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

[chuck540z3]

That Cockpit looks really, really good Woody.  Great job!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[JayW]

Will be following this Woody!  Just sweet looking so far!  

[Woody V]

2 hours ago, chuck540z3 said:

That Cockpit looks really, really good Woody.  Great job!

I've heard so much about the engineering of this kit, but until you experience it you realize that you have to up your game out of respect for the work Tamiya put into it. Nothing disappoints, from the precise fit of the parts to the instructions that leave nothing to the imagination. 
 

58 minutes ago, JayW said:

Will be following this Woody!  Just sweet looking so far!  

Thanks Jay. I hope I can keep it up.

[MikeMaben]

Looks very nice from here Woody 

[Madmax]

Great looking cockpit Woody - lovely balance between functional neatness and a well worn finish. But the story telling... 

[Pete Fleischmann]

Ok now that’s pretty damn good right there-

 

cheers

Pete

[Woody V]

Been spending small chunks of time on this and finally got the engine finished. Wiring this beast took forever and I tried something different this time and I’m glad I did. I usually use lead wire but this time I used some insulated, multi-strand wire with a diameter of .020” (.5mm) which worked out very well.

 

I chose the later wiring harness only because I thought it would be easier to attach the wires to. I sanded all the detail off  the back side and super glued the wires to it. This way I had plenty grip, but I kinda grossly overestimated the length but like they say, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

Got it painted up and fished the wires in to what I figured were the right places. The reason I’m glad I chose the insulated wire over the lead wire is that the insulated stuff really did a good job of not kinking like lead, I just wish it was a bit smaller in diameter. My go-to lead is .015”. Since my build strategy has always been “if you can’t see it, don’t kill yourself getting it right”, all of the wires going to the back of the rear of the rear bank of cylinders is just kinda stuck on so they look like they’re going to the back of the engine.

 

One tip, it’s a lot easier to drill out the holes in those black “shields” before assembling the engine. Hmmm, in this picture I’m noticing a gap where the exhaust pipes meet so I’ll have to look into this further. At this point, it’s just dry fit. In case you’re wondering, the cylinders are painted with AK Xtreme Aluminum and washed with AK Engine and Turbine Wash.

 

The exhaust pipes are painted with AK Xtreme Burnt Metal and left as-is because you won’t be able to see them anyway. The firewall is painted with AK Xtreme Metal Steel, but won’t be seen either. I paint things you won’t see because it’s more fun to work with pretty parts.

 

Besides the cockpit, there are no less than three different parts that have to fit into slots/holes on both sides of the fuselage. I got everything lined up dry and the glued them to one side of the fuselage. Once that was dry, I did the same with the cockpit assembly. Here’s everything in place and ready to glue the fuselage together with no concern that I’ll have to finagle everything into place. As is typical with this kit, the fit is sublime.

 

That’s it for this installment. I’m glad I don’t have anything as complicated as the cockpit looming in my future.

 

Thanks for watching.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Woody V

[LSP_Kevin]

Very neat work, Woody. Looks great!

 

Kev

[JayW]

It's fun to compare this to what I have been doing in 1/18.  I am jealous in a way (I'm tired!).  It looks beautiful so far Woody.

[Woody V]

2 hours ago, JayW said:

It's fun to compare this to what I have been doing in 1/18.  I am jealous in a way (I'm tired!).  It looks beautiful so far Woody.

There is absolutely no comparison between your epic and me gluing and painting a kit. LOL. Your build is the first thing I look at when I check in.

 

Thanks for the compliment. 

[MikeMaben]

Nice Woody, cool tip re the insulated wire.

[Woody V]

I’ve been able to put in a couple full days on this so just a quick update.

 

HIT 1:
Fuselage is complete and seams sanded. I’ve been following the instructions closely and pretty pleased that I’ve gotten this far without a single blunder. I have however decided not to attach the horizontal stabs or the tail wheel assembly at this time.

 

HIT 2:
Not entirely thrilled with my choice of wash here and I have a sneaking suspicion that the insides of the gear doors should be ZC and not white. I’ll look into this further. I know it’s sounding like a broken record when people build one of these, but the engineering on this kit cannot be understated. Everything just falls together.

 

AND A MISS:
Everything is going my way lately, even dodged getting stabbed.

 

Next step… Wings.

 

Thanks for watching. I’m not dead yet.

[red Dog]

that was close

saved your blade tip though

Edited April 6, 2023 by red Dog

[MikeMaben]

                                      OH MY !!!

                       

[John1]

Fantastic work, the Tamiya Corsair is an amazing model, I'd rate it as one of the best LSP kits ever released.   

 

You got lucky with that X-acto knife Woody.   I dropped one in my lap a few weeks ago.  Instinctively tried to catch it by closing my legs which then caused the blade to be sunk up to the hilt in my thigh.     So I'm looking at this X-acto knife sticking out of my leg and I'm thinking - "That's not so bad, it's not even bleeding".     I then pull the knife out of my leg and immediately start bleeding like the proverbial stuck pig.   

 

30 minutes and a couple of blood clotting bandages later (these things are bank, everyone should keep some at home) I was back on my feet.   Don't know what was worse, the injury itself or my wife's scorn for bleeding all over "her" basement floor and her wise crack about how only I could manage to get hurt like this from a "safe" hobby like building model airplanes.