A Birdcage in Turtle Bay - An F4U-1 Diorama

[Bstarr3]

This is great work, Chuck!  Beautiful detailing and weathering on the cockpit and engine so far.  I love this kit and you're doing a great job with it.  Re: no one ever seeing it, I consider our work to be like a sand mandala that the Buddhist monks do.  It's the work that you're after, sometimes more than the finished product.  Now, of course, we don't throw ours in the trash when we're finished, but it's definitely (for me at least) a case of the journey, not the destination. 

[John1]

What a wonderful build.  I built Tamiya’s F4U-1D a few years ago, the kit is amazing.    Enjoy it, I’ll be following along.  

[ChuckD]

14 hours ago, Bstarr3 said:

This is great work, Chuck!  Beautiful detailing and weathering on the cockpit and engine so far.  I love this kit and you're doing a great job with it.  Re: no one ever seeing it, I consider our work to be like a sand mandala that the Buddhist monks do.  It's the work that you're after, sometimes more than the finished product.  Now, of course, we don't throw ours in the trash when we're finished, but it's definitely (for me at least) a case of the journey, not the destination. 

 

Thanks, that's definitely a great mindset for this hobby.  I like to think I strike a balance of detailing where it's visible vs time and effort wasted on something I'll never see.  At least, I strike enough of a balance for my tastes and I respect everyone else's artistic license to detail as their heart guides too.  

 

For me, this hobby is the confluence of my passion for history and my desire to do things with my hands.  It also satisfies an artistic creative drive too.  So in the end, it's very cathartic for me.  I took the week after Thanksgiving off and spent it in the model room listening to jazz and building away.  As a bonus, I was, for the first time in 13 years, able to turn off notifications on my phone and ignore work emails.

 

It was probably the the closest I have ever come to true zen enlightenment.

[Bstarr3]

4 hours ago, ChuckD said:

 

Thanks, that's definitely a great mindset for this hobby.  I like to think I strike a balance of detailing where it's visible vs time and effort wasted on something I'll never see.  At least, I strike enough of a balance for my tastes and I respect everyone else's artistic license to detail as their heart guides too.  

 

For me, this hobby is the confluence of my passion for history and my desire to do things with my hands.  It also satisfies an artistic creative drive too.  So in the end, it's very cathartic for me.  I took the week after Thanksgiving off and spent it in the model room listening to jazz and building away.  As a bonus, I was, for the first time in 13 years, able to turn off notifications on my phone and ignore work emails.

 

It was probably the the closest I have ever come to true zen enlightenment.

That sounds like an amazing week!  I'm right there with you on the combination of history, artistic drive, and manual manipulation.  That's what makes it such a great pasttime for me. 

[ChuckD]

Hi, all.  Back with a small update.  Progress has been kinda slow this week as I've been busy with work, stuff with my kiddo, and I've been under the weather.  I think for the diorama, I'm not going to attach the a/c to the base.  The odds of the dio traveling outside my model room (before it makes its final trip to the dumpster after I'm cold and in the dirt) is near zero, so it shouldn't much matter if the plane and base are detachable.  With that in mind, I'm taking some time to detail things on the under side of the plane that would never be seen if attached to the base.  

 

The Corsair has quite a bit of plumbing running through the wheel wells, so I tried to simulate that here.  I also opened the lightening holes on the bottom of the spar to run plumbing in there.  I'm still searching for photos of the gear bay forward of the spar though.  There has to be plumbing in there for the main hydraulic actuator and other sundries.  So far, all the sources I've found have come up dry.  I've got amazing photos of the bay aft of the spar (thank you again, @Dana Bell!), but the search continues for a good look forward of the spar.

 

I had to add the door actuators so that I could plumb them properly without the doors being in place.  Fortunately, the doors can be added after the fact with no issue.  The only downside is that, until the gear is slotted in place, they become load bearing when the assembly is placed right side up.  You can already see that the actuator on the right has started to weaken.

 

 

 

 

It's amazing how helpful it is to use lead wire.  It's so much more friendly to use than even soft copper or brass.

 

Anyway, that's it for now.  Next up will be a similar treatment to the other wheel well, then assembling the main gear.  On the plus side, I just learned that my new company closes down over the holidays, so I get an unexpected paid week off between the holidays!  With nothing else planned, that should allow for some pretty decent progress to wind out the year.

[Dpgsbody55]

Excellent gear bay detail. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[MikeMaben]

That's some nice plumbing Chuck. Just an FYI, solder comes in

various diameters and might be even softer than lead.

[dennismcc]

Fantastic work on that piping I struggle with brake lines !

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Bstarr3]

Beautiful work! I wish I’d put in the effort to do plumbing on my gear bays. It always looks so good to get all that piping in there and you did a very clean job of it

[Jboldt007]

super work on the cockpit - at least the corsairs had big cockpits - well, the later models anyway. One can see in them in the end at this scale. That crazy lobster colour looks spot on too. It is amazing how much controversy there is on the livery of these planes - it is hard to tell sometimes and in the pacific they got beat up really quick it seems to the point even with good photos it's hard to pin some thingws down. Bays with plumbing and wiring always get me hit and bothered- even if they are not that visible in the end - they are satisfying to 'kit bas'- thanks for posting - i'll be looking at this thread for my F4U-1A. 

 

Like the comment on the 'sand mandala that the Buddhist monks' make and "throw out". My wife once said "why do you spend all this time on things that your daughters will one day probably send to the trash can?". To which i responded: "If by trash can you mean the Smithsonian... I take your point...".

[Kaeone57]

Niiiiiccceee!!!

 

Alfonso

[ChuckD]

Progress!  wheel wells and wing roots are dine.  No weathering yet, but a base coat is down. 

 

 

 

 

 

No warranties express or implied on spelling, grammar, or diction due to wine consumption. 8|

Edited December 22, 2023 by ChuckD

[ChuckD]

Hi, all.  Back with an update after making good progress today.  

 

First, our gallant protagonist has been roughed in.  Surprisingly, the Black Dog resin figure fit the scene pretty well.  I will only have to do some minor shaping and filling behind the left shoulder to clean him up.  I'll need to fix his fingers as they broke when I tried to straighten them a bit, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem.

 

I'm going to have to deviate from the source photo just a bit here as the parachute is going to cause a bit of an issue.  In the reference photo, I believe Lt. Ray had his parachute pack on the seat pan with the straps splayed out the cockpit and down the side of the fuselage.  On the figure set, the parachute pack (not attached) is integral to the figure and all the associate straps and harnesses are already molded onto the figure.  I don't think I've got it in me to remove all the molded detail then sculpt in other detail that would inevitably be needed after such a task.  So, in our version of history, Lt. Ray will be entering the a/c with his pack on his rear.  Artistic license, etc, etc, etc.

 

When I got to looking at the second figure - the one that I need to sculpt from the waist up - I realized he was standing on the section of wing outboard of the fold line.  So, I needed to build the wings.  After that, I was so close to being done, I decided to finish it up.  So, aside from some clear bits, antennae, a pitot tube, and the Anyz Model canopy rail, the build is more or less done.  All the gear stuff is dry fit, including the doors.  Same for the prop.  

 

As others have said, this is a wonderful kit.  The engineering on it is just superb and it really went together well.  The only fit issues I have are near the top of the cowling, so, I'll need to do a little filling there.  But, outside of that, it was a good clean build and I'm glad I've got another in the stash.    That's not to say I missed any opportunities to shoot myself in the foot... I forgot to add the little clear windows on the leading edges for the gun cams and such.  I didn't realize it until I'd almost closed up the small panels on the top of the wing above them.  Fortunately, by reaching into the small panel on the top of the wing, I was able to finagle the two clear pieces in place without too much trouble.  Story of my life.

 

Anyhoo, I hope to make some progress on the figures and the base now.  The build work will be halted until those have been addressed.  Again, I don't want to paint and finish the airplane, as I just know I will run out of steam if I save the figures for last.
 

 

[MikeMaben]

Hey cool !  the rest is easy, right Chuck ? 

[GMK]

Chuck, great work, as always. 
 

One thing with your pilot, may be an idea to pop him on the other side. The steps/hand holds on the Corsair were in the right side of the fuselage.