Bryan Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I am currently in possession of a rather large pile of plastic, resin, and metal that I am going to attempt to build into an F2G Corsair racer. I have to admit I really went overboard this time on the aftermarket resin and metal bits, which I normally don't do too much. I have had this project in the back of my mind for quite a while, and while planning what I was going to do I am afraid I fell into the "oooooooo...that widget looks nice" trap and accumulated a lot of aftermarket "stuff". I doubt in the end that I will use half of it, but time will tell. The basic kit is the Trumpeter F4U-1d, and the basic F2G conversion is the one from XS Models. This is the first Trumpeter kit I have had in my hands, and it looks pretty nice. I wanted to say though, is Trumpeter in love with knockout pin marks or what? I cannot believe how many there are, how deep they are, and how many of them will be almost impossible to remove. Hopefully they won't be too visible in the end. The XS Models conversion kit is kind of a mixed bag. It does include pretty much everything you need to do the conversion, including some nice metal parts, but the quality of the resin castings I have found to be disappointing. Pinholes, bubbles, voids, parting lines, and just general rough work are the norm unfortunately. Particularly the R4360 engine. This is a major part of the kit, but the casting is so poor that I will have to find something else to use. Maybe I have become spoiled by Fisher resin kits, but regardless of the quality issues if you want an F2G conversion in 1/32 I think this one is the only game in town at the moment..... This is the aircraft I am attempting to model: I chose this aircraft primarily because there is a lot of material about it on the web, and who can deny that is a cool paintjob? Hopefully I can keep this "WIP" thread going with regular updates. If I suddenly stop posting you can assume something went wrong, my patience failed me, or both, and a collection of multi-medium parts bounced off the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 (edited) The first thing I tackled was the propeller. I had the Hamilton Standard hub from G-Factor models, and it is simply a beautiful piece. The prop blades that came in the conversion kit were very warped, full of pinholes, and slightly misshapen, so I elected to scratchbuild them. I have sort of a prop fetish, and I think the propeller is the one of the most visible and impressive things about these warbirds, so I wanted it as perfect as I could get it. I started with brass sheet and rod, cut roughly to shape, then twisted: Soldered them together: Then after a lot of filing and sanding, with JB Weld as a filler to create the airfoil cross section, I had the basic shape: The JB Weld filler caused problems I did not anticipate. It is generally very predictable and sturdy stuff, but in this case it cured full of bubbles. The result was that sanding it uncovered countless little pinholes in the material. This had me pulling my hair out at first. I would fill them with superglue, but everytime I lightly sanded down the filler, another batch of pinholes emerged. I finally used some sandable/filler automotive primer in a spray can from my local auto parts store. A few coats of this great stuff filled in the pinholes and I could prime and sand normally: Here is the completed prop. It is not quite "perfect" but I am happy with it: One thing I wanted to add, these F2Gs turn a huge prop. I should have included something in the photo for scale, but this prop is huge! I initially thought I could use a Hamilton Standard prop from a P-47, but after comparing measurements the Thunderbolts prop, while large in its own right, was much too small. Edited June 26, 2011 by Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 (edited) Bryan Fantastic project and without question, the color scheme is awesome! Speaking of awesome, incredible work on the prop. Any chance of putting next to the Jug prop for size comparison? Will be following along, learning and enjoying as you go. Peter Edited June 26, 2011 by Peterpools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 That prop is just mind boggling! very well done Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Fantastic work Brian; the prop is truly a work of art! I want an F2G Corsair bad but have been unwilling to tackle the available kit. Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 very impressive work on the prop Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I'll be bookmarking this for sure - nice work on the prop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Ill be watching as well. I too have the XS models conversion and agree with your assessment. Ill be doing an FG1A (XF2G-1) but have both the Trumpy kit and the XS conversion for my conversion to an XF2G-1. There are some great metal parts in there, and I think the "corncob" is a major factor in the build, and I have not looked over mine yet. Im sorry to hear it is that poor. I was even thinkin about maybe getting two vector R2800s and scratching a diff housing..............just got me thinking out loud. Great start on the prop! Cheers, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark64 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 If the props are an indication on how this build is gonna be....we are in for a treat. Oliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 I was even thinkin about maybe getting two vector R2800s and scratching a diff housing..............just got me thinking out loud. The problem with the R2800 is that it has nine cylinders per bank, and the R4360 has seven. The radial on the F4F was a seven cylinder per bank engine. I ordered a couple of those from Vector. Basically what is involved to make something that passes for the 4360 is stretching out the reduction housing in the front, fabricating the seven magnetos the 4360 has mounted around the reduction housing, adding wiring/cables, and you should be close. I am not opening up any cowlings or anything, so I just need to build up something that looks the part from the front. Behind the magnetos, only the first bank of cylinders (at most) would be visible, so behind that I am planning to just black things out and use spacers. The engine really depends on how far you want to go. To build a really accurate "stand alone" model of the 4360 would be very complex, but to build something that looks the part from behind the prop and inside the cowling is much simpler. Still, I sure wish Vector made a 1/32 4360, but why would they? What kit would it be used in? The exhaust arrangement is complex on the 4360, and I have not really even pondered yet how I am going to deal with that. The canopy is a big unknown for me too. The one in the kit, well, sucks....and I have never vac formed anything before so that is uncharted territory. I am confident I can do it, just might be a lot of swearing along the way. I have read that P-47 bubbles were used on the very first two F2G prototypes, but the canopy used on the plane I am building was completely different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I am very much looking forward to this one Bryan. A fantastic scheme for a gorgeous plane. Too cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Peters Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Inspiring work there Bryan. I'd like to try my hand at one of these in the future... maybe the birdcage prototype in the 3-tone paint? I agree with you on the need for a good resin engine in this scale, just not enough demand for Vector to do one. I found this one while surfing youtube, sadly the creator is deceased. One of us at heart, there is what looks to be a 1/32 Corsair hanging from the ceiling near his lathe at 3:15. Edited June 29, 2011 by monkeysee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Beautiful work on the prop Bryan. I confess that I would n't know an F2G Corsair if it ran over my toe but my first thought when I saw your photo of the original was: "hmmm,...it uses a Mustang canopy ...." With all of these Tamiya Mustangs about to be released and with each kit including three canopy options is there a chance you could use one of those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 I confess that I would n't know an F2G Corsair if it ran over my toe but my first thought when I saw your photo of the original was: "hmmm,...it uses a Mustang canopy ...." With all of these Tamiya Mustangs about to be released and with each kit including three canopy options is there a chance you could use one of those? At first glance it sort of looks like a Mustang canopy, but it is actually completely different. Much larger for one thing, and the shape is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Great project Bryan ! I will follow it closely as the Super Corsair is one of the nicest looking racers ever done... And great work on the prop ! This gives me some ideas for other conversions where a big prop is needed. Hubert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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