F4U Corsair quandary...

[Vonrichthofen]

I'm building a 1/4 scale RC F4U Corsair. The majority of the structural building is just about complete, and now I'm at the point where I need to decide which aircraft I will be replicating. I've initially had my heart set on the paint scheme which shows white or gray on the bottom with a dark blue on the top... I was thinking of maybe Ken Walsh's BuNo 02350. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance-

 

[brucejscott]

Birdcage or bubbletop canopy?

 

[Sweb]

I built a similar one a long time ago with the 3-tone (early) F4U-1D scheme. It was an old Royal kit I scaled up and finished in Boyington's markings. G62 power?

 

[Vonrichthofen]

My bad... I mistyped a minor detail... it's acutally a 1/7 (maybe closer to 1/8, not 1/4) scale kit. It's the Top Flight Gold Edition. I didn't initially intend to go crazy scale on this, but I was inspired at a recent scale fly-in at Chino where they did a little seminar on the basics of scale competition.

I'll post pictures of my progress on Monday or Tuesday (out of town right now).

Decided to go with Walsh's white 13 he was flying when he first made Ace (BuNo 02310). Thanks to everyone who stepped up and assisted with my research, I ended up with actuall photos of Walsh getting out of BuNo 02310 on 28 May 1943. These photos provide great insight as to how his plane was painted at the time.

So... here are my current delimmas (in no particular order):

1) Landing gear- I've never had to worry about scale anything before. I've either scratch built or kit built most of my planes, but I generally just do it for fun... not trying to impress anyone but myself. Anyone have any idea what my options are when it comes to the gear doors? I gotta admit, I have no idea how I'm gonna pull that one off.

2) Tail wheel- I already installed pneumatic Robarts for a tail wheel... But unfortunately, the real F4U tail wheel looks nothing like a Robart.

3) Pilot- I want to get (or make if I have to) a scale pilot in Walsh's image. I've narrowed down that it should be approximately 9", but that's about it. Anyone have any ideas where I can get something like this? Or am I gonna have to make it myself?

4) Canopy- It looks as though the cockpit in the picture is birdcage... So I'm gonna have to hunt down one.. Any ideas on how I'm gonna get this thing to open and close?

Thanks in advance for the help...

 

[Catch22]

Did you get the email? I think issues are related to the file size.

 

[Vonrichthofen]

Yes! Thanks for the info! I've been able to gather much more than I possibly could need in regards to Walsh's aircraft and details... Now I just need to figure out how I'm gonna get the building done...