Lt. Jim Wilkin’s CORSAIR - Dying on every hill, or ANOTHER go at DYI decals.

[Woody V]

On 8/7/2022 at 12:59 AM, JeepsGunsTanks said:

I love your original Corsair build! The new one will be a fun one to watch. I plan on doing a Tamiya -1 or -1A at some point too. 

 

Here is a nice little map of Esperitu Santo. By 44 it was a major base, it became a base as we went into Guadalcanal, and by 43 was a very big base. Most Marine sqaudrons deployed to the Solomons would go through three combat deployments, after each one they were pulled back to Esperitu, given leave in Australia. When they came back, they got new airplanes and a month or so to work up, and then they got sent back to the Solomons. 

VMF-225 was there from March to June of 44, doing work up for their later deployment to Eniwetok, and they were at Guam by July. 

US Marine Corps Fighter Squadrons of WWII by Barrett Tilman has a little overview of each Marine VMF, it's a fascinating read. 

 

This is great information, thank you! I enlarged the picture so I could read it better and noticed Fighter 1 airfield. Jim mentions in his log that he moved from Bomber 1 to Fighter 1. I thought it was just a reassignment to another unit, not a physical location.

I ordered the book.

[JeepsGunsTanks]

I have a feeling they moved the fighter strip so far away to keep the trouble they tended to cause at bay. 

[Woody V]

AUGUST 13

 

Got started on the cockpit and I was cruising right along enjoying not having to sand, file or carve up pieces to get them to fit and then on to the dreaded cockpit decals. Contrary to popular opinion, they are not tiny - they’re more like microscopic and nearly invisible on the sheet. They’re beautifully printed by Cartograf and most of the lettering is readable which will be quite difficult unless you have microscope eyes which you’ll also need when applying them. In all fairness the instructions suggest you cut some into smaller pieces for “easier handling”. But me, being the big shot decal master and all decided to throw caution to the wind and apply the largest decal on the sheet in one piece. I mean, how hard can it be?

 

This hard.

I know my way around decals but I can’t imagine anyone getting this in place, in one piece, without distortion. The clear film just tents the switches and if you try using a setting solution it gets soft and distorts when you try to move it. So I just ordered another sheet and will try cutting it into smaller pieces. I have no idea how to deal with the tenting issue. Any help here will be greatly appreciated.

 

But I did get a lot done otherwise. It’s just hours of tedium but the rewards are worth it. When I get these finished I’m going to give the whole thing a wet coat of leveling thinner which will fix any adhesion or silvering issues. Just noticed that the decal in the center of the instrument panel may be in the wrong place so I’ll take a better look at it tomorrow.

 

If you decide to do this, I’d suggest you paint the details before you do the decals. Working against a gloss coat, gloss decals and water reflections it’s very difficult to see exactly where you’re working with all the light reflections. The painted details would go a long way to making it easier by providing reference points.

 

BTW, Yes the instrument panel and breaker/switch panels are lighter than the console. The console is a mix 7 parts black and 1 part white. The lighter panels are a mix of 7 parts black and 2 parts white. This is just an idea to add some interest. I never use pure black except for basing and I never use pure white either.

 

Thanks for watching.

I’ll be back when I have something to show.

Edited August 14, 2022 by Archer Fine Transfers

[Brett M]

Hey Woody! Looks like a good start on your Corsair. For the cockpit decals, I don’t think mine had the tenting problem, but mine was a -1 and different panels @Thunnus, did you have issues with your -1A decals?

 

I do know I did chop up the decals into LOTS of smaller applications, so maybe just head down that route? Looking forward to seeing more!

[Woody V]

5 hours ago, Brett M said:

Hey Woody! Looks like a good start on your Corsair. For the cockpit decals, I don’t think mine had the tenting problem, but mine was a -1 and different panels @Thunnus, did you have issues with your -1A decals?

I do know I did chop up the decals into LOTS of smaller applications, so maybe just head down that route? Looking forward to seeing more!

 

Hi Brett,

I did cut one up because it wouldn't fit but other than that, no problem. Cutting them up wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that the white lettering against that very light blue paper is very difficult to see.

Oddly enough I've bookmarked Thunnus' build for reference. 

[Brett M]

3 hours ago, Archer Fine Transfers said:

 

Hi Brett,

I did cut one up because it wouldn't fit but other than that, no problem. Cutting them up wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that the white lettering against that very light blue paper is very difficult to see.

Oddly enough I've bookmarked Thunnus' build for reference. 

I seem to recall having to upgrade my glasses after my Corsair build and those decals  Progressive/bifocals ever sense! Coincidence? 
 

Definitely not odd, I was referencing John’s build for mine the whole way 

[Paramedic]

Lovely, this is the kind of stuff I love. Some real background and a lovely build! I will follow this for sure.

Got more to share about your friends experiences?

 

Heard so much good about theese tamiya Corsairs.. I need to get atleast one some day.. In the meantime, I am happy with their P-51Ds.. ^^ And watching others do them of course!

[tomg]

7 hours ago, Archer Fine Transfers said:

 

Hi Brett,

I did cut one up because it wouldn't fit but other than that, no problem. Cutting them up wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that the white lettering against that very light blue paper is very difficult to see.

Oddly enough I've bookmarked Thunnus' build for reference. 

 

Perhaps ahead of wetting the decal, a teeny, tiny slice where each 'tent' would form?  Or would it be swiss cheese?? Not sure I'd have the eye or hand for it.

Edited August 16, 2022 by tomg
typo

[Thunnus]

No tenting issues on my F4U-1a build.  I remember being very dubious about how they would work over the raised details on the side consoles but the decal solution (Micro Sol) sucked them down into place without much effort on my part.

[Woody V]

56 minutes ago, Thunnus said:

No tenting issues on my F4U-1a build.  I remember being very dubious about how they would work over the raised details on the side consoles but the decal solution (Micro Sol) sucked them down into place without much effort on my part.

Please explain how exactly you did it. Perhaps your decal had holes in the clear that the switches poke through? I did notice that mine had a few holes that line up with the larger dials, but beyond that nothing. 

Edited August 16, 2022 by Archer Fine Transfers

[Thunnus]

42 minutes ago, Archer Fine Transfers said:

Please explain how exactly you did it. Perhaps your decal had holes in the clear that the switches poke through? I did notice that mine had a few holes that line up with the larger dials, but beyond that nothing. 

I honestly can't remember anything particular about this process as it happened over two years ago.  I want to say that there were small holes in the decals for some of the switches but I can't say for sure.  Sorry!!!

[Brett M]

1 hour ago, Thunnus said:

I honestly can't remember anything particular about this process as it happened over two years ago.  I want to say that there were small holes in the decals for some of the switches but I can't say for sure.  Sorry!!!

I do remember the cut outs on mine as well, but I think just for the big grey dials. 

 

Sorry Woody, been a while since I worked on mine as well. If you want to browse, here......

[Woody V]

Just a quick update today.

 

I prefer to paint every part individually and had only been working on this on Saturdays, but it didn’t take long before I realized that 4-5 hours a week would probably mean I’d be working on this from my bed at a nursing home. So I took the week off from work and pulled a paint/decal marathon. This is what I managed to accomplish in 25 hours.

 

I have to admit that I was quite apprehensive about getting the decals on the console since I only had one more and didn’t feel like waiting another two weeks to get another one if I managed to screw this one up. Since I decided to cut it into smaller pieces and there was no way I could see that microscopic white lettering against the pale blue paper I came up with this idea. Figuring that Sharpie ink isn’t water soluble I put a liberal amount on the back of the paper:

 

And got just what I needed so now cutting the decal up went from impossible to easy.

 

WHY THINGS TAKE FOREVER AROUND HERE Part 65

 

I suck at painting details like the straps around these bottles so I made decals by spraying Interior Green on clear decal film which worked out pretty good. Then I originally painted the aluminum parts with Humbrol Metal Coat steel and buffed it but it was still too dark so I dry brushed some AK Real Metal on that and polished it. Gotta say, I’m real happy with that. The darker steel color acts as a dark wash. I brushed some future on the bottles to get a gloss finish and painted the valve handles red. Just this one piece took 4 hours. Oy vey.

 

HERE'S A CLOSER LOOK AT THE STARS OF THIS INSTALLMENT'S EXTRAVAGANZA

 

I decided that I wanted the cockpit to look dusty from the coral dust so I applied an oil wash of white with a hint of yellow to the consoles and instrument panel. Then a coat of Mr. Color flat clear, picked out the details with my ancient stock of Areo Master and Testors enamels and then a splash of Future brushed on to some of the buttons, etc. for a little pop. Happy with that. I decided to paint the oxygen bottle yellow and masked it off to paint the black bands, and went through the process to do the aluminum part.

 

I’ve struggled with chipping lacquer so I picked up a bottle of this and I have to say that it worked much better than the hair spray I had been using. Real happy with the way the seat turned out!

 

I’ll wrap up this up with the best $20 I ever spent! Get one!

 

By the time you read this I’ll be back in the dungeon gluing stuff together.

Thanks for tuning in… I ain’t dead yet!

[brahman104]

Looks amazing so far!  

 

Craig

[Rockie Yarwood]

Sweet! I think the everything looks great, love the chipping. Thanks for the tip on using the Sharpie too, I'll file that away for future use.

 

Cheers,  Rockie