<> **** DONE: 1/32 Corsair F4U-1A - WW1 / WW2 over Water. (1 Viewer)

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Thanks guys and thanks for stopping by.

The fuselage insignia were a little more complex. Since I had to suffer through this so do you - it's cathartic for me!

On June 28 1943, national insignia were specified that comprised of star and bars surrounded by an Insignia Red outline. This lasted only a month and a half when, following complaints from the Pacific Theatre that it could cause confusion with Japanese markings, the red outline was replaced with an Insignia Blue outline. A Technical Order 07-1-1 was issued on 24 September 1943 for units in the field to overpaint Insignia Red outlines with Insignia Blue. There seems to have been some variation in how this was done, either because some units got rid of the red border themselves before the official order was issued, or depending on paint and materials at hand. In a reference photo for this build, you can see the bars have an Insignia Blue outline but the red outline around the roundel has been roughly overpainted with something else lighter. My guess is that it is Sea Blue, with the new paint appearing slightly darker than the surrounding faded paint.

Boyingtonin883.jpg


The first step was to position the 3 layers of masking correctly.

insignia mask fuse1 web.jpg


The centre mask for the roundel and bars was then removed and put aside for later before spraying Insignia White.

insignia mask fuse2 web.jpg


insignia mask fuse3 web.jpg


The star and bar masks were then applied and the roundel sprayed Insignia Blue

insignia mask fuse4 web.jpg


insignia mask fuse5 web.jpg


The outline mask was then removed and the outline around the bars sprayed Insignia Blue

insignia mask fuse7 web.jpg


The star and bars masking was removed. You can see the fine rivet detail that is retained by painting the insignia rather than using a decal.

insignia mask fuse8 web.jpg


The roundel and bars were masked using the removed mask from the first step and the outer mask peeled back and some Blu-tack blobs inserted to raise it slightly to give a feathered edge to the overpainted outline.

insignia mask fuse9 web.jpg


The overpainted outline was done in unlightened Sea Blue and then the edge further feathered using the 0.2mm nozzle in my airbrush together with a little mottling with a lightened shade.

insignia mask fuse10 web.jpg


Phew!! The photo isn't great but I think it looks OK. I've nicked the paint in a few spots getting the masks on and off - I'll touch that up later.

Just the identification numbers to go and I think I'm done with most of the painting...
 
Thanks very much guys, appreciate it.

I discovered a couple of dreaded fingerprints on the fuse near the wing root where I've been handling the model so have given these a light sanding and will be sprayed over while I'm doing the identification numbers. Pics soon...
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

fingerprints always turn up in the worst places...

Just when you're admiring your work a great bloody oversized human fingerprint stares back at you completely destroying the illusion of scale reality you've worked so hard to try and create :banghead:

Use a medium grit sander followed by a polisher to remove your fingerprints from your hand. Problem solved never to happen again. Smarts a bit but it passes.

I like your thinking Robert. Might open up a new career path too.

So, on to the identification numbers. The reference photo below shows that a previous identification number has been brush painted over with what looks to be Insignia Blue.

Boyingtonin883.jpg


The patch was measured up and masked off, roughing up the edges of the tape with a cocktail stick, before spraying Insignia Blue. Further rough "brushstrokes" were replicated with a fine brush. Montex masks were then laid over the top and the identification numbers sprayed Insignia White.

identification number3 web.jpg


Got rid of those pesky fingerprints while I was at it, all looks good now. Also sprayed the tips of the prop yellow, masked off, and painted scale black followed by a coat of Pledge.

prop web.jpg


Well, that's about it for painting of the camo and markings. A coat of Pledge next and then decals. There won't be much to see here as most of the major markings have been painted so decals are mostly small stencils and markings.

Till next time...
 
Looking great! What masking tape do you use for prop tips? I use Tamiya but have had bleed under a couple of times? And I had one other question, the Montex Masks, do they or anyone else make stencils in the appropriate scales for 1:48 and 1:32 that are reusable for things like insignia and codes etc? I have seen a lot of single use stencils but I would not mind spending more for something I could reuse.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back