Tamiya 1:32 Corsair F4U-1A Build

Agreed.

I think you may be right. I was concerned about handling the IP with the decal attached, I can still pop it off, I only put a couple spots of glue on the panel to hold it together.

Builder 2010 said:

I just did a search and did find another fellow (Cory) who posted building this Tamiya kit, although he chose a different prototype. Is there any interest to see another go? If so, I will continue and give you my usual detailed, nit-picky, on-going journal. If not, no harm no foul.

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Please keep the updates coming! Tamiya Corsairs are my all-time favorite kits. Can't get enough of them.

Hi gang! Back from our trip to the York Toy Train Show and family visits. That was a very good idea! I carefully peeled off the clear piece from the back of the gauge plate and did just that; painted the face and THEN glued on the gauge backing. It worked very well.

Spent the day continuing to build the exceptional cockpit. Tamiya has done a splendid job with this model. I went through the two sprues "D" and "R" and removed the parts that were indicated "not used" so they wouldn't confuse me further down the road.

I mildly aged the bulkhead with some Tamiya black panel line treatment to highlight the texture.

I put some liquid mask on the foot pads (already had it on the pedals) so I could expose some 'bare' metal after the green was applied. I then airbrushed the semi-gloss black on all the instrument. You had to drill the foot pad brackets to accept the pins on the pads themselves. I used a 0.032" carbide drill to make these small holes, and then glued on the pads. After painting, I removed the mask exposing the sillver below.



The foot pads are added and some more mechanisms and then built the hydraulic hand pump assembly. This part dropped and broke and I had to put the mounting bracket back using thick CA and some accelerator.



This picture really shows how wonderful the instruments themselves look. They're so nice it almost looks like you could fly this baby.



I think I'm going to build it with the pilot inside so I needed to start building the seated figure now. After cleaning up some mild mold lines I glued the torso together, the head and the left arm. The right arm needs to have his hand on the joy stick so I'm going to hold off gluing it on until I can place him in the cockpit. You have to build the plane around him. It also affects the PE seat belts installation. The pilot has his parachute on and its straps are white, whereas the seat belts are buff colored. I'm not a great figure painter since I don't do all the shadowing and hightlighting that the experts do, but I'll give it a shot. I really like that the goggles are actually a clear part where you paint the frames and have the clear lenses. This greatly simplifies the face painting since you will only see his eyes through the goggles, i.e., not too much.

Very nice. I picked up some of that panel line accent in brown, grey and light grey. I'll use it on my next GB

Great looking pit.

I concur.

Nice !

With all, you're doing a great job so far.
The pilot will love his cockpit.

Saludos

I know you're just starting this kit but we'd love it if you would consider joining us in a friendly group build starting Nov 1. The subject is WW2 bombers.

I second that.....

Lovely work so far!

Thanks!

I try and exercise every other day and this cuts my work time down a bit, but I did get something done.

I painted the pilot. It's a complex paint job due to the full flight gear he's wearing. He's wearing goggles which Tamiya includes as a separate clear part, plus he's sitting on his parachute and has a life vest on.

I started by painting the little bit of face that would show, then did the whites of the eyes, and a small dot for the pupil. I then painted some eyebrows and then went back three times to back paint all the previous work to get the eyebrows even and at the right level.





Next came the flight helmet (Buff), the straps for the oxygen mask and the goggles. The entire flight suit is buff also. The life vest is straight yellow and the gloves are dark yellow which I mixed. The parachute is Khaki. Shoes are Red Brown, and straps are white. (I noticed I missed the one in his crotch). The hardware was done with the Molotow Chrome Pen. I glued the goggles on using Bondic UV cure glue. It's great for transparent parts since the UV penetrates through and cures the glue underneath. It holds well and is totally clear. Then I did the trim painting on the goggles (Khaki). The goggles distort the facial features underneath and make his eyes look even funnier than how I painted them.



The Buff got a bit shiny due to my handling. I may give it a little dull coat to knock off the sheen. I don't do figures well since I don't do all the counter shawdowing that the real figure guys do. He's going to be buried in the cockpit and I may or may not have it closed.

Still to add is the oxygen tube which I've left off since I would have knocked it off by now.

Crimea_River said:

I know you're just starting this kit but we'd love it if you would consider joining us in a friendly group build starting Nov 1. The subject is WW2 bombers.

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So I guess that's a "No"....?

Looking good though.

Nice. Give him a wash and good to go

A group build for WW2 bombers? What are the ground rules? What is the time line? I'd love to build an HK 1:32 Mitchell or something like it, but...

Starts at midnight

We'd love to see that Mitchell in the upcoming GB!

Go here for info on our Group Builds: Modellers Wanted! Group Build Invitation