<> **** DONE: F4U Corsair Kepford - WW1 / WW2 over Water.

JKim · Feb 12, 2017

Username: JKim
First name: John
Category: Advanced
Scale: None
Manufacturer: Tiger Models Cute Plane Series
Model Type: F4U Corsair
Aftermarket addons: None

Not a scale model but it is a Corsair. Let me know if this qualifies or not. It'll be a quicky (hopefully) and I don't mind if it gets moved to Start to Finish since it is not to scale.

JKim · Feb 12, 2017

I'm currently in a temporary holding pattern with the 109K-4 as I am waiting for an aftermarket set of Revi gunsights to replace the one that got lost to the Carpet Monster. So I pulled this off the shelf and thought... hey, it's a Corsair, maybe the guys will let me participate in GB33. If not I totally understand.

Pretty simple stuff. I don't expect this build to take too long as it is just a little diversion before I get into some more elaborate projects. It won't be super-detailed but I may do some "things" just to make it more appealing to my eyes.

I've build a couple of these Cute Models by Tiger and have been pretty impressed by them. I consider them a notch above what I would normally consider a "kid's model". One nice thing is that Tiger provides both adhesive-backed stickers AND water-slide decals for the markings. A nice choice aimed at us enthusiasts. Only one set of markings... one of Ira Kepford's mounts.

The clear sprue is clear but there is no choice when it comes to canopy position. The connecting pin molded to the inside of the windshield does not align with the frame so it will be visible from the outside. I may trim it off completely.

This black sprue holds some of the rotating stuff like wheels and prop. If it is like the other Tiger kits I've built, this black plastic is very soft, almost like a vinyl so sanding to a smooth finish is harder than normal.

Two sprues of blue plastic hold the rest of the airplane. Molding is pretty good.

A separate one-piece cowling... I like! The wings are supposed to be foldable but I'm not real enthusiastic about that... will probably glue them in place.

Jumping right into it, the cockpit is made up of four parts. Interestingly, the "shelf" for a gunsight is provided but no gunsight itself.

I dug into my spares box and found an Allied gunsight that I attached to the empty shelf. The kit provides two instrument panels, one with some dial relief and another smooth one to accept the IP decal. I chose to paint the molded one.

The seat comes molded with some harnesses so I just painted those in-place. I dressed up the empty side consoles with spare decals and added an oversized red button on the control stick.

A better view of the gun sight in place. I'll add the reflector glass right before I put the canopy into place.

After the cockpit is painted, it's time to glue the fuselage halves together. Told you this was going to be quick! The rudder (also movable) is trapped into place when the fuselage halves are glued together. The same thing applies to the tail landing gear/arrestor hook but I simply cut off the attachment plate so that I'll be able to add it later.

Wurger · Feb 12, 2017

rochie · Feb 12, 2017

Works for me !

Wayne Little · Feb 14, 2017

Very Cool

JKim · Feb 14, 2017

Thanks guys! Work on the Cartoon Corsair continues. The bottom of the plane has some molded detail that seems to correspond to the real F4U, including the triple exhaust outlets. I've toyed with the idea of replacing these with tubing but I'm not sure how to cut brass tubing at an angle. While pondering that, I've drilled the exhaust openings.

The kit has slots for dual drop tanks and rockets under the outer wings. But I want to build a "clean" fighter without any ordinance so I've filled in the mounting slots with a combo of Milliput and Mr Surfacer.

The P&W radial engine is represented as a one-piece plug. Not the most detailed representation but not bad either. It looks ok with some paint on it.

The fuselage joints have been puttied and sanded. I've painted the coaming over the instrument panel black. The dorsal antenna behind the cockpit was getting in the way of sanding so I snipped it off for now.

Before attaching the canopy pieces, I've added a piece of clear acetate to the gunsight.

The masked windshield goes on first to protect that gunsight.

I thought I was going to ditch the folding wing mechanism but it actually works fairly well. The wings snap into place so they are fairly sturdy... so I think I'll keep this feature.

Planning to add brass tube gun barrels to these gun openings.

Finally, the rear canopy snaps into place. Literally. It was a very tight fit. The engine cowling has been placed temporarily. I can do all of the painting and then pull it off to attach the propeller backing at the end of the build.

That's all for now!

Wurger · Feb 14, 2017

rochie · Feb 14, 2017

i love it John

fubar57 · Feb 14, 2017

turbo · Feb 15, 2017

Classic John!!

Wayne Little · Feb 15, 2017

So Cool....

JKim · Feb 16, 2017

I decided to dress up the machine gun holes in the wings with brass barrels. Short sections were cut from brass tube.

It looks nicer now since I didn't really do a good job of cleaning up the raggedy holes in the wings.

I gave the clear pieces a spray of interior green. There is a sizeable gap between the windscreen and fuselage.

The wings were glued into place next. More gaps at the wing root.

Using White Milliput, I filled in the gaps at the wing root, windscreen and also the bottom. Notice that the tail stabilizers are not in place yet... I should've held off on the milliput so I could take care of all of the joints.

The puttying of the tail stabs waited till the next session. The nice aspect of this style of puttying is that it requires no sanding.

While waiting for putty to dry, I finished up the landing gear and prop.

The Corsair is ready for some paint! Since I have significant areas of putty and the model is so tiny, I gave the entire plane a coat of Mr Surfacer 1000 as a primer. Not only does it look cool and the neutral grey makes a good base for the camo coat, it lets me check for any flaws in the puttied areas. The filled holes in the wings need a bit more putty work.

Back to the workbench!

turbo · Feb 16, 2017

Looking nice John!

Wurger · Feb 17, 2017

le_steph40 · Feb 18, 2017

Really funny and great work :thumbleft:

JKim · Feb 19, 2017

After some final touch-ups, I preshaded the panel lines on the Corsair.

After the panel lines, I layed down my typical mottle preshading over the rest of the aircraft.

I busted out the Hataka paints for this build. I had bought a US Navy set of Hataka paints for a past Hellcat build but I couldn't get them to spray anywhere near the quality and consistency of my normal Tamiya acrylics. They weren't great this time around either but using 70% iso alcohol, I got them to work as long as I didn't have to spray a freehand edge. I used paper masks stuck on with pieces of Blu Tack and also long rolled pieces of Blu Tack. Due to the inconsistency of the Hataka paint, the preshading on the white portions is all but gone.

Dark blue goes on top.

Once the gloss coat dries, I'm ready for decals and weathering.

Wurger · Feb 19, 2017

Robert Porter · Feb 19, 2017

Looking great! Bet you could stuff a lot more of those on an Essex class carrier than the standard ones!

JKim · Feb 20, 2017

Decals have been put on the F4U. The little scars on the starboard side between the kill flags and 29 are my unnecessary attempts to fix what I thought was decal silvering. The decals have an uneven surface finish and give the impression of silvering but once a clear coat is applied, it goes away. I can incorporate the marks into chipping.