modelling Lt. Bob Hanson's F4U-1A

[davegee]

Hi All: I'm very impressed with the knowledge base of contributors to this website! I am looking for a little technical info on a project I am going to be starting on.

I am going to redo a 1/6 scale rc Corsair kit to be a hanging model of the plane flown by posthumously awarded Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Bob Hanson during WWII.

I have few drawings of his plane (no photos yet) but have enough to do a fairly accurate representation of his aircraft. The one thing I am not certain of is whether the tailhook was removed for weight, due to the fact they were flying off of an islland, and not an aircraft carrier. If anyone has a good guess or photos of other aircraft from his squadron with them attached or no, that would be very helpful information.

Also, just out of curiosity, if anyone could explain to me how the hook was lowered or raised into position for catching the cable on the carrier, that would be great. Was it electric, hydraulic, manual lever? Just curious.

Regards,

davegee

 

[N4521U]

I think looking at all the build diagrams you will find it is part of the tail wheel frame, so it is lowered with the tail wheel. I think it would reak havoc dragging in the coral if land based.

Bill

 

[davegee]

Hi Bill: after I posted that query on the tailhook, I did a little investigation and discovered that the tailhook has a little arm at the base that is attached to a hydraulically powered mechanism that brings the hook up and down. One cockpit drawing I have shows a switch on the pilot's right side panel to actuate the tailhook.

I don't know the weight of the bar and the hook, maybe 25-30 lbs? but I would think it might have been routinely removed by maintenance crews for weight savings for those planes based on land, as was Bob Hanson's plane. I have seen photos of island-based planes with them attached and missing.

Regards,

davegee

 

[davegee]

Hi All: I have basically completed my 1/5 scale converted rc airplane kit to a museum-quality non-flying model. I will try and post a few pics here. I invite any discussion of this project with other modelers or aviation enthusiasts.

Regards,

davegee

 

[vikingBerserker]

WOW! That's impressive!

 

[Crimea_River]

I'll say. So what would the wingspan on that be?

 

[Wayne Little]

very nice, well done!

 

[ozhawk40]

Excellent! Now that really looks impressive.

 

[lesofprimus]

Very very nice... The one thing I would try to attempt is alittle more weathering.... The sun and coral dust on those runways in the Pacific Island chain wrecked havoc upon the nice blue paint we Americans used...

 

[davegee]

Hi All: thanks for the comments. The scale actually ended up, by my figures, about 1:5.78 for an 85" wingspan.

I agree on the weathering, and I will add a little more here and there. Unfortunately, the camera doesn't really capture a lot of the weathering I have already done. In the pictures, it gives a look of something a lot cleaner than what the actual model looks like to the eye. But I'll add some more to weather it further. I know these planes were in an awful environment and keeping them "spiff" was probably the last thing on their minds.

I appreciate any other comments. I really like the model of the Corsair in a previous post, and I'll use that as a model to add some additional weathering to mine.

cheers

davegee

 

[davegee]

Here's a few pics of some of the underneath with exhaust and other stains. I am working with some pastel chalk to increase the weathering where I can. I added some dried mud paint onto the wheels and mud spatter on the flaps behind where the wheels would have thrown off water/mud. Most of the pics don't show this, though. I'll attach a pic I took of the mud spatter on the flaps.

davegee

 

[davegee]

Here is a photo that I made a b&w of. I have sprayed the entire airplane with a dull clearcoat, and that has taken the shine off of things like the stars and bars that I had painted on with vinyl masks. I am going to continue working using pastels and chalks to further weather and refine the airplane. I don't want to overdo it, though. Sometimes, guys get a little carried away and it looks like the plane reentered the earth's atmosphere or something!

davegee

 

[Crimea_River]

Looks very real. The only thing I might check is whether the band of lighter blue between the dark blue and underside colour on the cowl is wide enough. I've seen these go higher up the cowl but photos of the real machine might verify what you have.

 

[davegee]

Right. I did see quite a bit of variance on these paint schemes in that regard in photos and drawings. What I went from was a drawing of Hanson's aircraft. I don't know of any photos that exist of his plane, so I had to go with the drawing. That's all I could do.

davegee

 

[Airframes]

Excellent.

 

[Crimea_River]

Right. I did see quite a bit of variance on these paint schemes in that regard in photos and drawings. What I went from was a drawing of Hanson's aircraft. I don't know of any photos that exist of his plane, so I had to go with the drawing. That's all I could do.

davegee

Yup, you gotta go with what's available. Photos are a real prize when you can get them.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Stupendous work sir!!! That looks real in the b&w photo.

 

[davegee]

Hi All: today I decided to do some trimming of the canopy. When I got this kit, it had a vacu-formed canopy and windshield all in one piece that you had to cut out. I don't think they planned on people making it a workable sliding canopy. So, I was on my own to figure this out. Originally, I used magnets to either have it open or closed, but something just didn't seem right about it after putting it all together and staring at it for awhile. It then occurred to me that the canopy was riding too low, or more I had too much material below the canopy plexiglass. I took it off of the airplane and trimmed off about one-half of an inch off the bottom of the canopy. I then glued some small nails in the front of the canopy inside the forward edge and they now ride nicely through the slits in the rails installed on the sides of the fuselage in the cockpit. It isn't perfect, but the canopy now fully slides open, closed, or any position in between. And it more closely slides open and closed like the real airplane did.

The other thing I did was fashion two bridle hooks that attach below the forward section of the fuselage. These hooks would keep the bridle cable in place while the catapult pulls it and the plane along the deck for a launch off a carrier. Once the plane is past the end of the deck, the cable would fall away and the plane is on its own. I made these out of a plastic tube, and then cut and fashioned it to look something like the bridle hooks.

It seems as I look at the plane or at books and pictures of Corsairs, I'm constantly reminded of something I need to do, correct, or change a little on the plane. You could go on like this for years!

davegee

 

[davegee]

Thanks for your comments, Aaron. That is always the goal to make a model look as close to the real thing as possible. I suppose it is an unattainable goal, but I always strive to make it look as close to the real thing that I can.

davegee

 

[Wurger]