now......Covid has unexpectedly made my job busier in many respects. 
 

Please keep the updates coming!

 

THOR    

[Out2gtcha]

Great start! It really is a wonderful kit.

Looking forward to more progress!

[Rockie Yarwood]

 VF-17 is a favorite of mine too. I like your idea of building selection of planes for a single pilot. If it were me, I would choose Roger Hedrick, even though that would mean building a VF-84 bird for the -1D. He had a distinguished career post-war as well. Will follow along with interest!

 

Happy modeling!

 

Rockie

[CShanne]

So I chose my pilot.  It was not an easy debate, I really considered 3 pilots overall. While Kepford is my favorite pilot, since I was a child, he didn’t really meet my goal (he was only in VF-84 for training.  Hedrick, “Chico” Freeman, and Cunningham were my debate and Cunningham was not in VF-84, so I chose him.  He was also so short he couldn’t reach the rudder pedals of an F4U, and he liked hockey.  I a, not very tall and I liked hockey, played for many years, so if figured I would choose him.

 

I expected to be posting progress on the engine today, but I am under the weather so, I will not be modeling today, maybe tomorrow. 
 

hope everyone is doing well. 

[F2G_lover]

Very cool idea. I want to do the same type of thing for Cook Cleland. He flew an SBD in WW2, an F4U-1D at the 1946 Cleveland Air Races, a couple of different F2G Super Corsairs in the '47 - '49 races, winning twice, and then an F4U-4 in Korea. I have a Tamiya F4U-1D, and Trumpeters F4U-1D and F4U-4 kits.

[CShanne]

17 minutes ago, F2G_lover said:

Very cool idea. I want to do the same type of thing for Cook Cleland. He flew an SBD in WW2, an F4U-1D at the 1946 Cleveland Air Races, a couple of different F2G Super Corsairs in the '47 - '49 races, winning twice, and then an F4U-4 in Korea. I have a Tamiya F4U-1D, and Trumpeters F4U-1D and F4U-4 kits.

I love the Super Corsairs, I think they are one of the most beautiful planes ever.  I just don’t have the skills to build one, even with the conversion kits.. someday maybe for me. In the meantime, I would totally follow your builds if you did that. Something fascinating about following a single pilot and building all of their aircraft. 

[F2G_lover]

1 minute ago, CShanne said:

I love the Super Corsairs, I think they are one of the most beautiful planes ever.  I just don’t have the skills to build one, even with the conversion kits.. someday maybe for me. In the meantime, I would totally follow your builds if you did that. Something fascinating about following a single pilot and building all of their aircraft. 

I agree, Super Corsairs are my favorite airplane of all time. I actually have a plaque with pieces of fabric from Race 74 (blue/white) and Race 57 (red/white), and some engineering drawings from Goodyear for the F2G.

 

I don't have the skills to build one yet either, and I don't even have the conversion kit yet. I'm hoping that by the time I'm ready to tackle one, there will be a better option. I think I'm going to start with the F4U-4 he flew in Korea while commanding VF-653.

[Juggernut]

Hi Chris,

 

Just found your thread.  I'll be watching.  Your cockpit is shaping up nicely.

[CShanne]

Some minor progress on the engine today. Still a long way to go on it. I opted for brass wire instead of the eduard photo etch, since the photo etch is flat and did not look right to me. Still moving slowly on it though. 

 

[Juggernut]

Nice.  Agreed, the 2-D aspect of the PE just won’t cut it in 1/32.